Category Archives: From the PTO

THIS TUESDAY – Back to School Picnic 5:30 – 7:30

Please join us for an all school BACK TO SCHOOL PICNIC, Tuesday, September 9th, 5:30 – 7:30, in Burr Park. It is a great way to catch up with old friends and meet new ones.  Bring the whole family.  Looks like the weather should be great for us.

Don’t want to cook??  We have two food trucks coming!!   Renula’s Greek Kitchen will be available for you to purchase dinner and beverages.  We will also have VeeBop’s Ice Cream and More providing dessert.

 FoodTruck-clipart-150x117We hope to see you there!!!

Bigelow Bridge Club – 1st Meeting Monday, Sept 8

Would you like your son or daughter to learn a game that, studies have shown, will improve their academic performance?  And is also enjoyed by just about everyone who has learned the game?

If you answered “yes”, then talk to your son or daughter about joining the Bigelow Bridge Club.  This fall, Bigelow parent Jeff Lehman will be teaching participating students how to play the card game of bridge.  Math teacher extraordinaire Sue Mortimer will be the faculty advisor.

The first club meeting is Monday, September 8 from 2:50 pm to 3:50 pm.  Club meetings will continue each Monday that school is in session, for the duration of the school year.

Bridge is a game full of strategy and tactics.  It is part science, part math, part reason.  Bridge embodies cooperation, logic and problem-solving.  Bridge can be played in social or tournament settings, and also online.  In the past couple of years, youth bridge players representing Bigelow and other schools in New England have competed against each other at tournament venues in eastern Massachusetts and in New Hampshire.  This fall, youth bridge activities are scheduled for a national bridge tournament to be held in Providence, RI.

Oh, about that impact of learning bridge on academic performance?  Well, one study showed that young bridge players outscored their non-playing counterparts on standardized test scores by 39.31% in Science, 24.22% in Math, and 22.74% in Social Science.

The Bigelow Bridge Club lesson plans are designed just for youth.  No more than ten minutes of each club meeting will be spent on formal instruction.  The rest of the time will be spent doing what your children want most to do, play.  Although bridge is a game of infinite nuance and sophistication, it is also a game of very few rules.  As a result, your children will be playing bridge by the end of the first class!

Will your child enjoy learning bridge?  Well, listen to this video and you will hear how much fun other youth have learning to play bridge, even traveling to tournaments and winning scholarships.  http://www.youth4bridge.org/about/why_play_bridge_video.php

Please contact Jeff Lehman by phone at 617-332-2134 or by e-mail at Jeffrey.Lehman.MA@verizon.net with any questions.

Cross Country Meeting – Sept 11

A mandatory meeting for all students interested in running cross country will be held on Thursday September 11.  The meeting will be held after school in the library and important information & consent forms will be distributed.  All students including 6th graders are welcome to join.  No experience is required.  Please make sure your child attends the meeting if interested.  Please contact Patty Summa at Patty_Summa@newton.k12.ma.us with any questions.

Welcome to Bigelow and a Few Key Dates

Dear Bigelow Families,

The Bigelow PTO would like to welcome you all to Bigelow and the new school year.  Below are a few dates to get on your calendars to start the school year.

Grade 6 Orientation and Ice Cream Social – Tues. August 26 from 9am – 10:30am

SchoolKidz (Pre ordered School Supplies) Pick up – Tues. August 26 from 10:30am – noon (corridor along courtyard)

All School Picnic – Tues. September 9, 5:30pm – 7:30pm at Burr Park.  This year we will have two food trucks, so you do not have to worry about bringing food that evening.  If the weather does not cooperate, we will move the Picnic indoors to the cafeteria and the gym.

Grade 6 Parent Breakfast – Wed. September 17, 8am – 8:45am

Grade 8 Car Wash and Bake Sale – Fri. September 19 from 3pm – 5pm Bigelow Parking Lot

Grade 6 Parent Potluck – Fri. September 19 – Final time and location to follow

NO SCHOOL – Rosh Hashanah, Thur. Sept 25

Back to School Night – Thur. October 2 from 6:50pm – 9:00pm

First PTO Meeting – Fri. October 3 from 8:30am – 9:45am in the Library

Please note that a comprehensive school calendar can be found on both the Bigelow PTO’s and the Bigelow School’s web sites.

If you have any questions regarding the above events or any other items, please contact us at bigelowbulldog@gmail.com .  We look forward to seeing you around Bigelow and enjoy this last week of summer vacation. ~ Your PTO Co Presidents, Jacquie Arbuckle and Carolyn Judge

SchoolKidz Pick up this coming Tuesday

If you ordered a SchoolKidz (school supplies) for your student through the Bigelow PTO this past spring, they can be picked up this coming Tuesday, August 26 from 10:30 – noon at Bigelow in the corridor adjacent to the courtyard.  They can also be picked up on the first day of school.  If you ordered a language kit, that is in a separate box (except for Latin).

If you did not order your school supplies through SchoolKidz, class supply lists can be found on the Bigelow Middle School homepage at http://bigelow.newton.k12.ma.us   Please contact us at bigelowbulldog@gmail.com if you have any questions regarding your SchoolKidz order.

Bigelow Student Directory Information Confirmation

Dear Bigelow Families,

On August 9th an email was sent from the Bigelow PTO asking families to confirm data for the student directory. Although the directory can include numerous emails per family, the confirmation can only go to the email listed as the primary one for the family.

If your family did not receive this email or you have any questions, please email the PTO at bigelowbulldog@gmail.com so we can be sure your family is listed.  

 

Thank you and have wonderful summer!!

Thank you to all of you who have volunteered, donated, baked, sold, chaperoned, washed cars, organized, lead, met, chaired, cooked, bid and painted.  It is your contributions that make Bigelow a better place for our children.  We would like to thank the administration, teachers and staff that educate the students through out the school year.  We so appreciate your dedication and everything that you do for our children.

We congratulate the 8th graders and wish them well as they move on to ninth grade.  A special goodbye to those families that will be leaving Bigelow. We welcome the incoming 6th graders and their families.  Please let us know if you have any questions about Bigelow.  We would like to acknowledge the PTO board members who are leaving the school or stepping down this year:  Julie Bourgoin, Leslie Williams and Ted Everett.   And thank you to Jacquie Arbuckle who has joined next year’s board as co-president.

Again thank you to all.  Have a WONDERFUL summer and see you in September!!

SchoolKidz – Order deadline is tonight at 11 pm

Order your student’s school supplies for next year by 11 pm this evening.  We can not extend this deadline or take any orders after 11 pm.

We are offering this program as a service to the students and parents of our school and hope this makes your preparation for the new school year easier.  Why fight long lines and stress of trying to find every single requested item on your child’s supply list?  All of the shopping is done for you!

The SchoolKidz program:  

  • Will save you time,
  • Make “back-to-school time” less hectic
  • Offers competitive pricing
  • Avoid those impulse buys and long lines
  • And Bigelow Middle School PTO receives a portion of the sales which will help fund programs like the Creative Arts and Sciences.

You can order the SchoolKidz now through June 22.  Orders can not be accepted after that.  Click here for more information.

All kits will be delivered to the school and can be picked up after the Open House on Tuesday, August 26th or the first day of school – details to follow.

Go to:  www.shopttkits.com and enter acct #32972.

If you have any questions, please email us at Bigelowbulldog@gmail.com.

Buy a Book – Library Fund

If you are interested in honoring a Bigelow 2014 graduate or recognizing a Bigelow staff member at the end of the year, consider donating a book in honor of the graduate or staff member through the Buy a Book Fund.  Your donation will go towards purchasing resources and books vital to maintaining a library collection that is relevant and interesting for our students.
A nameplate honoring the graduate and/or staff member, and recognizing the donor, will be placed inside a new book. With generous donations made to Buy a Book in the past, we have been able to maintain a library that continues to promote student learning and growth. Please consider donating today.  Your generosity is deeply appreciated.

Click here to Buy a Book

Please contact us at bigelowbulldog@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Newton North One Book, One School Book for sale at graduation

Attention graduating 8th graders! Books for sale!

All Newton North students have required summer reading. This year’s book is Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

 For your convenience, the Newton North PTSO will sell copies at Bigelow. Cost: $13 (cash or check payable to New England Mobile Book Fair).

Before the graduation ceremony: Wednesday, June 18, 8:15-9:00 a.m., gym entrance

After the graduation ceremony: Wednesday, June 18, 10:45-11:15 a.m., outside the main office