Category Archives: From the PTO

Your 2015/2016 PTO Board

Your PTO Board for the 2015 / 2016 school year is:

Co-Presidents – Jacquie Arbuckle, Marcia Heron, Carolyn Judge and Anush Sahakian

Vice-Presidents – Jennifer Hrycyszyn, Beth Panella and Lex Van der Ploeg

Co-Treasurers – Beth Hicks and Magda Duchnowska

Co-Secretaries – Melissa Holt and Vicki Spetter

Please feel free to contact any board member if you have any questions or comments.  All board members can be reached at the following email  BigelowBulldog@gmail.com

Thank you for Back to School Night

Thank you to all the teachers and staff that made Back to School Night possible.  It is a great evening and so valuable for parents / guardians to understand what their students will be doing this year.  Your preparation and commitment is so appreciated.

International Walk to School Day – This Wed

This coming Wednesday, October 7th  is International Walk to School Day.  Newton students will be joining children across the world who will be walking to school, celebrating their livable communities.  They walk because it is good for the environment, it makes them healthy, and they like walking with friends.  Walking also helps charge their brains and bodies for a good day of learning. 
 
The Newton Safe Routes to School Task Force is a group of parents from across Newton working to increase the number of children walking and biking to school by making it safer and easier for them to do so.   Getting more kids walking and biking not only benefits students, it also significantly reduces the stress on streets throughout the city that are often congested with parents driving to school.   
P.S..  In case you missed this, the US Surgeon General earlier this month put out a call to action to promote walking and to create more walkable communities in the effort to address the many health issues facing our country.  http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/calls/walking-and-walkable-communities/exec-summary.html  
The Bigelow PTO is looking for someone to represent Bigelow on the Newton Safe Routes to School Task Force.  If you are interested, please email us at bigelowbulldog@gmail.com

For 7th Grade Parents

Family Communication Survey for 3rd/7th/10th Grade Parents Coming via Email

Parents and guardians of seventh grade students should be on the lookout for an email in mid-October with a link to an important survey that the school committee and superintendent have created.  Newton Public Schools is looking for information on how we can improve our two-way communication with families and create more opportunities for engagement.  Please be sure to complete the survey, as the data will help us improve our outreach and communication tools, including developing new strategies for reaching and out allowing you to reach us.  Thank you in advance for your participation!

Bridge Club Starts Tomorrow 10/5

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?  And where the club meetings include free snacks?

If you answered “yes”, then talk to your son or daughter about joining the Bigelow Bridge Club.  This fall, Jeff Lehman, the parent of four Bigelow alumni, 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 will be on Monday, October 5, from 2:50 pm to 3:50 pm in Room 108.  Meetings will continue each Monday that school is in session.  Instruction, supplies, and snacks are free.

Click here for more information

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

Back to School Night – This Thursday

Bigelow’s Back To School Night is this Thursday, October 1, 7-9pm.  Personalized schedules for the evening were sent home with students on Monday.  Check their backpacks!!  Schedules can also be found on the school’s website http://www.newton.k12.ma.us/bigelow .  Click on ParentConnect, go to Academics tab and then the Back To School Night tab.  Parking will be tight on side streets so please give yourself enough time to get to school by 7 pm.  The PTO will have tables with information about events happening this year and ways to get involved.  Please stop by and say hello.

Click here for more information

Three Clubs Starting at Bigelow This Week

MOVIEMAKERS CLUB: Are you a fan of the GoPro? A wizard on iMovie? An expert with the greenscreen?  If you recognize any of those terms, or if you just like performing skits and songs and recording on video, then you should join the brand-new Bigelow Moviemakers Club. The first meeting after school this Wednesday in Mr. Swan’s room: 212. Sixth graders, seventh graders, and eighth graders are welcome to the Moviemakers Club.

CODING CLUB: There will be an informational meeting for students interested in joining the Coding Club this Wednesday in Lab 103.  Coding is what makes games, websites and other apps for computers and other digital devices.  NO prior experience necessary! Keep Calm and Code On.  Click here for more information

GSA: The Bigelow Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) will hold their first meeting Friday afternoon at 3:00 in Mr. Burtch’s room 203.  The GSA is a group of students and teachers who work together to create an environment of tolerance in our school. This club meets on the first Friday of the month. BE AN ALLY!  Click here for more information

Hosts Needed for Soup and Supper Stroll – Please Volunteer Today

Thank you to those who have volunteered to host a dinner for our 7th Annual Soup and Supper Stroll on Saturday, November 14.  We still need some more hosts.  This evening is a really great way to meet other Bigelow parents and one of the Bigelow community’s favorite events.

  1.  We have a number of cooks who need a place to prepare and serve a dinner.  Can you open your home for this great evening?  You will not need to cook.
  2. We are still in need of people to host the appetizer and dessert portions of the evening.
  3. Want to host a dinner? Dinner hosts just need to provide soup and a supper dish – no need to make appetizers and desserts.

The evening starts with appetizers at a Bigelow family’s home with everyone attending the “Stroll”.  Here you will find out the name and address of your Soup and Supper host and learn who the other guests are at your supper venue.  After supper, we will reconvene at a surprise location for coffee and dessert.

More information on sign-up will follow in October.

Contact:  Carolyn Judge at  carolyncjudge@yahoo.com   or Jessica Gilmartin at jessiekgilmartin@gmail.com  Thank you in advance for your support!!

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