As the school year comes to an end, are you looking for a way to say “Thank You” to the people who make a difference at your children’s schools? Every day, each of your children benefits from exceptional teachers and staff to educate, motivate and inspire them to be the best they can be.

 While the impulse to thank teachers with a physical or monetary gift is a natural one, the Newton School Committee prohibits individual gifts to teachers and the State Ethics Commission limits the types and amounts of group gifts that teachers may receive.

Seventeen years ago, Newton Schools Foundation created a special campaign designed to enable parents to honor teachers by giving a gift in their name. Please consider donating to NSF’s Annual “Honor Thy Teacher” Campaign to support teachers’ efforts and honor their dedication to your children. You may also choose to honor a special education aide, a fine arts or music teacher, or a coach or counselor who has touched your child’s life.  Suggested donation is $25 per teacher/staff member.

NSF celebrates Newton Public Schools teachers and staff by:

• Notifying honored teachers and staff of your gift
• Listing all honored teachers and staff in the Newton TAB
• Sharing honoree names with the Superintendent and Principals.

• PayPal through www.newtonschoolsfoundation.org where you can indicate your donation and honorees
• Send a check to Newton Schools Foundation at 246 Dudley Road, Newton, MA 02459 and indicate your honorees
• Call NSF at 617-559-6120

For 7th Grade Parents / Guardians – From Ms. Summa

This Friday, May 16 author, Dean Pitchford,  will be coming to speak with all Bigelow seventh graders about his new book, Nickel Bay Nick, his third acclaimed Middle Grade novel, following the success of The Big One-Oh and Captain Nobody. Dean Pitchford is an American songwriter, screenwriter, director, actor and novelist who has won an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award for his songwriting!

Ms. Summa was able to get an independent book store to come in and sell his books to the students on the day of the presentation so they can get his signature.  Please see the attached flyer for more details Author Visit with Dean Pitchford

Please contact Ms. Summa at Patty_Summa@newton.k12.ma.us with any questions you may have.

It is the time of the year to look ahead to next year’s PTO Board.  Are you interested in serving for the 2014-2015 school year?  It is a great way to get involved with your student’s school and meet new members of our Bigelow community!!  A slate of officers for next year will be put forward and voted on at our final PTO meeting on Wednesday May 28 at 7pm.  Please consider joining the Board today!!  Contact us at bigelowbulldog@gmail.com if you are interested or have questions regarding any of the board positions.

We have three members of this year’s board who have indicated their willingness to be nominated and serve again next year.  Carolyn Judge, Co-President, Vicki Spetter, Co-Treasurer and Vicki Ritterband, Co-Secretary.  We thank Julie Bourgoin, Leslie Williams and Ted Everett for serving this past year.

If serving on the board may not be the right fit for you, we will be sending out a list of the committees that have openings in the next week or so.  This is also another great way to get involved.

The Bigelow Teacher Appreciation Tea is this Tuesday May 6th.

Please help us show our support for our wonderful teachers and staff!  We need food donations such as fruit, quiches, finger sandwiches, salads, scones or dessert items as well as set up and clean up help.  Click here to sign up.

Items may be dropped off the morning / early afternoon of the tea in the teacher’s lunchroom no later than 12:30 pm.  You may also drop off items the evening of May 5th at Stacy Schwartz’s house at 15 Park Ave.

For more information or if you have any questions, please contact the Teacher Appreciation Co Chairs, Maria Sullivan at mariasullivan47@gmail.com or Stacy Schwartz at staschwartz@gmail.com

Please join us for our final PTO meeting of the year.  We will be bringing the QPR suicide prevention training to Bigelow. QPR stands for question, persuade, refer and is an educational program that teaches ordinary citizens to recognize the warning signs of suicide, offer hope and get help for those in need. For more information on this program please go to www.newtonma.gov/newtoncares.

The Bigelow Teacher Appreciation Tea is Tuesday May 6th.

Please help us prepare a much appreciated tea to show our support for our wonderful teachers and staff!  We need food donations such as fruit, quiches, finger sandwiches, salads, scones or dessert as well as set up and clean up help.  Click here to sign up.

Donations of gift cards to area businesses or restaurants to be used in a raffle for the teachers at the event are also another way to support this event.

For more information or if you have any questions, please contact the Teacher Appreciation Co Chairs, Maria Sullivan at mariasullivan47@gmail.com or Stacy Schwartz at staschwartz@gmail.com

Looking for something fun to do Saturday night May 3?  Tickets are available for Newton School Foundation’s  Celebration of Excellence  Saturday, May 3 at Newton North High School, thanks to a generous donation from PTO Council. So grab your friends and join other Newton parents, community members, faculty and alumni for this great event that benefits NSF.  The benefit gala will feature  comedian Jimmy Tingle, the music of Loose Change, and food from some of Newton’s finest eateries.  Click here for more details http://www.newtonschoolsfoundation.org .  If you’d like tickets to the Celebration of Excellence courtesy of PTO Council, please contact Diane Greer at diane.greer@newtonschoolsfoundation.org.  First come, first served.

Donate your change to help preserve the Newton Civil War Monument!

The Soldiers’ Monument to Newton’s fallen sons stands in Newton Cemetery and turns 150 years old this year.  A coin drive by Newton’s school children in 1863 helped fund construction of the monument, which was dedicated in July 1864 before the war was over.  The Monument was restored last fall and paid for with Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds.  A coin drive this year will start a maintenance fund for the upkeep of the Memorial.

We need YOU to adopt a coin bucket for your school!  Please contact Katy Hax Holmes at(617) 796-1143 or kholmes@newtonma.gov and we can get you started.  This coin drive would start May 5^th and last about one week.

Please join us on May 18, 2014 at 1:00 pm in Newton Cemetery to honor Newton’s Civil War sons, husbands, brothers, and friends.  And see how far spare change can go when we work together to remember the youth of Newton who gave “the last full measure of their devotion.”

Guinea Pig For Adoption.  We have a sweet-natured almost 2 year-old male guinea pig that needs a new home.  Our kids have allergies which mean they cannot give the guinea pig the love and attention he needs.  We will include all the gear you need: a large cage, food bowl, water bottle, house, nail clipper, etc.  We would really like this little guy to go to a good home.  Please contact me at: aliciamatos17@gmail.com