Have you thought about becoming more involved in the Bigelow PTO? Volunteering with the PTO is a great way to enhance your student’s middle school experience while meeting other parents and building a stronger school connection. Please read more below and fill out this Google Form to express interest or provide feedback.

We’ve had a great year and we plan to continue to be part of the PTO in a different capacity. We’d love to see new members on the board that can invigorate and bring some additional excitement to what we’re already planning for the coming year. To that end, we are recruiting parent/guardian volunteers for the following PTO board positions for the 2024-25 school year:

• President: Lead and support the team, preside over PTO meetings, serve as primary contact and representative of the PTO
• Vice President of Community Building: Support Committee Chairs in planning and community events (e.g., School Dances, other Social events)
• Vice President of Fundraising Activities: Support Committee Chairs for fundraising planning and events
• Secretary: Take minutes, keep the PTO calendar current, communication flow

Volunteering doesn’t have to be a big commitment! If you are eager to take part in the PTO but would prefer to have a co-chair position, please consider volunteering as a Co-President or Co-Vice President. We’d love to hear from you and include you as part of the team in a capacity that works for all.

To make the PTO a success for all students and families, we would love to involve community members from all of Bigelow’s feeder schools. Rising 6th, 7th, and 8th the grade parents/caregivers from Underwood, Cabot, Lincoln-Elliot, Mason Rice, Ward, and beyond: We want to hear from you! Please let us know if you can join our board or a committee in any capacity ensuring that we have an inclusive board and that our events have a wide reach.

In addition to the PTO board positions, we also have open co-chair positions for many committees that work with the board to fill particular needs and drive specific events.

Please review this Google Form to express interest or provide feedback.

Many thanks,

Eugene & Alex

Bigelow’s Spring Bling Dance + Social is this Friday and we need more volunteers to make this popular event a success! We are especially in need of 2-3 more chaperones for gym activities and 2-3 more hallway chaperones. Please sign up here: http://Spring Bling Dance + Social Volunteer sign up

This not-to-be-missed event will feature:

• basketball
• hula hoops
• board games
• corn hole
• photo booth

And of course dancing!

Thank you for your participation to make this a shiny success!

Thank you to the following parents who supported grade-sponsored lunches for the Bigelow Staff last week in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week!  Support from the parents was tremendous!  Bigelow staff really felt the love from our community!

6th Grade
Organizer: Laura Goldworm
Clean-up: JJ Kazakoff-Eigen
Donations by: Susan St. Pierre, Rachanee Nelson, Kerri Vonnegut, Danielle Tanguay, Maha Farhat, Jen Magee, Leslie Barber, Chris West, Lauren Myers, Pei Huang, Emily Nunez, Joanna Jin, Caitlin Cusick, Nisa Dailey, Stacey Kazakoff-Eigen, Karen Sulesky, Irene Santoni, Magda Duchnowska, Limin Ma, Theresa Proia, Michele Niepel, Corena Larimer, Taran Khanna, Mary McKee, Shana Hickey, Jessica Steytler, Jillian Fienberg

7th Grade
Organizer: Ron Farrar
Donations by: Cindy Chan, David Hurvitz, Hai Ly, Robyn Barry, Crislin Waldman, Sara Wantman, Tara Raposa, Stephanie Gumble, Kristin Golden, Tara Cunningham, Kate Luethy, Jenny Rosenthal, Christine Reid, Angela Brooks, Alex Rolfe, Sally Dupere, Hai Ly, Crislin Waldman, Sara Wantman, Karen Hite

8th Grade
Organizer: Ron Farrar
Donations by: Sukanya Ghosh, Kerri Vonnegut, Alexandra Chakalis, Marie Bocquet, Linda Gillespie, Karen Yee, Jeanne Choe-Arrieta, Brigitte LaMarche, Eugene Rhee, Jen Tsuda, Shana Smythe, Sarah Lenz, Ileen Thelen, Elizabeth Apgar, Elisa Rodriguez, Elizabeth Gagnon, Yulia Dumov, Wendy Smith, Sarah Lenz, Jennifer Roth, Carla Rodriguez, Laura Keenan

Calling all Bigelow Parents and Caregivers!

Let’s get social at the Social! Join us to celebrate our Bigelow community and the winding down of our school year with casual conversation, food, and drink.

Bigelow Social at the Social

• Saturday, May 18th, 7-9 pm
• Social Restaurant and Bar 320 Washington Street, Newton, MA
• Cost: $35 per person
• Food will be provided
• Cash Bar
• This is an adult only event.

Please RSVP here to reserve your ticket. Payment can be made via Venmo @BigelowPTONewton (please designate “Spring Social” in the note)

Questions? Please contact Tracy (bucknertracy3@gmail.com) or Bekka (rebecca.cirel@gmail.com)

Please join Bigelow FORJ and the Bigelow community on a walking/bus tour of Nubian Square this Saturday. Learn about the rich history of African American culture in the heart of Roxbury. The tour will be led by a tour guide from “Visit Nubian Square” (https://www.visitnubiansquare.com). We will end the tour with a pizza lunch at the Museum of NCAAA, National Center of Afro-American Artists. 

When: Saturday, May 11, 2024, 10 am – 1 pm
Where: Nubian Square, Washington & Dudley St, Roxbury, MA
Price: Free

Please RSVP here: https://tinyurl.com/Nubian-Square-Tour or to the link in the attached flyer.

To make this event more inclusive, we have updated the Spring Bling Dance + Social event to feature:

*basketball
*hula hoops
*board games
*corn hole
*photo booth

And of course dancing!

We still need more volunteers to make this event a success!

We need 3 more volunteers to help with the food/snacks table.
We need 4 more volunteers to help with chaperoning.

Please sign up here if you can help:
http://Spring Bling Dance + Social Volunteer sign up

Thank you for your participation to make this a shiny success!

LOOKING FOR A GREAT WAY TO THANK A TEACHER OR SCHOOL STAFF MEMBER DURING TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK?

Newton Schools Foundation Honor Thy Teacher program enables families to pay tribute to teachers and school staff by making a gift to Newton Schools Foundation in their name. It’s a great way to show your appreciation during Teacher Appreciation Week (May 6 – May 10) or at any time until the end of the school year, while adhering to the Newton Public School’s teacher gift policy. 

A donation to Newton Schools Foundation will support grants that fund new approaches in the classroom, professional development for teachers, and programs that promote equity for all students. To learn more about the programs NSF funds, see our Impact page.

Find out more and donate on the NSF website, scan the QR code, or mail your donation to Newton Schools Foundation, P.O. Box 590020, Newton Centre, MA 02459.  (Please be sure to include the name(s) of your child(ren) and the names of the teacher(s) and/or staff you are honoring and their schools.)

Huge thank you to the volunteers who helped reinvigorate the grounds around Bigelow on Sunday for Newton Serves! Volunteers tirelessly weeded, planted, and mulched garden beds, and cleaned outdoor spaces around the school. Be sure to admire the new plantings and watch the gardens take shape in the coming months and years!

Special thanks to Corena Larimer for leading this effort!

In honor of National Teacher Appreciation Week (May 6th – 10th), the Bigelow PTO will host three luncheons for our dedicated teachers and staff.  Each lunch will be catered by families from each grade:

• Monday, May 6th: 6th Grade Families Sign-Up
• Wednesday, May 8th: 7th Grade Families Sign-Up
• Friday, May 10th: 8th Grade Families Sign-Up

Please review sign-up links for each grade above, and deliver your donated item to Bigelow the morning of your grade’s luncheon. 

We are also accepting monetary donations to fund luncheon items. If you would prefer to donate money, the steps are:

• 1. Venmo @BigelowPTONewton and add note “[Grade] Teacher Appreciation Lunch”.
• 2. Sign up for an item in the grade-specific SignUpGenius link above. In the comments include “Venmo to Bigelow PTO [$ amount]”.
• 3. A PTO volunteer will cover that item for you the day of the luncheon. 

This will be our final teacher appreciation event of the year.  Let’s give our Bigelow staff a big thanks for all that they do!

If you have any questions, please contact Laura Mandell (lauramandell@yahoo.com) for 6th Grade Luncheon; Ron Farrar (ronfarrar@gmail.com) for 7th Grade Luncheon; and Suriya Sangsub (suriya59@hotmail.com) for 8th Grade Luncheon.

Volunteer for Bigelow SERVES
Sunday, May 5th 10 am to 2 pm
Drop in for any amount of time!

Please join us Sunday, May 5th to help reinvigorate the green areas around Bigelow for NewtonSERVES 2024. The event will run from 10 am to 2 pm and volunteers are welcome to drop in for any amount of time. Every minute of your time helps!

Please wear work clothes and bring a refillable water bottle. We also request the following items if you have them:

• work/gardening gloves
• yard tools (shovels, rakes, trowels, etc)
• wheelbarrow
• watering can

**Please label any tools you bring so we can be sure they are reunited with you at the end of the event.**

NewtonSERVES is an annual city-wide day of building community through service. NewtonSERVES projects focus on cleaning and improving our parks, school grounds, open space areas, and conservation lands. Please join us, Sunday, May 5th, to build our Bigelow Community while reinvigorating the green areas around the school!

All Bigelow families, friends, and neighbors are welcome!