Please join us on Tuesday, December 3rd, 7pm for our next PTO meeting.

The meeting will feature a presentation by Dr. Jordanna L’Esperance-Chouinard, Bigelow school psychologist, and Lee Doyle from The Boston Area Rape Crisis Center about safe and respectful use of social media by middle school students.

This is an interactive discussion which will offer guidelines, resources, and tools for helping parents manage their child’s use of technology, and will include information about developmentally appropriate, and inappropriate, social media interactions.

Please note:  We will have a few PTO announcements and a review / vote on the 2013 – 2014 PTO budget at the beginning of the meeting. 

We hope to see you there.  Please contact us at bigelowbulldog@gmail.com if you have any questions.

There are also a MYRIAD opportunities to get involved as parents!  

PoPS — Parents Of Performing arts Students  — are looking for a costume team as well as, nearer production time, a phalanx of set builders, painters, ticket/concession sales, and meal prep for tech week.  

 

Please do not hesitate to contact Beth Gunning at b_gunning@msn.com or Nancy Gair, at nrgair@gmail.com if you have any questions and/or suggestions!

1. Either online via www.gaschoolstore.com (new website of Great American Opportunities, which QSP is now part of), school/organization online ID 2637080, check the box “renewal”, (payment by credit card),
2. or through your student from the catalog with the paper order forms coming home on November 22, 2013, check the box “renewal” (cash, or checks made out to Bigelow PTO).

We are happy to announce that bright yellow student directories will be distributed to students this week. Please check your child’s backpack for yours. Families with two households will receive both directories from your child.

Many thanks to Beth Coomber for the directory production and managing from start to finish all that goes into it – collecting information, formatting, and coordinating printing. Thank you for your tireless efforts over these past couple of months.

Thank you to Kersten Raso, assistant to the principal, for being the liaison between the school and PTO and ensuring that we had accurate information.

Heather Kelly and Megara Bell deserve our utmost gratitude for securing advertisements that helped cover the costs of such an important resource. We hope that our Bigelow parents and community will visit the generous businesses that sponsored the directory and thank them for their support of our school.

Thank you to Miriam Alandydy, Sally Brickell, Kim Buckton, Heather Mehra, and Stacy Schwartz for labeling more than 400 directories.

As you can see, it takes a village!

Regards,

Julie Bourgoin and Carolyn Judge

PTO Co-Presidents

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s Soup and Supper Stroll!  It was a great evening and together we raised close to $4,000, that will go towards enhancing our children’s educational experience.  We hope everyone that joined us for the evening was able to reconnect with old friends and make some new ones, while building community spirit.

A special thank you to our hosts for the evening.  You generously opened your homes to other Bigelow families and provided a special dining experience.  Without you, this evening would not exist.  Our hosts this year included:

• Scott Gortikov and Ross Ozer
• Lynda and Jay Schwartz
• Lydia Davis and James Braithwaite
• Heather Alker and Dave Teszler
• Laurie Halloran with Michelle Sparks and Alison Leary
• Michele and David Baxter
• Veronique and Ivan Kugener
• Becky Searles and Sean McNally
• Linda and Bill McLaughlin

And thank you to Tullia and Bruno Visco for wrapping our evening up in style with a wonderful dessert party.

Again, THANK YOU to all that participated and made the evening such a success!!

Your event co-chairs, Jacquie and Carolyn

We are in urgent need of at least 2 volunteers to co-chair the Holiday Magazine Drive. The Drive is scheduled to kick off on Nov 22^nd. Last year, this Magazine Drive raised $5000 for Bigelow. It’s a big and important fundraiser- please consider helping to lead this one!! 

Lisa Moore from Great American Opportunities, had offered to make this a very easy fundraiser for the coordinators. She will meet with the chair and volunteers and review the process step by step.  She also has a team that can provide support with tallying orders and prize distribution, among other things. 

Please consider helping us. Email Melanie Varady at melvarady@gmail.com to volunteer.

Thank you!!

Join us for Bigelow’s 8^th Grade Annual Turkey Bowl

Friday, November 15^th 3:00-4:30pm at Burr Park

It’s the Game of the Season and you’re invited!! Cheer on our two 8^th grade clusters in this competitive flag football game.  Winning cluster will receive the coveted “Turkey Bowl” and have bragging rights for the year. Students, parents and staff are invited. Celebrate Bigelow’s team spirit by wearing Bigelow apparel or purple on Friday.

We’ll be selling  hot chocolate,  popcorn, water and snacks! Don’t miss this fun event!  Many thanks to Dunkin’ Donuts and West Newton Cinema for supporting this event.

For more information, email Melanie Varady at melvarady@gmail.com

RSVP DEADLINE for SOUP AND SUPPER STROLL is TODAY

Click here to Sign up

5th ANNUAL SOUP and SUPPER STROLL on November 16th.  Please join us for this festive adult evening of food, fun and conversation while supporting our children and school.  For more information and to sign up please see the Soup and Supper Stroll Page

If you have any questions, please contact Carolyn Judge and Jacquie Arbuckle at bigelowbulldog@gmail.com

Thanks to help from many bakers, staffers, shoppers, and more, the Election Day bake sale raised $800. The money will be used to fund vital Bigelow PTO activities, including the Creative Arts and Sciences program for all students.

We greatly appreciate the help of the following people: Miriam Alandydy, Rachel Boloyan, Julie Bourgoin, Kim Buckton, Catherine Cremin, Merarys Cuniff, Nisa Dailey, Lydia Davis, Frieda Dweck, Janet Feinberg, Gail Fitzgerald, Joanne Gatnik, Michelle Gonzalez McEvoy, Liz Haas, Barbara Joseph, Carolyn Judge, Renee Kwok, Melissa Lerou, Becky Manley, Marian McDonagh, Jennifer Mendelsohn, Carrie Merz, Lauri Perry, Akiko Schultz, Lori Seuch, Maria Sullivan, Leslie Williams, and Jing Yuan. (Please excuse any omissions.)

And a special thanks to the Bigelow custodians for their help before and after this event.

A big thank you also goes to to Sally Brickell and Heather Mehra for organizing and running the bake sale!