Category Archives: From the PTO

Bigelow PTO Annual Appeal

A HUGE thank you to those of you who have already donated!!

For more information about the Annual Appear or to make your gift on line by credit card click here or send your check to: Bigelow PTO at 42 Vernon Street   Newton, MA 02458

Matching gifts are a great way to maximize your donation and can double or triple your gift to education. Please click here for a partial list of companies that offer to match employee donations.

All donations – large or small – are greatly appreciated and will help us achieve all that we set out to do. Thank you!

Regards,

Julie Bourgoin and Carolyn Judge

PTO Co-Presidents

Bigelow PTO Annual Appeal

The Bigelow Middle School Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is one cause that doesn’t get more personal: our kids’ education.

Letters were sent to all Bigelow families asking for your support for the important activities of the PTO. We hope you have received your letter and will consider giving as generously as you can.  A HUGE thank you to those of you who have already donated!!

For more information about the Annual Appear or to make your gift on line by credit card click here or send your check to: Bigelow PTO at 42 Vernon Street   Newton, MA 02458

Matching gifts are a great way to maximize your donation and can double or triple your gift to education. Please click here for a partial list of companies that offer to match employee donations.

All donations – large or small – are greatly appreciated and will help us achieve all that we set out to do. Thank you!

Regards,

Julie Bourgoin and Carolyn Judge

PTO Co-Presidents

Save the Date (and volunteers needed) for Bigelow’s Big Night – March 22

Make sure to Save the Date for Bigelow’s biggest fundraising event of the year.  This year it is the BIG EASY NIGHT, a Mardi Gras themed event, at the New Art Center in Newtonville on Sat. March 22.  It is an evening of fun, food, music, friends and lots of great auction items.  Best of all, it all benefits our children.

A planning committee meeting will be held on Mon January 6th 7:30pm at 35 Hunnewell Ave.  RSVP to Liz at haas.joffe@gmail.com if you are going to attend.

Committee members are needed to make the night a success.  Committee positions available include:

  • Auction Donations and Solicitations
  • Food and Beverages
  • Entertainment
  • Decorations

We will also need general volunteers to help out with the event.  Please consider volunteering to help with this fun night today!!  Bring a friend! 

Contact Liz Hass at haas.joffe@gmail.com if you are interested or have any questions.

Thank you, your event co chairs – Liz Haas and Laurie Halloran

FINAL TURN IN DAY for the Magazine Drive, Tues Dec 10

Tuesday December 6 is the final turn in / order day for the Magazine Drive.   Paper order forms can be turned in during lunch and you can order on line until midnight.
Your child will have a chance to earn a prize at the prize table.  Help Bigelow and a family in need by turning in 2 orders.  With 2 orders you send a baby chick to a family in need in Bangladesh giving them food or a means to earn money (selling the eggs, selling the chicken).  
Bigelow receives 40% from each order.  The money raised will support school field trips and other student / school needs.
Online orders earn double credit for prizes.   Click here  for more information.
Bigelow Middle School will not get any funds, when you use  renewal mailers. Only when renewing as follows will Bigelow get the 40 % of your subscription price paid:
  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 that came home on November 22, 2013, check the box “renewal” (cash, or checks made out to Bigelow PTO).
If you would like to convert a regular magazine subscription to a digital magazine subscription (there are 53 magazines available in a digital format), you will be ordering them as a new subscription in one of the two ways outlined above.
 
Thank you for your support!!
 
Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Lauri Perry (magazine chair) at laurisperry@hotmail.com.

THIS TUESDAY – PTO Meeting

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.

Winter Musical – Informational Meeting Monday, Nov 25th 2:45

INFORMATION ABOUT BIGELOW’S WINTER MUSICAL!!!!
 
Can you act, sing or dance? Can you do all three?
Join us for the
Bigelow Winter Musical!
 
Come to the informational meeting to learn what the winter musical will be and how auditions work!
 
Even if you can’t sing! Even if you can’t dance! Come join us!
 
The meeting will be held Monday November 25 from 2:45-3:15 in the auditorium.
As always, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in the considerable behind-the-scenes activity. Bigelow Drama has a thriving group of students working on all aspects of the technical side of production.  If you have any questions, please email the Drama Director, “Miss M”, at katherine_msadoques@newton.k12.ma.us or Ms Alberts, Musical Director, at jaime_alberts@newton.k12.ma.us.
 
PARENTS: PLEASE ALSO NOTE!!!!
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!

Screenings – Week of Dec 9th

Scoliosis screening for 6th, 7th and 8th grades and growth screening, for 7th grade only, will take place during your child’s PE class the week of December 9, 2013.  A letter from Bigelow’s Health Room will be sent out the week of November 25th with more information regarding this screening, including information on opting out. 

 

Holiday Magazine Kickoff Nov. 22

Dear Parents, Guardians, and Students!
The Bigelow Magazine Drive, one of the important fundraisers for our school supporting field trip scholarships will kick off on Friday, November 22, 2013. A package with all necessary information to participate will be coming home with your student that day.For those who are getting renewal requests for current magazine subscriptions in the mail, please note the following:Bigelow Middle School will not get any funds, when you use these renewal mailers. Only when renewing as follows will Bigelow get the 40 % of your subscription price paid:

  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).
 If you would like to convert a regular magazine subscription to a digital magazine subscription (there are 53 magazines available in a digital format), you will be ordering them as a new subscription in one of the two ways outlined above.

The Bigelow Student Directory is here!

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