Please join us on the evening of Saturday, April 5 for the return of Bigelow’s Ten Tables progressive dinner event!

Ten Tables is an ADULTS-ONLY evening, that you will not want to miss! This is not only a fun way to meet other families in the Bigelow community but also one of the largest school-wide fundraisers we have. Everyone will begin at the same location for appetizers at 6:30 p.m. Just before 8 p.m., you will be handed an envelope with the location of your dinner house. Dinners are small gatherings, ranging from 8 to 12 people. This is a great way to get to know other families that have kids in the same grades as yours.

Would you like to host a dinner? We have a number of wonderful hosts already signed up, but we could use a couple more. Host families provide guests with food and beverages, usually around 8-12 people. Some families choose to cook the meal, some choose catering/takeout, and some do a combination, so please don’t be afraid to volunteer even if you’re not into cooking. For anyone new to hosting and thinking about it, we are happy to answer any questions. Themes from past years have included: A Trip to Tuscany, Land, Sea, and Bubbles, Greeking Out, Burger & Co., French Countryside, The Bar at Capitol Chill, Margaritas and Margheritas.  If you would like to host, please contact Kathy Shields at kburdetteshields@yahoo.com.

Would you like to host the appetizer party? We’re still looking for a host for the kick-off to the evening’s festivities. This portion of the night runs from 6:30 to 8 p.m., with a hard stop at 8 p.m. since all guests will be leaving for dinner. You will be tasked with appetizers and beverages for roughly 100 people. Please contact Kathy (kburdetteshields@yahoo.com) if you would like to host or (co-host!) the appetizer party.

Would you like to attend Ten Tables as a guest? Please sign up and let us know you’re coming. Please complete this Google form and let us know about the size of your group and any dietary restrictions you have.

Donations Because Ten Tables is both a community-building and fundraising event, please consider making a donation to support the Bigelow PTO. The suggested donation is $50 per person, but all are welcome regardless of financial contributions. Donations (please designate “Ten Tables” in the note) can be made via:

• Venmo @BigelowPTONewton
• check payable to Bigelow PTO

Get your tickets now! Click here to RSVP & Donate!

Would you like to see some more great events for your Bigelow student in the next school year? 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.

It is time to start to planning for the 2025-26 school year! We are actively recruiting for several positions that will be open next year as 8th grade families move on from Bigelow. Now is the ideal time to volunteer as overlap with current volunteers will make for an easy transition. In particular, we would like to identify volunteers for the following:

• President/Co-President Lead and support the team, preside over PTO meetings, serve as primary contact and representative of the PTO.
• Communications/Website Send weekly PTO newsletters and other communications. Maintain PTO website. **Training available from current volunteer!**
• 8th Grade Activities Organize transition activities for 8th grade class including fundraising, year-end celebrations, Moving On ceremony, etc.

In addition to the positions highlighted above, there are many other ways to get involved in the PTO. Please email bigelowbulldog@gmail.com if you are interested in volunteering or learning more about any of the opportunities to become involved with the Bigelow PTO. Co-volunteers welcome!

Attention 8th grade families! During teacher appreciation week (May 5-9th) each grade (6, 7, 8) organizes a luncheon for teachers and staff. We are still looking for an 8th grade parent to coordinate their grade’s luncheon. Please email Laura Goldworm at lauramandell@yahoo.com if you are interested!

Calling all bakers (and aspiring bakers)!  The Teacher Appreciation Committee would like to show Bigelow Staff our gratitude during the long month of March with a “Treat Yo Self” Pop-Up on Friday, March 28. For this pop-up we would like to feature homemade treats of all kinds!

To make that happen we need volunteers to sign up to bake a homemade treats for staff. Please sign up to bake and bring in a treat here. (Hint: this is a great project for students!)

We will send out instructions for drop-offs to all volunteers. Please reach out to Laura Goldworm with any questions at lauramandell@yahoo.com. Thank you for your help! 

On Tuesday evening, Bigelow’s Gym came alive to celebrate our beautiful and diverse community with delicious food, bright displays, lively music, and good cheer! Attendees were treated to a tour of Argentina, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Chile, China, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Iran, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Russia, Syria, Ukraine, Uruguay, US/Southern, Venezuela & Vietnam.

Thank you to everyone who attended and the many volunteers who came together to make this event a success!

Table Hosts and Volunteers: Cristina Schulze, Katiane Gomes, Elizabeth Jenkins, Jordyne Wu & Jie Go, Lina Zou, Hana Zou, Alexander Lee & Iris Tang, Onaika Santana, Angela Polanco, Elizabeth Roller Apgar, Nader, Ereeny, Marvy & Vironia El Gouna, the Sundram Family, Ms Anderson & Mrs Barboni, Mrs Bennington, Crista Cavicchio, Maha Farhat, Rodrigo Canales, Krysia Villon, Anna Sicam, Agnes Pietrzyk, Monika Sawicka, Amara Donovan, Rebecca Robles, Lauren Myers & Fede Arellano, Margarita Bockorny, Mandy Carozza, Alex Rolfe, Alberto & Gabriela Pina, Hai Ly, Kyra Mercado, Tamara Peshkova, Turkan Aliyeva, Nelly Vavu, Eugene Rhee, Leah Richardson, Emily Archibald, and Rachanee Nelson.

Special thanks to Principal Green and Bigelow Custodians for all their help and the Bigelow students and siblings who pitched in!

Finally, HUGE thank you to Lanni Isenberg for spearheading this amazing event!

We are happy to share the amazing international music playlist Ms. Richardson assembled (with some help from Mr. Richardson!) incorporating Bigelow families’ suggestions: Bigelow Global Diversity Night Spotify Playlist

Would you like to see some more great events for your Bigelow student in the next school year? 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.

It is time to start to planning for the 2025-26 school year! We are actively recruiting for several positions that will be open next year as 8th grade families move on from Bigelow. Now is the ideal time to volunteer as overlap with current volunteers will make for an easy transition. In particular, we would like to identify volunteers for the following:

• President/Co-President Lead and support the team, preside over PTO meetings, serve as primary contact and representative of the PTO.
• Communications/Website Send weekly PTO newsletters and other communications. Maintain PTO website. **Training available from current volunteer!**
• 8th Grade Activities Organize transition activities for 8th grade class including fundraising, year-end celebrations, Moving On ceremony, etc.

In addition to the positions highlighted above, there are many other ways to get involved in the PTO. Please email bigelowbulldog@gmail.com if you are interested in volunteering or learning more about any of the opportunities to become involved with the Bigelow PTO. Co-volunteers welcome!

On Friday, March 7th, Bigelow 8th graders will hear the powerful story of the Holocaust survivor Elly Gotz. 

Elly Gotz was born in Kovno (Kaunas), Lithuania, in 1928. At the age of sixteen, Elly hid with his family in an underground bunker in the ghetto of Kovno, preparing to die rather than be found by Nazis. After surviving nearly three years in the ghetto, where thousands from the Jewish community were murdered, Elly and his family refused to be the next victims. In the summer of 1944, Elly and his father were taken to Kaufering, a brutal subcamp of Dachau concentration camp. After liberation, Elly was determined to regain his lost youth and education. The Gotz family moved to Norway, then Zimbabwe, before Elly settled in Toronto in 1964.

In Toronto, Elly established a number of different businesses and achieved his lifelong dream of becoming a pilot, later moving on to glider flying. In 2017, at the age of eighty-nine, he fulfilled another aeronautical dream by going skydiving. Elly has educated thousands of students through his work at the Neuberger Holocaust Education Centre.

Elly speaks about his own experience in the Holocaust and draws conclusions leading to his views on tolerance and awareness of political trends.

Creative Arts and Sciences (CAS) presentations are sponsored by your generous donations to the PTO.

We are restarting an old Bigelow tradition of the Ten Tables progressive dinner on Saturday, April 5th!

Ten Tables is a progressive mystery dinner and fundraiser. Everyone first gathers together for an opening appetizers party at the home of a Bigelow family. There you receive your dinner destination. After appetizers, everyone splits up into smaller groups for dinner hosted at a number of other families’ homes.

This promises to be a wonderful night of community-building, and a great way to raise money to support our PTO. If you are interested in hosting either the appetizers gathering or one of the dinners, please send an email to the PTO at bigelowbulldog@gmail.com or contact Kathy Shields at kburdetteshields@yahoo.com.

We are looking forward to seeing everyone next Tuesday, March 4th at 6:30pm in the gym for Bigelow Global Diversity Night!

We have heard from many families and teachers who will host a country/culture table – it’s sure to be a great night for our community!  We have representation from Italy, Peru, Brazil, India, Chile, Uruguay, Lebanon, China, Egypt, US/Southern, Philippines, Venezuela, Vietnam, Argentina & the Dominican Republic! And, it’s not too late to join. We are finalizing country/culture tables on Friday, February 28th, so please sign up sign up to host a table/join a table and/or volunteer by Friday.

Feel free to contact Lanni with any questions or suggestions: lanni_harris@yahoo.com.