Dear Students and Parents,
Below is a link to a video message from me to all Bigelow students. Parents, please make sure that you share it with your child or children at Bigelow.
Greetings from Mr. Harrison1
I hope you are all doing well. Be strong. Be Bigelow!
Todd
Newton Public Schools is committed to helping families that may need access to devices at home in order to engage in online learning opportunities. If you do not have a web-capable device at home other than a cell phone (such as an iPad, Chromebook, PC, or Mac) please complete this request form (https://forms.gle/K3SgotNY38V1ncNe9) Our technology support team will be in touch with you to discuss next steps.
For information on low-cost internet/phone options please visit: https://docs.google.com/
NPS has created a dedicated email address for families to request technical support with accessing learning materials and/or student accounts. Please email us at: familytechsupport@newton.k12.ma.us
*Please note that this is not for troubleshooting home network issues. Please contact your ISP provider if you are having trouble connecting with your internet service.
Message from 8th Grade Project 351 Ambassadors –
Good morning families! We hope everyone is doing well and staying safe! We know lots of families are taking this time to do some possibly much-needed spring cleaning, and if you are cleaning out closets and dressers for too small or unwanted clothes, hold on to them until school starts up again. Once school starts, you can quickly drop new or gently worn clothes off at Bigelow to be donated to Cradles to Crayons. Cradles to Crayons is an amazing organization that helps millions of kids each year and helps children in need. Spring cleaning is the perfect way to support their organization and make a difference in a child’s life. We will be collecting the following:
There will be boxes located right outside the office for your generous donations when school returns! Thank you and stay safe!
All District Updates related to Covid-19 can be found at the NPS website: https://www.newton.k12.ma.us/Page/3636
Message from Newton Community Pride –
We are sorry to inform that NewtonSERVES on Sunday April 26, 2020 is cancelled. NewtonSERVES is about connecting and coming together to do work that benefits our community. While we do this on NewtonSERVES day altogether, we also each do this every day in a million small ways! In these very uncertain times, please keep your neighbors and friends in mind. Wishing you and your family all the best.
We realize these can be complicated times for many in our community. But we can help each other! Please fill out this form if you are looking for assistance OR if you are able to offer help. (Note that all information is only visible to the PTO Board)
Bigelow Families Support Network Form
If you would like to speak with someone instead of answering this form, please reach out!
Text or call: (617) 631-0625
Email: bigelowbulldog@gmail.com
Take care and stay healthy!
Below is a list of Bigelow contacts if you need additional information or have other questions:
If you….
❏ have a general question about school, contact Mr. Harrison: harrisont@newton.k12.ma.us
❏ have concerns about my child’s social emotional needs, contact your child’s guidance counselor or the school psychologist:
❏ have a concern about your child’s health, contact Head of School Nurses, Ruth Hoshino hoshinor@newton.k12.ma.us
❏ have a question about your student’s learning: Contact your child’s team teacher.
❏ your child is on a 504 or IEP and you have a question about their needs or questions about special education services: Contact Assistant Principal for Student Services, Courtney Rau Rogers raurogersc@newton.k12.ma, or your child’s caseworker.
Note from Mr. Harrison:
You can expect:
● Your child’s team teachers will be in touch with you and your child via email or video by the end of this Friday, and then once a week afterwards.
● Team teachers will share with your child learning activities for each week. The learning activities will be standards-based grade level content activities that may review material already learned and deepen understanding. They will not serve to teach new content, be collected or graded, or be used as assessment toward term grades.
● In addition to the learning activities shared by teachers, NPS has created online resources called “NPS Learning from Home” that can be found by following the link below: www.newton.k12.ma.us/covid19
● Guidance counselors will be available to connect families with community resources and offer social emotional support. They are also a resource for questions about connecting with teachers.
● Special Education liaisons will be in touch weekly to ensure that students on their caseload have access to enrichment activities and to support students’ social emotional needs through virtual connections.
● The Bigelow administration will be available to respond to parent inquiries. The best way to reach us is via email, which we will be checking daily.
● All Bigelow faculty will be checking emails daily.
● I will send out a weekly email or video in an effort to maintain our strong community connections.
Thank you for your patience as we have worked with our NPS administrators and faculty to determine the best way to provide learning opportunities to our students during this extended school closure.
As many of you have quickly learned over the past few days, it is not possible to truly replicate the traditional PreK-12 school day at home. School is a place where learning is engaging, creative, and differentiated. It is a place where students receive academic, as well as social and emotional supports. And so, while we cannot re-create the school day at home, we can provide you with resources that will provide continuity of learning for our students during this uncertain time.
On this page, you will find links to resource pages our teachers and staff have compiled for families. The resources are divided by level (PreK-5, Middle, High) and many are further divided into “Review and Practice,” “Games and Activities,” and “Extend Your Thinking.” These materials and activities are not intended to replace classroom instruction or to substitute for it in any way. They are meant to help your student remain connected to school and engaged in learning and to help you, as parent/guardian, create routines to help manage at home while we are out of school.
Over the next three weeks, teachers will be reaching out through weekly communication to their classes with specific recommendations for learning activities that students and families complete each week. These activities are grade appropriate and can be completed by students independently or with support from their family. Special education staff, English language learning teachers, and counselors and other staff are also available to communicate with students and families. In addition, we have developed a Frequently Asked Questions document to answer questions you might have.
If you need access to a device or assistance with internet connectivity in your home, please visit our technology page for more information.
We realize these can be complicated times for many in our community. But we can help each other!
Please fill out this form if you are looking for assistance OR if you are able to offer help. (Note that all information is only visible to the PTO Board)
Bigelow Families Support Network Form
If you would like to speak with someone instead of answering this form, please reach out!
Text or call: (617) 631-0625
Email: bigelowbulldog@gmail.com
Take care and stay healthy!
Other Community Resources