Mental Health Workshop – Youth Services – October 26, 2021

 “Addressing Family Stress,” offered in partnership with Families for Depression Awareness on Tuesday, October 26 from 6:30pm-8:00pm.   

The program will be facilitated by Families for Depression Awareness and delivered by a licensed mental health professional. 

Families and caregivers will learn how to identify symptoms of stress in themselves and family members, manage stress as a family, respond when symptoms become “more than stress,” and get help for themselves or a family member.

Newton Wellesley Hospital Healthcare Career Exploration Series – Free & Virtual

Newton Wellesley Hospital is offering a FREE virtual Healthcare Career Exploration Series this upcoming fall/winter for the young people of Newton and surrounding communities!!  This is a four-part series that explores the various careers in the healthcare industry, as well as the education required for these careers.   

Please see attached flyer and details below: 

  • Professional Clinical Roles, Part 1
    • Wednesday, October 20, 2021 to include Physician, Nurse, Nurse Practitioner, Physician Assistant, Pharmacist and Psychologist
  • Professional Clinical Roles, Part 2
    • Wednesday, November 17, 2021 to include Mental Health Specialist, Child Life Specialist, Social Worker, Community Health Worker and Occupational Therapist
  • Roles for Requiring 2 Year Degree or Less
    • Wednesday, December 15, 2021 to include Patient Care Assistant, Medical Assistant, Respiratory Therapy, Medical Laboratory Assistant (Phlebotomy), Support Services (Environmental Services, Nutrition services, Transport and Materials Management
  • Tech Roles
    • Wednesday, January 19, 2022 to include Radiology Tech, Central Sterile Tech, Medical Tech in the Lab, Pharmacy Tech, Surgical Tech and Physical Therapy Assistant

Young people interested in learning more are encouraged to register for the series by clicking the following link or the link on the flyer below:   https://partners.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KTaUBxj5RG-DWcOji1mMmQ.  

For more information or if you have any questions please contact Newton Wellesley Hospital, NWHcollaborative@partners.org.

Register for Newton Girls Basketball today!

Registration is Now Open!

We are thrilled to welcome players back to the court for the 2021 – 2022 NGBA Season!  NGBA is a recreational basketball league for girls in grades 2 – 8 offering fun for beginner and experienced players alike!  We welcome Newton residents, as well as players from neighboring communities.   Come join us and bring a friend!  We appreciate your sharing this information with anyone who may be interested.

Registration Period
October 1 – November 5.
After November 5, a $20 late fee will apply and we cannot guarantee a spot on a team or accommodate a friend request. 

Registration Fees
Grade 2: $145, plus a $3 service fee charged by our registration service.
Grades 3 – 8: $175, plus a $3 service fee charged by our registration service.

Sibling Discount
NGBA provides a $20 discount per-child for the second child in the same family and on each additional child (3rd or beyond). All children must be registered using the same Sports Connect account to receive the sibling discount.  The discount will automatically apply at checkout.

Financial Aid
If your family is experiencing financial hardship, the registration fee may be waived upon request (strict confidence will be observed).  

Refunds
Players who withdraw by November 15, 2021 will receive a partial refund; $25 of the fee is nonrefundable. No refunds are available for players withdrawing after November 15th.  If the NGBA season is cancelled due to social distancing measures, school closures or other unforeseen circumstances, registrants will receive a partial refund of applicable registration fees.  See NGBA website for details.

Season Dates
Grade 2: Sessions run on Saturdays, December 4 – March 5.  Select a 9:00, 10:00 or 11:00 AM session time when you register.   There are no teams or weekday practices for Grade 2. The Grade 2 program is focused on a fun, learning environment.

Grades 3 – 8: 1-hour practices begin the week of November 29.  You may select one day on the registration form that you are NOT able to practice. Otherwise practice times will be assigned according to coach availability (Monday – Thursday).  Games are played Saturdays, December 4 – March 5.

If there is a snow day, the season will be extended to March 12.  There are no games or practices during school vacations (12/25/19 – 1/1/20, 2/19/20 – 2/26/20).
This is an all volunteer league.  Please consider signing up to coach when you register your 3rd – 8th grade child.  

REGISTER NOW

Registration for the NGBA 2021-2022 season will open October 2nd

NGBA is a recreational basketball league for Newton girls with fun for beginners and experienced players alike! Games are played on Saturdays for all grades, starting December 4th and continuing into mid-March; for Grades 3-8 practices are for 1-hour on one evening during the week (Mon-Thurs). You will be able to select one day on the registration form that you are NOT able to practice. Otherwise practice times will be assigned according to coach availability. There are no weekday practices for Grade 2. The Grade 2 program is focused on a fun, learning environment.

To obtain additional details and to find out more about the league,
visit the NGBA website at

http://www.newtongirlsbball.com/

The Resilience Project’s Parents & Caregivers Program: workshops, talks, and webinars throughout the year

The Parents & Caregivers Program is part of The Resilience Project, an innovative community health initiative based out of Newton-Wellesley Hospital. They offer a range of FREE or low-fee educational resources for parents and caregivers with a particular focus on supporting our local communities, including Natick, Needham, Newton, Waltham, Wellesley, and Weston. Philanthropic support has made it possible to expand its reach to include free services for middle and high schools in our catchment areas, and this includes Bigelow.

The Resilience Project’s Parents & Caregivers Program offers parenting workshops, talks, and webinars throughout the year. Their programming includes:  

  • Building Resilience Series – a free monthly virtual event series co-organized with The Resilience Project’s School Program focusing on different topics related to supporting the emotional wellness and mental health of students  
  • Parenting Through COVID-19 Webinar Series – free webinars for parents including various topics such as Parenting and Fostering Resilience, Managing Parent Anxiety, Navigating Summer, Parenting Through School Transitions, with more webinars to come  
  • Parent Talks/Seminars – one-time educational presentations offered by request throughout the year on a variety of topis (e.g., resilience and mental health, anxiety and school avoidance, screens, substance use) to meet the needs of individual schools and/or parent groups  
  • Raising Resilient Teens Parent Workshop – a seven-week virtual skills-based workshop offered every fall, winter, and spring 
  • Additional Parent Groups/Workshops including Raising Resilient Kids Parent Workshop – coming soon!  

To learn more, please contact NWHResilienceProject@partners.org, visit nwh.org/resilienceproject and follow @NWHResilienceProject on Facebook.

2020 – 2021 yearbooks for sale! 

If you didn’t order a yearbook last year but you still want one, your student can bring $25 dollars cash or check* to Ms. Rice in room 210. Students can pick up a copy before school, after school, or during 4th block.

* make checks payable to “Bigelow Middle School”

COVID Testing Upate

From Newton Public Schools:

Dear NPS Families,

We continued implementation of the weekly COVID testing program this week, prioritizing those schools that were missed last week. Testing went more smoothly, with increased staffing and adjustments to our testing protocols.

As CIC Health continues to recruit and train the staff necessary to conduct weekly testing in all of our schools, we will continue with our phased-in approach to weekly testing. We believe this is the best approach so as not to compromise our ability to effectively implement our Test and Stay testing program, which is vital to minimizing interruptions to student learning.

Therefore, for the week of October 4th, we will test students and staff in 13 buildings (9 elementary schools, 4 middle schools – only 6th grade) to ensure available staffing resources match the needs of each building. The schedule for the week of October 4th is linked here: CIC Public Testing Schedule and is also shown below. We anticipate the schedule will shift from week to week until the staffing challenges are resolved.

Until we feel confident in CIC Health’s ability to scale the weekly testing operation with adequate staffing, the weekly testing program for grades 7-12+ will remain on hold. However, the symptomatic and Test and Stay testing continues to be available as appropriate.

As communicated in the district newsletter on Wednesday, we did make some changes to the testing procedures. For reference, those changes are listed below.

Testing Procedure Changes:

  • Aligned the CIC Health staff training process with Newton health and safety practices.
  • Standardized the testing process across schools.
  • Consulted with CIC Health and the Broad Institute to modify the testing protocol to utilize a nose wipe instead of a nose blow.
  • Switched to a single nasal swab collection to improve efficiency on testing day. Positive pool results will be followed up with a rapid antigen test at school.
  • Conferred with our Medical Advisory Group to obtain approval of our testing procedures in school buildings.
  • Adjusted and refined clerical procedures to ensure accuracy in student testing rosters.

Testing will take place on Friday at Bigelow (6th grade only).

Indigenous Peoples Day Newton!

Newton’s first official Indigenous Peoples Day Ceremonial Celebration will take place on Monday, October 11 from noon-5pm, at Albemarle Park. Indigenous Peoples Day Newton 2021 will spotlight and celebrate the music, dance, poetry, and the visual art of diverse Native artists who currently live in the Northeast. It will be an outdoor, daytime, family-oriented cultural and spiritual celebration that is open, accessible, and welcoming to all residents of Newton and neighboring towns. Organized by the Indigenous- led, volunteer IPD Newton Committee, this ceremonial celebration is made possible through the support of Newton Community Pride.

The goal is to make concrete our city’s recent recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day as an official city holiday. The intention is for this event to become a beloved annual event on our city’s calendar.

Over 40 artists, performers, speakers, vendors, and community organizations will attend. Refreshments can be purchased from onsite food truck(s).  Spend the afternoon in celebration, ceremony, and support of the rich Indigenous traditions that are an enduring and vibrant facet of our community!