City of Newton – Requesting All Community Members!

What values do you think should guide village center zoning updates? How do you experience Newton’s village centers and what do you hope for their future? The City of Newton is asking community members these questions until the end of October 3rd! If you only have a couple of minutes, ‘vote’ on at least 10 statements in this online interactive forum. If you have more time, do a Vision Kit with your neighbors and family. Read more about how you can contribute your thoughts in this first phase of engagement for village center zoning districts in our Zoning Redesign July newsletter!  

Thanks in advance for considering!

Best,

Nevena                                                   

………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Nevena Pilipović-Wengler | Community Engagement Planner

Pronouns*: she, her, hers

City of Newton Planning & Development Department

1000 Commonwealth Ave | Newton, MA 02459

Desk: (617) 796-1140

npilipovicwengler@newtonma.gov | newtonma.gov/gov/planning

LEARN-TO-SKATE LESSONS IN THE NEWTON AREA

Do you want to introduce your kids to ice skating or get them ready for hockey, recreational or figure skating and give them the opportunity to skate with other kids their age?   Bay State Skating School is a non-profit organization that has for more than 50 years dedicated itself to introducing kids to the joys of ice skating.  Professional Instructors teach Recreational, Figure and Hockey skating skills to children ages 4 to 18 years old – from absolute beginners to experienced skaters.

Classes are held in 10 rinks throughout the Newton– Boston area and registration is open now.

For more information, check out our website and registration information at www.baystateskatingschool.org.

Bigelow PTO Family Directory

The Bigelow PTO Family Directory is hosted online at Membership Toolkit. The access is free and it can be used by all Bigelow families. The directory is run and funded by the PTO thanks to your support!

The online platform is a secure and easy to use tool that organizes contact information from all Bigelow families unless they specifically opt out.  It is a convenient, environmentally conscious system, that can be updated throughout the school year.

Please confirm that your information is correct and up-to-date. Specific directions for accessing the Directory and verifying contact information is below.

Incoming 6th graders from Underwood, Lincoln-Eliot and Ward, have been automatically added to Bigelow’s Directory. The Membership Toolkit account for Bigelow will use the same login as your elementary school. Mason Rice and out of the district families will need to enter their information manually (see directions for new users below).

ACCESS THE DIRECTORY

Instructions: Accessing and Adding/Verifying Information

  • Login as RETURNING USER, using the same login as last year at Bigelow or your elementary school, if you are:
        • Returning Bigelow family
        • Incoming families from Lincoln-Eliot, Underwood and Ward
  • Login as NEW USER, and create a new account if you are:
    • Incoming families from Mason-Rice and out of the district
    • New families with students in Grade 7 and Grade 8
  • Click “Verify my email” and then check your email for a link to complete the process. The link expires in 2 hours. If you do not receive the email, check your spam or junk folders.
  • Once you have verified your email address, log back in and finish the registration process.

STEP 1: Complete the Parent/Family and then Student Information. Most of this information should already be available. Please just confirm it is correct. Or add new contact information.

STEP 2: Complete theDirectory/Publish Preferences.

Note: Once the Primary Account is set up, the Primary User can “invite” other email addresses to access his/her account. This allows the Secondary User to have their own login information, but still have access to the family account.

If you are unfamiliar with the platform, if you have forgotten your directory access login, or if you are unsure about whether or not you are in it, please email us with your name and your child’s name(s) at bigelowbulldog@gmail.com.

The success of the system is dependent on every family logging in and updating their information. Families can edit their name, address, and phone numbers, and each family can decide which pieces of information will be available for others to view through the privacy settings.

2020-21 Yearbook Update

Yearbooks will be distributed to seventh and eighth graders who placed an order last year during lunches on Tuesday, September 14th.

We have a limited supply of extra yearbooks for sale. Students who did not place an order but want to purchase last year’s yearbook can do so on Tuesday during lunches as well. The price is $25, cash or check’s made out to Bigelow Middle School.

Join Bigelow Middle School FORJ to Help Strengthen Bigelow’s Work around Racial Justice!

Bigelow Middle School FORJ (Bigelow FORJ)  is a school-based chapter of Newton’s Families Organizing for Racial Justice (FORJ). 

Bigelow FORJ is a group of devoted parents, faculty and administrators committed to raising anti-racist children who acknowledge the pervasiveness of systemic barriers; speak out against injustices; and seek action-oriented solutions.  We invite parents and children to engage in critical conversations that support questioning, challenging and dismantling systemic racism, structural inequities, including anti-Blackness, racial discrimination, unconscious biases and all other forms of racial injustice and social exclusion.

Please email us at bigelowforj@gmail.com and tell us if

  • you would like to get our monthly announcements;
  • you’d like to join our leadership committee;
  • you have some ideas about how to promote antiracist work at Bigelow; and/or
  • you’d like to participate in broader conversations on antiracism, diversity & inclusion.

Free STEM enrichment program for Bigelow students

Yuen Ler Chow and Elena Su are current freshmen at Harvard and MIT and the co-founders of the Greater Boston STEM Program (gbSTEM), an enrichment program that delivers free introductory computer science, math, and engineering courses to elementary and middle school students in the Greater Boston area. Since March 2020, their team of dedicated high school and college volunteers have brought free lessons to over 500 Massachusetts youth. Classes will be held both in-person and through Zoom, and will offer an innovative curriculum and collaboration-based learning model.

The fall semester of gbSTEM will run from September 26th to December 18th, 2021.

The registration deadline is September 17th, 2021.

Information about the program and the registration form can be found at https://gbstem.org

If you have any questions, please contact gbstemprogram@gmail.com.