Bus Driver/Crossing Guard Appreciation

Interested in thanking our crossing guards, bus drivers, and van drivers? Newton Safe Routes to School normally hosts Bus Driver/Crossing Guard Appreciation Day in June each year to thank these important community safety helpers.

This year instead appreciation will be in the form of a photo collage from grateful families all across Newton. If you’d like to participate, make a sign thanking them, hold it up, snap a pic, and email it to newtonsaferoutes@gmail.com by Friday, June 5th. Adults and kids alike are welcome to make signs! Please note that the photo will be shared.

May is National Bike Month. For tips on bike sizing, the ABC’s and helmet fit, visit www.newtonsaferoutes.org.

Join our Board in 2021-2022!

Please throw your hat in the ring by Wednesday, May 27th, so we can prepare a slate to be voted by all parents on Tuesday, Jun 2, 2020.
(Save the date! – All parents and guardians are invited to our Annual budget and voting meeting).

We have several PTO Board and committee roles open and we would love to have representation from all feeder schools. We are looking for leaders to share positions with the current board members, in order to ensure continuity to ur programs.

  • Co-President (1): Rotating leaders who are accountable for the success of the PTO
  • Vice President (1): Work with board and committee chairs to coordinate fundraising activities
  • Secretary (1): Take minutes, keep the PTO calendar current, communication flow
  • Creative Arts & Sciences (2): Help enrich the curriculum by planning cultural events for the student body
  • More opportunities listed HERE.

Yes, I want to get involved

This is a great opportunity to get involved, stay connected with our Bigelow community, get to know teachers, staff and families from other schools! Parents and guardians from all grades may join! We especially welcome parents of incoming 6th grades to participate and learn more about middle school.

Emergency Housing Relief Program

Are you struggling to pay your rent because you have lost income due to COVID-19?

The City of Newton in partnership with Metro West Collaborative Development is providing three months of rent assistance to qualified individuals and families. Please see the flyer HERE and visit the web page at COVID-19 EMERGENCY HOUSING RELIEF PROGRAM for details and application instructions. The application deadline is June 3, 2020.

This information is also available in Arabic الترجمة العربية ; Chinese 简体中文; Japanese 日本語; Korean 한국어; Portuguese português; Russian русский; Spanish español; Turkish Türk Dili; and Vietnamese Tiếng Việt.

Contact Robyn to begin the process by emailing robyn@metrowestcd.org or calling 617-923-3505 x 5. Translation services available. Applications received after June 3rd will be added to the bottom of the list and considered while funding lasts.

Navigating the college application process: a panel discussion webinar

The college search and application process can be complicated and taxing for students and parents alike. Want to learn how to make the process easier? Come to a free panel discussion webinar with former Newton South PTSO co-chair Betsy Blagdon, writing coach Jane Hirschhorn, psychologist Debbie Offner and college counselor Maruta Vitols.

The webinar is free and is sponsored in part by the Newton Free Library. Registration is required and is capped at 100 attendees, but the webinar will be recorded.

You can register for the panel discussion here. For more information, contact jane@jbhtutoring.com or NCPanelNewton@gmail.com.

June 4th,  7:00 – 8:00 pm

Latin tutor available

Preethika Vemula, a rising sophomore at Newton South High School, is offering online tutoring services in Latin. She is available Monday through Friday from June 29th to August 28th and is offering classes to students in Middle School or in levels Latin I – III in High School.

Preethika studied Latin for the past three years and has peer tutoring background. She learned all basic grammar and has experience with beginner prose and poetry. She received a silver medal and Maxima Cum Laude certificate in Level III of the National Latin Exam.

Please contact Preethika by emailing vemulaptk@gmail.com.

Summer programs for public speaking and debate!

Lumos is running online summer programs through Zoom that teach public speaking and debate! All Lumos programs have a 4:1 student-teacher ratio and offer daily one-on-one coaching sessions with the instructors. Each day is designed to be fun, engaging, and active, even in an online format! Go to LumosDebate.com to register for summer!

They are are also running 1-day trial workshops 10:00 am – 2:00 pm, from May 23rd to June 7th. Sign up for a trial workshop at https://www.lumosdebate.com/summer-posts/trial-workshop.

Apart but still together. We are Bigelow!

Message from the Bigelow Staff – 

We miss you! We’re thinking of you all the time, and hope you are doing well. Here’s a music video we put together for you with a special appearance from Ms. Gao’s real bulldogs Mr. Mosley and Princess Charlotte!

If you haven’t had a chance to view the music video made by Bigelow staff, please do so. As the music and signs convey, we miss seeing your children in person, and want to send our words of encouragement to them.  We know how hard this long disruption has been for them, so we hope the video gives them a lift.  Here is the link:  Bigelow Music Video

By the way… Can you guess who the bulldog is?

Special thanks to school psychologist Dr. J. for making it. Be safe. Be strong. Be Bigelow 3.0!