Support Our School Library

Honor a graduate or thank a teacher at the end of this school year by purchasing a book through the Support Our School Library  website. This service allows you to choose a book and include a personalized bookplate to honor a student or thank a staff member at Bigelow. In addition, each book is bound in a special way to make it last and processed quickly so students can have it in their hands as soon as possible. Consider donating today to help maintain Bigelow Library’s rich collection of independent reading books. Donations can be made through the end of the school year. Thank you, in advance, for your generosity.

Lets get together and celebrate the 2018-2019 School Year

All are invited to our last meeting of the year, when we are going to celebrate the 2018-2019 school year with light refreshments and good talks! We would love to see you there!

This is a great time for rising 8th grade parents to learn about all of the 8th grade activities next year and how they can get involved. Rising 6th grade parents will have the opportunity to get to know their new PTO and what we do for the school and the students.

We will present the 2019/20 budget and show how the PTO uses all the money raised by our community. The incoming leadership will be brought forward for a vote of Bigelow parents, guardians, teachers and staff. We still have open positions to fill!! If you would like to become more involved in the strategic aspect of the Bigelow PTO, helping direct and manage the overall program for 2019/20, you are encouraged to join the board or one of the committees.

PTO Annual Meeting
Monday, June 3rd 2019, from 7pm to 8pm
Bigelow Library

Proposed 2019-2020 Officers and Nominating Committee Members

  • Co-Presidents – Karen Markson and Una Simmons
  • Vice President – Joana Canedo
  • Treasurer  – Linda Bentley Gillespie and one open
  • Secretary – open
  • Nominating Committee – 5 open

Please look here for committee positions still open.

Hope to see you all there!

Honor Your Child’s Teachers and Support Newton Schools Foundation

The school year is quickly coming to an end! If you want to do something special for your child’s teachers or other staff this year, consider the Newton Schools Foundation’s Honor Thy Teacher program.

When you donate to NSF in the name of one or more teachers, notifications will be sent to each teacher honored, as well as to the Principal and the Superintendent. Teachers’ names will appear in a special announcement on the NSF website and in the Newton TAB. If you have kids in elementary school, look for a letter coming home in backpacks or via US Mail for those with students in the upper grades. You can also donate online at www.newtonschoolsfoundation.org/honor-thy-teacher.

Your tax-deductible donation will support NSF-funded grants to the Newton Public Schools encompassing art, civics, math, music, science, social and cultural studies, literature, writing instruction, and social-emotional learning.

For a complete list of current grants and check out a video on NSF-funded programs visit http://newtonschoolsfoundation.org/programs-we-fund.

Thank you, parents and guardians, and thank you to all our educators!

The Natural Wonders of Cold Spring Park

Local naturalist and founder of The Caterpillar Lab Sam Jaffe will present “The Natural Wonders of Cold Spring Park”. This event is open to the public and co-sponsored by the Zervas PTO and the newly formed Friends of Cold Spring Park. Anyone is welcome and refreshments will be served.

Learn about:
• The park’s many diverse habitats and inhabitants;
• How Zervas classes are utilizing the park;
• Threats to the park’s ecosystem, and how to help preserve it;
• Plans to rehabilitate the trails and progress to date.

June 3rd,  7:30 pm in the Zervas cafetorium (Henry Finch of the Newton Conservators will lead an optional tour of Cold Spring Park at 6:30 pm. Meet for the walk at the Zervas main entrance.

Newton Creates- Community Art Project

Come to the Newton Free Library for a community art project to help raise awareness for mental health and suicide prevention. All ages are welcome! Place your piece in the mosaic, enjoy music and food, enter to win free raffle prizes, and help support our community of caring. Artist Emily Bhargava will lend her creative talents to help create a mosaic to be hung outside the Health and Human Services Department at Newton City Hall. Come be a part of our community of caring.

June 4th, any time between 6:30 – 8:30 pm

Scott Magoon Author Appearance

Scott Magoon, celebrated author and illustrator, gives children and families insight into his creative process including his latest publication Linus The Little Yellow Pencil. He is also the illustrator of many other books for children including Rescue & Jessica: A Life-Changing Friendship, the winner of the Schneider Family Book Award. Scott will be available to sign books directly after his presentation. For more information, please contact the library at 617-796-1360.

June 5th, 7:00 pm
Newton Free Library

Cabot Carr-nival

The Cabot Carr-nival Committee would like to invite all school families to this fun, annual event.  There will be lots of fun games, inflatables, prizes, a pizza truck, ice cream and much more.

Also this year, the Cabot Carr-nival is piloting a new initiative to make this great community event more accessible and inclusive to all families. To accomplish this goal, we are introducing the following:

1. Noise cancelling headphones available for checkout
2. Craft/sensory table for all kids that need a little down time
3. Break away room to go to if kids get too overwhelmed
4. Bubble machine (thanks to the NECP PTO)

To view the flyer, please click Cabot Carr-nival

June 8th,  10:00 am – 2:00 pm

CPC Discussion of Riverside Greenway

The Community Preservation Committee’s agenda includes discussing a pre-proposal from the Riverside Greenway Working group for funding to design a trail along the Charles River between Riverside and Auburndale.

The full agenda and pre-proposal are on the program website at www.newtonma.gov/cpa.

June 11th, 7:00 pm, Newton City Hall, Room 204

Linda Plaut Tribute

Artists and community members will celebrate Linda Plaut’s long time devotion to Newton arts and culture with performances and presentations at a special tribute. If your family ever participated in Time for Partners, Kids FEST, Heartbreak Hill Races, Newton Youth Players, Newton Spelling Bee, 4th of July Festivities, the Halloween Window Painting Contest, or the Mayor’s New Year’s Day Open House, then your lives were touched by Linda Plaut. These events are just a very small list of the hundreds of events she developed over 40 years of service to Newton.

Please come pay your respects to Linda’s enduring legacy of arts, culture, and most of all, community. Light refreshments will be served.  Any questions, please call Paula Gannon: 617-796-1540.

June 16th, 3:00 –  5:00 pm
The Newton Cultural Center in Memorial Auditorium at Newton City Hall

Help Reduce Risk of Gun Violence

With the recent spate of school shootings, many people are asking, “What can I do?” In Massachusetts, we are lucky to have some of the strongest gun laws in the country, corresponding to relatively low rates of gun ownership and gun violence.

Yet, even here in Newton, guns have a significant presence.  On June 15th, Newton is providing a concrete, practical way to help reduce the risk of gun violence right here in our community. The Newton Police Department, Middlesex Sheriff’s Office, and the Newton Interfaith Clergy Association will team up to hold the first gun buyback in Newton in over 10 years.

Gun buybacks provide a safe way for residents to anonymously remove firearms from their homes, no questions asked, in exchange for grocery store gift cards. People participate for many reasons, including wanting to protect their children, ridding their homes of inherited or unwanted guns, or simply in response to tragedies in the news.

We believe that if we can help facilitate the removal of even one gun from our community that might be used in a teen suicide, or stolen from someone’s home to be used in a crime, then we believe it is our obligation to do so.

You can be a part of this effort. Donations in the form of a $25.00 gift cards from Wegmans, Whole Foods, or Stop & Shop (or checks from individuals or businesses to purchase gift cards) can be mailed to The Second Church, 60 Highland St., Newton, MA 02465.

Thank you for making a difference!