Trial Classes for Incoming Kindergartners

Studio of Engaging Math is scheduling trial classes for rising kindergartners. The kindergarten program is a fun and playful program that introduces important abstract concepts to your youngest learners. Many children think of math as boring and dry, and they start developing math anxiety as early as first grade. This class captures children’s interest now while they don’t have any preconceptions about the subject.

Learning through play captivates children’s attention like nothing else. They’ll be  to spatial reasoning, number sense, geometry, critical thinking through engaging activities and games.

These trial classes are specifically designed for you and you child to have an opportunity to try out the program. They are FREE OF CHARGE. Please register HERE to reserve a place.

For more information please visit the website www.engagingmath.com.

What’s Happening at the West Suburban YMCA

Healthy Kids Day – Inspiring kids to live up to their potential by being healthy, active and engaged! Join this free family event featuring healthy games and activities. Join in for a fun afternoon including:

• Bike decorating station and bike parade
• Book swap station – bring a book to donate and swap!
• Demonstration by players from BC Football
• Curious Creatures wild animal exhibit
• Bouncy house
• Obstacle course
• Face painting
• Live music
• Healthy snacks
• Free bike helmets and t-shirts while supplies last!

All event attendees are encouraged to bring their bikes and a book. Bring your bicycle for decorating and to join the bike parade around the track, and bring a book for the Book Swap Station to help counter summer learning loss and awaken imagination!
April 27th, 2:30 – 4:30 pm

Kids Night Out – Parents, drop off your kids for a fun Friday night with the Y’s staff. They’ll order pizza for dinner and keep the children entertained with games, swimming, movies and sports. $25 per child for Y members and $30 for the community. A 20% discount is offered per child for those with two or more children. Go out for the night and take advantage of this low-cost alternative to hiring a babysitter. Contact Jillian Finnigan at jillianf@wsymca.org for more information.
May 3rd, 6:00 – 10:00 pm

Poetry Night – Organized by Barbara Helfogtt-Hyett of Poemworks, the event features readings by two local poets, then guests are invited to participate in the open mic portion of evening to share their own written work. This event is free and open to the public.
May 3rd, 7:00 – 9:00 pm

Family Fun Night – Bring the whole family to the Y for some family fun time. Featuring arts & crafts, bouncy house, gym games and more! Free and open to all. Family Fun Nights occur on the second Tuesday of every month.
May 14th, 6:00 – 7:00 pm

Summer Camp Open Houses – Learn about the Y’s summer camps, meet the staff, take a tour, and discover which camp is right for your child.

YMCA Camp Pikati is day camp at the West Suburban YMCA in Newton for ages 3-15
Open House May 11th from 2:00 – 4:00 pm or June 10th from 6:00 – 8:00 pm

YMCA Camp Chickami is day camp in Wayland, MA for grades 1-10
Open House May 11th from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm or June 6th from 6:00 – 8:00 pm

YMCA Camp Frank A. Day is overnight camp in East Brookfield, MA for ages 7-16
Open House May 19th from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm or June 2nd from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner – The West Suburban YMCA’s Annual Meeting & Awards Dinner celebrates the people who help fulfill their promise to strengthen the community – our members, staff, and volunteers! Join as they introduce new board members, take a look back at highlights from 2018, recognize generous donors and the people who make a difference at the Y. Please RSVP if you plan on attending the event: www.wsymca.org/rsvp
May 16th, 6:00 – 8:00 pm

Safety Around Water Open House – We’re creating a new wave of impact! Join the Y for a free water safety open house, which includes a swim lesson and parent resources. All ages are welcome and encouraged to attend! Water safety and learning to swim are vital life skills that should be taught just as readily as looking both ways before crossing the street. With summer right around the corner, this is a great time for parents to remember the importance of equipping children (and themselves!) with essential water safety skills. Please RSVP to this event here: www.wsymca.org/water-safety
May 19th, 12:00 – 2:30 pm

Intro to Women’s Self Defense Class – The West Suburban YMCA is proud to collaborate with the Newton Police Department to host the Intro to Women’s Self Defense class. In this three-hour class, participants will learn risk reduction strategies, physical techniques and basic combative moves. During the final part of the class, the Newton Police Instructors will put on protective suits and allow participants to practice what they just learned on a moving person. This event is free to attend, but pre-registration is required as space in the class is limited.
May 29th, 6:00 – 9:00 pm

Work at the Y: The West Suburban YMCA is hiring for a variety of full-time and part-time positions in child care and youth development, aquatics, fitness and more. Great benefits, free membership and professional development opportunities. Please contact Laura Snow at lauras@wsymca.org or visit wsymca.org/careers.

The Etiquette Team Summer programs

The 5-day youth etiquette program is specifically developed for each age group: Mind Your Manners (grades 2-4), Etiquette for Middle Schoolers (grades 5-8), and College Prep: Professional Demeanor (grades 9-12).

The program covers topics such as improving social and communication skills, projecting confidence, combating shyness, strengthening self-esteem and leadership skills, navigating friendships, resolving conflict, understanding social cues, basic manners, table manners, and much more. The final class takes place at a local restaurant over a four-course meal where the students get to show off their newly perfected skills! The fee for the program ranges from $350 to $395.

Level One will begin on July 8th and end July 12th. Level Two will begin on July 15th and end on July 19th.  For more information and to enroll visit theetiquetteacademy.org or call 617-608-3920.

Classes take place at The Etiquette Academy of New England, 1309 Beacon Street, 3rd Floor, Brookline

Happy Earth Day!

Earth Day is an annual event celebrated on April 22. Worldwide, various events are held to demonstrate support for environmental protection. Each day this week, the Bigelow Earth Day Committee will suggest a way for Bigelow students to help the Earth.  Today’s tip: Reduce your garbage! And reuse or repurpose materials instead of throwing them away.  For example, Monday in Advisory students will build sculptures from recycled materials. Ask your students what the tips for the rest of the week are.

And thank you all who contributed with recyclable materials for the Advisory activity.

Yearbook: order by 04/24

Yo yo yo, it’s time to order your yearbook!  All orders are due the Wednesday after break, April 24th.  Don’t miss out!

  • All-color pages 
  • Durable hard cover with original design by 8th grade artists
  • Price: $25
  • Order deadline: April 24th
  • Payments: ONLINE, cash or check 

Order today at https://ybpay.lifetouch.com/Order/SelectJob (Bigelow’s Yearbook ID Code: 1945919)

If you would rather pay by cash or check (payable to: Bigelow Middle School), please place payment in a sealed envelope with the student’s name and homeroom written on the front. Your student should give the envelope to his/her homeroom teacher.

NewtonServes – 04/28: Bigelow Beautification + Recycling Signs

NewtonServes is a Day of Community Service that brings together over 1,000 volunteers of all ages to complete more than 50 community projects for the benefit of numerous non-profit organizations and City of Newton departments. Volunteers work in teams on morning, afternoon or all day projects throughout the city, such as cleaning up parks, planting gardens, building and painting school bookshelves, spring cleaning at non-profit organizations and helping senior citizens. This year it will take place on Sunday, April 28th, from 9:30am to 4pm.

There are many volunteering opportunities all around the city, including two projects at Bigelow:

Bigelow Beautification
Join us as we beautify the grounds of Bigelow Middle School. We plan to clean and mulch garden beds, prune shrubs and trees, etc. outdoors. We also may build a short wooden fence to protect planting beds from foot traffic.

Signage for Recycling at Bigelow
Are you interested in promoting recycling and helping middle school students learn more about recycling? Help us label recycle bins and trash cans in all classrooms at Bigelow Middle School with new signage about what can and cannot be recycled.
Suitable for persons with disabilities

NewtonServes is a project of Newton Community Pride, Mayor’s Office for Cultural Affairs and the Newton Parks and Recreation Department.

Want something to do during April school vacation?

Stories! Movement! Art! will provide students in Grades 3 – 6 the opportunity to tell stories through their art! By using low-tech materials, they’ll create art that physically moves or uses optical illusion to showcase movement! This program runs April 15th – 19th, 1:00 – 3:30 pm in the Carriage House at Gore Place in Waltham . Fees are $20.00 for the whole week, or $5.00/day. Tickets available at https://art-workshop.bpt.me.