The 2018 – 2019 Season for Newton Destination Imagination (DI) is open! Click HERE to register. Newton DI is an inclusive STEAM- based creative problem solving competition for students in grades K-12.
Teams of up to 7 kids will choose to work on one of six challenges that will test their teamwork, project management and creativity skills. To learn more about the program, please visit the website for FAQs and a short intro video.
For questions, please email matthew@newtondi.org.
Two new exciting classes have joined the popular youth theatre program. The cast sizes are small, so don’t wait! Visit www.newtonyouthplayers.com for more information and to register.
Spotlight Players is for middle school students only, who would like to further explore acting techniques. The Fall program, now enrolling, is “Come to the Cabaret”. The class is led by local actor and director Judi Pava, who has extensive experience with middle school and high school aspiring actors!
Musical Theatre Studio is a fun winter program that will focus on stage skills – musical theater, acting and improv. The smaller class size will allow for more focus on individual skill development. Directed by local actors/directors Hannah Rosenberg and Linda Goetz, it is open to children in grades 2 through 5.
August 29, 2018
Dear Families,
I hope you have enjoyed the summer. It is a great pleasure to welcome both our returning families and those new to our schools.
The start of a school year is a wonderful time for anyone involved in education because it allows us to develop new goals, build new relationships and embark upon new challenges. At the same time, I recognize that these transitions bring about mixed emotions for both students and families. One of my children reminded me of this several years ago at this time when he asked me “why can’t summer go on forever?”
Summer is an important time for adult learning in Newton and the conference we hosted for our educators this summer was one that made me proud. The conference featured Newton faculty and administrators facilitating training sessions for their colleagues on a range of important topics related to both the academic and social and emotional aspects of race and student achievement. The conference was one example of the professional learning that occurs over the summer and I am proud that we have the expertise amongst our own staff to take on these important goals, which also include updating and improving our curriculum based on new standards and student learning styles.
While we recognize that a skilled and dedicated teacher is the most important ingredient to high quality student learning, we also know that effective use of technology has the potential to support the work of students and teachers. In that spirit, we will expand the one-to-one technology pilot from last year and provide a Chromebook to all 10th grade students this year. We are hopeful that this initiative will provide our faculty with greater opportunities to use technology to enhance learning in class and to ensure that all students have access to technology at home. After this year, we hope to extend this initiative to all high school grade levels.
It is essential that we work with families to create school communities that are inclusive, supportive, and healthy environments for our students to learn and grow. As a school district, it is our job to educate your child, but also to provide you with resources to help you and your student navigate complex issues. Last year, we held a very successful parent workshop on “Living in a Smartphone World.” It was clear to us that this was a topic of significant interest to families that warrants further exploration by our district. Again, this year, we will hold a community forum and we will be looking for your input on issues that are most relevant to you and your family.
One of the most important parts of my job is to be in our schools on a regular basis working with staff and students. Together with School Committee members, and working closely with our PTOs, I will again visit each of our 22 schools to speak with you about district initiatives and listen to your ideas, questions, and concerns. Using social media, it is our hope to expand the dialogue and conversation this year to share more about all the good work happening in our district and to hear from you about the information and resources that are important to you. You can find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You may also sign up for regular updates from our School Committee here.
Our partnership with you and the larger Newton community is critical to our success. Please accept my best wishes for a wonderful school year.
Sincerely,
David Fleishman
Superintendent
DF:cc
You may also view a video welcome from the superintendent.
Message from the Principal
We look forward to the arrival of your child at Bigelow next Tuesday, September 4, 8am. Please note that next Tuesday, September 4, is a state primary election day, and Bigelow is used as a polling site. We anticipate extra congestion in the streets around the school next Tuesday morning. If you are a 6th grade parent who is planning to bring your child to his/her homebase on this special day, please give yourself plenty of time to get to school and find parking. The hallways are open at 8am; homeroom begins at 8:15am. Student release is at 2pm.
Todd Harrison, Principal
Bigelow is hosting a special event for parents on middle school students’ use of cell phones and social media on Thursday, September 6, at 7:00pm. Researchers from Wellesley College will be at the Bigelow Auditorium to present preliminary results of a study that they did with Bigelow and other schools last year on this important topic. Here is a flyer with more information. Please rsvp to Kersten_Raso@newton.k12.ma.us if you are interested in attending.
Posted on August 24, 2018 by Green Newton
Green Newton’s School Connections is a forum for Newton parents and teachers who are interested in promoting sustainability in our schools and sharing ideas. Join us at our next meeting on Wednesday, September 5 at 4pm (location TBD) to connect on issues of recycling, composting and school garden projects and brainstorm best practices to implement green initiatives in your school. Check www.greennewton.org for meeting location. If interested, contact Marcia at info@greennewton.org (kids are welcome).
Wednesday September 12th 5:30-7:pm
Let’s Meet & Eat at Burr Park!
Tables and chairs will be set up to relax chat and eat!
Chikchak Food Truck will be onsite or bring your own picnic
8th Grade Bake Sale Fundraiser!
Attendees can enter the raffle for (2) Bigelow Celtics Night Tickets!
Please help the Bigelow PTO provide a comprehensive Family Directory for our community.
Your family information needs to be confirmed or updated by September 10th, so it shows correctly in the printed version. Parents that do not update their data will be displayed as entered.
The online directory is open to all Bigelow families at all times. The success of the system is dependent on every family logging in and confirming their information.
To make sure your family’s contact information is in the directory, please follow one of these two steps:
Attention 8th Grade families. Only half of 8th Grade families are included in the directory. Please make sure your family is in it! Thank you.
You can order a hard copy of the Family Directory on the “Store” section of the Online Directory. Printed directories will be distributed on Back to School Night (October, 4th).
Bigelow Middle School and Wellesley College invite Bigelow parents to a forum to share results from the Learning, Social Media, and Healthy Behaviors research study, that took place in 2017.
Linda Charmaraman, Ph.D., research scientist at the Wellesley Centers for Women, Wellesley College, Jennifer Grossman, Ph.D., senior research scientist at the Wellesley Centers for Women (and Bigelow alum), and Megan Moreno, M.D., M.S.Ed., M.P.H., academic division chief of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at University of Wisconsin, Madison, will co-present on the findings from the whole-school survey they conducted in Fall 2017.
September 6, 2018 | 7:00 p.m.
Bigelow Auditorium
Please RSVP to Kersten Raso so that we know how many parents to expect: Kersten_Raso@newton.k12.ma.us
Sponsored by Bigelow Middle School and Wellesley College.