MCAS tests begin this week. The sixth and seventh grade take the English Language Arts (ELA) MCAS test on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, and the eighth grade takes their ELA MCAS test this Thursday and Friday.

We want all of the students to approach these assessments in a positive and confident frame of mind. Your help makes a huge difference. Here are a few tips:

• Words of encouragement to your child are especially helpful before the assessments and on the day of it.
• Please make sure your child gets a good night’s sleep prior to each test, a healthy breakfast on the morning of each test, and that he or she arrives to school on time.
• Bringing a water bottle or purchasing a bottle of water in the school store in the morning is also recommended.

After a short reprieve, testing will resume the week of May 7 with the sixth and seventh grade taking the math MCAS test on May 7-8, and the eighth grade taking it on May 9-10.

The final test, the Science/Technology/Engineering MCAS test, will be given to the eighth grade only on May 17.

The Spring Play this year is Marian, or The True Tale of Robin Hood.

One night only- April 26 at 7

Tickets on sale at the door-$5

1 hour running time

The Merry Men get an update as they fight Prince John with archery, swords, and feminism! This action-packed hour will upend the Robin Hood you thought you knew.

The spring play is a small cast one-act show, that travels to the METG Middle School Drama Festival, a full day of seeing and celebrating middle school theatre with 6 or 7 other middle schools on April 28.

NewtonSERVES 2018 will take place on Sunday, April 29, 2018. Volunteer registration is now open! We hope you’ll sign up with your friends, your families, your colleagues or your neighbors to do a project again this year. Your efforts are greatly valued. Here is the link to the NewtonSERVES volunteer sign up.
NewtonSERVES is one of many Newton Community Pride (NCP) programs.

You can volunteer at Bigelow and many other sites in Newton:

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 will also build another short wooden railing, similar to the one we built last year, to protect other plant beds from foot traffic.

• Please register here by April 25, 2018.
• Volunteers must be 8 years of age or older.
• Everyone must agree to the Release Form.