Vote to support the Calculus Project

Vote for Newton Schools Foundation and Support The Calculus Project:

Please vote for Newton Schools Foundation  and support students enrolled in The Calculus Project. NSF is partnering with the Newton Public Schools to provide funding for this exciting initiative designed to increase the number of low-income, African American, and Hispanic American students who start in middle school and successfully complete Calculus in high school. Belmont Savings Bank Foundation is awarding grants to charitable organizations receiving the most votes from the community.  A $10,000 grant from the Belmont Savings Bank Foundation would support as many as 62 students who participate in the summer enrichment program!   

VOTE HERE for NSF and the Calculus Project.  The link to vote is http://www.belmontsavingsfoundation.com/221-2

Directory goes to print this week ~ LAST CHANCE to confirm your information

On September 15th an email was sent from the Bigelow PTO asking families to confirm data for the Bigelow student directory. Although the directory can include numerous emails per family, the confirmation can only go to the email listed as the primary one for the family.  Please be sure to click on the link in the email and confirm your entry.  The process takes less than five minutes! 

If your family did not receive a confirmation email or you have any questions, please email the PTO at bigelowbulldog@gmail.com so we can be sure your family is listed.

PLEASE NOTE:  The PTO Directory system is different than the one used by the Newton School System in Parent Connect so be sure to confirm your data in both!  

Confirming Your PTO Email Information:  The PTO email list is a separate system front the student directory.  The start of school is a great time to be sure your PTO email settings are correct.  Many emails go to the entire list, but some are grade specific.  Please click the Update Your profile link at the bottom of this (or any) PTO email.  Verify that the correct grades are checked for the 2015-16 school year.  

If you no longer have children at Bigelow, please click Unsubscribe at the bottom of this email if you would like to be removed from this list.

Thank you to the School and Police

A thank you to the administration, staff and faculty at Bigelow Middle School, the Newton Police Department, and Newton Public Schools for responding to the events of last Friday in a prompt manner and for keeping our student’s safety your number one priority.

Coffee, Ice Cream, Dancing, and Bulbs!

What do these things have in common? They are all part of the upcoming events at Bigelow.

  • The school will be holding Open House events starting at 8:00 AM on October 13th, 14th and 15th for parents of Grades 6, 7 and 8, respectively. Come for coffee and stay for a tour.
  • The students in 6th grade will get a special treat on Friday, October 16th starting at 3:00 PM at the 6th Grade Ice Cream Social.  Click here for more information.
  • Parents of 6th graders will have a special day too – the 6th Grade Parent Orientation is scheduled for Wednesday, October 28th starting at 7:00 PM. (Sorry, no ice cream…)
  • The first All-School Dance of 2015-2016 is planned for Friday, October 30th, starting at 6:30 PM.
  • Finally, as part of the Bigelow Beautification Project, there will be a Fall Clean-up and Bulb Planting extravaganza on Sunday, November 1st, from 10 AM to 2 PM. Please CLICK HERE to sign up and bring the whole family for a couple of hours or more. It will be wonderful for every child to see the fruits of her or his family’s labor every day when they come to school and especially when the flowers start blossoming next spring.

Celebrate the 40th anniversary of Harvest Fair

Newton Celebrates the 40th anniversary of Harvest Fair. What’s new to look for at Harvest Fair?  Performance Art!

Newton School teachers set the tempo with their band: ‘Loose Change’ while local artist Franklin Marval will transform a huge blank canvas into a work of art before your eyes, all set to the live music of Jane’s Great Dane – Americana, Country and R & B music with a Cajun kick!

Don’t be surprised by the man on stilts, walking through the Fair – and look for a beautiful statue…wait, did it just move? And representing Newton’s young musical talent will be Jared and the Giants, a fabulous middle school band you won’t want to miss, not to mention dance performances, the YCCA Rock Band and a performance by the amazing students of the Suzuki School of Newton.

The favorites at Harvest Fair are still there…free pumpkin decorating sponsored by Wegman’s, Newton Center beautifully decorated in corn stalks sponsored by Whole Foods Market, kiddie amusement rides, the 100 different craft and business booths selling everything from hand-made beautiful jewelry, clothing to imaginative gifts, countless activities for kids including amusement rides, and the Green Expo, sponsored by the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce, with  exhibitors offering solutions for reducing your carbon footprint. As always, gotta have great food and they do!

Harvest Fair is a two day event on the Newton Center Green: kiddie rides only on Saturday, October 17th  from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm and the Craft Show, Green Expo and all of the fabulous entertainment on Sunday, October 18th from 10:00 am – 4:30 pm.

Visit www.newtoncommunitypride.org for more information.

Halloween Window Decorating

There are still some spaces remaining for budding artists, or kids in grades 3 through 8 that just want to paint on a store window! The Halloween Window Decorating contest takes place on Halloween this year! Can’t get more festive than that.

Register at www.newtoncommunitypride.org to be eligible to paint a Halloween-themed painting on a store window in one of 6 Newton villages. Don’t be put off by not painting in your own village, if the spaces are filled. It is a really fun way to explore a different part of Newton!

Sign up soon, the deadline is Friday, October 16th. Any questions, please call 617-796-1540.

Oh My Gourd!

The United Parish of Auburndale’s Pumpkin Patch will be open for business starting Sunday, October 11th. Now in its ninth year, the United Parish’s Pumpkin Patch is a major fundraiser for the church and a popular destination for the community. There is plenty of selection and the pumpkins make a great backdrop for photos.

The church keeps a percentage of the sales and uses the money for their operating budget and community Outreach. The remaining proceeds go to the grower, Pumpkin Patch Fundraisers, who supplies pumpkins to non-profit and religious organizations across the lower 48 states. In cooperation with the Navajo Nation, they grow about 2 square miles of pumpkins and employee over 700 seasonal and full-time Native Americans in New Mexico, making a positive and lasting impact on a region with 42% unemployment.

The Patch will be open every day until Halloween between 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

You’re Invited: 4th Annual UOD Family Book Event Oct. 20th

Great minds don’t always think alike! That’s the message of the children’s book, Fish In A Tree, to be featured at Understanding Our Differences’ 4th Annual Family Book Event with a disability theme. Author Lynda Mullaly Hunt will talk about and sign her New York Times bestselling novel, about a girl with learning disabilities who discovers that there’s a lot more to her—and to everyone—than a label.

Free for children and Newton Public Schools teachers and staff. Requested donation at the door is $10 for adults. Registration is required in advance: http://understandingourdifferences.org/fish-in-a-tree/ For additional information please email : info@UnderstandingOurDifferences.org

October 20th,  Program is 7:00 – 8:00 pm, book signing follows.
Newton South High School Auditorium, 140 Brandeis Road

Newton Inspires November 9th

Bestselling Authors, Seafood Entrepreneur, Worldwide Travel Executive, Business Startup Guru, and Fundraising Visionary top the Newton Inspires speaker list.

Newton Schools Foundation will present the fifth annual Newton Inspires: An Evening of Ideas and Community. Since 2011, Newton Inspires has been uniting Newton residents for an evening of discussion with some of Newton’s brightest, most accomplished and most interesting community members.

This year’s program features headliners, Anita Diamant, author; John Harthorne, founder and CEO, MassChallenge; Billy Starr, founder and executive director, Pan-Mass Challenge; Stephen Kaufer, president and CEO, TripAdvisor; Roger Berkowitz, president and CEO, Legal Sea Foods; and Neil Swidey, journalist and author.

The program will take place November 9th, 7:00 – 9:45 pm at Newton South High School. It is FREE for Newton residents, $15 for non-residents, and this year high school seniors are welcome to attend. Space is limited, so advance registration is highly recommended. For more information on the program and to register, go to www.NewtonSchoolsFoundation.org

In addition to the six headliners these speakers will participate in this year’s program:

Rev. Brandon Crowley – Senior Pastor, Myrtle Baptist Church
Barbara Erickson – President, The Trustees of Reservations
Dr. Giovanni G. Fazio – Senior physicist, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
David Fleishman – Superintendent, Newton Public Schools
Lachlan Forrow – Physician and Medical Ethicist
Candy Kosow Gold – Producer
Christopher Landrigan – Pediatric Hospitalist & Patient Safety Expert
John Mahoney – Director of Undergraduate Admission, Boston College
Ronald Prinn – Professor of Atmospheric Science, MIT
Genevra Stone – Physician & Olympic Rower
Denise Swidey – Chef & Culinary Producer
Hugh Wolff – International Orchestra Conductor

NSF thanks these businesses for supporting Newton Inspires by donating food and beverages: Anna’s Taqueria, Baker’s Best Catering, Better Life Food, Fleck Coffee House,, L’Aroma Café & Bakery, Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Rancatore’s Ice Cream and Yogurt, Rosie’s Bakery, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods Market.

Building Healthy Communities: Moving Beyond Domestic Violence

Building Healthy Communities: Moving Beyond Domestic Violence

Everyone in our community is affected by domestic violence, but it can be invisible and hard to fight. Join this free, informative event for adults, with speakers and panelists from Second Step, Journey to Safety, the Domestic Violence Program, and the Newton Police Department.

Attendees are asked to bring donations of toiletries, gas cards, food cards or linens for Second Step. Coffee and dessert will be served. For more information, contact Barbara.Fierman@gmail.com.

October 22nd, 7:30 – 9:00 pm
Temple Shalom of Newton, Room 101
175 Temple Street, West Newton