December Vacation Art Workshops for Children

The Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown offers December Vacation Art Workshops for children in grades K-6.

December 27th : Try It! A special one-day workshop in a variety of media with morning and/or afternoon sessions (each with a different focus) and optional supervised lunch. Register: 617-923-0100, ext. 8309

December 30th and December 31st: The Great Artists
Children will look at reproductions of work by famous artists, using them as inspiration to create their own masterpieces in a variety of media. Morning and/or afternoon sessions (each with a different focus) with optional supervised lunch in this two-day workshop.
Register: 617-923-0100, ext. 8309

Classes are held at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street in Watertown, with free parking and access to public transportation. Scholarships and Member discounts are available. For class descriptions, visit www.arsenalarts.org/education.

Sewing Camp, Friday, Nov. 29

Forget Black Friday! Head down to Newton Sewing Studio on the day after Thanksgiving for an awesome day of sewing camp! Fun projects suited for both beginners and advanced.

Never sewn before? Orientation classes start at 9:00 am and 1:00 pm. Try the embroidery machine or bring a blank T and make your own permanent iron on transfer! Clothing is easy when you use the computerized pattern drafting software.

Studio will be open 9:00 am – 6:00 pm and will be closed for Thanksgiving Day only. Visit online for more info and to reserve your spot, they fill fast!

Historic Newton Events: book club, arts stroll & shop & more!

Thursday, November 21, 7:30 PM
HISTORIC NEWTON BOOK CLUB
The next selection of Historic Newton’s book club is Liberty Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World by Maya Jasanoff, winner of the 2012 George Washington Book Prize. The author provides a richly informative account of the struggles and trials faced by colonial Americans who chose to remain loyal to the Crown during the revolution and departed with the British after it ended. A New York Times review praised the book as “smart, deeply researched and elegantly written”. The book club is free and new members are always welcome.

Thursday, November 28
MUSEUM CLOSED FOR THE HOLIDAY

DECEMBER
Gift MUSEUM SHOP HOLIDAY SALE
During the entire month of December, find wonderful small gifts for both adults and children at the annual Holiday Sale at the Jackson Homestead and Museum, and support Historic Newton with your purchase. Enjoy 10% off all purchases such as note cards, games, DVDs and more. Members receive a 20% discount.

Saturday and Sunday, December 7 and 8, noon-5:00 PM
NEWTON COMMUNITY WEEKEND
Newton residents are invited to enjoy free admission to the museum.

Friday-Sunday, December 13-15
THIRD ANNUAL NCA ARTS STROLL & SHOP
Friday, December 13 | 6pm-9pm at THE STREET, Chestnut Hill
Saturday, December 14 | Noon-6pm at THE STREET, Chestnut Hill and West Newton Square
Sunday, December 15 | Noon-6pm at Newton Centre
The Stroll is expanding to three villages and three days in celebration of its three years of bringing the local arts and business communities together. Support your favorite local businesses and restaurants during the Stroll and you’ll be treated to pop-up performances, art exhibits, special discounts, and more! Don’t forget to look for Historic Newton’s display recognizing Newton’s brave citizens and soldiers who participated in the Civil War. Visit our website for more details. Free.

FREE hip hop dance workshop for middle schoolers, Nov. 29

Free dance workshop for Middle School kids with KASSANDRA from Phunk Phenomenon & MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew.” This event is sponsored by the Newton Partnership and Newton Highlands Community Development Corp. For more information, contact Rochelle Acker @ 617-527-3308.

Friday, November 29
2:00 – 4:00 pm
Hyde Community Gym, 90 Lincoln St., Newton Highlands

Double Holiday Bazaars in West Newton Square, Dec. 7

Spectacular holiday shopping at two gift-laden church bazaars will be held in West Newton Square on Saturday, Dec. 7, from 9:00 am-3:00 pm

The First Unitarian Society (1326 Washington St.) and Second Church, UCC (60 Highland St.), located only one block from each other,  will offer a wide variety of merchandise for holiday shopping: jewelry, seasonal items, books, toys, small furniture and household goods.

There will be homemade sweet treats and decorated wreaths. Both churches will feature a Silent Auction. Plan to enjoy a delicious hot lunch at either site. Free parking is available for all patrons in Second Church’s Highland and Chestnut Street lots.

Winter Musical – Informational Meeting Monday, Nov 25th 2:45

INFORMATION ABOUT BIGELOW’S WINTER MUSICAL!!!!
 
Can you act, sing or dance? Can you do all three?
Join us for the
Bigelow Winter Musical!
 
Come to the informational meeting to learn what the winter musical will be and how auditions work!
 
Even if you can’t sing! Even if you can’t dance! Come join us!
 
The meeting will be held Monday November 25 from 2:45-3:15 in the auditorium.
As always, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in the considerable behind-the-scenes activity. Bigelow Drama has a thriving group of students working on all aspects of the technical side of production.  If you have any questions, please email the Drama Director, “Miss M”, at katherine_msadoques@newton.k12.ma.us or Ms Alberts, Musical Director, at jaime_alberts@newton.k12.ma.us.
 
PARENTS: PLEASE ALSO NOTE!!!!
There are also a MYRIAD opportunities to get involved as parents!  
PoPS — Parents Of Performing arts Students  — are looking for a costume team as well as, nearer production time, a phalanx of set builders, painters, ticket/concession sales, and meal prep for tech week.  
 
Please do not hesitate to contact Beth Gunning at b_gunning@msn.com or Nancy Gair, at nrgair@gmail.com if you have any questions and/or suggestions!

Screenings – Week of Dec 9th

Scoliosis screening for 6th, 7th and 8th grades and growth screening, for 7th grade only, will take place during your child’s PE class the week of December 9, 2013.  A letter from Bigelow’s Health Room will be sent out the week of November 25th with more information regarding this screening, including information on opting out. 

 

Holiday Magazine Kickoff Nov. 22

Dear Parents, Guardians, and Students!
The Bigelow Magazine Drive, one of the important fundraisers for our school supporting field trip scholarships will kick off on Friday, November 22, 2013. A package with all necessary information to participate will be coming home with your student that day.For those who are getting renewal requests for current magazine subscriptions in the mail, please note the following:Bigelow Middle School will not get any funds, when you use these renewal mailers. Only when renewing as follows will Bigelow get the 40 % of your subscription price paid:

  1. Either online via www.gaschoolstore.com (new website of Great American Opportunities, which QSP is now part of), school/organization online ID 2637080, check the box “renewal”, (payment by credit card),
  2. or through your student from the catalog with the paper order forms coming home on November 22, 2013, check the box “renewal” (cash, or checks made out to Bigelow PTO).
 If you would like to convert a regular magazine subscription to a digital magazine subscription (there are 53 magazines available in a digital format), you will be ordering them as a new subscription in one of the two ways outlined above.

The Bigelow Student Directory is here!

We are happy to announce that bright yellow student directories will be distributed to students this week. Please check your child’s backpack for yours. Families with two households will receive both directories from your child.

Many thanks to Beth Coomber for the directory production and managing from start to finish all that goes into it – collecting information, formatting, and coordinating printing. Thank you for your tireless efforts over these past couple of months.

Thank you to Kersten Raso, assistant to the principal, for being the liaison between the school and PTO and ensuring that we had accurate information.

Heather Kelly and Megara Bell deserve our utmost gratitude for securing advertisements that helped cover the costs of such an important resource. We hope that our Bigelow parents and community will visit the generous businesses that sponsored the directory and thank them for their support of our school.

Thank you to Miriam Alandydy, Sally Brickell, Kim Buckton, Heather Mehra, and Stacy Schwartz for labeling more than 400 directories.

As you can see, it takes a village!

Regards,

Julie Bourgoin and Carolyn Judge

PTO Co-Presidents