In This Issue
- Save the Date | School Calendar
- #everythingyoueverwantedtoknowaboutthompson
- Principal’s Update
- Thompson News and Events
- Community News and Events
- PTO Fundraising
- Connect with Us
Save The Date
- Walk or Bike to School Day – Wednesday, October 4
- No School on Columbus Day – Monday, October 9
- PTO Meeting, Budget Approval – Wednesday, October 11
- Picture Day – Thursday, October 12
- Movie Night – Friday, October 13
School Calendar
Click http://tinyurl.com/ndp8spb for Thompson’s Google Calendar to get school holidays, early release days, and PTO events on your own calendar. Click http://tinyurl.com/y7u5k2on for a printable version of this month’s calendar.
#everythingyoueverwantedtoknowaboutthompson
For families looking for extra information, unfettered access to our weekly newsletter, volunteer opportunities, the link to shop at Amazon (your purchases benefit all Thompson students via the PTO!), contact info and soooo much more, please pop over to our site, and be sure to bookmark it. We will be making changes to the content over the coming weeks, but the link will remain the same.
Thompson News & Events
Annual Parent Survey
The PTO would love to know you better! Every year, we send a survey to find out how you would like us to communicate with you, what your favorite events are, how you’d like to help, and the names/grades of your kids. Please take five minutes to tell us. Thank you!
PTO Survey: http://tinyurl.com/ThompsonPTOSurvey2017
Community Card Update
Fall Family Sales is ON!
How it works: Sign out Cards. Sell the Cards. Return earnings + any unsold cards by Dec 8th.
Sell to family, friends, at your kid’s sporting events, to parents with teenagers. This can be at a venue of your choice, or we can suggest some popular locations. Not into approaching people? No problem! We can set you up with a little table and sign at a particular location and time where people come to YOU, all you have to do is process transactions.
Either way, THIS is the time to get buyers. In October people are still out and about, and by November they’re starting to think about holiday gifts.
To sign out cards, fill out the turquoise form that came home this week, or do it online here.
For a list of popular venues, contact ashley.e.lorenz@gmail.com
To sign up for particular locations and times, see: http://tinyurl.com/2017ViableVenues
Other Volunteer Needs
- Farmer’s Market Sales, Oct 4th & 11th. Signup here: http://tinyurl.com/CommunityCardFarmersMarket
- Help finish putting posters up around town at schools, parks, preschools.
- Be a person-to-person card sales contact at your preschool, yoga studio etc.
- Help call local realtors to ask if they want to buy cards to gift to new homeowners.
- “Like” our Community Card Facebook page!
To volunteer, or even if you have some great ideas brewing to further sell or market cards, email Ashley Lorenz at ashley.e.lorenz@gmail.com.
To buy a card, see Vicki at the front desk, go to The Book Rack, or purchase online at arlingtoncommunitycard.org
**Makes for a great birthday/holiday gift. Buy one for every wallet in your household!**
Volunteer
The Thompson PTO is always in need of helping hands for all sorts of tasks. From selling community cards to helping clean-up after movie night to helping plan one of our many events: the link below lists all of the many ways you can give of your time to help your Thompson Community.
http://tinyurl.com/ThompsonPTOVolunteers
Walk and Bike to School Day
Wednesday October 4 is Walk and Bike to School Day, sponsored in part by the MA Department of Transportation. We have some cool prizes for bikers and walkers! Please walk/bike/walkpool to school on Wednesday! We need a couple of more volunteers to hand out stickers and prizes – email reebee.girash@gmail.com if you can arrive by 7:55 to join the fun.
Picture Day is Coming!
Mark your calendars: Picture Day is Thursday October 12th! Coffee Pond will once again be at Thompson that day to take individual and class photos. Watch for order forms coming home in your child(ren)’s folders this week.
The team of photographers coming to Thompson has just 3 hours to photograph 480+ students! Parent help is needed to make it all run smoothly. If you can sign up for an hour of time that morning to help classes prepare for their photographs your help would be greatly appreciated!
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090f49adad2aa0f49-picture3
Thompson School Movie Night!
6:00-8:15pm
Friday October 13th, 2017
We will be showing “Hotel Transylvania” to celebrate the month of Halloween. Pizza, water & popcorn available for purchase from 6pm on. Movie begins at 6:30pm. Movie Running Time: 1h 31min.
PJ’s, sleeping bags & snugly attire encouraged! Suggested donation: $2/person.
Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Go to: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090f49adad2aa0f49-20175 to sign up to help with this event.
Community News & Events
Arlington EATS Community Dinner
Did you know that one in ten* members of our community is at risk of hunger? And it is a misconception that only people living at or below the poverty level experience food insecurity. According to a recent study*, 47% of those at risk for hunger in Eastern Massachusetts earn too much to qualify for government-provided emergency food assistance. Many in our community have a home and work and never imagined they would need food assistance. Arlington EATS brings together those struggling with food scarcity and those concerned with food justice.
*SOURCE: Gundersen, C., A. Dewey, A. Crumbaugh, M. Kato & E. Engelhard. Map the Meal Gap 2016: Food Insecurity and Child Insecurity Estimates at the County Level. Feeding America, 2016.
Our next Community Dinner will be held on October 12. Please join us at the table.
If you cannot join us for a meal, there are many ways you can become involved with Arlington EATS:
To get food assistance: info@arlington-eats.org
To learn more: www.arlington-eats.org
To donate: www.arlington-eats.org/giving/
To volunteer: www.arlington-eats.org/volunteer/
To follow along: www.facebook.com/Arlington.EATS
To contact: info@arlington-eats.org
Guiding Good Choices (GGC):
Offers proven techniques and effective tools to help parents. Please register by email with kdillon@town.arlington.ma.us
Improve communication with their children
Develop healthy family values and behavioral expectations
Control and express anger constructively
Strengthen family bonds and trust
Prevent children from engaging in substance use and other risky behaviors
Monday nights ( 10/16, 10/23, 10/30, 11/6 & 11/13)
From 6:30-8:30
Whittemore Robbins House (670R Mass Ave)
GGC consists of 5 workshops, held once per week for five consecutive weeks. This is an evidence-based program that requires participants to attend all five workshops.
You are invited to the 7th Annual Out on the Town Gala
November 3, 7-11pm at Arlington Town Hall
Please join the Board of Youth Services for the annual Out on the Town Gala, to support the Arlington Youth Counseling Center (AYCC). This year’s event is extra special as we recognize and honor Arlington’s own Dr. Michael Thompson, a renowned child psychologist, school consultant, international speaker and New York Times best-selling author. His books – nine in all, among them Homesick and Happy, Best Friends/Worst Enemies, The Pressured Child, and Raising Cain – have become popular references on bringing up children in the world today, with illuminating insights on the emotional lives and experiences of children and adolescents. Over the course of his career, Dr. Thompson has worked in more than 700 schools across the country and around the world, and has served as the supervising psychologist at the Belmont Hill School. As a popular headliner for Arlington Parent Forums, Dr. Thompson’s gentle guidance, wise counsel, and extraordinary wit have guided Arlington parents for more than a decade.
The Out on the Town Gala is an annual event in which community members come together to support the work of AYCC and promote the importance of having affordable, high quality, and community based mental health services for Arlington residents. Over the past year, AYCC provided over 5,500 counseling and psychiatric sessions to more than 375 youth and families, case management services to more than 80 Arlington residents, and support, education and advocacy for members of the community who have experienced domestic violence. AYCC has been able to offer these services thanks to the funds that are raised through the Gala, grants, corporate sponsors, and individual donors.
In addition to honoring Dr. Thompson, the gala features many wonderful silent auction items and raffles, beautiful live music from the Arlington High Jazz band, an array of delicious hors d’oeuvres, and a cash bar. Tickets may be purchased for $75 through AYCC’s webpage- arlingtonma.gov/aycc. Sponsorship opportunities are also available. For more information visit arlingtonma.gov/aycc or contact Colleen Leger, Executive Director of AYCC, at 781-316-3255.
PTO Fundraising
Amazon
Shopping at Amazon.com? Click the Amazon link from the Thompson PTO website and a share of your purchase will help the Thompson PTO.
Stop&Shop A+ Bonus Bucks Program
Thompson is participating in Stop&Shop A+ Bonus Bucks Program, in which our school receives a check based on the amount of purchases made by people with Stop&Shop cards. Enroll your Stop&Shop card. with Thompson’s school code: 07331.
Connect with Us
THOMPSON PTO BOARD
Co-Presidents: Diana Trudell & Nandana Mewada: diana_lutz@yahoo.com, nmewada@gmail.com
Vice-President: Yael Beals: yael.beals@gmail.com
Co-Treasurers: Sara Wilkinson & Carolyn Schneyer: swilkie49@hotmail.com, ndanukiwi@yahoo.com
Co-Secretaries: Emily Gauthier & Fiona Ehring: emczar00@hotmail.com, fionaehring@gmail.com
Fundraising Chair: Juliet Moir: juliet.moir@gmail.com
Arlington Community Card Co-Chairs: Ashley Lorenz & Gaggi DeStefanis: ashley.e.lorenz@gmail.com, gaggi@rcn.com
Enrichment Co-Chairs: Maf Terry &Tonja Bishop: maf.terry@gmail.com, tbowenbishop@gmail.com
Communications Chair: Danielle Gottesman: dbirdie@gmail.com
Spirit & Appreciation Co-Chairs: Judy Hu & Melissa Crowley: hudyju@gmail.com, melish26@yahoo.com
Room Parents Chair: Sarah Gupta: sarahruth16@gmail.com
Volunteers Chair: Kate Murphy: katejoycemurphy71@gmail.com
If you have news to share with the community, please email ThompsonPTOevents@gmail.com by Thursday at 12 noon to be included in the next newsletter.
Please note that we will only include news from the Thompson School and Town of Arlington. Announcements of interest to the Thompson community from other non-profit organizations may be included at our discretion.