Thompson School News : January 22, 2018

Save The Date

* New *

January 22, Monday – Grade 1 Discovery Museum (in School Program)
January 23 @ 7 PM – Science Explo Organizational Meeting
January 26, Friday – Spirit Day, Color by Grade: K- purple, 1- green, 2- blue, 3- yellow, 4- red, 5- Rainbow-ALL the colors!
January 27 – Thompson Winter Parents Party (Parents Only)
January 31, Wednesday – Deadline for ordering Thompson Yearbooks
January 31, Wednesday – Talk by Sara Fernandes Burd, Arlington’s new Director of Guidance & Social Emotional Learning
February 8, Thursday – Arlington EATS Community Dinner sponsored by the Thompson PTO
February 20, 21, 22, 23 – Arlington EATS Lunches

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.

Principal’s Update

Dear Thompson Families,

As I write this update, out of the view of the TV, the Patriots are clawing their way to what will hopefully be a comeback victory! I love a close game, in both professional sports and with my own kiddos, but I do like to have a little bit of a cushion in the score!

Now that the first round of snow piles are out of our way, we need to have a talk. On numerous occasions, I got reports from our Traffic Supervisors that they were having a challenging time keeping our children safe. I ask that you please follow their instructions, and respect their authority. I also ask that you respect the parking guidelines for TEACHER ONLY parking in the Purcell Lot and the spots on North Union.

Have you heard? Our very own Ms. Jette is going to have her first book published! We are so proud of her and all that she has accomplished! Please take a moment to read this article about her and her book.

This year grades 4 & 5 will be testing online for MCAS and grade 3 will take the paper based. The dates for testing are below:

Grade 5 – Online

ELA – April 10th & 12th

Math – May 7th & 9th

STE – May 21st & May 22nd

Grade 4 – Online

ELA – April 9th & 11th

Math – May 8th & 10th

Grade 3 – Paper Based Testing

ELA – April 3rd & 5th

Math – May 15th & May 17th

And speaking of clawing one’s way back….unfortunately, I will be having another surgery on my foot this Wednesday. My plan is to return on Monday, Jan. 29th – back on my scooter. Watch out! There will be an administrator available during my absence as a resource to staff. I will do my best to reply in a timely to any emails I receive.

With 1:40 left on the clock, the Patriots are up! We are all stuck in our spots as we are a bit superstitious around these parts!

Thompson News & Events

Kidstock Creative Theater

Kindergarten students enjoyed a visit from Kidstock Creative Theater on Friday, January 12. They watched and acted in three shows: Ferdinand, The King and The King, and Boy, I Love to Dance! The shows were chosen to teach the children about diversity, or celebrating the ways in which people are all different.

Talk by Sara Fernandes Burd

Director of Guidance and Social-Emotional Learning for the Arlington Schools

Wednesday, January 31st, 7-8 pm at Thompson School

Join us for a conversation with Sara Fernandes Burd, Arlington’s new Director of Guidance and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and learn about SEL. Discover what SEL actually looks like for your student!

Mrs. Burd will share information about the field of SEL, discuss how Arlington is supporting the SEL skills of all their students and provide tips and resources on how families can support their students in and out of school. Q & A to follow.

Socks Please!

Nurse Christina would appreciate sock donations as many children are coming in from recess with wet feet – thank you!

School Yearbook

2018 Thompson School Wide Yearbook
Ordering / Picture preference / Opting Out

We are pleased to announce that the annual Thompson School Wide Yearbook will be making a return for the 2017-2018 school year!

Helping our children hold onto memories of friends from all across the school, the soft-covered 24-page book will display every class (K-5) with the individual school portraits taken by CoffeePond earlier this year, along with teachers and administration. The price is $13.00.

For easy online ordering until Jan 31st, go to: www.coffeepond.com.
Under Order Central, select: Yearbooks
Enter School Password: Thompson2018

A form will be sent home in your child’s folder this week that should be filled out and returned if your child had a retake photo or if, for any reason, you do not want your child to be included in the book.

If you have any questions please direct them to Lisa at lisaslomba@gmail.com.

Thompson Winter Parents’ Party! – Saturday January 27th

Tickets: $15 in advance ($17 at the door)

Cash Bar: Beer $3, Wine $5

Raffles*: $10 per item

All profits will go to the Thompson PTO Enrichment Fund

—To purchase Tickets online: https://tinyurl.com/ThompsonWinterPartyTickets

—To purchase Tickets by cash or check, and/or request sponsorship: tinyurl.com/WinterPartyCashCheckSponsorFAQ

—To make song requests (including international selections!): tinyurl.com/WinterPartySongRequests

—To submit a *Raffle Item: If you have a service or talent you’d like to offer as a raffle item, please do! Submit by Wed Jan 24 to yael.beals@gmail.com.

—Help is also still needed with party set-up, welcome table, selling raffle tickets, etc. Many of these tasks require only 30 minutes of your time, and some are excellent ways to casually mingle and get to know other parents. Go here to sign up: https://tinyurl.com/ThompsonWinterParty

Can’t wait. See you there!

Calling All Science Enthusiasts : Science Explo March 17th

Are you a professional in a scientific field or just a lover of all things science related? We need volunteers to set up and run interactive tables at the Explo in March! We are having an organizational meeting at Thompson on Tuesday, January 23rd @ 7PM if you are interested in participating.

Contact: Yael Beals and Chris Pacheco at thompsonexplo2018@gmail.com

Community

Kid Care Preschool 2018 – 2019

The Arlington Recreation Department welcomes your preschooler (ages 2.9 – 5 years old) to join us in our licensed preschool program. The program is located at 352 Mass Avenue. Registration opens to NEW families on 2/1/2018. (Registration is currently open for EXISTING families.) Come visit during one of our OPEN HOUSES on January 17 & 18. Click HERE for more information and to register.

Arlington EATS

Come join us for February Vacation Lunches! Tuesday, February 20- Friday, February 23.

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: sarah@arlington-eats.org

Volunteer Opportunities

The Thompson PTO has many volunteer needs both small and big. If you’re looking for a way to give back to Thompson, here’s a list of ways you can help.

3D Printer Help

The PTO is looking for a parent experienced with 3D printers. If you have the expertise and some time available, we need someone that can tinker with the Thompson 3D printer, get it up and running and write up some basic operation instructions for teachers wanting to use it. Contact: Kate Murphy at thompsonschoolvolunteers@gmail.com

Game Night

Looking for board game enthusiasts to help us with this year’s Game Night. Join the planning team!

Contact diana_lutz@yahoo.com.

Winter Parent’s Party – Jan 27th

Submit a Raffle Item

Do you have a talent or service you’d like to contribute as a raffle item? Submit your proposal by Wed Jan 24 to yael.beals@gmail.com.

Lend a Hand

Help is still needed with crucial things like set-up, break-down, checking people in, selling raffle tickets, etc. Most of these tasks require only 1/2 hour of your time, and are great ways to mingle and get to know other parents.
Winter Party sign-up: https://tinyurl.com/ThompsonWinterParty
Contact: Kate Murphy at thompsonschoolvolunteers@gmail.com

Amazon Coordinator

The PTO needs someone to help promote the PTO/Amazon fundraising link. Thompson School earns 4-10% back on purchases made through the Thompson/Amazon page but shoppers must use the link on the PTO website.

Interested in helping get the word out? Contact: Kate Murphy at thompsonschoolvolunteers@gmail.com

Help Throughout the Year

To check all current volunteer opportunities: http://tinyurl.com/ThompsonPTOVolunteers

Connect with Us

THOMPSON PTO BOARD

Nandana Mewada, Co-President
Diana Trudell, Co-President
Yael Beals, Vice-President
Danielle Gottesman, Communications Chair

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.