Thompson School News : October 29, 2018

Save The Date

*new*

  • Oct 30, Tuesday – Parent Forum: Changing the Culture Around Mental Health @ Ottoson 7 pm to 8:30 pm
  • Oct 31, Wednesday – Direct Donation Drive: Last day!
  • Nov 1, Thursday – 2nd Grade Field Trip to Wheelock Family Theatre
  • Nov 1, Thursday – Box Top Fall Submission Deadline
  • Nov 2, Friday – Coffee Chat With Karen, 8:15 am – Date Change
  • Nov 2 & 3, Friday & Saturday – Halloween Candy Buy-Back
  • Nov 3, Saturday – School Committee chat, 11 am – 12 pm
  • Nov 6, Tuesday – No School & Election Bake Sale
  • Nov 12, Monday – No School
  • Nov 14, Wednesday – PTO Meeting 7 pm- 9 pm
  • Nov 14, Wednesday – AFC’s Childcare & Preschool Options Night 7 – 8 pm
  • Nov 14 & 28, Wednesday – Kindergarten Enrichment Program Wicked Cool for Kids
  • Nov 15, Thursday – School Committee meeting, 6:30 – 10 pm
  • Nov 17, Saturday – Boys In Motion 5K – 9 am
  • Nov 19, Monday – Otto Pizza Fundraising Night, 5 – 9 pm
  • Nov 21, Wednesday – 12 pm Release
  • Nov 22 & 23, Thursday and Friday – No School
  • Nov 30, Friday – Spirit Day: Sports Day

School Calendar

Click here for Thompson’s Google Calendar to get school holidays, early release days, and PTO events on your own calendar. Click here for a printable version of this month’s calendar.

The Arlington Public School Calendar is @ www.arlington.k12.ma.us/calendar

PTO Spotlight

Direct Donation Drive

Did you know that 214 families have already contributed to the Thompson Direct Donation Drive? Many have also asked family and friends to support our school. Thank you to all those who have made a contribution.

There are only 3 DAYS left to help us meet our goal of 275 contributing families! If you have not done so, join your fellow Thompson parents to help make this drive a success!

Click here and donate today!

Principal’s Update

Dear Thompson Families,

I wanted to share with you the work that was done with the Leadership Team this summer around Schoolwide Expectations. Most of what is included in our expectations have been practices that that we have been referring to for the past couple of years, and they are quantified here and posted throughout the school. We have identified them and then given some examples of what this “looks like” at school. I encourage you to talk with your children about these, and how they are upholding them at school, and even how they could transfer to home in some cases!

Expectation #1: Take Care of Each Other and Our School

  • See something say something

  • Ask, not assume (pause before you act)

  • Treat others the way you want to be treated

  • Keep our school clean and tidy

Expectation #2: Mind Your Manners

  • Say please and thank you

  • Say excuse me

  • Look each other in the eye

  • Be kind to one another

  • Pass the door to the person behind you

Expectation #3: Safe and quiet bodies in the hall

  • Stay to the right

  • Move together as a class

  • Single file on the stairs

  • Hands by your sides or in your pockets

  • Be mindful of the learning of others

Expectation #4: Have a Safe, Fun, Fair recess

  • Follow the school rules for games

  • Only play the games that are intended for that space

  • Allow everyone to join a game

  • Walk to the green fence

  • Line up in the designated area at the end of recess

  • Use whistle system

    • 1st whistle = stop and listen (adult-pause, count to 10 in your head)

    • 2nd whistle = do and line up

Expectation #5: Relax and Refuel in the Cafeteria

  • Sit with your class

  • Pick one seat for yourself (no saving seats)

  • Stay seated

  • Wait for your table to be called to throw out your lunch and return to your seat

  • Clean up your spot–table and floor

  • Raise your hand if you need to get something

    • Caddy at each table

  • Use a bathroom pass→ leave it on your seat

  • Sign out with Lunch Captain when eating with an adult

  • Stay at your table until your teacher lines you up

Thank you for your continued support as we work together to shape the minds and hearts of our students.

A couple of housekeeping items:
*Please come check the Lost & Found (before it gets even fuller with hats, gloves, and boots!)
*Don’t forget on Sunday Nov. 4th the clocks will TURN BACK an hour
**Date Change: Please note that the Coffee with Karen has been rescheduled to Friday, Nov. 2nd, from 8:30-9:15, in the Cafeteria**

Sincerely,
Karen

Thompson News & Events

Election Day Bake Sale
November 6th, 7am-11am and 4pm-6.30pm 

Location: Thompson School Lobby
Don’t forget to vote on November 6th and after stop by the Thompson PTO table to purchase a baked good or volunteer for an hour. Kids are welcome to help out too.
Sign up to bake or help at the sale. https://tinyurl.com/bakesalelection
Bakers, please drop off the goodies on Monday, Nov 5th, in the PTO room. If not on Monday, please drop them off early morning on Tuesday.

  • Items should be pre-cut into SMALL portions for easy handling. Please wrap individually, or seal in an air-tight container to stay fresh overnight.
  • If your items are nut-free, dairy-free, egg-free, or gluten-free, please label them as such to help allergic community members identify them!
  • Any items containing peanuts or tree nuts MUST be labeled as such.
  • Some families have asked whether we are also accepting donations of pies to be sold whole as in past years – the answer is a resounding yes!

Not sure what to bring? Consider breakfast-friendly muffins or pastries, or the ever-popular brownies or cupcakes! Or if you’re feeling creative, come up with your own election-themed treat!

Green Team News

Our next Green Team Club meeting will be Friday Nov. 2nd 2:35-3:30 pm in room 210. We will explore creativity in environmental education. Using ACMI equipment we will experiment with our film making skills and learn and film the dance to REM’s Stand.

Contact Elizabeth Rocco at egrocco@gmail.com for more information on Green Team. Please email Fiona at fionaehring@gmail.com or Elizabeth if you are interested in joining a forming Thompson Garden Committee to integrate the Thompson School Gardens into the K-5 Curriculum!

Community News & Events

Parent Forum: Changing the Culture Around Mental Health: It’s Past Time

October 30 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM @ Ottoson Middle School

John Broderick, the former chief justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, is leading a campaign to bring mental illness out of the shadows. His son’s mental illness had gone undiagnosed for nearly 20 years: ”I was the parent and I didn’t see it. So he suffered for years. Then we had that horrible tragedy and he went to prison. And I don’t know how he survived that.”  In 2016 Justice Broderick agreed to co-chair the first statewide launch in New Hampshire of a national mental health awareness campaign called Change Direction in New Hampshire.  For the past two years, he has spoken countless times about the five most common signs of mental illness, in an effort to improve understanding and awareness of mental health.   PRESENTER: John Broderick is the Senior Director of Public Affairs at Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s R.E.A.C.T. Mental Health Awareness Campaign.  Broderick believes that “we have the ability to change the culture and the way mental health is viewed.”

Halloween Event at Waldo Park

Wednesday, October 31st

All are invited to the 13th annual Waldo Park Halloween Party.  We’ll gather at the Park beginning at 4:30 pm, and we’ll have a costume “fashion show” that’ll start around 5 pm or so.  A light dinner (hot dogs and veggie items) will be served before dark, so that all who wish can eat a meal before trick-or-treating. (Waldo Park is located at the end of Waldo Road, off Cleveland Street, between Mass Ave and Broadway.)

Annual Halloween Candy Buy Back Event

Friday, November 2nd, 9am- 5pm,  Saturday, November 3rd, 8am- 2pm, Arlington Orthodontics. 800 Mass. Ave. Arlington.
If your children are overachievers and collect more candy that you can possibly imagine eating this Halloween…
Arlington Orthodontics is gearing up for their Annual Halloween Candy Buy Back Event to benefit Arlington Elementary School PTOs and our troops serving abroad! Children/Parents are invited to drop off their leftover Halloween Candy at their office November 2nd and 3rd. They will give the child or parent $2/lb (max $10) as well as make a matching donation to the child’s school PTO. All candy is shipped to troops serving overseas! Last year Thompson School received $365 that went directly towards Enrichment programs organized by the PTO. Thanks for participating!

Kids’ Night Out! 
Nov 10, 5:30 PM – 8:30 PM @ Arlington High School

Children in grades K-4 are welcome in Arlington High School’s Blue Gym for a night of games, crafts, movies and more! A delicious pizza dinner and snacks will be provided.
An RSVP is recommended, but not required. Kids can stay for the whole three hours, or just come for an hour or two! The cost is $20 for the first child, and then $10 for each additional sibling. All of the proceeds from this event will be going towards the AHS Student Council mini-grant fund, a new program that gives grants to AHS clubs, and allows Arlington students to go out and do incredible things.

This event is organized and run by high school students, but there will be an adult advisor present at all times. And in the incredibly unlikely event of injury, we have people who are CPR certified and first-aid certified present at the event as well. To RSVP: Email trosen2020@spyponders.com. Please include your child or children’s: Name(s), Age(s), How long they plan to stay, and any dietary restrictions they have.
The Address is 869 Mass. Ave, but we ask that people enter through the Mill St. Entrance. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email us!
We hope to see you there!

Family Folk Chorale: All Ages Sing and Concert: R.E.M. and Indigo Girls
Sunday, November 11th @ 3 pm, Arlington Town Hall          

Under the direction of Artistic Director Christ Eastburn, the Family Folk Chorale intergenerational chorus will be performing the music of R.E.M. and Indigo Girls at an all-ages concert and community sing. (Last year, Eastburn partnered with the Thompson PTO and Green Team to lead the community sing of “One Day” at the June picnic.) Buy tickets at Brown Paper Tickets.

AFC’s Childcare & Preschool Options Night

Nov 14, 7 PM – 8 PM @ Thompson Elementary Gym

Local parents, both from Arlington and surrounding towns, are welcome to join for a free night of one-stop shopping for their childcare needs. This is a wonderful chance for busy parents to come to one place and meet the faces behind Arlington’s great preschools and daycare centers all at once. Parents can save time and gas, not having to drive all over town to pick up brochures and applications. There are nearly twenty licensed preschools and daycare centers in town with a large variety of programs. Free and open to all local parents.

Questions? Email options@arlingtonfamilyconnection.org

Support Thompson

PTO Amazon
Please remember to use the Amazon link on the PTO Website for your online shopping!


We are collecting Box Tops throughout the year. Each box top is worth 10 cents for Thompson. The submission deadline is Nov. 1 for fall earnings. You can find a pink and yellow Box Tops container in the lobby below the mailboxes.

 

Thompson School News : October 22, 2018

Save The Date

*new*

  • Oct 23, Tuesday – The Energized Guyz (grades 3-5 enrichment)
  • Oct 24, Wednesday – Picture Day
  • Oct 26, Friday – 4th Grade Field Trip to Lowell Mills
  • Oct 26, Friday – Spirit Day, Class Colors
  • Oct 26, Friday – 8th Annual AYCC Gala 7 PM – 11 PM
  • Oct 30, Tuesday – Coffee Chat With Karen, 8:15 am
  • Oct 30, Tuesday – Changing the Culture Around Mental Health @ Ottoson 7 PM to 8:30 PM
  • Oct 31, Wednesday – Direct Donation Drive: Last day!
  • Oct 31, Wednesday – Waldo Park Halloween Event 5 PM
  • Nov 1 & 2, Thursday & Friday – 2nd Grade Field Trip to Wheelock Family Theatre
  • Nov 2 & 3, Friday & Saturday – Halloween Candy Buy-Back
  • Nov 6, Tuesday – No School & Election Bake Sale
  • Nov 12, Monday – No School
  • Nov 14, Wednesday – PTO Meeting 7 PM-  9 PM
  • Nov 14, Wednesday – AFC’s Childcare & Preschool Options Night 7 PM – 8 PM

School Calendar

Click here for Thompson’s Google Calendar to get school holidays, early release days, and PTO events on your own calendar. Click here for a printable version of this month’s calendar.

The Arlington Public School Calendar is @ www.arlington.k12.ma.us/calendar

PTO Spotlight

Direct Donation Drive

132 more families to make our participation goal!!!

The Direct Donation Drive is coming to an end in less than 2 weeks. So far, 143 families have participated, but we still have a long way to go to meet our 275 family participation goal. Now is the time to put it at the top of your to-do list! Send a check in your kid’s backpack or make a contribution online.

Click here and donate today!

Thompson News & Events

Picture Day

Wednesday, October 24

Dress sharply! Order Pictures at CoffeePond.com (under order pictures/school portraits) or send your child with the order envelope that was sent home last week.

We still need a few parent volunteers to help the day run smoothly. If you’re interested in helping out, please sign up at https://tinyurl.com/ThompsonPictures.

Room Parent Still Needed!

We are still looking for a room parent to support Ms. D’Intino’s 5th grade class.  If you would like to volunteer to be a Room Parent or have any questions about Room Parents, please contact Christy Murphy-Macinta, cembc99@yahoo.com.

Spirit Day, Class Colors

Friday, October 26th

Show your grade level spirit by wearing the designated color! K: Purple; Gr 1: Green; Gr 2: Blue; Gr 3: Yellow; Gr 4: Red; Gr 5: Rainbow, all the colors.

Green Team Calendar

Join the Green Team for these events!

October 27th 9-12! – Fiona Ehring will lead a Garden Work Day
October 27th and 28th – Green Team will also join Mothers Out Front labeling Gas Leaks in the Thompson neighborhood.

Contact Nili Pearlmutter at info.ma.arlington@mothersoutfront.org for more information.

Please email Fiona at fionaehring@gmail.com or Elizabeth at egrocco@gmail.com if you are interested in joining a forming Thompson Garden Committee to integrate the Thompson School Gardens into the K-5 Curriculum!

Green Team News

Green Team was busy this month! We formed a Garden Committee and wrote a grant to integrate an edible school garden into the Thompson curriculum. (We are seeking parents, teachers and 4th and 5th grade students to be part of the committee.)
Green team hosted and filmed our first plant walk featuring Meredith Seifert discussing the super powers of Thompson plants.

October 16th-18th the 5th grade community headed to Alton Jones for Science Camp. On October 19th the Green Team club harvested from the garden and shared the fruits of it’s harvest with Thompson After School program. On October 20th Kate Joyce Murphy led Plogging! We walked and picked up trash around Thompson.  That day the club also made an installation of tiny pumpkin houses:Green Team Urban Ecovillage or Else (an unlivable planet!) The neighborhood featured natural building techniques and the latest green technology: thick insulated walls, all natural building materials and furniture, radiant floors, solar panels, wind turbines, natural lighting with sky lights, compost toilets, green roofs, living gardens, a forest, compost bins, rainwater catchment tanks, a fish pond, bike paths, a electric car power station, solar ovens, a greenhouse and a cafe.

The Green Team club meets after school on the first and third Fridays.




Volunteer

Election Day Bake Sale

We are looking for a parent or two to plan our Election Day Bake Sale on November 6th. An easy fundraiser that in 2016 raised approximately $1400! We have all the information you will need to organize it. If you would like more information or are interested in planning it, please email Yael Beals yael.beals@gmail.com.

Thompson Winter Party

The Thompson Winter Party is social event that is just for parents. It is a fun evening filled with conversation, music and dance.  The party is usually held in January.  We are looking for 2 co-chairs to plan and organize the event.  If you are interested, please email Yael Beals yael.beals@gmail.com

Community News & Events

8th Annual AYCC Gala

It’s not too late to buy tickets to the 8th Annual AYCC Gala on Friday, October 26th! AYCC is the leading mental health agency in town that provides counseling for Arlington children, youth and their families regardless of their ability to pay.  Please help support this critical service and make our community even better and stronger.  Added bonus, this year we are honoring Arlington Police Chief Fred Ryan.  Tickets can be bought at www.ayccma.org/gala.

Changing the Culture Around Mental Health: It’s Past Time

October 30 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM @ Ottoson Middle School

John Broderick, the former chief justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, is leading a campaign to bring mental illness out of the shadows. His son’s mental illness had gone undiagnosed for nearly 20 years: ”I was the parent and I didn’t see it. So he suffered for years. Then we had that horrible tragedy and he went to prison. And I don’t know how he survived that.”  In 2016 Justice Broderick agreed to co-chair the first statewide launch in New Hampshire of a national mental health awareness campaign called Change Direction in New Hampshire.  For the past two years, he has spoken countless times about the five most common signs of mental illness, in an effort to improve understanding and awareness of mental health.   PRESENTER: John Broderick is the Senior Director of Public Affairs at Dartmouth-Hitchcock’s R.E.A.C.T. Mental Health Awareness Campaign.  Broderick believes that “we have the ability to change the culture and the way mental health is viewed.”

Halloween Event at Waldo Park

Wednesday, October 31st

All are invited to the 13th annual Waldo Park Halloween Party on Wednesday the 31st.  We’ll gather at the Park beginning at 4:30 pm, and we’ll have a costume “fashion show” that’ll start around 5 pm or so.  A light dinner (hot dogs and veggie items) will be served before dark, so that all who wish can eat a meal before trick-or-treating. (Waldo Park is located at the end of Waldo Road, off Cleveland Street, between Mass Ave and Broadway.)

– Friends of Waldo Park

Annual Halloween Candy Buy Back Event

When

  •     Friday, November 2nd, 9am- 5pm
  •     Saturday, November 3rd, 8am- 2pm

Where

If your children are overachievers and collect more candy that you can possibly imagine eating this Halloween…
Arlington Orthodontics is gearing up for their Annual Halloween Candy Buy Back Event to benefit Arlington Elementary School PTOs and our troops serving abroad! Children/Parents are invited to drop off their leftover Halloween Candy at their office November 2nd and 3rd. They will give the child or parent $2/lb (max $10) as well as make a matching donation to the child’s school PTO. All candy is shipped to troops serving overseas! Last year THOMPSON SCHOOL received $365 that went directly towards Enrichment programs organized by the PTO.
Thanks for participating!

AFC’s Childcare & Preschool Options Night

Nov 14, 7 PM – 8 PM @ Thompson Elementary Gym

Local parents, both from Arlington and surrounding towns, are welcome to join for a free night of one-stop shopping for their childcare needs. This is a wonderful chance for busy parents to come to one place and meet the faces behind Arlington’s great preschools and daycare centers all at once. Parents can save time and gas, not having to drive all over town to pick up brochures and applications. There are nearly twenty licensed preschools and daycare centers in town with a large variety of programs. Free and open to all local parents.

Questions? Email options@arlingtonfamilyconnection.org

Support Thompson

PTO Amazon
Please remember to use the Amazon link on the PTO Website for your online shopping!


We are collecting Box Tops throughout the year. Each box top is worth 10 cents for Thompson. The submission deadline is Nov. 1 for fall earnings. You can find a pink and yellow Box Tops container in the lobby below the mailboxes.