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.
Help us reach our family participation goal of 275 families!
October 1 marks the start of the Direct Donation campaign, our largest fundraiser of the year, which is critical for funding field trips, author visits, enrichment programs, and more. The drive runs only for the month of October, when we make a one-time request for your financial support. No donation is too small; indeed it is the many small donations that have a tremendous impact on the success of this drive. Our goal is to have 275 families participate. Look for the form in your child’s backpack.
Thompson News & Events
The Enrichment Committee is hard at work planning lots of field trips and in-school workshops & programs! This year’s committee includes:
Co-Chairs: Tonja Bishop and Sophie Delano
All-school and multi-grade programs: Takako Sugihara
If you didn’t hear, we sold a record-breaking 1183 cards on Town Day! It doesn’t end there though. Family Sales sellers are actively selling to friends and neighbors, and we will also end up selling another 300 or so through The Book Rack and Menotomy Beer & Wine.
Want to get involved with the Community Card fundraiser, either now or in the near future? We’d love to have you on board! Reach out anytime to:
Ashley Lorenz, Co-Chair: ashley.e.lorenz@gmail.com
Gaggi DeStefanis, Co-Chair: gaggi@rcn.com
Walk, Bike, Scoot to School Day- Wednesday, October 3
Sponsored in part by the MA Department of Transportation, we will have some cool prizes for bikers and walkers. Invite friends to form a Bicycle Train / Walking School Bus. After school, we will have a bike safety talk and obstacle course, weather permitting. Join us at the picnic tables by the splash pad from 2:45-3:30 pm! To volunteer to hand out prizes in the morning or to help with the bike course, sign up at https://tinyurl.com/wtsthompson.
Green Team Calendar:
Join the Green Team for these events!
1. Friday October 5th Green Team Club 2:35-3:30 pm
We will meet in the Thompson Garden to read “Weeds Find A Way” and then Thompson mom, Meredith, will lead us on a plant walk on school grounds, featuring Ecosystem Superheroes, the Thompson Weeds. (We discussed filming the meeting with ACMI equipment and possibly getting the ACMI youth mentor to work with the 5th graders on filming.) If there is heavy rain, we will meet in room 210 to play cooperative board games such as Wildcraft.)2. Friday October 19th Green Team Club 2:35-3:30 pm
We will meet in the garden for a work day led by Thompson mom, Fiona Ehring. (If there is heavy rain, we will meet in room 210 to plan a pollinator and/or colonial garden.)
3. Saturday October 20th 10am-noon Plogging
Thompson families will meet at Thompson Garden to walk, jog, explore the neighborhood and pick up trash led by Thompson mom, Kate Joyce Murphy.
4. Saturday in October TBA Garden Work Day led by Thompson mom, Fiona Ehring.
5. October 27th and 28th Mothers Out Front Gas Leak Labeling. Contact Nili Pearlmutter at info.ma.arlington@mothersoutfront.org for more information.
Box Tops for Education
We are collecting Box Tops throughout the year. The submission deadline is November 1st for fall earnings. You can find a pink and yellow Box Tops container in the lobby below the mailboxes.
Support Thompson
Please remember to use the Amazon link on the PTO Website for your back-to-school shopping!
Volunteer
Volunteer Survey
We are always looking for parents to help during the 2018 – 2019 school year for roles large and small. If you are just a little bit interested, please check off the position(s) in this survey. This simply shows your interest, it doesn’t commit you to the position! The PTO board will correspond and/or meet with interested parents. Thank you for your interest!
TASA is a new networking and advocacy group for parents of children with special educational needs in Arlington. We provide opportunities for parents to network and learn from other other, including meetings and online discussions (all restricted to parents only).
FAQ: No, we are not part of Arlington SEPAC, which has open membership & meetings that APS staff attend. We are a private group. But we are coordinating with SEPAC.
Have questions? Contact us through the TASA website
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.