| Save The Date |
| *new* Dec 17, Monday – Arlington Treble Chorus & Arlington Elementary Orchestra Concert, 6pm Dec 17, Monday – iRobot visit to 3rd grade classes Dec 20, Thursday – Arlington EATS Community Dinner 6 pm – 7 pm Dec 21, Friday – Spirit Day – Pajama Day Dec 21, Friday – 12 pm Early Release (no lunch served) Dec 24 – Jan 1 – NO SCHOOL – Holiday Break Jan 2, Wednesday – Back to School Jan 3 & 4, Thursday & Friday – Thompson Drama Project Auditions Jan 3 & 4, Thursday & Friday – Dentist Visit Jan 4, Friday – 5th Grade Enrichment Program Museum of Science States of Matter (@Thompson) Jan 9, Wednesday – PTO meeting, 7-9 pm Jan 10, Thursday – Arlington EATS Community Dinner, 6-7 pm Jan 16, Wednesday – Grade 1 Discovery Museum Workshop Jan 21, Monday – NO SCHOOL Jan 25, Friday – Spirit Day – Be a Superhero! Jan 26, Saturday – Thompson Winter Parents Party |
|
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 |
| Principal’s Message |
|
Dear Thompson Families,
How is it the end of December already? I can’t believe we are closing in on the end of 2018 and ready ourselves to welcome all of the promise that 2019 has to offer. While these last days of December can be stressful, it is important to find the time to reflect on the past year, celebrate our successes, learn from our mistakes, and plan for the future. This week, I will be meeting with the students and discussing this month’s theme of kindness. We will share ways that we are kind to our family, community, school, and each other. I’ll be asking the students to think about how they will “commit to kindness” for 2019 and each class will create a representation of their commitment. In addition to this being a great activity to welcome the New Year, this will also be an activity that allows us to move forward from the graffiti incident that occurred. We have been able to identify the student involved, and are working with them and their family to make reparations. I appreciate the support of the staff and parent community during this time. While it felt like such a violation of who we are as a community, knowing the circumstances around it has provided a clear sense of the work we all need to do with our students, and each other, as we navigate difficult situations. I wish you all a winter break full of lazy mornings where you can stay in your pj’s, laughter, family fun, and perhaps a little snow! See you in 2019! Karen |
| PTO Spotlight |
|
Dear Families,
2019 is fast approaching and it is hard to believe but we are a third of the way through the school year! Fall and December have been jam-packed months for the PTO. We kicked off the year with our two major fundraising drives – Arlington Community Card sales and the Direct Donation Drive – both of which exceeded their goals. Additional funds were raised from programs including the Election Day Bake Sale, Arlington Orthodontics’ Candy Buy Back Program, Otto’s Pizza Night and Maxima Gifts Thompson Day. Easy ongoing opportunities to support the PTO throughout the rest of the year include Amazon, Stop & Shop A+ Rewards and the Box Tops program. If you shop on Amazon, remember to go through the PTO website and click on the Amazon icon. For the Box Top program just bring Box Tops cutouts to the collection bin by the mailboxes in the main office. Register your Stop & Shop Card online (https://stopandshop.com/school-rewards/) and support the PTO with every purchase. Funds raised from these initiatives will be used to pay for enrichment activities and also support the teacher reimbursement program, as well as scholarships for students in need of financial assistance. To date, the PTO provided scholarships for Picture Day, the Book Fair and community events. Turning to enrichment, the Enrichment team was busy orchestrating new and returning programming for our students. Kindergartners learned to engineer pyramids with Wicked Cool Kids; iRobot visited the 3rd Grade; and, The Energized Guyz: Powered up! performed for Grades 3 through 5. Three grades went on some exciting field trips: 2nd Grade enjoyed a performance of Goonie Bird Greene at the Wheelock Family Theater; 4th Grade took a trip to Lowell Mills; and the 5th Grade visited the Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Science. The PTO also planned and hosted several community events this trimester: Welcome Back Breakfast, Movie Night, Literacy Night and the Book Fair. Looking ahead to the start of 2019, there are several exciting programs planned for students. Kindergarten will participate in an Animal Adventure in-school program, Grade 1 will visit the Discovery Museum, 4th Grade will participate in a Circuit Labs program, and 5th Grade will enjoy a visiting program from the Museum of Science. Additionally, all grades will participate in workshops with Bash the Trash in February. For the larger community, our ever-popular, parent-only Winter Party will be held on January 26th at Town Hall. February brings us Game Night and March our beloved, biennial International Festival! These programs and events are only made possible by the many parents who volunteer their time and expertise. Many thanks to the PTO Board, the Fundraising team, the Enrichment team, the Room Parents, Event Chairs, the Communications team, and every volunteer who dedicated an hour or many hours to bringing these events to fruition. Our need for parent volunteers is ongoing into the New Year. Please sign up to volunteer for any amount of time that you can to make these activities possible for our kids! We are grateful to the many local businesses that supported the Thompson PTO through the Community Card or through donations to our events. Lastly, our sincere thanks to the teachers, staff, Ms. Vicki and Mrs. Donato for all their support and partnership. Wishing you happy holidays and a happy new year! Nandana & Christy (Co-President and Vice President) |
| Thompson News & Events |
|
Book Fair and Literacy Night The Thompson Book Fair and Literacy Night were a big success! Thanks to the Book Rack, who brought us an amazing selection of books. This year the PTO was able to sponsor books for students in need and purchase books from teacher wish-lists for individual classrooms. Literacy Night immersed us in the many languages from around the world. Through poetry reading, writing, bilingual books and activity stations, we were reminded of the amazing diversity of our community. Thanks to the book fair co-chairs, Sarah Gupta and Debbie Richer, Literacy Night co-chairs Sri Thumati and Lori Lennon, and all the volunteers who assisted during both events. |
|
Arlington EATS
The December Community Dinner has been rescheduled to December 20. We hope to see you there! Did you know that Arlington EATS distributes over 1000 snacks a week in Arlington Schools? This #GivingDecember our goal is to feed learning by raising $6,500 in support of the snack program in 2019. Help us reach our goal today by donating towards the snack program! |
|
Thompson Drama Project
Hello Third, Fourth, and Fifth grade parents, it’s time to sign up for the Thompson Drama Project! We are planning to do two plays this year. We are happy to welcome back Maf Terry and Lise White directing one show and Gaggi Destefanis assisted by Yael Beals for the other. Rehearsals will begin the week of Jan. 7, on Tuesday and Friday afternoons (though students will not necessarily need to attend both days). Auditions will be on Thursday, Jan. 3 and Friday, Jan. 4 after school in the Music Room. All actors who audition will receive a part – the auditions are for casting purposes. All children must sign up for an audition time here. Prior to the audition, you must fill out a registration form for your child here. Your child cannot audition unless you have filled out a registration form and signed up for an audition slot. Please be sure to read the TDP Ground Rules here. Mark your calendars – performances will be April 7th, 10th and 11th! Dress rehearsals will be April 2nd and 5th, and weekend tech rehearsals will be on March 30 and 31. If your child does not wish to act, but would like to help paint sets and make props (any grade) or help backstage (5th grade only), please send us an email letting us know and we will send more information closer to the time. Please let us know if you have any questions at thompsondramaproject1@gmail .com. Karen Roth and Tonja Bishop Co-Producers |
|
Green Team News: Create a Podcast for the Planet!
ACMi (Arlington Community Media, Inc) is going to offer a workshop to Green Teams in January on how to create a podcast. This will hopefully culminate in Green Teams submitting podcasts on any environment-related topic that interests them for a town-wide event celebrating Earth Day in April. Teams are also invited to submit their podcast to the NPR Student Podcast Challenge, which you can read more about here: This training will support our Green Team goal of making our own videos. www.npr.org/2018/11/15/664671123/npr-student-podcast-challenge-turn-an-idea-into-sound-and-win Thank you all who made love graffiti last week! |
|
The Dentist Is Coming to Thompson
January 3 & 4, 2019
The dentist is coming to Thompson Elementary January 3rd and 4th 2019. Please fill out the form sent home with your student and turn it in to Nurse Christina or Vicki Rose if you would like your child’s teeth cleaned. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Smile Massachusetts at 1-888-481-8639 or visit the website at mobiledentist.com. |
|
Parents Winter Party – Save the Date Saturday January 26th, 2019 This years Thompson Winter Parents Party will be held at the beautiful Arlington Town Hall. Kid-Free!! Get ready for a DJ, dancing, as well as a great opportunity to meet other parents. We’ll also have food and a cash bar. After winter break, be on the lookout for a formal invitation coming home in your child’s backpack. |
| Community News & Events |
|
Arlington Treble Chorus & Arlington Elementary Orchestra Concert Monday, December 17th, 6pm @ Arlington Town Hall The all-town elementary treble chorus is open to all 4th and 5th graders from each of the Arlington elementary schools. The concert will last approximately 30 to 45 minutes. |
| Support Thompson |
|
Shopping on Amazon? Last year the PTO earned $3,500 through the Amazon Associates program with a percentage of sales at no cost to you. Click here and start earning now! Read more. |
| Stop & Shop A+ Rewards: Register your Stop & Shop card and support the PTO with every purchase. |
| Box Tops: We collect Box Tops throughout the year. Each box top is worth 10 cents for Thompson. Drop off your box tops @ the Thompson lobb |