Save The Date
* New *
- April 23 – 27, Earth Week Activities at school
- April 24, Tuesday, Yoga 4th Grade
- April 25, Wednesday, Administrative Professionals Day – Ms. Vicki
- April 26, Thursday, Yoga 5th Grade
- April 27, Friday, Spirit Day: Wacky Socks
- April 27, Friday, 3rd Grade Trip to Plimoth Plantation
- April 27, Friday, Yoga 5th Grade
- April 30, Monday, Grade 3-5 Enrichment, ImprovBoston Anti-Bullying workshop (rescheduled)
- May 1 – 31, Tuesdays, Not Your Average Joe’s Fundraising Event
- May 1, Tuesday, Yoga 4th Grade
- May 3 & 4, Thursday & Friday, Yoga 5th Grade
- May 9, Wednesday, PTO Meeting – Parents Only, 6-8 PM
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,
Happy Spring! I think I can finally say that after the fabulous weather these last couple of days. There’s nothing better than being outside, in the sunshine, watching kids play. One of my favorite sights to see is so many families and friends playing and talking after school on the playground. There’s so much value in those moments – and fostering our community is one of them.
Baseball season has officially kicked off in our house, and with that will come driving from field to field, dinner on the run, and me helping to “coach” from the sidelines! I’m sure I will be crossing paths with many of you on those evenings.
On another note, I’d like to ask the parent community for some support. Over the past few weeks I have seen an increase in some challenging and concerning behaviors in many grade levels. With our students having access to technology – YouTube, Gaming Systems with game Chat enabled, and messaging – I have seen more and more incidents of students “trash talking” to each other, making aggressive statements that they may or may not fully comprehend, and challenges to the authority of our lunch and recess staff. Please continue to have frank conversations with your children about the importance of being respectful of themselves, each other, and all adults that work at Thompson School. I appreciate your support!
With the end of April break comes the craziness that is the last two months of the school year. We continue with MCAS in the month of May, PTO sponsored Field Trips are happening at every grade level, Staff Appreciation Week, Field Day, and the Family Picnic to name a few! We are also looking ahead to next year and will be sending out our Parent Input Form for Class Placement in 2018-2019. We also begin the events that will welcome our newest students, while saying goodbye to our oldest. Please mark your calendars – the 5th Grade Celebration of Learning will be June 19th.
At this time of year, I also like to ask for families who know that they will not be returning to Thompson for the next school year to please email Vicki at vrose@arlington.k12.ma.us. This will help us plan accordingly for class sections and sizes. At this time, we already have 80+ students registered for Kindergarten and 8-10 new registrations for the other grades. Thank goodness we have our addition!
I hope you and your families had a wonderful week, and the transition back will be smooth for all of us. These next 45 school days will fly by…be sure to hold on tight and enjoy the ride!
See you on the field,
Karen
Highlight of the Week
Thompson Green Team
Earth Week April 22nd-27th
April 23rd-27th- All-Schools Textile Recycling Competition
All Schools will be competing to collect the most textiles during the competition week and to win a prize and town recognition! Can Thompson match or collect more than the 272.6 lbs of textiles donated last year? Drop off your textiles (all old, worn, torn clothes, shoes, bedding, stuffed animals, etc) to the Bay State Textiles collection bin outside your school.
April 23rd-After school Green Team 5th Grader meeting
April 25th- Zero Waste Assembly 9:30 am
including skits and speeches about the 4th graders’ “Strawless Campaign” and 5th graders’ “Zero Waste Campaign”!
April 26th- Zero Waste Day
Parents please pack a zero waste snack and lunch with your students! Zero waste lunch= lunchbox with reusable containers and silverware and a water bottle. No disposable straws, juice boxes, plastic bags, food cups or snack bags ideally. More information on how waste free lunches save money: http://www.wastefreelunches.org/what-is-a-waste-free-lunch-program.html#what-does-it-look-like?
April 23rd-27th – Parent volunteer class opportunities!
Sign up to read books on Earth Day themes in K-1 classrooms! Featured book is “One Plastic Bag”at http://oneplasticbag.com/. Books will be available at the front desk.
Sign up to help with trash clean up with 2nd grade classes!
Sign up to help the 4th and 5th graders with their Zero Waste Assembly!
More information about textile recycling:
- https://www.mass.gov/guides/massdep-textile-recovery
- https://www.smartasn.org/SMARTASN/assets/File/resources/SMARTInfographTextileRecycling.pdf
- https://www.smartasn.org/SMARTASN/assets/File/resources/SMARTDoubleLifeofRecycledTextiles.pdf
For questions about the textile recycling competition, you can contact Rachel Oliveri, School Sustainability Coordinator, at roliveri@arlington.k12.ma.us.
Goods News! Arlington Garden Club is awarding $200 toward the Thompson school garden revival. Contact Fiona Ehring at fionaehring@gmail.com if you are interested in helping with the garden.
If you have any questions about the Thompson Green Team, contact Elizabeth Grace Rocco @ egrocco@gmail.com.
Thompson News & Events
Community Collection Drive
We are piloting a mid-year Community Collection Drive to help equip our teachers with materials they need for their classrooms. Our goal is to make this a Thompson Community effort so families can contribute new or gently used items. (Specific teachers were not listed because donations will be shared.)
Run or walk a 5k and support Thompson PTO
The 5K run/walk, Cause + Event Boston, is coming back to Arlington on Sunday, May 13 (Mother’s Day) at 8:00 am.
C+E Boston is a fun, family-oriented event that celebrates health and wellness, the spirit of philanthropy among the runners, and the work of the nonprofits in our community. This race is unique – at least 50% of each runners’ registration fee is donated to their charity of choice. You can select the Thompson PTO or your favorite charity.
Over the past three years, Cause + Event has donated almost $1000 to the Thompson PTO as a part of the $60,000 donated to participants’ selected charities. This is the goal race for the FitGirls program so there will 250+ 4th and 5th grade girls running the 5K including 45 from Thompson!
Register today at www.causeandeventboston2018.racewire.com, and do it soon, last year the race sold out a month early!
You can learn more about the race at the Cause + Event Boston website. Questions? Feel free to contact Sara Wilkinson @swilkie49@hotmail.com.
The Thompson School Council Needs You!
For the 2018-2019 school year, we will be electing a new School Council. The School Council is a separate body from the PTO. If you are interested in becoming a School Council Member please email nmewada@gmail.com and diana_lutz@yahoo.com a brief bio and a statement of interest. The PTO will hold elections after the spring break.
The Thompson School Council is a representative, school-based committee composed of the principal, parents, teachers, and community members. School Councils were established by the Massachusetts Education Reform Act to improve and provide support for public schools. The School Council acts under the supervision of the Arlington School Committee.
The School Council members are elected and is comprised of equal numbers of parents and teachers. This year, we will hold an election for 2 Parent Representatives. We will meet once a month in the afternoon or early evening. Meetings of the Council are public, and all interested members of the Thompson community may attend.
The School Council is charged with planning, goal setting, and budgeting for improvements at Thompson. Specific responsibilities of the School Council include:
- Adopting educational goals for the school that are consistent with local educational policies and statewide student performance standards
- Identifying the educational needs of students attending the school
- Formulating a school improvement plan.
Not Your Average Joe’s
Coming in May! Thompson Tuesdays at Not Your Average Joe’s. Eat or get take-out at NYAJ’s on any Tuesday in May, mention Thompson when paying the bill, and 15% of your check will go to the PTO Enrichment Fund! You can use your Community Card to save yourself 10% too – SAVE and GIVE – a win-win!
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.
Join The Annual Picnic Team
Spring is here and with it, one of our favorite events of the year – the school picnic. In addition to the dunk tank, bounce houses and of course the cake walk we are adding some activities this year and could use your ideas and help to make this the best picnic yet! Join the team!
Contact: Kate Murphy, thompsonschoolvoluntee
Teacher Appreciation Week
Teacher Appreciation Week is coming! The week of May 7th through May 11th teachers will once again enjoy a Tuesday luncheon, a Thursday breakfast plus a few additional surprises… watch for a sign-up genius to help out that week coming your way in the next few days.
Join the Community Card Team!
Believe it or not planning begins NOW for the 2018-19 This is Thompson’s second biggest fundraiser each year, bringing in $16K+ annually for School Enrichment.
Spring to-do’s include:
- get contracts signed
- confirm our advertising plans
- start planning for Town Day and beginning of new school year sales
The Team is looking for:
- task-rabbits
- brain-stormers
- AND a 3rd Co-Chair (shadow for a year and poise themselves to take over for Gaggi in 2020)
Whether you’re totally ready to take something on, have some good ideas to pass on, or are just curious about what’s involved before committing to anything, please email the co-chairs:
- Ashley Lorenz (K,3,5) at ashley.e.lorenz@gmail.com
- Gaggi DeStefanis (3) gaggi@rcn.com.
Help Throughout the Year
To check all current volunteer opportunities: http://tinyurl.com/ThompsonPTOVolunteers
Community
Arlington EATS NEEDS YOUR HELP!
The School Snack Program is growing by the day, and our kids are making good use of it. Students are encouraged to snack on fruit, which is generously supplied through our community partner, Food Link. However, the rest of the snacks offered are purchased. Helping us continue to offer this program and meet growing demands is as easy as adding another item or two to your grocery list and dropping it off in one of our marked bins.
For more information about our School Snack Program and a list of approved snacks, here’s our School Snack Program Fact Sheet. We appreciate your support!
Dallin Auction
Looking for a fun evening out? Come to the Dallin Elementary School Auction at Town Hall on Friday, April 27th, 7-11pm. We have so many great auction items this year. Beverages and bidding all to benefit the Dallin PTO. Always a great evening! You can purchase tickets online HERE or by mailing in a check with the ticket form available on http://dallinpto.org/ . Questions about the event can be directed to: DallinSchoolAuction@gmail.com
Grandparents Support Group
The Town of Arlington offers a Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Support Group which now meets on the second Wednesday of each month from noon to 1:30 at the AYCC offices in the Whittemore-Robbins House behind the Robbins Library. Prospective members should email LAugust@town.arlington.ma.us or call the Council on Aging, 781-316-3410, for a short telephone interview before attending the group.
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.
This month, Kristin DeFrancisco & Stephanie Greiner will discuss the Gibbs during the Special Education Parent Advisory Council meeting.
