Save The Date
* New *
- April 30, Monday – Grade 3-5 Enrichment, ImprovBoston Anti-Bullying workshop (rescheduled)
- May 1, Tuesday – Yoga 4th Grade
- May 1, Tuesday – Principal Appreciation Day
- May 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 – Thompson Tuesdays at Not Your Average Joe’s
- May 3 & 4, Thursday & Friday – Yoga 5th Grade
- May 4, Friday – Nurse Appreciation Day
- May 7 to 11 – Teacher Appreciation Week
- May 9, Wednesday, PTO Meeting – Parents Only, 6-8 PM
- May 13, Sunday – Cause + Event Thompson Fundraiser
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 here for a printable version of this month’s calendar.
Highlight of the Week
Teacher Appreciation Week
Teacher Appreciation Week is coming!
We have a wonderful week planned to recognize our teachers and staff and need your support to make it a great success! Please help us show our amazing teachers how much they mean to us by signing up here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090f49adad2aa0f49-teacher1
Schedule of Activities
- Monday and Wednesday : Chair Massages
- Tuesday : Luncheon
- Thursday : Breakfast
- Friday : Ice Cream Social and Gift Card Raffle
Thompson News & Events
Community Collection Drive
We have reached our deadline! Thanks to everyone who participated in the Community Collection Drive to help equip our teachers with materials they need for their classrooms. If you still haven’t signed to help, there are a few items left, so please check out this link: SignUpGenius
Please drop off your donations in the orange collection bin in the reception area as soon as possible.
Please contact our Spirit Team with any questions: Melissa Crowley melish26@yahoo.com or Judy Hu hudyju@gmail.com
Thank you so much for your generous support!
Earth Week April 22nd-May 2nd
Thank you to staff, teachers, parents and 4th and 5th graders that made the 4th/5th grade Zero Waste Assembly possible.
Thank you to the 5th grade Green Team: Alessandra, Aviva, Lucas, Nola and Sacha who created the first Zero Waste Day in 2016 and continue to lend their brilliance and creativity to Green Team initiatives.
Thank you all who brought in old textiles for the All-Schools Textile Recycling Competition.
Thank you all who packed zero waste and plastic free snacks and lunches.
Thank you parent volunteers and teachers who read in the K-1 classrooms, signed up to do a trash clean up with the 2nd graders, made no sew recycled textile bags with the 3rd graders or supported the 4th and 5th graders in their speeches, script writing, acting, art and trashformations!
2nd grade parents we will be doing a trash clean up on Wed. at 1pm. Contact your child’s teacher if you want to join us.
All-Town 5th Grade Dance!
Friday May 18th 6-8PM
Ed Burns Arena, 422 Summer Street
Put on annually by the Arlington Rec, this event is a special time for graduating 5th graders to celebrate with old friends, and meet new ones as they get ready to enter Gibbs.
- DJ, pizza for sale, photo booth and more!
- $5 in advance, $7 at the door. 5th graders ONLY.
Go here for advance ticketing and further details.
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
Thompson Tuesdays in May 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 at the same time! Excludes alcohol. Arlington location only.
Reduce – Reuse – Recycle
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.
Run or walk a 5k and support Thompson PTO
Can you volunteer for an hour or two on Sunday, May 13th? Please contact Sara Wilkinson at causeandeventvolunteer@gmail.com.
The Cause + Event race has sold out but we are still in need of volunteers to help make this event a success. We need volunteers to help with set up/clean up, pass out food, water and medals, cheer on runners along the course and a variety of other jobs starting as early as 6am and ending around 10am. The first four non-profits who provide 10 or more volunteers will receive an extra $100 donation. Thompson parents can volunteer on behalf of the school’s PTO.
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. For more info please visit the race website at http://causeandeventboston.com/
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
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!
Arlington Scoopermania
“You are invited to Arlington’s fourth annual Scoopermania, all-you-can-eat ice cream festival, which will be held on May 19th from 1-5 PM on the Jefferson Cutter House Lawn (611 Mass. Ave). Entry to the ice cream buffet will cost $5 per person, and all proceeds will go to the Jimmy Fund for cancer research and treatment. For months the members of the AHS Scoops Club have worked on this fundraiser to raise money to aid cancer patients. We have received ice cream donations from local businesses including Rancatore and JP Licks, and ice cream topping donations from other businesses along with a permit from the Arlington Board of Health to distribute them. On May 19th, we hope that we can bring the community together for both a fun ice cream event, but also so we can raise awareness of and fight cancer, together. Additionally, for the first time, we are planning on having local bands perform! This is a great time to get together with friends and even hang out with family! All are welcome to attend! Thank you for your support, and we hope to see you there!”
See Arlington Scoopermania 2018 Flyer.
Understanding and Reducing Stigma in Mental Health
Please join the Arlington Board of Youth Services and Dr. Steven Schlozman for the inaugural Mental Health Focus Series discussion on “Understanding and Reducing Stigma in Mental Health.” This event will be held at Arlington Youth Counseling Center (AYCC) at 670R Mass Ave, Arlington on Wednesday, May 2nd from 7-8:30pm. The program is free and light refreshments will be served.
Have you ever wondered about: Why mental health stigma persists? How the current system of care contributes to this stigma? How parents can advocate for their child, for themselves, and for their communities to diminish mental health stigma? What some of the most unexpected findings in the study of stigma and mental health are? Dr. Schlozman will address some of these topics and more as he explores the stigmatization (and de-stigmatization) of mental illness.
Steven Schlozman, M.D., is the associate director of The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School (HMS). He was also the co-director of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry for HMS and is a staff child psychiatrist at MGH. He works with children, adolescents, and adults and consults to the transplant services there. He has been involved in national efforts to increase recruitment in psychiatry and decrease stigma with regard to psychiatric illness. He has conducted international research focusing on stigma and mental illness and has written and presented extensively on the topic. He also writes fiction and has published two novels including The Zombie Autopsies.
This event is co-sponsored by the Board of Youth Services, Arlington Youth Counseling Center, and Arlington Public School’s Parent Forum Committee. For more information please visit http://www.arlingtonma.gov/aycc.
See Flyer.
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.