**New**
- Mar 21 and 22, Thursday and Friday - Field Trip 2nd Grade - Japan House
- Mar 21 and 22 / 28 and 29, Thursdays and Fridays - Field Trip 3rd Grade - Royall House
- Mar 22, Friday - Morning PTO Meeting, 8:15 - 9:15 am
- **Mar 26, Tuesday - K and 1st Grade Author Visit, Sarah Lynne Reul**
- Apr 4, Thursday - 3rd Grade Enrichment - Museum of Science (Motion, Forces, and Energy)
- **Apr 7-9, Sunday-Tuesday - Thompson Drama Project performances**
- **Apr 15-19, Monday-Friday - NO SCHOOL, Spring Break**
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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.
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Dear Thompson Families,
I want that hour back! Even though I am happy that it is still "light out" at 6:50 pm, my younger son has spent quite some time advocating that it wasn't time for bed because it was only 8:00!
March is such a busy month—we had our amazing International Festival this weekend, Beats for Eats is next weekend, and we are gearing up for our Thompson Drama Project performance as well as MCAS in early April. If you have time to spare, or a babysitter at the ready, we'd love to have your support at our upcoming events!
Teachers have noticed that there has been an influx of parents who are walking their children to the classrooms. Please remember that students are expected to walk to their classrooms on their own. Give that last hug and kiss at the door or right by the main office, and they should be independently transitioning to their classrooms. If you need assistance, please let me or another staff member by the main office know, and we will help! Thank you for your support as we work to get our kiddos ready to be with their teachers on time.
It was great to see so many of you at the International Festival! A huge thank-you to the PTO, the Festival coordinators, donors, and volunteers for such a successful event.
See you soon,
Karen
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It was great to see so many returning and new families at the International Festival on Saturday—what a celebration of our diverse community! We had more than 30 country tables showcasing different cultures, 60-plus kids who walked down the runway, arts and crafts, and of course fabulous food and homemade desserts in the international café.
Thank you to the many volunteers—Thompson parents, AHS students, Thompson alumni, friends, and staff who donated time on a Saturday to make this event a success, and the businesses that donated food. A special thanks to the planning team who orchestrated it all: Sabrina Kias, Lucy Thiboutot, Meghan Ostrander, Sri Thumati, Joselyn Dennis, Christy Murphy-Macinta, Nora Dybdal, Jessica Minners, Linda Kang, Maja Fiket, Patricia Gallen, Amy Mulholland, and Lisa McCarty.
If you would like to get involved in planning the next International Festival in any capacity, please email thompsonptoevents@gmail.com. Indicating your interest right now does not mean a confirmed commitment; we will reach out to you in December 2020, when the planning process starts again, to see if you are available and interested.
Thank you also to the Thompson teachers who made International Week possible. Highlights included morning announcements by students in Spanish, Nepali, Italian, and Punjabi, art from around the world, a diverse display of books in the library, and an all-school enrichment program featuring an Afro-Brazilian capoeira ensemble.
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Thompson Drama Project Volunteer Opportunities!
 The Thompson Drama Project is presenting two different productions of The Phantom Tollbooth on April 7, 8, and 9. Our kids have been working hard, and as we are an entirely volunteer-run organization, we need some help to pull it all off!
We have a few openings remaining for fifth graders interested in joining the backstage crew. Please email thompsondramaproject1@gmail.com for more information if you are interested.
We need parent volunteers for tech rehearsals, dress rehearsals, and performances. You can sign up here. You can also volunteer to help gather props for use in the shows—sign up here.
It is a tradition in our playbill that families can choose to send a greeting to their actor or the cast. The cost for this is $15/text ad and $30/quarter page ad, and helps to defray our printing costs. If you want to buy a family greeting, please fill out this form. Family Greetings are due by Wednesday, March 20.
We are also collecting actor bios for the playbill; these are due by Wednesday, March 20. All actors should fill out a form here.
To provide our students with this amazing experience, we have costs associated with putting on the plays—buying rights to shows and purchasing scripts, creating the set, props, and costumes we use, printing the playbill and actor head shots, as well as a well-deserved cast party to celebrate our achievements. We greatly appreciate donations to keep the tradition going. You can donate by cash, check, or PayPal.
- Checks can be made payable to Thompson School PTO - Drama Project!
- Checks can be returned to school, or mailed to our treasurer, Lauren Ledger, 169 Franklin St, Arlington, 02474
- Or use our PayPal account with a note “Direct Donation”: https://www.paypal.me/ThompsonDrama
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PTO Meeting Friday, March 22, 8:15 - 9:15 am
Haven't been able to make an evening PTO meeting? Join us for a morning meeting on March 22, right after drop-off at 8:15 am. Learn about upcoming spring events and get an update from Ms. Donato. Little kids are welcome to join. Coffee will be provided. See you there!
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Green Team News
Thompson Green Team has a new podcast, "Small But Mighty Kids Change The World," and made a new song for the global youth climate strike on March 15.
 Thompson is looking for Garden Coordinators, Garden Educators, and Garden Volunteers to start an edible garden curriculum. Please email Elizabeth at egrocco@gmail.com if you are interested. The garden coordinator will delegate tasks to garden committee members to ensure that the committee:
- Defines the goals of the garden and fulfills the garden grant
- Identifies a garden educator who will partner with teachers to develop a gardening K-5 curriculum
- Coordinates with existing Thompson groups to engage students after school
- Recruits and coordinates volunteers for open gardening time during recess for 8 weeks in the spring and fall
- Recruits classroom educators and garden volunteers during summer vacation
- Develops a summer maintenance plan
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Beats for EATS Next Weekend!
 Come party with us at beats for EATS on Saturday, March 23rd, from 7 - 11 pm at Town Hall. There will be a silent auction, drinks, hors d'oeuvres, and great music. Tickets are on sale now. We have lots of volunteer slots: before, during, and after the event. If you can't make it, consider bidding from afar or making a donation. All of the money raised from this event will go to feed kids in food-insecure homes in our neighborhoods.
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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.
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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 lobby.
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 Stop & Shop A+ Rewards: Register your Stop & Shop card and support the PTO with every purchase.
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Nandana Mewada, Copresident
Christy Murphy-Macinta, Vice President
Danielle Gottesman, Communications Cochair
Lani Obermayer, Communications Cochair
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.
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