- May 6, Monday - Franklin Park Zoo Field Trip - 1st Grade - Rescheduled!
- May 6-7, Monday-Tuesday - MCAS Math 4th Grade
- May 6-10, Monday-Friday - Teacher Appreciation Week
- May 8, Wednesday - PTO Meeting, 7-9 pm, Library
- May 8-9, Wednesday-Thursday - MCAS Math 3rd Grade
- May 9, Thursday - Arlington EATS Community Dinner, 6 pm, Cafeteria
- May 10, Friday - 1st-3rd Grade Author Visit: Toni Buzzeo
- May 15, Wednesday - 5th Grade Yoga
- May 16, Thursday - 1st Grade Enrichment: African Drumming
- May 20-21, Monday-Tuesday - MCAS Science 5th Grade
- May 22, Wednesday - Incoming Kindergarten Parent Orientation, 8:30 am, Gym
- May 22, Wednesday - 5th Grade Yoga
- May 23, Thursday - School Art Show
- May 27, Monday - No School
- May 28, Tuesday - Kindergarten Student Visit with Parent Tour
- May 29, Wednesday - Old South Meeting House Visit - 5th Grade Field Trip
- May 30, Thursday - Spring Concert, 9 am, Gym
- May 31, Friday - Annawon Weeden, First Light Foundation Visit - 3rd Grade
- May 31, Friday - Spirit Day: Red, White and Blue Day
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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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Secretary's Awards for Excellence In Energy & Environmental Education
Karen Donato and our all-school Thompson Green Team program will be recognized at the State House! Congratulations to Principal Donato, who leads us all in caring for the Earth and each other! Congratulations to Thompson staff and teachers who use creativity to teach lessons in sustainability! Congratulations to our Green Team lead teacher, Lynne Dichter, whose joyful can-do attitude inspires all school participation in our green team efforts! Congratulations to Thompson PTO and parents whose community stewardship enrich our environmental education opportunities!
Congratulations to Lauren D’Intino and her 5th grade class who will also be honored at the State House! Lauren and her students integrated environmental action in the classroom by transforming the Clean Water unit into "Which Way for Water Podcasts" with the help of Arlington Community Media Inc. youth mentor, Kevin Wetmore and Green Team leader, Elizabeth Rocco.
Thompson teachers and students have proved ready to transform their education into collective action to address the environmental challenges facing this generation. Congratulations students for being awesome, powerful change makers. Together we are proving "Small But Mighty Kids Change the World"!
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Green Team News
The 5th graders interested in being in the Zero Waste Skit can meet Elizabeth in the after school in the Thompson lobby on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Email Elizabeth at egrocco@gmail.com with questions.
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Cause + Event Boston: Support Thompson PTO
Cause + Event Boston is coming back to Arlington on Sunday, May 12 (Mother’s Day) at 8 am. Over the past four years, this 5K run/walk event has donated almost $1,500 to the Thompson PTO. This is the goal race for the FitGirls program, so 250-plus 4th and 5th grade girls will be running the 5K, including the Thompson team! Register today and learn more at the Cause + Event Boston website. Not a runner but want to get involved? Consider volunteering! It takes about 100 amazing volunteers to make this race happen each year. Questions? Want to volunteer? Contact Sara Wilkinson: swilkie49@hotmail.com
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Respond and Prevent:
Addressing Hate Incidents in Our Schools
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A Dialogue for APS Families, Teachers and Staff
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Thursday, May 16th @ Bishop Elementary School Gym, 25 Columbia Rd, Arlington, MA
When incidents of hate occur in our community, one of the first questions many people ask is, “What should we tell the children?” This interactive forum will provide educators, parents and other interested community members with guidance in responding to hate incidents with our students and preventing school-based hate incidents. Moderated by Stacy Davison, an Arlington parent with significant expertise in facilitating anti-bias trainings. Register here.
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Thompson Art Show
The Thompson Art Show is scheduled for Thursday, May 23rd from 6-7:30 pm. During this special evening the Thompson School will be transformed into an art gallery showcasing the work of all of our amazing student artists! Families and friends are invited to see and interact with the art and the artists. In keeping with the philosophy behind Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB), each student comes up with their own ideas, and decides which techniques and materials would be best to make their ideas come to life. Students will choose the work to display, and help mount the work. Our students have a lot to say about their work, and why it is important to them. We hope that this show will be a chance for the whole community to come together and celebrate their growth as artists and the unique work they do in the art studio!
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Join the Picnic in the Park Planners
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Summer is coming and it will be time for the Thompson School Picnic in the Park before you know it! Interested in helping to plan the fun? Come join the committee putting it together.
Contact: Kate Murphy: katejoycemurphy71@gmail.com
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Thompson Diversity and Inclusion Group
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One aim of the Thompson Diversity and Inclusion Group (DIG) is to share resources and local events that support courageous parents as they talk to their kids about diversity and inclusion.
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We all notice difference and we all have bias that we aren’t even conscious of. Want to learn more? Check out Project Implicit here to take quick tests to discover your own implicit biases. Use this information to start conversations about where our unconscious bias comes from and what we can consciously do when we’re aware of what’s happening unconsciously.
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Please join us for a Community Meal on Thursday May 9 at 6 pm. Are you fasting for Ramadan? Come by and pick up a meal in a to-go container.
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Arlington High School Project News
On April 29 Town Meeting overwhelmingly approved the appropriation of funds for the new high school with a vote of 208 to 10. The next crucial step in the process is the town-wide debt exclusion vote on June 11 to pay for the school.
Take a peek at the proposed school in this virtual fly-through video of the project design.
Residents are also invited to attend the next Community Forum on the project on Tuesday, May 21, 7-9 pm at Town Hall.
After the Town Meeting vote, AHS Building Committee chair Jeff Thielman remarked, “Town Meeting’s enthusiastic endorsement of the new school supports our belief that this is the best educational and financial choice for Arlington. We are the generation that has to address the pressing enrollment and facility needs of our deteriorating high school. It’s now up to the voters to decide on June 11.” The state is expected to reimburse Arlington approximately thirty percent of the cost of the $290.8M project.
For more information on the project, visit www.ahsbuilding.org
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The Little Fox Shop Is Open!
The Little Fox Shop is a non-profit resale shop of children's goods operating out of, and benefiting, the Fox Library. It was closed for a few months but is now open for business! The Little Fox Shop is still in need of inventory as well as funds to purchase new fixtures, hangers, shelving and shelving units etc. If you've been meaning to clear out your kids' closet or toy collection, the Fox Shop is a great place to send it! Items should be clean (no stains, rips, or tears; up to size 14!), complete (no missing pieces), and current (no baby gear before 2013).
To donate inventory: Fox Shop website for hours and guidelines.
To donate funds: https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/a-little-help
To volunteer (kids can tag along!): http://www.littlefoxshop.com/volunteer
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelittlefoxshop
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Transitioning to Middle School, Spring Session 2019
Calling all parents and caregivers of students in Grades 5 and 6! Register for this free Guiding Good Choices (GGC) parenting series beginning this Tuesday, May 7. GGC programs offer proven techniques and effective tools to help parents improve communication and strengthen trust with their children. GGC consists of 5 workshops, held once a week for five weeks.
Join us Tuesday nights May 7, 14, 21, June 4 & 11 from 6:30 - 8:30 at the Whittemore Robbins House (670R Mass Ave). Register via email: kkoretsky@town.arlington.ma.us
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 Amazon Smile
Designate Thompson School PTO as your favorite Amazon Smile charity of choice, and Smile will automatically donate 0.5% of the purchase price of any qualifying products to the PTO. (As of April 2019, we are no longer part of the Amazon Associates program.)
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 Box Tops for Education
We collect Box Tops throughout the year. Each box top is worth 10 cents for Thompson. Drop off your box tops at the Thompson lobby.
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 Maxima Gifts' My School Program
Every time you make a purchase, 5% of the pre-tax sale price goes to your school of choice. To sign up, see the My School webpage for details. Maxima will add an additional 2% of your purchase to your school when you sign up and make your first purchase.
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 Stop & Shop A+ Rewards
The Stop & Shop A+ Rewards program for the 2018-2019 school year concluded on March 19. Schools will get paid in June, and we can sign up and start earning again in September!
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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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