PTO Update

Thompson Family Picnic, June 12

All Thompson Families (current, incoming & alum) are invited to the Thompson Picnic on Thursday, June 12 from 5-8 PM in the Thompson Field. Bring a picnic (or pizza), blankets/chairs plus a side dish or salad to share. Utensils will be provided and drinks will be available for $1. For dessert there will be a giant make-your-own sundae station ($3) featuring Chilly Cow ice cream. We'll also have $1 carnival games including a moon bounce, cake walk and dunk tank (all can throw, grades 3 & up can take the plunge). We still need quite a few volunteers. Please consider donating a cake for the cake walk or an hour of your time at one of the stations. Sign up here. All fifth grade students are invited to help run the games and scoop ice cream. Sign your 5th grader up here. Please contact Andrea with any questions.

Field Day, June 13

Our fabulous gym teacher Christine Brayfield, is busy planning an exciting day of sports and games for our kids. Classes will compete in events such as relay race, tug-o-war, sponge race, etc. Grades K-2 will participate from 8:45-11:00 and grades 3-5 from 11:45-2:00. All kids will have lunch from 11:00-11:45. Ms. Brayfield needs 3 parents per class/per shift to help with the event. This is a fun one to help with so sign up here. Take both shifts if you can! 

The Community Card Needs YOU!

Did you know that the Arlington Community Card is Thompson's most important fundraiser, bringing in more than one-third of our PTO funds? Now in its 6th year, these discount cards, which we launch at Town Day in September, have become a must-have for people who frequent local businesses and restaurants. The Community Card Committee is having its first meeting very soon and needs some new members to help with all aspects of the card launch: registration, marketing, sales and PR. To join the committee of for more details, please contact Gaggi. 

Join the PTO Board

Interested in getting more involved in the school and the PTO? Consider a position on the PTO board. We are looking for an interested and qualified parent to fill the new board position of Fundraising Coordinator. The Fundraising Coordinator will manage Thompson's ongoing fundraising programs such as Box Tops for Education, Target Red Card, Stop n Shop and Amazon programs, as well as seek out new opportunities (e.g. Wilson Farm Day; Whole Foods Day; local holiday shopping nights). 

Nomination Information
Any Thompson School parent, guardian or teacher at the school will be eligible to run for office. If more than one person is running for an office, a ballot vote of the school community shall be taken; majority rules. To nominate any individual, please submit his or her name, email address and phone number as well as the relevant Executive Officer position to any of the current board members byFriday, June 13. If no positions are competitive, members will be voted in at the next PTO meeting on Tuesday, June 17. 

Goodbye Kathy & Milagros!

The PTO Board says goodbye and a huge thanks to Kathy O'Rourke and Milagros Masini for their many years of involvement and leadership on the Thompson PTO, including as President and Vice-President during the challenging rebuild years. We'll miss you—there won't be quite as many laughs without the two of you! See you at Ottoson!

Enrichment Recap
The children of Thompson have enjoyed a wide-range of Enrichment Activities this year. Supporting enrichment programming is one of the primary functions of the PTO, and contributions funded science, arts, mathematics and literacy activities both in house and on the road. Grade level enrichment activities are drawn straight from the curriculum and serve to provide deeper, often hands-on, understanding of the topics children study in the classroom. 

A quick recap of 2013-2014 Enrichment Activities:
Kindergarten:
Kidstock Drama Workshop
New England Aquarium Tide Pools Alive!
Wingaersheek Beach Tidepool exploration

First Grade:
Science Discovery Museum
Franklin Park Zoo
Theatreworks USA performance of Charlotte’s Web

Second Grade:
Children’s Museum: Japan House and Suminigashi
Mass Audubon Habitat exploration of habitats

Third Grade:
Plimoth Plantation field trip
Jason Russell House Museum

Fourth Grade:
Lowell Mills
Harvard Museum of Natural History (rocks and minerals)
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Soft Circuits

Fifth Grade:
Museum of Science: States of Matter visiting program
Wingmasters Animal Adaptations program

School-wide:
Origamido
Author Visits: Greg Tang, George O’Connor, Eric Berlin

Please Support Your PTO 
It's not too late to submit your Spring Direct Donation. The funds we raise now support us as we start up the 2014-2015 school year. Any amount is sincerely appreciated and we mean this! Money raised through fundraising efforts and through direct donations from Thompson friends and families makes a direct difference in every child’s education by funding field trips, enrichment programs and special community events. Please make out checks to "Thompson PTO" with "direct donation" in the memo and drop at the front desk. 

Pottery Sale to Benefit the Arlington Food PantryThe girls from Thompson 3rd grade Brownie troop #66290 have created handmade, ceramic bowls as part of their participation in the Empty Bowls Project. Empty Bowls is an international organization that lends its name to any project using the ceramic arts for hunger relief (www.emptybowls.net). Bowls may be purchased for $15 during the Thompson Family Picnic from 5-7pm or until they are sold out. All of the proceeds will be donated to the Arlington Food Pantry.

Note from Nurse Tami
Please remember you must pick up your child's medication in the Health Office on June 23 our last day of school. This includes Epi-Pens, Inhalers and all types of Medications. Any medications not picked up must be disposed of according to state law. If your child will not be here on Monday the 23 you may pick up their medication on Friday the 20th of June.
If your child will be on medication next school year you will need to obtain new Doctor's orders and medication for the new school year 2014-2015. The new medications and Doctor's orders must be presented to me on the first day of school, no exceptions. Any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me via phone or email. Happy summer everyone! 

Thompson & Hardy Community Art Project

Calling all Hardy and Thompson 5th graders! The mural on Marathon Street commemorating the history of the Boston Marathon is in the works and still needs painters. Sign up to help by contacting Stephanie Marlin-Curel.

Calendar of Events 

The list is getting shorter but still a few big events coming up...

• 6/12 Thompson BBQ
• 6/13 Field Day

• 6/19 Fifth Grade Luau
• 6/20 Fifth Grade Recognition Ceremony & Brunch

Dates to Remember

• PTO Meeting: Tuesday, June 17, 7-9 pm

• Kindergarten Visiting Day: June 19

Don't Miss Out on PTO News
Join the Thompson Yahoo Group to receive all PTO-related emails.

Thompson has a Facebook page
Friend us for pictures and updates; search "Thompson School Arlington".

Share Your News
Do you have Thompson-related news you would like us to include in the next PTO Update? If so, please email Andrea.