Friday

Many of our math activities these next few weeks will focus on comparing numbers.

New game- Stacks! 

Is my tower more, less, or the same as your tower? What could I do to make both our towers equal? 

Thanks to Maya's Mom for sharing her expertise with weather as our Mystery Reader this afternoon! 

Thursday

Writing how-to books! 

Each child started to draw a map of their choice today.. Interesting to see such a wide range of maps!! 

Wednesday 11/19

New unit for writing- how to writing.  

Writing down 5 topics we might write about

Touch and tell- tell your partner what you are going to write. 

Read Aloud:

Visit this link to get a free pass to the discovery museum! 

Tuesday 11/18

What a fun trip to the Discovery Museum in Acton!  Thank you to the PTO for sponsoring this great learning experience for our first graders.

 A few sneak peak pictures... An IMovie will be coming out shortly! 

Monday 11/17

Word games- practicing first grade sight words and bonus letter words. 

A picture from the weekend at my best friends wedding! 

Thanksgiving Food Drive

Thanksgiving Food Drive

Thompson students are participating in a food drive along with the Board of Youth Services to help provide Thanksgiving dinner to Arlington families who need extra support. Gift cards to local grocery stores can be dropped off with Vicki; fresh produce should be dropped off on Tuesday/Wednesday, November 18 & 19; non-perishable items should be dropped off in the main lobby in the bins provided. All donations must be received by Wednesday, November 19. 

Thursday 11/13

I spent the day at the iPad Summit in Boston.

My favorite slide of the day from Meghan Zigmond:

It sounds like the kids had a great day at school!  Picking their own video clip to watch today during Social Studies about an American symbol, song or holiday was a big hit.  

Monday, 11/10

Thanks to everyone that came to our Author Celebration. The kids were really excited to share their small moment stories and America book. If you weren't able to make it, feel free to stop in at drop-off/pick-up and see your child's work.

Check out what some kids made at recess today! It took lots of teamwork.

One of our new bulletin boards in the hallway! 

What the first graders would do if they were president..

Ms. Magni will be spending the next month in Kindergarten (right next door in Ms. Marsh's classroom).  We are so thankful for Ms. Magni's hard work this fall!  At closing circle, the kids shared some of the reasons they will miss her!  She'll be back to visit us over the next few weeks :-) 

Have a wonderful Tuesday, Thanks to all of our Veterans! 

EATS request!

Arlington EATS is looking for donations of syrup and ketchup to complement meals we have planned for the coming weeks. Let us know here if you can help!  Thanks! :-)

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0549a9a62fa4ff2-food

If you ever have a few minutes to spare on a Friday after pick-up, join us in our classroom to see room 108 transform into a shopping center for Arlington EATS!  If you have more time to spare from 2:15-3, 3-5 or 5-5:45, sign up here http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0549a9a62fa4ff2-weekend

Thursday

Learning about another American symbol- the flag! 

Friday

Voting for the Thompson School motto! 

Friday

Voting for the Thompson School motto! 

Parent Forum

    PARENT  FORUM

“Sweet Dreams and Not-So-Sweet Snacks”

                  Thursday, November 20           7-8:30p.m.

              Ottoson Middle School                 for parents Gr. K-12

Join us for a dynamic, informative and interactive discussion on how nutrition and sleep affect children’s progress in school.  You will learn the latest science on nutrition and sleep. Dr. Witkowski and his wife will provide many resources, tips and strategies to help you and your children to discover nutrition and sleep habits that will support their academic progress.

PRESENTERS: 

Dr. Dan and Pam Witkowski are the founders of Wiwat Integrated Lifestyle Medicine (WILM), in Wakefield, Mass. They are dedicated to educating individuals, families, and medical practitioners on how to obtain optimal health and treat chronic disease through nutrition, fitness, stress management and lifestyle design.

Dan and Pam RE THE PARENTS OF SIX CHILDRENAGES 15 TO 29. They are also grandparents, and they have extensive experience working with families with children who experience diverse levels of ability.

Dr. Witkowski,MD is a Lifestyle Medicine physician, and is also board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology. He has a private OB/GYN practice in Melrose and he serves as the Chair of the OB/GYN Department of the Hallmark Health System, which includes Lawrence Memorial Hospital and Melrose-Wakefield Hospital.

Pamela is a retired attorney, entrepreneur and educational speaker.  As WILM’s Wellness Ambassador and Weight Management Program Coordinator, she is committed to educating others.

Wednesday 11/5

Tuesday was a busy day for teachers!  I attended a workshop in the morning for all APS first and second grade teachers that focused on math.  Then I led 2 workshops on integrating technology into the literacy block.  Everyone was super impressed with the iPad projects I shared from the fabulous first graders!

 

Thompson School‏@ThompsonSchool1

Thompson teachers and APS staff had a great day of PD! @MrsMelnik1 was fab - lots of great iPad ideas for Literacy!

• FAVORITES2
• 

5:26 PM - 4 Nov 2014

Math Centers: Focus on adding doubles (videos 1-5 and 6-10) and stations about America (non-standard measurement, fact families, and more!)
Watch this Vine to see math centers in action.

Tuesday- No School!

Support Democracy and your Community!

Arlington EATS will be holding a bake sale on Election Day Tuesday (11/4) from 7AM-4PM at the Thompson School.  All money raised will go to make sure that Arlington students have enough to eat.  Here's how you can help:

Provide homemade or purchased food to sell

• Homemade or purchased baked goods: cookies, cupcakes, brownies, bars, muffins, whole pies, cakes, loaves of banana / pumpkin breads, etc (whole loaves and pies sell particularly well!)
• Savory bagged treats: popcorn, mixed nuts, cheese straws.
• Drinks: Coffee  (Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, home made coffee carafe with cups & lids), soda, water, juice boxes

Items should be individually wrapped and include an ingredient list for the batch when possible.  Feel free to drop off on Monday afternoon at Thompson or Lauren's covered porch (169 Franklin St), or on Tuesday morning at Thompson.

Volunteer your time

Are you wondering what to do with the kids on the day off?  Bring them to school for an hour to show them how we support our community and make them practice their math skills by counting out change! 

www.SignUpGenius.com/go/10C0549A9A62FA4FF2-election 

Please contact Lauren Ledger at lauren.ledger@gmail.com with questions.  

To find out more about Arlington EATS, please visit www.arlington-eats.orgor www.facebook.com/Arlington.EATS

Thank you!

The Arlington EATS team

PTO

1.  The Thompson PTO has designated November as our Month for Giving!  We are kicking off our direct donation drive today; please look for the donation form in your child's folder.  We set a goal for this year- participation from at least 100 families!  Can you help us meet our goal? We anticipate spending $100 per child in this upcoming year. 100% of your donation goes to enrichment and activities that improve our school and build our community. Every donation helps!

2.  We have 2 open parent seats on our School Council and 5 candidates. Please review the bios below and then click on the voting link at the bottom of the page to select up to 2 candidates. Voting ends on Wednesday, November 5 at 8 PM. Thank you. —Thompson PTO

CANDIDATES:

Sarah Glover
I am mom to a third grader at Thompson and feel grateful every day we have such a wonderful school and After School program.  I have spent nearly 25 years working on k-12 education policy and education reform issues at state and district levels.  I currently work at the Harvard Graduate School of Education where my role is to help connect the school’s research to teachers, school leaders, and other educators in the field.  Most of my experience has been working with school districts and helping them to establish strategic plans that are designed to significantly improve student outcomes.  The experience teaches me that student learning cannot be left to chance; it is something that needs to be front and center, with learning goals well understood by the school, parents, and our children.  I have been really impressed thus far with how the school has embraced the new state standards and the quality of assignments, homework and student projects.  I would look forward to learning more about and supporting how excellent, well-rounded learning for our children remains a priority and serves as the clear focus of our school community.   I would love to serve the Thompson community on the School Council.  Thank you!

Carmen Henriquez
Hi everyone, my name is Carmen and I am the mother of Valeria and Eloisa Ortez-Henriquez, first and second graders. This is my daughters’ second year at Thompson School and we just love this community. From the wonderful privilege to be able to safely walk our kids to school together with neighbors we trust, to the multiple opportunities the school offers our children to learn at class and after school.  I would love the chance to become part of the School Council because I truly believe that my 10-years experience at SEIU –mediating labor disputes, negotiating contracts with multiples employers, and my ability to rally people from different walks of life around issues of common interest– can be put to good use in support of our principal’s work; and can help move forward the school goals and agenda. I am sure there is a lot I would have to learn if I were to join the School Consul; a challenge I would undertake with diligence and sense of humor. As someone who grew up in El Salvador, I’m sensitive of the need to build bridges across cultures, so I am also interested in helping to make information about district and school policy, issues and challenges more accessible to none English-speaking families. And contribute in that way to strengthen Thompson School’s connection with its diverse community of parents and teachers. Thank you!

Rebecca Eden Wolfe Lane
Our decision to move to this neighborhood 5 years ago was greatly influenced by all the wonderful things we heard about Thompson. I’m excited and humbled by this opportunity to contribute to the welcoming spirit of our community and the excellence of our school. My work takes me into schools and districts,  and has me meeting with education researchers and policymakers all over the country; yet I wasn’t sure how exactly I should get involved in our own school here at home. The school site council seems like the ideal way for me to share my professional skills with the community,  and I know this service will have much to teach me,  as well. I direct a national initiative called Students at the Center,  a project of the nonprofit Jobs for the Future. Our goal is to synthesize the best knowledge of how children learn,  how we motivate students,  and how to support schools -- and get this research into the hands of educators in actionable formats. I previously served on a site council for a school in Bridgeport,  CT as a local “expert." It was incredibly fulfilling and meaningful work, and I’m sure it will be even more so now with Elliot already in kindergarten and Naomi (class of 2024) coming soon.

Chris Dax Pacheco
I  have held many leadership roles like Graduate Student Council Chair and Chair of the Postdoctoral Association at MIT.  Currently I work for a large Life Science company and frequently interact with local Biotech, Pharmaceutical and Academic labs.  I grew up in New Jersey in a strikingly similar neighborhood to our Thompson district.  My family routinely struggled financially, however many of my peers came from families with means or families that had less than us.  Luckily my brother and I ended up in successful career paths and we’ve always attributed part of our success to the environment in which we grew up. I believe that Thompson, unlike any other school in the area, has the opportunity to provide our children with a wonderful experience that simply cannot be taught in the classroom.  Our kids can benefit from the unique backgrounds and different perspectives of our community and I would love the opportunity to work with the Thompson teachers and parents to provide the best academic and social learning environment for our school.

Moriah Tyrrell 
I am the mother to four children: two that are currently at Thompson.  Next year I will have three children at Thompson, and overall, I still have 10 years still left in the Thompson community.  I have a degree in Human Development/Early Childhood Education from Wheelock College and spent eight years at the YMCA of the North Shore as the Director of Youth and Family Programming.  During the past five years as a Thompson parent I have been a room parent, volunteered in classes and at various events and this year I have started getting involved in the Arlington EATS program.  I am interested in making a difference in my children's school, to ensure that all students get the best possible education.   I think it's important to support our excellent teachers and make sure they are getting the services they need.

Please VOTE HERE