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The Bishop Pennant Bishop Elementary School, 25 Columbia Road, Arlington, MA
February 2011 _________________________________________________________________
A Friendship Concert
Please join the Bishop Students for “A Friendship Concert” on Tuesday morning, February 8, 8:45am for grades K, 1 and 2, 9:45am for grades 3, 4 & 5 (snow date, February 9). Come share the talents of our students through their joyful singing, danc-ing, and playing of instruments. The students should plan to dress up for this festive event. Kindergarten through fourth grade can wear anything they like that is dressy, (remember that Valentine’s day is the following week.) Clothes from another country are also welcome, and reflect our theme of friendship. The fifth grade chorus attire is black bottom, white top, subtle shoes and one special accessory (any color) such as a scarf, tie, or headband (no hats.) The students have worked hard for their performance. We invite you to stay for the entire concert if space allows and promise you will be de-lighted and entertained. We look forward to seeing you!
February Calendar of Events
1 K Registration for 2011-12 (snow date 2/2) 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m 7 SEPAC Basic Rights Workshop 8 Winter Music Program 8:45, 9:45 a.m. 9 PTO Meeting, Bishop Library 10 "Shop at Wilson Farm Day" 15 School Council Meeting 7:15 a.m. 17 Bishop School Spirit Day 21-25 February Break-No School 28 Professional Development Day
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PTO News and Upcoming Events February is Friendship Month at Bishop! February 8 is the all school Friendship Music Concert. Bishop Spirit wear will be sold at the
event, with lots of new items to purchase. February 10 Wilson Farm is once again proud to offer the “Shop at Wilson Farm Day” pro-
gram to raise funds for Bishop. When you do all your Valentine’s Day shopping don’t forget to bring your Bishop flyer.
Valentine making project for the Senior Center will occur during indoor recess time the first two weeks of the month. Donations of supplies will be gratefully accepted - construc-tion paper, markers, stickers, etc (no glitter please).
Thank you to all our parent volunteers and the entire Bishop Community for all your support this past month. A special thanks to Sarah Sontag and Alison Vaishnaw for coordinating the successful Bishop Pajama Night with guest author Amy MacDonald and to Brian Feeney who offered Patriots’ playoff tickets for a raffle, which raised $500.
At the last PTO meeting those in attendance voted to spend an additional $2,000 for a writing consultant, engaged to help Bishop teachers implement the new Lucy Calkins writing pro-gram. This is in addition to the $3,000 the PTO provided for the consultant in early Decem-ber. Ms. Amato was on hand at the meeting to provide perspective from the teachers, on the successes to date of the consultant’s work. The teachers asked for additional funding for addi-tional consulting hours to finish up the training as well as provide new ways to weave Critical and Creative Thinking Skills into everyday lesson plans. This winter has been particularly brutal, but spring is around the corner. The Bishop Bear Fair is held in May, but already the planning has begun. We are looking for someone to learn the ropes of coordinating the Fair by shadowing the Bear Fair coordinator Laura Fairbanks this year, in an effort to take over as coordinator in 2012. Volunteers needed for many aspects of planning and coordination, as well as everyone chipping in for the fair itself. If you are inter-ested or want some more information please contact Laura Fairbanks [email protected]. The PTO is looking for candidates for the upcoming 2011-2012 school year for the following positions, both 2 year terms:
Co-President - assists in overseeing all activities and work of the PTO, first year of term as “junior” Co-President, second year as “senior”.
Corresponding Secretary - public relations coordinator for the PTO, focused on getting out the news of the PTO's work; create monthly updates for the Bishop Pennant; and han-dle all correspondence
Fundraising Coordinator - oversee and schedule PTO fundraising events with the Co-Presidents, generate ideas for future events, and assist in recruiting volunteers.
If you are interested in running you can let us know at an upcoming meeting on February 9!
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Arlington Food Pantry This month we will be asking for donations from the FIRST grade. Labeled bins will be placed in the first grade hallway for non perishable items to be donated. The bins will be brought to the food pantry on Feb 25th. Your first grader will also bring home a list of needed items. Thank you in advance for your continued generosity!
Spirit Day We’ll kick off February vacation with Spirit Day on Thursday, Feb. 17th . Mr. Silvestri was nice enough to let us make –up our missed Jan. Spirit Day on Feb. 1st, so we get a two-fer this month! Remember to wear your favorite Bishop tee to show your school spirit, or wear our school colors, gold and blue, to take part. We have new fleece items for kids and adults in stock in two colors: royal blue and off-black, all embroidered with the Bishop Bear Paw. We’ll have a Spirit Table in the main hallway the day of our Music Program on Feb. 8th. Stop by to see our samples and place your order --- the weather says you need some more fleece --- why not a Bishop Bear fleece! Want a new shirt in daisy yellow, or need a navy shirt to wear on monthly Spirit Days? Go to our school webpage, find our virtual Spirit Store under the Community link, and download the order form. Place your form and a check made payable to the Bishop PTO in the PTO mailbox in the office, and we’ll outfit you and your child ASAP! Questions: contact Heather Hewitt at [email protected], or Amy Speare at [email protected] _________________________________________________________________
Shop Amazon.com, support the Bishop School PTO
Every purchase you make at Amazon.com can support the Bishop PTO. It’s easy; just start your Amazon shopping on the link on the Bishop school web site (or use one the links below) and between 4 and 10% of your purchases are donated to the PTO. Once you start by clicking on the link, every dollar you spend on that order helps the Bishop PTO. Same great service, no extra clicks.
Here’s how to help the PTO with your Amazon purchases
Start your shopping by clicking on the green “School Rewards” link on the Bishop PTO and community page www.arlington.k12.ma.us/bishop/communityFundraising.asp
Or use the following link: bit.ly/alcqWC
Once you start your shopping with one of the above links, all of your purchases in that session count towards school rewards. Any questions, please email Ken Lubar ([email protected])
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Library and Enrichment News Children's book author Amy MacDonald visited Bishop January 19th and 20th. She spent time with students of every grade, talking about how she goes about writing her books. She also headlined a fun Family Night on January 20th. To coincide with Amy's visit, we have been spotlighting her books in Library through Janu-ary. We shared picture books such as "Little Beaver and the Echo", "Rachel Fister's Blister", "Cousin Ruth's Tooth". We also read about Simon Maxwell's "un-lessons" on a visit to Aunt Mattie and Uncle Phillbert, in her chapter book "No More Nice". All were popular
with the kids. It was great to meet Amy, and welcome families to the Library on Thurs-day 20th for "Pajama Night". Thanks to all the parents who helped with that event. Amy was amazed and impressed to see how many families attended. She will be returning on March 1st for workshops that had to be cancelled due to the Snow Day on Jan. 21st. February is "Friendship Month" at Bishop and we will be taking this as our theme in Li-brary, reading books about friends and friendship, as well as some on how to work to-gether against unfriendly behavior such as teasing and bullying. In other exciting news - we have started a new subscription to the online version of the Encyclopedia Britannica School Edition. This is a great resource for kids to read about topics they are interested in, as well as to research specific school projects. There is an Elementary School version that is age-appropriate and provides great way for kids to start learning how to research online in a safe and accurate environment. There are also a number of interactive activities available, and include activities specifically aimed at younger grades, at the Learning Zone. We have been using this resource already in some Library classes. It is available to all of the teachers in their classrooms, and what's more, it is also available FROM HOME to Bishop students with Internet access (See the "Research" page, listed under "Useful In-formation", on our web site https://sites.google.com/a/arlington.k12.ma.us/bishop-library/home, for the links, username and passwords). We hope this proves to be a fun and useful resource and would appreciate your feedback. This subscription has been funded by some of the proceeds of the New Book Sale in De-cember. We also bought $800 worth of books, so many thanks to all who supported that Sale.
Thanks to the PTO for funding this visit.... your fundraising dollars at work! Upcoming Enrichment: Feb 10th Workshops with a Wampanoag educator from Plimoth Plantation, for Grade 3. Feb 15th Workshops on Minerals, for Grade 4. March 1st Amy MacDonald returns. March 4th Assembly and Workshops on Japan, with storyteller Motoko, for 2nd grade.
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Science on Saturday, February 5, 2011 Acoustics, 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Presenter: Keri Moos, Lincoln Laboratory, Lincoln Laboratory Auditorium What are sound waves? How does sound travel? Is there sound in space? Why do different musical notes or different musical instruments sound the way they do? Can a laser "record" sound? You'll hear like never before! This event will be held in the auditorium. Two sessions of the same presentation are offered at 9:00 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. To register for one of these sessions, go tohttp://www.ll.mit.edu/Outreach/EducationalOutreach.html. For more information, see the flyer or contact Todd Rider at [email protected]. ________________________________________________________________________________________
MCAS DATES: Please make sure children are in school on these days and no outside appointments or com-mitments are made. Please be aware that a student not in attendance and not available for a makeup test, is scored, recorded as a zero and added to our school composite scores. Grade 3, 4, 5 English Language Arts-Comprehension March 22 – April 4. Grade 4 English Language Arts- Long Composition March 22. Grade 4 English Language Arts-Long Composition Make-up March 31. Grade 3, 4, 5 Math May 10-24 Grade 5 Science/Technology/Engineering May 11–May 24 ______________________________________________________________
Fourth Graders Visit Harvard Museum of Natural History Last Monday, January 24, the fourth grade students went on their annual field trip to the Harvard Museum of Natural History. This has been a fun and exciting field trip for the stu-dents for the last few years, and ties into our study of Rocks and Minerals in science class. We were able to explore the many exhibits of the museum, including the famous glass flow-ers, fossils, and various animals through the ages. Our trip concluded with a scavenger hunt in the Minerals room, as well as an informative and hands-on workshop led by some fantastic educators in the museum classroom. The workshop focused on properties of min-erals and how they are used in everyday objects. Some students were volunteers to com-plete mineral tests, and we were all able to see, smell, and feel various minerals that were being discussed. Our day concluded with a group lunch in the lobby and a bus ride home that was buzzing with excitement after a busy day! For more information on the Harvard Museum of Natural History, please visit http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/.
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Voice your opinion about issues facing our Town Which school programs should be cut? What safety and town services should be cut? Would you vote for an override? Are you willing to pay for your trash? You can influence difficult decisions. The Town's annual Vision2020 survey arrived in your mailbox a few days ago along with the annual town census. Please take a moment to fill out the survey and let Town leaders know what you think. The survey asks for opinions on important issues that our Town leaders are facing - whether to make severe cuts to town services and the schools, or whether to increase the town's reve-nue. Your opinion counts. You can fill out the survey and mail it with the census, or fill out the survey online at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HK2JGP6.
Former Bishop Bears Start Organization To Help Underprivileged Children In Paraguay
Two Bishop School alumni, Gabriela and Alec Newell (siblings of current Bishop students Carly and Mark Newell) started an organization called Championes Para Chicos. This nonprofit organization collects gently worn shoes to be distributed to underprivileged children in Paraguay during the summer. The organization has already donated hundreds of shoes to needy children. If you are interested in donating some shoes and cleats please contact them at [email protected] with any ques-tions or visit the Championes Para Chicos
Facebook page.
Please submit school related submissions to Pennant Editor Michele Clifford @ [email protected]. The deadline for each issue is the last Friday of the month.
Current and past Pennant issues can be found at the Bishop school web site http://www.arlington.k12.ma.us/bishop/newsPennant.asp
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Want to learn more about the FY12 school budget deficit? Have questions about the school, town, and state budget process?
FYArlington is an advocacy group whose goals are to engage, inform and educate the Arling-ton community and leverage the voices of many to continuously improve Arlington’s Public Schools. There are three components of FYArlington:
1. Informational Web site (www.fyarlington.org) that includes explanations of school/town/state budgets and the variables, relevant legislation, budget processes, state aid and more.
2. Online Discussion Group that facilitates dialogue and information exchange about the district's fiscal situation. Visit http://groups.google.com/group/fyarlington to join.
3. Organized Working Groups that focus on specific areas of interest: school budget, town budget, state issues, and community outreach
FYArlington strongly believes that a much broader community discussion of options needs to happen before more devastating cuts are made to our schools and town services. FY12 Budget Update The school budget process is underway. Unfortunately, the school district is anticipating a deficit next year and proposed FY12 cuts are being rolled out at each school level.
The current anticipated school budget deficit is ~$3.3M requiring a reduction of ap-proximately 60 staff, 30 of which would come from the elementary level.
It is still early in the budget process and the final FY12 budget figures will not be final-ized until the legislature votes on the state budget this spring (sometimes as late as June). It is hoped that the deficit will get smaller as the budget process is refined.
The School Committee has already received presentations on the FY12 cuts and im-pact to the High School and Ottoson Middle School
The Elementary budget and impact will be presented at the Feb 8th
School Committee meeting and a public forum and Q&A will be scheduled so parents can learn more and voice their opinions. Can't attend school committee meetings in person? All meetings are aired live on your local cable station's Government channel (Comcast Ch 10, RCN Ch 15, Verizon Ch 26). Check the schedule at http://acmi.tv/ for reruns.
A district wide public budget hearing will take place on Feb 15th
Visit www.fyarlington.org for more detail on the school, town and state budgets as they be-come available. For more information, contact [email protected].
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Superintendent Bodie’s Newsletter To The Community
Dear Parents and Community Members, In the school world, the opening day in September begins a new year. However, it is difficult, as we begin a new calendar year, not to look back at the accomplishments and challenges of the past calendar year even as we look forward with hope and expectations. Looking at 2010 retrospectively, the Arlington community can be very proud of its schools. Our students continue to perform at high levels in academics, performing and visual arts, athletics, and community involvement. Very able, professional, and hardworking teachers and staff support their efforts daily. If you look below you will see some of our accomplishments and highlights. Our expectation and hope for 2011, as always, is that this success will continue and we will improve. However, 2011 will present challenges. We know that our ability to provide the support and services that has been essential for past success will be compromised by the projected budget shortfall. The expected $3.3 million shortfall for the 2011-2012 school year follows on the heels of a $3.9 million budget reduc-tion affecting the current year. The increased fees (painful as they are) kept our shortfall for this year from being $4.4 million. The Administration will be making presentations to the School Committee on the impact of a $3.3 mil-lion budget reduction this month and at the February 8 meeting. Mr. Skidmore, Principal of Arlington High School, discussed the impact of these budget reductions on the high school at the January 11 School Committee meeting. Fourteen to sixteen teacher/staff positions are projected to be reduced. The impact on students with the loss of these positions will include, for example, the elimination of double block math and English classes for students who struggle with the curriculum, longer turn-around time on cor-rected assignments and assessments, fewer elective courses, less time and longer waiting time for guid-ance counselors to meet with individual students. The School Committee’s Budget Subcommittee hosted a Parent Forum for high school parents on Mon-day, January 24 at 7:00 pm in the media center. Mr. Skidmore again presented an overview of the im-pact of budget reductions. Parents had the opportunity to express concerns, make suggestions and ask questions. Mr. Ruggere, Principal of Ottoson Middle School, presented the impact of budget reductions at the Janu-ary 25 School Committee meeting. The impact on the middle school is similar to that of the high school. Additionally, with fewer core teachers it will not be possible to maintain the cluster model that allows teachers to focus on only one-third of the students at a particular grade. The cluster model promotes greater teacher collaboration and individualized attention for students.
Elementary Principals will discuss the elementary impact at the February 8 School Committee Meeting. The date for the Parent Forum will be posted on our website. The School Committee FY12 (2011-2012 school year) budget timeline has been posted on our website. The School Committee will vote on a budget to send to Town Meeting on March 8. All community mem-bers are invited to attend the parent forums. While another $3 million plus budget reduction will affect services to students, the Arlington Public School teachers, administrators and staff remain committed to providing a high quality education to all of our students and will continue to work to the best of our ability to help each student achieve his/her greatest potential. Sincerely, Kathleen Bodie, Ed.D., Superintendent of Schools
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Please Support the Bishop PTO Annual Fund Drive The Annual Fund is one of the most important funding sources for the Bishop PTO, and the most cost effective fund raiser we have. PTO funding for Bishop teachers, school-wide activities and special events is greater than last year, yet contributions for the Annual Fund are down 20% from last year. We need you to support the Bishop PTO with a tax deductible contribution to the Annual Fund. If only 50 more Bishop families showed their support with a contribution of $40 we could get back on track. So please make your contribution today. Why is your support for the Bishop PTO important?
Just recently, the PTO wrote the second set of teacher checks for the year. This is money given directly to your children’s teachers for supplies, supplemental reading materials and activities not funded by the schools. It includes the art supplies for special projects, books that spark an interest in lifelong learning, classroom posters and fun science ac-tivities.
Grade-wide and school assembles and special programs. Earlier this month author Amy MacDonald visited Bishop and conducted programs on writing and literacy. An event that wouldn’t be possible without the PTO.
The PTO funded a special teacher training workshop on the Lucy Caulkins Writing Process and the Six Traits of Writing. With the PTO’s support a specialist is working one-on-one with Bishop teachers on improving writing and creative thinking skills across the curriculum.
And many more activities and events throughout the year.
So please, show your support for the Bishop PTO today. Drop your check with the form below in the of-fice marked attention PTO. Do it today!
Enclosed is my tax-deducible contribution to the Bishop PTO of:
Check (made payable to Bishop PTO Credit card # Visa M/C
Expiration date:
Name: Address: Telephone: Email address (for tax receipt): Children’s teachers: (Please return to Bishop office in sealed envelope marked PTO Annual Appeal)
$25
$40
$60
Other amount
