2021-22 Respect, Responsibility, and Regard

12.2.21

Dates for the Calendar

Friday, December 3rd - Holiday Help Deadline
Friday, December 10th - Last Day of Arlington EATS Food Drive
Friday, December 17th - Progress Reports Go Live at 2:30pm

Hello Bishop Families ~

Welcome back and Happy December! I hope that you and your families had a great
Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

As we work our way through this month, there are a few items that will be important for you
to note:

➔ Friday, December 17th - Progress Reports Go Live at 2:30pm

Student progress reports will be available to view via the Powerschool Parent
Portal, Friday, December 17th @ 2:30pm. If you have the need for a hard copy of your
child’s progress report, please request this through your homeroom teacher.

➔ December 1-23, 2021 - Culture and Climate Survey Window OPEN

December is feedback month! (Details and LINK can be found below) Please take
the time to complete this survey!! Thank you so much.

➔ Family/Teacher Conferences to be Held in JANUARY

Thursday, January 6th - Evening Conferences 6:00-8:00pm
Tuesday, January 18th - Early Release at 11:30am for Conferences
Tuesday, January 25th - Early Release at 11:30am for Conferences
Your homeroom teacher will be reaching out to you, if they already haven’t, to
schedule your fall conference in the near future.

Details to Note - Conferences on the 18th and 25th will be either in person or
remote (you and your homeroom teacher will work this out when scheduling).
The January 6th Evening Conferences will BE REMOTE ONLY
 December 1-23, 2021 - Culture and Climate Survey Window OPEN
Dear Arlington Public Schools Families,

As we welcome December, we are looking forward to reflecting on how the start of the year
has gone for APS staff, families, and students. We are writing to invite ALL families of
students in grades PreK-12 to participate in our school culture and climate surveys. Students
in grades 3-12 will be given an opportunity to complete their surveys in school, and all staff
will also be provided with time to complete a feedback survey.

The survey is available in multiple languages and links to each school’s survey can be found
below. Families are encouraged to complete a survey for each Arlington school where they
have a child or children attending.

BISHOP - CULTURE and CLIMATE SURVEY LINK

More about the surveys: Panorama Education is a Boston-based and nationally-recognized

vendor that specializes in creating surveys for schools. The questions included in the survey
are developed and statistically validated by Panorama. The district is not able to modify or
otherwise adjust the questions, but we are able to add custom questions and choose from a
menu of categories and questions. This year, we eliminated the pandemic learning model
category and added school climate, teacher-student relationships, sense of belonging,
rigorous expectations, and school safety categories.

The timeline for the 2021 Panorama survey administration and subsequent reporting and
response to results is:

December 1-23, 2021 Culture and Climate Survey Window OPEN: December is
Feedback Month!

January 2022 Internal analysis, sharing, and planning from results

February-March 2022 Results and findings shared at the building and district levels

Spring-Summer 2022 Inclusive district strategic planning process

The collected information will be anonymous and non-identifiable. Comments will be

analyzed for central themes and only representative quotes may be used in public reports.
In the case that quotes are used in reports, all potentially identifiable descriptors will be
redacted.
We commit to sharing survey results, key themes, and future action steps with the Arlington
School Committee and the larger community. At the school level, Panorama results will be
shared with staff and School Councils for feedback and follow-up planning. In addition, the
district will offer family, student, and staff focus groups based on survey findings. The district
will use the data generated by the survey to inform district-wide and school-based strategic
planning.
We thank you in advance for your honest reflections, responses, and commitment to
working together in service of Arlington’s children and youth. If you have any questions or
concerns about the survey, please contact your school’s principal.

BISHOP - CULTURE and CLIMATE SURVEY LINK

Sincerely,
Dr. Elizabeth C. Homan
Superintendent, Arlington Public Schools

A note from Ms. Nikki on attendance procedures (tardy, absent,

early dismissal)
Arlington Public Schools maintains a Safe Arrival absence management system that makes
it easy for you to let the school know of any changes to your child's attendance. If your child
will be tardy, absent, or dismissed early, please call the Safe Arrival line (781-316-3790) in
advance of the event and leave a message on the 24-hour phone line to notify us. You can
alternatively notify via the Safe Arrival email address ( bishopsafearrival@arlington.k12.ma.us).
If you email the teacher with attendance notifications, please also include Bishop Safe
Arrival on the email so that the main office is aware.

On the day of your student’s absence, you will receive an automated verification phone call,
even if the absence has been reported via our Safe Arrival system . Phoning parents and
guardians of students who are not at school at the start of the day is an important measure
to ensure the safety of all of our students.

Safe Arrival Phone Number: 781-316-3790

Safe Arrival Email: bishopsafearrival@arlington.k12.ma.us

 Send an AEF Star Certificate to say thank you for all that
educators have done this year!
Give your Star Online: https://aefma.org/stars by December 5th for end-of-year delivery.
We made it, and a year like no other! Send a Star certificate to recognize teachers and staff
who remain dedicated to our children's education and persevere through the years.
For a donation of $20 or more, the teacher of your choice will receive a certificate that
honors them with a gift in their name. You will receive a receipt for your tax-deductible
donation. For Gibbs and Ottoson students, one $60 Stars donation can honor all core
teachers (Math, Science, History & ELA) in your child’s Learning Community. Each teacher in
that Learning Community will receive a Star certificate.
Stars donations go back into our schools as funding for AEF grants both large and small.
We invite you to take a look at our virtual Showcase here:
https://www.aefma.org/grants-showcase/
You can give a teacher a Star at any time during the year, but the deadline is December 5
to ensure delivery by the end of the school year.

Thank you - The AEF TEAM

Bishop Diversity and Inclusion Group - History UnErased

The Bishop Diversity and Inclusion Group (DIG) invites Bishop and APS administrators,
teachers, parents, and caregivers to attend a virtual meeting hosted by History
UnErased, an education non-profit bringing LGBTQ history, and other previously erased
histories, into the mainstream curriculum.

The 30-minute presentation will provide an overview of the Intersections & Connections
curriculum, which is integrated with K-12 state standards and includes LGBTQ history as it
intersects with race, gender, class, nationality, and other aspects of America's identity. The
curriculum is a one-time cost per school. It includes three intertwined components: virtual
professional learning, ongoing support with monthly office hours and special programming,
and a growing library of digital LGBTQ-inclusive primary source-based instructional
resources for K-12 classrooms.

The information session will take place on Monday, December 20, 2021 from 7pm – 7:30pm
(EST). To join the session, please use this link: https://zoom.us/j/96824473658
For more information about History UnErased and the curriculum, please see these videos:
https://youtu.be/CKILoHUl7aU or https://vimeo.com/456681464

You can also visit the History UnErased website at https://www.unerased.org.

We hope you can join us! If you cannot attend but have questions/comments about History
UnErased or you would like to be added to the Bishop DIG email list, please email the
Bishop DIG at bishopdig@gmail.com

BISHOP PTO NEWS AND UPDATES

A Note From The Bishop Play Committee

Over the past two months, the Bishop Play Committee has been evaluating the possibility of
holding a play in the spring of this year. Between the reduced time we have to plan and
execute, mask restrictions that will likely still be in place, a need for and restrictions around
parent volunteers, and a directorial team that has other schedule commitments, we would
need to completely "reinvent" the play. The Bishop Play committee believes it makes more
sense to put our energy into getting back on track for a 2022-23 play season. We will be in
touch with more information around planning for the 22-23 season in May/June. Thank you
for your understanding.

Town of Arlington Holiday Helping Hands

Holiday Helping Hands is a program organized by the Town of Arlington to help
local families in need provide gifts to their children during the holiday season.
As with last year, Bishop will participate in this wonderful program by way of
gift card purchases.

The town is asking for gift cards in $20 increments. Gift cards may be from
retailers such as Target, Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, etc. or Visa/MasterCard gift
cards. You can also support local businesses at the same time and purchase gift
cards from Maxima, Henry Bear’s Park, Playtime, etc. Please sign up here to participate and
send in your contribution(s) by Friday, December 3rd.

There will be a dropbox for donations in the Bishop main office, or you can contact Valerie
Geary (valerie.t.geary@gmail.com ) to make other arrangements.

As always, thank you for your generosity and thoughtfulness!

Support the Arlington EATS Food Drive
My name is Maeve Padien. I am one of Arlington’s representatives to Project 351. Two years
ago I was selected by Arlington to serve for Project 351. Project 351 is a service organization
that instills a passion for leadership, community, and service to our own communities.
Started by Governor Deval Patrick in 2011, every year Project 351 brings change to
Massachusetts. Throughout high school as a member of Project 351, I will lead younger
students through their own Ambassador Program as an older member of Project 351.

Every year students run service projects in their own towns. For Fall Service, I lead a food
drive in partnership with the Arlington food pantry, Arlington EATS, to fight local hunger. Our
community has the ability to prevent hunger in Arlington and make sure no child goes
hungry. I am running this food drive with the support of Project 351 as COVID-19 has
perpetuated the situation.

This drive will span across multiple elementary schools: Peirce School, Bishop School, Dallin
School, and Hardy School. At each of these locations, there will be a collection bin in the
lobby. Please do not donate opened items and check to make sure they are not expired.
Also, please avoid donations that include small individual packages such as mini cereal
boxes. Arlington EATS cannot take them.

The dates of the drive are Monday, November 15th through Friday, December 10th. If you
would prefer to have your donations picked up, this form will sign you up. Every donation
goes directly to Arlington EATS and into our community. If you have any questions, please
email us at arlington351@gmail.com.

Below are the items Arlington EATS needs most. All donations are greatly appreciated, but if
you can, please focus on these items.

Most Needed Items

● Soup
● Cereal (especially Cheerios)
● Cake mix
● Laundry detergent
● Shelf-stable soy or almond milk
● Hygiene products
Bishop Spirit Day
Friday, December 3rd is Bishop Spirit Day! The first Friday of each month students are
encouraged to showcase their Bishop spirit by wearing Bishop Spirit Wear or Bishop school
colors (yellow/gold and blue). If you need to purchase new Spirit Wear, check out our sale!

Public Input on Town of Arlington Virtual/Hybrid Meetings

The Remote Participation Study Committee is looking at ways to maintain remote
public participation in meetings of Town boards and committees once we are
back in person. Can you take 5 minutes by December 2 to tell the town your
thoughts? Take the survey here.

AmazonSmile for Bishop PTO

As we’re gearing up for the holidays, it’s the perfect time to make sure you’re signed up for
AmazonSmile and have chosen ‘John A. Bishop PTO’ as your charity of choice.

Did you know you can sign up for AmazonSmile in just three steps? AmazonSmile will
donate 0.5% of all eligible purchases to Bishop at no cost to you! As of November 2021,
Bishop PTO has received over $1700 in charitable donations through AmazonSmile.
Visit https://smile.amazon.com on your web browser and sign in with your Amazon
credentials. Choose "John A. Bishop PTO" to receive donations. To join AmazonSmile from
the mobile app, open the app and find "Settings" in the main menu. Tap on "AmazonSmile"
and follow the on-screen instructions to turn on AmazonSmile on your phone.
This is an easy way to support Bishop. Also, anyone can add Bishop as a charity for
AmazonSmile so please forward this information to family and friends who may want to help
support our awesome community!

Thank you to Abbott’s Frozen Custard and to our Arlington community!

The Bishop PTO received a $200 donation from Abbott’s Frozen Custard following the shop’s
“Bishop Day” back in November. Thank you to Abbott’s for supporting our school, as well as
to our community for eating ice cream for a good cause.

Community News:
Interested in getting information to the Bishop community? Information that you’d
like to share with the Bishop community can be included in the weekly Principal’s
Update. Please email the relevant information to Amanda Maltais
(Communications Coordinator, Bishop PTO) at aemaltais@gmail.com

Arlington Heights Holiday Stroll and Tree Lighting

The Arlington Heights Community Association (AHCA) with support from the Arlington
Commission for Arts and Culture and the Arlington Chamber of Commerce is pleased to
present this year’s Arlington Heights Holiday Stroll & Tree Lighting on Saturday, December
11th. Festivities will take place from 2:00pm to 5:00 pm.
Visitors of all ages can enjoy viewing 52 winter-themed painted windows in 21 business
storefronts and are invited to support our Arlington businesses by dining and shopping
locally. Free family fun activities will take place throughout the afternoon. The Roasted
Granola Café, 1346 Massachusetts Avenue, will be serving hot apple cider and a snowman
character will be strolling along Massachusetts Avenue handing out treats.

Click here to see the schedule of events.

Holiday Gift Drive for Teens in Need

Scout BSA Troop 306 of Arlington is running a Holiday Gift Drive through December 13th to
benefit local teens in need served by the Department of Children and Families’ Arlington
office.

Please consider dropping off new, unwrapped items such as hats, gloves, scarves, socks, art
and school supplies, personal care items, holiday candy and small games at the following
locations:

● Arlington Police Department (112 Mystic St) - Arlington Center

● Leader Bank (141 Massachusetts Ave) - East Arlington
● LivFit (471 Massachusetts Ave) – Arlington Center
● True Fitness (30 Park Ave) - Arlington Heights

Donations can also be made online by shopping the Amazon gift list at
tinyurl.com/T306Gifts21. Purchased items will be delivered to the Troop 306 gift drive
coordinator. For more information, please email T306Arlington@gmail.com.

Finally, the Arlington Housing Authority has also reached out to us requesting more
gift bags in addition to the ones we provide for the nearly 250 teens served by the
DCF.

We could really use help from the Bishop Elementary School community!

Varallo Orthodontics Partners in Education Program

At Varallo Orthodontics, we love giving back to our community in any way we
can! Varallo Orthodontics has started the Partners in Education Program, or
P.I.E. For every patient in grades K-8 who starts orthodontic treatment with us,
we will donate $25 to the patient’s school PTO. To schedule a free consultation
or find out more, visit us at varalloortho.com.

Research Study for National Institute of Health

The Cognitive Neuroscience Group at the MGH Institute of Health Professions in
Boston is recruiting children between the ages of 8 and 11 years to participate in
a research study funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH).

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the learning patterns of children with
typical and atypical language development. We are looking for children who were
late to develop language, have received services for language or learning
difficulties, or still have difficulty with language, reading comprehension, or
learning. We are also recruiting children with typical language development.

More information can be found at:

https://rally.partners.org/study/does_your_child_stru

Payment is $120 for completing all study visits. We provide free all-day parking
near our lab in the Charlestown Navy Yard. We will mail you a report of your
child’s scores on the cognitive and language assessments. Please email us at
cnglead@mghihp.edu or call us at (617) 724-7363 if you are interested or if you
have any questions.
Stay Up to Date
Bishop PTO Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BishopPTO/

Websites:
Bishop School (general info, links to the school system):
http://www.arlington.k12.ma.us/bishop/
Bishop School (news and events): https://bishopschool.net/
Bishop PTO: http://www.bishopschoolpto.com/
DIG website: https://bishopdig.weebly.com/. To join our mailing list, please email
bishopdig@gmail.com