2021-22 Respect, Responsibility, and Regard

2.10.22

Dates for the Calendar

Monday, February 14th-Friday, March 4th - Read-A-Thon
Monday, February 21st - Friday, February 25th - No School (Winter Recess)
Saturday, March 12th - Bishop Hot Chocolate Meetup

Hello Bishop Families ~ I hope this Update finds you well!

Health and Safety Update:

We are pleased to report that for the second week in a row we have had no positive
results from our Pooled Testing program. This does NOT mean that COVID is over
but we are continuing to trend in the right direction.

A few notes about the changes in our testing program:

● At-home test kits should be used for:
○ Additional test on Thursday/Friday each week
○ In the event that your child develops COVID symptoms
○ For test to return
● If your child has tested positive for COVID within the last 90 days:
○ They should NOT participate in pool testing or have a PCR test
○ They will NOT receive an at-home test kit
● If your child tests positive for COVID, please email me at
Bishop.Nurse@Arlington.k12.ma.us
● You do not need to send negative test results to me for routine testing
Non- COVID related items:
Please be sure to send a full change of clothes with your student(s) to school. We DO
NOT have extra clothes at school. Snow boots are encouraged, we are seeing lots of
wet feet!!
Students should also come to school with a snack(s) each day.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns and I will respond as
soon as I am able to.

With Kind Regards,

Katie

Bishop Hot Chocolate Meetup RESCHEDULED

The weather was not in our favor last weekend. We apologize for the cancellation.
The new date of the Bishop Hot Chocolate Meetup will be Saturday, March 12th
from 1 pm - 3 pm. Dress warmly and come to the school playground to enjoy an
afternoon of fun with your fellow Bishop Bears. Hot chocolate will be provided by
the PTO. Select Bishop Spirit Wear will also be available for purchase. We hope to
see you there!

Read-A-Thon Starts this Monday!

The Read-A-Thon is an event that brings students together with family and friends to
encourage reading and to build literacy skills. Last year, our students logged over
122,000 minutes and raised more than $14,000! The main focus of the Read-A-Thon
is for everyone to know our community is committed to improving reading skills.

The Read-A-Thon will start on Monday, February 14th and run through Friday, March
4th. During this 3-week event, your child(ren) will be encouraged to record their
reading minutes. Reading to your child, listening to audio books, and reading books
(including ebooks) ALL count towards your child(ren)’s reading minutes! There will
be fun prizes that children can earn on an individual, class and school-wide basis.

Your child(ren) should have received sign up information, a paper log sheet and
the list of prizes in backpack mail last week. In order for your child to log their
reading minutes, you will need to set up an account. Please visit
https://www.read-a-thon.com/readers/r/wMJqed to get started.

Please note:
*It has come to our attention that some of you have received calls from an
organization about reading fundraisers. We have confirmed with Read-A-Thon, the
organization we work with for Bishop's fundraiser, that they DO NOT make calls,
store your phone number, or the numbers you text to friends/family for donations.
Read-A-Thon is also Coppa Compliant - you can visit their website for more
information.
*Read-A-Thon (the Company) is sponsoring a contest to win a trip to a Disney Theme
Park. If you send 10 fundraising texts to family or friends, you are entered to win the
trip. This prize is NOT being provided by the Bishop PTO and is not limited to just the
Bishop community. Sending fundraising texts is completely OPTIONAL and is not
required to set up your account.

Please reach out to the Read-A-Thon Coordinators Grace Judge

(judge.grace@gmail.com) and Sarah Phoenix (srwphoenix@gmail.com) with any further
questions.

Happy Reading!

Arlington Reads Together

Our public library’s annual community read program, Arlington Reads Together, returns in
March 2022. This year’s selected title, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific
Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer is a New York Times
bestseller focusing on indigenous peoples’ understanding of the natural world, and the
intersection between indigenous and scientific knowledge.

The Arlington Public Schools is proudly co-sponsoring this event. We invite APS families to
participate in the planned activities and events that will take place throughout the month.
They include a featured event on Understanding our Past, Creating a Sustainable Future: An
Indigenous Understanding of Climate Justice with Dr. Kyle Whyte, along with author talks, a film,
a book discussion, and story-telling for preschoolers.

Library visitors can pick up copies of Braiding Sweetgrass at the Robbins or Fox Library, or
request a copy by phone or online via the MLN catalog. The title is also available as a digital
download ebook or audiobook via Hoopla. Book discussions and other events will take
place throughout March. Reading Guides for the book are available for download.

Lost and Found Items

There are a number of student items in the front foyer of the building. Please come by and
take a look before February break if your child has lost anything. All items will be donated
during the break.

Portraits of Black Arlington: Sign up for a free Photo Shoot with Chanel Thervil,
February 20
Chanel Thervil is a Haitian American artist and educator winning rave reviews in the Boston
area for her vibrant mixed media portraits and powerful community-building approach to
artmaking. She's worked with the Museum of Fine Arts, DeCordova Museum, Children's
Museum, and many more. Now she's come to Arlington as Artist-in-Residence for a project
designed to celebrate Black beauty and joy in the Town. We invite Black community
members who live or work in Arlington to participate in free photo sessions to develop
source material for Chanel's final artwork. Meet Chanel, hear a little about her process, and
get your portrait taken in a relaxed and fun 25-minute session at the historic Robbins
Whittemore House behind Robbins Library. Bring family or friends if you like! One-on-one or
small group sessions, social distancing, and masks (except when being photographed) will
be used to keep everyone safe. Sign up for a session between 1 and 6 pm on Sunday,
February 20 here: https://tinyurl.com/Arlingtonphotoshoot
~Margaret~
Margaret Credle Thomas
Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
 BISHOP PTO NEWS AND UPDATES

A Message from the Safer-Air = Safer Schools Parent Group

If you need a KN95 mask for your child(ren), Safer Air = Safer Schools has delivered
more masks to Nurse Martin. Your child(ren) may stop by the main office if they need
a new one.

The parent-led community group, Safer Air = Safer Schools, has used generously
donated funds to buy child and adult Powecom KN95 masks directly from
BonaFideMasks.com.

If you have any trouble finding vetted, high-quality masks for your kids, please email
the Safer Air = Safer Schools schools at SaferAirSaferSchools@gmail.com.

Your PTO Dollars at Work

The PTO approved one new teacher grant this week - a ball and ramp exploration
set for Mrs. Spencer’s kindergarten classroom. .

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

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.

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