2021-22 Respect, Responsibility, and Regard

3.4.22

Dates for the Calendar

Friday, March 4th - Read-A-Thon Ends
Friday, March 4th - Bishop Spirit Day
Saturday, March 12th - Bishop Hot Chocolate Meetup

Hello Bishop Families!

Last night, Thursday, March 3rd,, the APS School Committee unanimously approved the
recommendation from Dr. Homan to shift our current mask mandate to mask optional
beginning Monday, March 7th. In anticipation of this decision, we have already started
talking with students about this possibility. I wanted to share the talking points the staff have
been using so that families can continue the conversation at home and ensure consistency.

Student Takeaways
● Masks are now optional to wear.
● We can all agree there are various opinions on this topic.
● Some people are comfortable with the option of removing their mask, while others
are not.
● There may be multiple reasons why individuals choose one option over the other.
● We need to be respectful & accepting of everyone’s personal choices.
● People may choose to wear their masks sometimes and remove them other times.
● No judgment of individual choice or pressure to choose a certain way.
● Lifting the mandate is backed by science and the local Department of Health.

As we move to this mask-optional environment, we will emphasize personal choice and

responsibility around masking. There will be many reasons for which students and staff
continue to wear masks. There will be reasons students and staff decide not to wear masks.
All decisions will be supported and we will ask our school communities to be respectful
of others’ individual choices.
As we move to optional masking, it will be very important for families to do the following:

● Perform daily symptom assessment

● Stay home and test if symptoms are present
● Remain up to date with COVID-19 vaccination, including booster doses
● Participate in the weekly home antigen testing program
● Continue to mask in certain circumstances

Masks will still be required in the following circumstances:

● People returning from COVID infection on days 6-10 (CDC requires 10 days of masking,
regardless of vaccination status)
● In nursing/health offices

We know this is a significant change for our students and staff filled with many different
emotions. Our teachers and staff will be working with students over the next few days to
help them to understand the changes and how they can support each other in the personal
decisions they will make with their families.

As always, we will continue to monitor health and safety conditions with the goal of
promoting a healthy learning environment for all of our students and staff. Thank you for
your support as we adapt once again to this ever-changing pandemic.

Please look for additional information from our Superintendent, Dr. Homan, regarding this
change in policy. And as always, please feel free to reach out with questions.

Mark

Nurse Martin’s Health and Safety Update

Dear Bishop Families,

We will be continuing with our pool testing program and returning to our schedule of
Kindergarten, grades 2 and 4, and staff on Mondays and grades 1,3, and 5 on Tuesdays going
forward.

At-home test kits went home yesterday or will be coming home today with your students. If
they did not receive one and they are enrolled in the program, please let me know and we
will send one home. At-home testing should be done on Thursday- Friday each week and as
needed if your child develops any symptoms that are concerning for COVID-19.
If your child has not yet been vaccinated for COVID-19 and this is something that you would
like for them, please reach out to me and we can make arrangements for their vaccination.

ATTENTION GRADE 4 FAMILIES: If you have not already submitted a physical exam for your
child for 2021-22, please email or send a copy to me ASAP. This is a requirement from the
state- thanks so much for your help with this!!

Grades 3, 4, and 5 MCAS administration will commence late March and

run through May. Families with students in the identified grades can access this
year’s MCAS schedule HERE

Bishop - March Spirit Days

Please refer to this March Spirit Day Calendar for upcoming fun spirit days at Bishop.
We will be reminding students during the morning announcements, also.

BISHOP PTO NEWS AND UPDATES

Read A Thon Ends March 4th!

Our second annual Read-A-Thon ends this Friday, March 4 th. Thanks to the incredible
support of our parents and teachers, our Bishop Bears have logged over 100,000 minutes of
reading to date and raised over $16,000 in gross donations! Please continue to encourage
your child(ren) to log their minutes over the next two days!

Remember, 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.

If you haven’t had a chance to set up an account yet, it’s not too late to sign up and log your
reading minutes from the past three weeks! Please visit
https://www.read-a-thon.com/readers/r/wMJqed to sign up.

Keep up the great reading, Bishop Bears!!

Bishop Spirit Day
Today, March 4th, and every first Friday of the month is Bishop Spirit Day! On Spirit Day,
students have the chance to showcase their Bishop Pride by wearing their Bishop spiritwear
or school colors (yellow/gold and blue). Bishop spirit wear is available here for purchase.

Bishop Hot Chocolate Meetup RESCHEDULED

We hope you can join us for the Bishop Hot Chocolate Meetup on 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, including new Bishop branded Goodr
sunglasses. We hope to see you there!

Last Request for Donations for the SNACK PROGRAM at Bishop

As you may recall, the snack program at our school, supported by Arlington EATS, makes
sure that kids have access to nourishing snacks throughout the school day. Our goal is to
provide snacks to any child who needs one so that there is no stigma attached to being
hungry.

Thank you for your continued support of this program. We are once again in need of
restocking the snacks. Once replenished, we do not expect to need further donations for this
school year.

How you can help:

● Purchase pre-approved snacks through our Amazon Bishop Elementary Snacks
● A link can also be found through our PTO website: www.bishopschoolpto.com
● Volunteer to be a parent snack coordinator

Please make sure to use the following address for delivery: Bishop Snacks c/o Marisa M.
Silveri 27 ROCKMONT RD, ARLINGTON, MA, 02474-2928, United States

Thank you to everyone who made a donation this year. It is very much appreciated!

Bear Fair Lead Volunteer Needed

We are thrilled for the return of the Bear Fair this May! For many years now, the Fair has
been ably led by parent volunteer Heather Breslau. She graciously agreed to lead this fun
community event and fundraiser this year, but is looking for someone to shadow her in order
to lead the event next year. If you are interested in learning more about this role, please
email Bishop PTO at bishopschool.pto@gmail.com.

Enrichment News
This February, our Enrichment Committee organized two learning opportunities for the
Bishop students. On February 9th, Habitat joined our Kindergarten classrooms to talk about
wildlife adaptations. The Habitat Educators brought examples and live creatures to show to
the children. On February 18th, we invited the Plimoth Patuxet Museum to talk to our third
graders about the People of the Dawn, the Wampanoag tribe. Our third graders learned
about the daily life of the Wampanoag in the 17th century, as well as their current lives and
communities. Students gained an understanding of the connection the Wampanoag and
other Native people have to Mother Earth, their seasonal way of life and their respect for all
living beings. The Native American Museum Teacher wore modern clothing and spoke from
a modern perspective in order to discuss the story of the People of the Dawn, in both past
and present times. They shared artifacts of traditional life, such as wooden bowls and
spoons, animal furs and tools.

Second Input Session on Stratton, Peirce, and Bishop Playgrounds - March 10th
As part of the ARPA funded Parks & Playground Investment Plan presented by the Park and
Recreation Commission, the Arlington Recreation Department is holding a second public
input session on the design and equipment for new playgrounds at Stratton Elementary
School, Peirce Elementary School, and Bishop Elementary School. The 2nd public input
session will be held on Thursday, March 10th from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. Register for this
session and view designs based on information collected at the February 17th public input
session.

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 Special Education Parent Advisory Committee

Arlington SEPAC’s next business meeting will be held via zoom at 7:30 pm on Tuesday,
March 8th. Join us for a listening session. Come share your priorities, and where you would
like to see SEPAC, the district, and even the state concentrate their energies now and
moving forward. This event is for Arlington parents and caregivers only. Talk time will be
limited to allow all voices to be heard. Both events will be held on the SEPAC standing zoom:
link:https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86234778319?pwd=ZDFPdDNZZjZxbXVwNUYyZDR1VjJsUT
09&fbclid=IwAR0L39w2pq5uM1BoUVIfISkz8zQJ49-5geLT2V69C72kgs2ZgNnZORaf1vo#succ
ess

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