2021-22 Respect, Responsibility, and Regard

3.31.22

Dates for the Calendar

Thursday, March 31st - 3rd Grade ELA MCAS
Friday, April 1st - 3rd Grade ELA MCAS
Friday, April 1st - Bishop Spirit Day
Sunday, April 10th- Bishop Cultural Fest 2-4PM
Monday, April 11th-Thursday, April 14th - Staff Appreciation Week
Sunday, May 1st - Annual Greg E. Wright Clean-Up Day
Wednesday, May 4th - Science Night
Wednesday, May 11th - Community PTO Meeting
Saturday, May 14th - Bishop Bear Fair and Used Goods Sale (rain date Sunday, May 15th)

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

To our families observing Ramadan, I wish you four weeks of blessings, 30 days
of clemency and 720 hours of enlightenment. Ramadan Mubarak!

Grades 3, 4, and 5 MCAS administration has begun and will run through
May. Families with students in the identified grades can access this year’s MCAS
schedule HERE
 Nurse Martin’s Health and Safety Update
Hello Bishop Families,
I am pleased to share that all of our pooled testing results were negative for this week.
While this is great news, we are still seeing plenty of illnesses in our community that look
like COVID. Please test your child for COVID -19 at home if they develop fever, sore throat,
cough, nasal congestion or vomiting and contact your pediatrician for further guidance as
needed.
Our first “wave” of persons who had COVID-19 in late December- January are approaching
their 90-day window and will be returning to the weekly pooled testing program in the next
week. Please remember that immunity against COVID-19 lasts for approximately 90 days
and if exposed, they can become reinfected. Please test your child at-home if they develop
any symptoms of COVID 19. Families will begin receiving at-home test kits when their
children return to pooled testing.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.

With Kind Regards,

Katie

Bishop Cradles to Crayons Drive

It’s time to do some spring cleaning and donate your children’s gently used clothes!
Project 351 is collaborating with Cradles to Crayons, a non-profit group, to give clothes to
children in need. At Bishop Elementary School, there is a clothing drive for those children
who need help. The drive ends on the 7th of April (next Thursday). There is a box in the
lobby where students can drop off donations to Cradles to Crayons.
For this drive, we are looking for children’s clothing that is new or gently used.
Consider donating to the drive if you find clothing that you would like to give away. If you
have any questions or concerns, please contact Elena Wisniewski at
arlington351@gmail.com.
 Bishop Cultural Fest - Sponsored by the
Bishop Diversity and Inclusion Group
Sunday April 10, 2022 from 2-4 p.m at the Bishop School.

All Bishop students, families, and teachers/staff are invited to participate in a Cultural
Festival hosted by the Bishop Diversity and Inclusion Group (DIG) on Sunday April 10, 2022
from 2-4 p.m at the Bishop School. You and your Bishop students can participate by
hosting a table about your culture (ex. your country of origin, ethnicity, religion, or other
aspect of your identity like being an environmentalist, feminist, or animal lover.)

Members of the committee are happy to match you with another Bishop family if you would
like to co-host a table. You and your Bishop students can also participate through a
performance that reflects your cultural background (ex. dance, song, musical instrument,
recitation etc.)

If you would like to help in a general way (ex. set-up/clean-up, bring food that represents
your cultural background, serve food, help craft decorations ahead of the event), you can do
that too!

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact the Bishop DIG at
bishopdig@gmail.com. We can't wait to see you at Cultural Fest 2022, and we thank you in
advance for your participation!
Please sign-up as soon as possible (by April 1, 2022) via this link :
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0A4EA4AA2FA2FE3-bishop

Arlington Education Foundation 5K Race

The Arlington Education Foundation has announced its first annual AEF 5K Run on Sunday,
May 15th. This important fundraiser for AEF celebrates education in Arlington. P roceeds will
directly enrich the educational experience of Arlington’s children by funding grants across
the school district. In person and virtual runners of all ages are welcome, and discounts are
available for local running clubs. Space is limited, so register now and share the news!
 Arlington Public Schools LGBTQIA+ Rainbow Task Force
Dear Arlington Public School Families,

The Arlington Public Schools LGBTQIA+ Rainbow Task Force, the Arlington LGBTQIA+
Rainbow Commission, and the Arlington Human Rights Commission proudly present a series
of LGBTQIA+ Community Conversations Focused on community-wide education and the
amplification of student voices and leadership in Arlington Public SchoolsArlington

Town Hall | 730 Massachusetts Avenue

Tuesday, March 29th and Tuesday, April 26th

Sessions begin promptly at 6.45 p.m.

REGISTER HERE

Join us for a discussion featuring: a panel highlighting the experiences of LGBTQIA+ students
in Arlington Public Schools; an overview of LGBTQIA+ language, definitions and terms; and
best practices to ensure and promote safe, inclusive learning environments for LGBTQIA+
students, staff, and caregivers

To view the actual flier, click on the following link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GrDcksJtGzI7-ezK-SCyXWTjk7CI6QE4/view?usp=sharing

BISHOP PTO NEWS AND UPDATES

Get Involved with the Bishop PTO!

The PTO is beginning to plan for the AY2022-2023 school year and will need to replace
several outgoing board members in the positions listed below. All positions serve a two-year
term. In addition to the duties described, all officers are required to attend monthly board
meetings and every other month PTO Community meetings held during the school year.

Co-President: Presides over meetings of the PTO and PTO executive board, serving
as the primary contact for the principal. The Co-President also represents the PTO at
meetings outside the organization and manages and coordinates the work of all the
officers and committees. This role would be working in partnership with the
Co-President (Anna Pisania).

Fundraising Coordinator. The Fundraising Coordinator oversees and schedules PTO

fundraising events with the Co-Presidents, generates ideas for future events, and
manages ongoing fundraising initiatives.
 Room Parent Coordinator. The Room Parent Coordinator oversees and organizes
the Room Parents, who volunteer in the classrooms. The Room Parent Coordinator
assists the room parents with their activities as well as connects the Room Parents
with PTO events and news. The Room Parent Coordinator also plans staff
appreciation efforts such as holiday gifts and Staff Appreciation Week events.

Communications Coordinator. The Communications Coordinator is the public

relations coordinator for the PTO, focused on getting out the news of the PTO's work;
will create updates for the Principal’s Newsletter; and handle all correspondence.

Please contact BishopPTO@gmail.com if you are interested in any of the above listed
positions. We are happy to answer any questions that you may have.

Bishop Garden News

We're excited to welcome Amanda Munsie as our new Bishop School Garden Educator!
Amanda is a mom, farmer, educator and keeper of chickens. A California native, she
graduated from the New Entry Farming Project at Tufts University in 2011. Amanda has
founded and managed farmers markets in Burlington and Wilmington, and recently served
as the Education Director at Lexington Community Farm. Amanda now owns and operates
Square Inch Farm. We're thrilled that she'll be sharing all her years of agricultural knowledge
and volunteer work to the students and staff at Bishop.

In other garden news, this weekend, we will begin a multi-phase project to replace the
decaying garden beds. Led by Bishop parent volunteers, 3 of 13 beds will be replaced
during phase one. We plan to replace the remaining beds over the next year or so. We hope
that by replacing the beds with more durable material, the garden will continue to thrive for
years to come. Please reach out to the PTO with any questions regarding this project.

2021-2022 Bishop PTO Phone Directory Distribution

Better late than never, the 2021-2022 Bishop PTO Phone Directories are finished and ready
for distribution to our Bishop Community! The directories will be coming home with the
oldest student in the family via backpack mail. If you would like an additional copy of the
directory, Ms. Magliozzi in the front office has extras available for pickup. A big thanks to all
our Bishop families for opting to share their information with us in PowerSchool this year and
to Swifty Printing, Mr. McAneny, and Ms. Magliozzi for all their help in putting this together!

If you have any questions about the directory, please reach out to Christina Marko at
ckaisermarko@gmail.com.

Bishop Spirit Day

Friday April 1, 2022
Tomorrow, April 1st, and the first Friday of every month, students have the chance to
showcase their Bishop Pride. Students are encouraged to wear their Bishop spiritwear or
Bishop school colors (yellow/gold and blue). Bishop spirit wear is available for purchase on
the PTO website (http://www.bishopschoolpto.com/).
Ms. Bell’s Class is Looking for Donations for Arlington EATS
Ms. Bell’s class recently had a visit from Susan from Arlington EATS. They learned about the
organization’s mission to eliminate food insecurity by providing nutritious food in a respectful
and compassionate manner to any Arlington resident in need.
The class decided to help the organization by collecting items for the EATS MARKET. Please
support them by bringing any donations to Ms. Bell’s classroom. The market is currently
asking for canned soups, almond butter, cereal (especially Cheerios), soy sauce, dish soap,
laundry detergent, shampoo, soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste.
Thank you for supporting this wonderful community resource! If you are interested in
assistance from Arlington Eats, visit arlingtoneats.org to order food or sign up to shop at the
market.

Bishop Science Night

Wednesday May 4th, 2022
Science Night is BACK!
Join us for an evening of science including live demonstrations, posters presentations by our
Junior Scientists and the famous egg-drop competition! More details to come in the next
few weeks. In the meantime, get your child(ren) thinking of experiments they may want to
share for the poster presentation!

**Please note that the PTO Community Meeting previously scheduled for that night, will be
moved to the following week.

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

Fit Girls at Bishop

7 Wednesdays & 6 Fridays
April 1 - May 25, 2:40 - 3:40 pm

Join coach Aly Frank for 7 weeks of running fun! Fit Girls is a non-competitive fitness
initiative that inspires active lifestyles, friendships, personal growth and the confidence
that comes from working toward and achieving goals. We meet twice a week for fun
and energizing sessions that build physical and mental endurance and prepare us for
an optional 5K road race that we will run as a team on Sunday, May 15. Team t-shirts are
included. This program is inclusive of individuals identifying as transgender, non-binary,
and gender nonconforming. Grades 4-5, $129 register online

Tuition assistance is available for students who receive free or reduced lunch. Please call
the ACE office before registering: 781-316-3568
Arlington Heights Spring Window Painting
Arlington residents are invited to participate in the Arlington Heights Spring Storefront
Window Painting Event, which will take place on Saturday, May 7th, from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm
(Rain date, Saturday, May 14, 9:00 am --1:00 pm) Paint a window by yourself or grab your
friend or family and paint a window together in one of 52 designated storefront windows in
21 Heights businesses.
Designs must have a spring theme - flowers, trees, birds, insects, etc. We also invite
community painters to go beyond painting the beauty of spring blooms by including simple
messages and/or steps that people can take to protect our environment and promote
eco-diversity in their yards and town wide. 
The paintings will remain on display throughout the spring and be featured at the Spring
Fling Festival on Saturday, May 21 st, which will include walking tours of the painted windows,
live music, an Arts Pop-Up Market, activities for kids including crafts, a puppet show, and a
“Touch-a-Truck” sponsored by the Arlington Fire & Police Departments, and a variety of
information tables on how to ensure environmental sustainability.

For more information and to register for this event online click here:  www.arlcc.org.
Registration opens Monday, March 28th.

Organized by the Arlington Heights Community Association, the Arlington Chamber of

Commerce, and the Arlington Commission for Arts and Culture.

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