2021-22 Respect, Responsibility, and Regard

6.16.22 - LAST BISHOP WEEKLY UPDATE!

Dates for the Calendar

Monday, June 20th - SCHOOLS CLOSED - Juneteenth
Tuesday, June 21st - Last Day of School for KINDERGARTEN ONLY
Friday, June 24th - Last Day of School Grades 1-5 - Dismissal at 11:30am, Bag Lunch
Available
Friday, June 24th - Progress Reports GO LIVE within Powerschool at 12:00pm

Hello Bishop Families -

We have reached the end of a school year like no other. Despite all of the many changes,
our students and staff have persevered together and grown stronger as a result. Teachers
have been challenged to adapt lesson delivery approaches to keep students engaged.
Support staff have all taken on additional roles and responsibilities to assist students with
various parts of their day. Students have also supported one another both socially and
emotionally. Parents, guardians and caregivers have been there every step along the way to
support their children and the school staff. It has definitely been a team approach that has
allowed the school community at Bishop to maintain focus during this challenging re-entry.

As we wind down the year, I would like to take this opportunity to wish our 5th grade
students a fond farewell and success as they move on to academic and exrta-curricular
opportunities in middle school. I would like to extend best wishes to all students and
families who will be moving away and leaving our school community.

As we prepare for next school year, we are excited to welcome our incoming Kindergarten
students. In addition to our returning staff, there will also be new faces on staff next year. I
will be sure to introduce them over the summer when the hiring process winds down. Our
hope is that we can get back to the level of normalcy that we’ve grown accustomed to in
years past that will allow us to thrive together in 2022-2023.

With that, I would like to wish students, parents & caregivers, and school staff a safe, restful
and rewarding summer.

Yours in Bishop Spirit, Mark

 Nurse Martin’s Health and Safety Update
The end of the school year is here and I would like to share the following
information/reminders with you.

Sunscreen - please be sure to apply sunscreen to your child before school.

● Medications at School - Per APS policy, parents/guardians or a responsible adult

may pick up your child’s medication stored in the nurse’s office on the last day of
school. Students with permission to self-carry/self-administer are the only students
allowed to bring medication home in their backpack. If medication is not picked up, it
will be disposed of.
○ June 21st - Kindergarten 8:05 am- 8:15 am OR 1:00 pm at the kindergarten
door
○ June 24th - Grades 1-5 8:05 am - 8:15 am OR 2:25 at the front door

***If your child will not be at school on the last day, please reach out to me to arrange a
time to pick up your child’s medication***

● Physical Exams - Per MDPH regulations, all students entering grades Preschool, K*,
4, 7 & 10 are required to submit a Physical Exam during the 2021-22 school year. If
you haven’t already done so, please send your child’s physical to
bishop.nurse@arlington.k12.ma.us. For the 2022-23 school year, physicals are
required for the same grades
● At-home test kits - We will send home test kits to all students on Friday, June 16th.
This will be the final distribution of the year. Please click HERE for information related
to extended expiration dates.

I would like to again thank each and every family in our Bishop Community for your ongoing
commitment to keeping our community safe- it really did make a difference! This was a true
partnership and I will be forever grateful to you all for this.

I wish you all a relaxing, fun and safe summer and I look forward to seeing you back in
September. For those of you who are leaving the Bishop, you will be missed.

With Warmest Regards,

Katie
 Quick survey regarding the Blue Bishop Bear tickets
Please take a minute to provide community feedback on our blue Bishop Bear ticket system
that was created this year. We value your thoughts and it will help shape our program next
year. Survey link

Seeking Volunteers For The Bishop Ambassador Program

Think back to your (and your child's) first days at Bishop...
Try to remember what it was like to be a new family to the school...
Would it have been easier if you already had a friend at the school? Someone who could
answer your questions?

The Bishop PTO’s Ambassador Program helps new families feel welcome and quickly
acclimate to the Bishop community. The volunteer commitment is minimal. The impact on
new families is high. Last year Bishop parent volunteers welcomed more than 100 new
families to our community. Please consider joining the team. We are especially looking for
Bishop families with incoming Kindergarteners, or current Kindergarten families.

The program takes place over the summer when Ambassadors contact incoming new
families (from all grades, but mostly Kindergarten) to answer questions and share
information.

Goals:
● Give new families and students support and a person they can contact to ask questions
● Create a stronger Bishop community, resulting in a stronger student, family and
community bond

Overview:
● A volunteer team of 'Ambassadors' pro¬actively contacts new families over the summer
● All new families, regardless of grade, are included in the program
● Families are included regardless of point of entry into the school system (e.g., beginning of
the year, mid¬year transfers, etc)

Information for Ambassadors:

● The goal is for each Ambassador to be responsible for just a few families. The more
Ambassadors we have the better
● Ambassadors are given contact information for their assigned family
● Ambassadors will be provided with a brief script and FAQ to help guide conversations with
new families
Please contact Mary Perry mperry@zoneliving.com or Heather Bell-Temin
heather.bell_temin@hotmail.com with any questions or if you are interested in joining the
Ambassador team. If you already know someone entering Kindergarten next year, please
consider being their Bishop Ambassador.

Bishop Virtual Art Show:

Here is the link for this year's Bishop Art Show!
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Njla7ckV29ij9uWruJJmLQmHsatWWYB-QLI
3NVmJHsU/edit?usp=sharing
Since this past winter, all Bishop students have been documenting artwork to include in this
show. Included in the show is a variety of art projects from over the course of the school
year, chosen by Bishop students! All students in grades K-5 have worked so hard in Art this
year and it is amazing to see everyone's work come together in this virtual art gallery!
Congratulations Bishop Bears! <3 Mrs. Bolger

Students’ Class Assignments for Next Year

I will be sending out classroom assignments sometime during the first two weeks of
August via email, FYI.

BISHOP PTO NEWS AND UPDATES

Teacher and Staff Tea Thank You

On June 9th, the teachers and staff were treated to an afternoon tea in the library at Bishop.
It was a special time for teachers and staff to connect and relax. A special thank you to Adel
Donegan, Bishop parent & owner of Vintage Tea & Cakes, and to Jessica Douglass for
organizing such a lovely event. Further thanks to the many parents who helped set up,
clean up, lent tablecloths, donated beautiful flowers and food, and for the generous
donation of tea from MEM teas! It was a beautiful afternoon!

Field Day Thank You

The Bishop students had a great Field Day on June 14th! The weather cooperated and it was
fun for the kids to take to the field for games and activities! Thank you to Mr. Scopa, Mr.
VanGordon, and Elizabeth Burns for all your hard work.

The Bishop Play Plans to Return for the 2022-23 School Year
The Bishop Play is a beloved Bishop tradition and a wonderful AfterSchool theater
enrichment activity. It is parent run and can only take place with significant parent
volunteer commitment at rehearsals November-March and the weekend spring
performance. We will start the planning this summer and are looking for 4-5 parents to
join the Bishop Play Committee. Please reach out to Heather Breslau for more information
at Heather.Breslau@gmail.com or 617-596-1361.

Congratulations Bishop School Class of 2022!

Congratulations to all our 5th grade students! All your hard work and perseverance has paid
off and your next adventure awaits. You’ll always be Bishop Bears, so please come back and
visit! A big thank you to all the parent volunteers who helped with the 5th grade recognition
planning!

Your PTO Dollars at Work

The Bishop staff was treated to Del’s Frozen Lemonade on Wednesday, June 15th as a
reminder that summer is just around the corner!

Summer Lunches from Arlington EATS

Students and families are looking forward to summer vacation and a break from the routine
of the school year. However, school vacation also means a break from free school meals. For
many families, that can make feeding growing kids even more of a challenge. Arlington
EATS will be offering pre-packed bags of groceries with nutritious, easy to prepare,
kid-friendly foods from the week of July 11 through the week of August 15.

Summer lunch bags will be available for pick up to any family with kids in Arlington schools
who would like extra food support over the break. Sign up here by June 24 or call
339-707-6757 x1003 to find out more.

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