2022-23 Respect, Responsibility, and Regard

HAPPY FALL!!!

9.22.22

Dates for the Calendar

- Monday, September 26th --Rosh Hashanah* - Schools Closed

- Wednesday, September 28th: PTO Community Meeting at 7:00pm, See below for
the Zoom link and the agenda.

- Friday, September 30th: Spirit Day! Let’s go, Bishop Bears! We’d love to see lots of
students (and staff!) wearing their spirit gear or their brightest blue and yellow to
show our Bishop spirit!

- Wednesday, October 5th- Yom Kippur* - Schools Closed

*Jewish Holiday begins at sundown the day before

- Monday, October 10th - Indigenous Peoples' Day Schools Closed

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

To our families celebrating the High Holiday - Shanah Tovah'tukah!

A new year is a new start, hope all things work in your favor in the upcoming year!

Bishop’s Annual Curriculum Night, SUCCESS!

Thank you to all of the family members who came out to last night’s Curriculum Night. Our
evening together was well-attended and a huge success! If you have any lingering
questions related to grade level presentations and/or classroom visits, please reach out to
your homeroom teacher.
 Health and Safety Information from Nurse Martin

Bishop Playground Update - Almost There!

JJ Phelan and Sons have been busy with final preparations, to include rope replacements,
fencing, bench and picnic table installation, grass seeding, and asphalt sealcoating and
painting. When these punch list items are complete, everything will be inspected. The
current timeline for all of this to happen is the end of next week; fingers crossed!

Picture Day is Coming!

Bishop School picture day will be held on Friday, October 7th!
Orders can be placed online by visiting www.coffeepond.com and clicking on the big red
button that says “Order School Portraits.” If you prefer to pay with cash or check, please fill
out the form that was sent home in backpack mail this week and send it with your child(ren)
on picture day.

In order to ensure this event runs as smoothly as possible, we are looking for volunteers to
assist with crowd control, reminding students to fix their hair and straighten their clothes,
and generally keeping the line moving. If you are interested in volunteering your time,
please sign up here.

Finally, if your family is in need of scholarship assistance, please reach out to Principal Mark
McAneny at mmcaneny@arlington.k12.ma.us ahead of time.

We look forward to a successful event! If you have any further questions about school
pictures, please email Laura Tikonoff at laura.tikonoff@gmail.com.
 The Bishop Diversity and Inclusion Group (also known as the Bishop DIG)
would like to welcome you all back to school!

Dear Bishop Community Members,

The Bishop DIG is an organization whose members include Bishop parents, caregivers,
community members, teachers, and administrators. Our mission is to create an atmosphere
of equity and inclusion at Bishop where every child and adult feels a sense of belonging.

Past initiatives have focused on creating a school environment that supports and empowers
those who are traditionally excluded, assisting staff and administration in incorporating
diversity in practice as well as in policy, and providing opportunities for students and adults
to learn about issues related to diversity/inclusion. Additionally, we aim to offer
opportunities for adults to build connections and friendships. The DIG also helps to guide
the work of the Bishop Rainbow Alliance, a club for students run by Bishop teachers that
promotes LGBTQIA education, pride, and allyship. In the past two years, DIG-led initiatives
have included the Bishop Cultural Fest, student and adult book clubs, social meet-ups, and
bringing the Understanding Our Differences disability awareness program to students in
grades 3-5. The work we pursue each year varies and is driven by the interests and
contributions of DIG members.

We would like to invite all Bishop adult community members to join us for a Welcome
Meeting on Thursday, September 29. We will be holding a casual in-person welcome
meeting in the garden in front of the school from 3:00-3:30 p.m. and a Zoom welcome
meeting from 6:00-6:30 p.m. (see link below).
During these meetings, there will be an opportunity to meet members of the DIG, learn
about past initiatives, discuss your ideas for diversity, inclusion, and anti-racist work this
coming school year, and answer any questions you may have about the DIG or Rainbow
Alliance. For more information, please visit our website at https://bishopdig.weebly.com/. To
join the DIG mailing list, please email bishopdig@gmail.com. If you are unable to make the
meetings but would like to share your ideas or get involved with the DIG, please reach out to
us by email. Thank you for your support and we hope to see you soon!!

Topic: DIG Meeting

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83542710321?pwd=U2x2L3NwNTJRSTQxTjNjQ3hJQ3luQT09
Meeting ID: 835 4271 0321
Passcode: 499905
Looking forward to seeing you!
The Bishop DIG
Translation: If you need this information translated, please copy and paste it into Google
Translate. The link to Google translate is http://translate.google.com/.
 Bishop’s Lost and Found Items
This year we are implementing a monthly lost and found donation program. At the end of
each month, we will donate all items to local charities. If your child has a lost item, please
encourage them to check the lost and found, located in the cafeteria near the recess door.
We will also include daily announcement reminders to students prior to the month’s end. If
we find items that have labels on them, we return them to students, which is a good
reminder to label everything!

A Message from the Library

Dear Bishop families,
Welcome back! We are so excited to see all the students back in the Library again for a new
year.
We are also welcoming a new staff member, Library Teacher Chrissie Collins, who will be
spending a week at Bishop every 3 weeks or so.
Library Volunteers Needed
We would love additional help from Bishop family members, especially if anyone can spare
some time after drop off to help with the reshelving of returned books. In the past we have
been lucky enough to have help with that each morning, but many of our volunteers have
now “graduated out” of the school.
Please reach out if you might be interested to know more.
Book Check-Out
Students will begin to check out books in the next coming weeks. If they bring books home
(K and 1st grade keep library books in their classrooms, and others choose to do that as well)
please help your student(s) remember to bring books back into school on their designated
Library day for either renewal or return. Also, if you happen to find any Bishop Library Books
from years past, feel free to have your student bring them in anytime.
Looking forward to seeing you over the coming months,
Best wishes
Alison Vaishnaw, Justine Bloch and Chrissie Collins.
avaishnaw@arlington.k12.ma.us, jbloch@arlington.k12.ma.us and ccollins@arlington.k12.ma.us

The Bishop main website is a great place to find resources and answers to frequently
asked questions. You can also find information about our staff and curriculum.
 BISHOP PTO NEWS AND UPDATES

Back to School Picnic & Ice Cream Social - THANK YOU!

The weather has been in our favor as we celebrate our various back to school events! We
had another beautiful fall afternoon last Friday; thanks to all who joined us for the picnic and
to everyone who helped organize this beloved Bishop tradition! Special thanks to our
volunteers who manned the Spirit Wear sale - we’re excited to see the students sporting all
of their new Bishop gear throughout the year!

PTO Community Meeting

Wednesday, September 28th, 7:00 pm via Zoom
Please join the PTO for its first meeting of the new school year. All are welcome! These
meetings are a great way to meet other parents, stay up to date, and voice your ideas,
concerns, or feedback. We will present the budget for this school year and provide
orientation for Room Parents. The Zoom link (Meeting ID: 862 8762 1334
Passcode: 556627) and agenda are now available!

Pumpkin Sale
Save the Date! Our annual Pumpkin Sale will be held on Saturday, October 15th! We hope
you can join us to purchase pumpkins, cider, and donuts in support of the Bishop School
PTO! Stay tuned for more information.

Donations for the SNACK PROGRAM at Bishop Elementary School

Hello and welcome back! As you may know, we have a snack program at Bishop, supported
by Arlington EATS and parent donations. Research shows that students who are consistently
hungry are more likely to face developmental and educational challenges. Our goal is to
provide snacks to any child in need, to those with family financial struggles, those who
forgot snacks, and those who are extra hungry.

We ask that if you can afford snacks, please provide them for your child, knowing that if they
are forgotten one day, we have them covered. If you find your child is avoiding the snacks
you send from home because the snacks in the classroom are more appealing, please
explain to them that those snacks are reserved for those in need. Each classroom is
provided with a snack pack, which is replenished every few weeks/as needed. You can
borrow ideas from the snack program list if your child finds the classroom snacks more
appealing (see link below).

If you have the ability, please support our snack program by purchasing
pre-approved snacks through our Amazon Snack Wishlist. Purchased items will be
sent to the home of Marisa Silveri, our Snack Ambassador. Choose Bishop Snacks c/o Marisa
Silveri in the delivery option. You can also find the Amazon Snack Wish List link on the PTO
website.
Thank you!

Amazon link:
https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/QIYTVNJUZHFQ?ref=cm_sw_em_r_un_un_bkgwI
3r8Rsy9u
PTO link: www.bishopschoolpto.com

Bishop PTO News

Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year! We are thrilled to welcome every student and
Bishop staff member back to school. The PTO executive board and coordinators are working
diligently to map a course for the upcoming school year that is fun, familiar, and safe. We
hope you’ll join our efforts in creating great Bishop experiences and memories for our
children. Volunteers are always welcome and appreciated!
This is your organization, and we depend on volunteer support. Volunteering is also a great
way to meet other Bishop families.
A few big events that you can volunteer for and help organize:
Walkathon in October
Pumpkin Sale in October
Readathon in February
Bishop Play in March - help needed as early as November
Bishop Science Night in April
Bishop Bear Fair in May

If you would like to get involved, please reach out to us at bishopschool.pto@gmail.com.

AmazonSmile for Bishop!

Did you know you can sign up for AmazonSmile in just three steps? AmazonSmile will
donate 0.5% of all eligible purchases to Bishop (search for John A. Bishop PTO) at no cost to
you!

In a time when we are ordering more online and donations are more important than ever,
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 want to help
support our awesome community!

Sign up for Amazon Smile in these three easy steps:

1. Join Amazon Smile (If you’re not already an AmazonSmile member, sign up on your
web browser. Simply select John A. Bishop to start generating donations, at no cost
to you.)
2. Get the app (Download or update the latest version of the Amazon Shopping app
on your phone.)
3. Turn on AmazonSmile (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.)

Volunteer Opportunity: PTO Website

The PTO is looking for someone to update the PTO website (hosted via Weebly) on a regular
basis (uploading meeting minutes, keeping dates for activities updated, etc.). This is a
relatively easy commitment for someone experienced with IT. Please reach out to
bishopschool.pto@gmail.com if you are interested in helping out.

Annual Fund
Historically, the Bishop School PTO funds programs and events to supplement your
children's school experience; to support the teachers, school, and administration; and to
foster a sense of community with the school. These funds are used to cover items like:
● Grade-specific and school-wide enrichment programs
● Health and safety materials for teachers and students
● Teacher grants for technology, curriculum materials, and other educational needs
● Online subscriptions for classrooms to support reading, math, spelling, and science
(e.g., Scholastic, Spelling City, etc.)
● Teacher checks and classroom funds
● Classroom supplies (e.g., paper towels, tissues, glue sticks, pencils, sanitizing wipes,
and more)
● Playground and grounds improvements

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 Valerie Geary (Communications Coordinator,
Bishop PTO) at valerie.t.geary@gmail.com.

Be on the lookout for more information on our Annual Fund coming soon!

Stay Up to Date

Bishop PTO Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BishopPTO/

Please note that all-school announcements will be posted only to the main PTO
Facebook page. Make sure you have joined both the main page and your child’s
individual class page(s) to receive all information, school-wide and for your child’s
specific grade. You can find your child’s individual class page under the group name
“Bishop Elementary - Class of X” with “X” being the year of graduation from Bishop.

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