2022-23 Respect, Responsibility, and Regard

11.3.22

Dates for the Calendar

- Thursday, November 3rd: PTO Community Meeting, 7:00 pm via Zoom . Our
speaker will be Dr. Sam Hoyo, APS Science Director!

- Friday, November 4th from 9:00am-5:00pm and Saturday, November 5th

from 8:00am-1:00pm: Arlington Orthodontics Candy Buy Back Program
(see the Community News section for more information

- Friday, November 4th - Original Works Deadline

- Tuesday, November 8th - Schools Closed - APS Staff Professional

Development Day

- Friday, November 11th - Schools Closed - Veterans Day

- Bishop Play Performance, Beauty and the Beast - March 24, 25, 26
click here for more info, including a signup link!
Hello Bishop Families ~ I hope this Update finds you well!

Daylight Savings Reminder! Be sure to fall back an hour this weekend!

PTO Community Meeting Zoom Info for Thursday (TONIGHT!), November 3rd
Join Zoom Meeting:
Meeting ID: 853 7027 9386
Passcode: 813697
 November is Feedback Month for APS! - Let’s All Participate!!
Dear Arlington Public Schools Community,

I am writing with a few updates for the APS Community, including a few important items
including this year’s community culture and climate surveys

We are gathering feedback using multiple means and methods this November to find out
how we can better serve our full community, including families, students, and staff.

(1) Culture and Climate Surveys: We are striving for 100% participation in this year’s
surveys. Your responses inform our planning at the district and school levels, and we
intend to probe trends with follow-up interviews and other actions. Families with
students in multiple schools are encouraged to fill out a survey for each school their
children attend. Once they launch, surveys will be available until November 23rd,
2022. BISHOP SURVEY LINK - OUR GOAL IS FOR EVERY FAMILY TO COMPLETE
THIS; THANK YOU SO MUCH! - WE’VE GOT THIS!

(2) Community Forums on APS Vision, Equity Audit, and Strategic Plan: We are
pleased to offer four opportunities for families to learn about our new APS Vision,
recommendations from the APS Equity Audit, and to provide feedback on drafts of
our Strategic Planning Initiatives. These interactive forums will take place in-person
on November 2nd (tomorrow!), November 16th (in Boston), and December 1st from
6-7:30pm and virtually on December 8th from 7-8:30pm. Interested community
members can sign up here or scan the QR code on this flier.
Thank yout,
Dr. Homan

Health Office Update from Nurse Martin

As many of you may know, we are seeing a significant number of children who are absent
from school due to a viral respiratory illness. Children are experiencing fevers, nasal
congestion and cough (that lingers)- they are sick and missing many days of school. The
good news is that we are not seeing a lot of COVID right now.

It is hopeful that we can take what we have learned over the past two plus years from living
with COVID and apply it to our current situation and what is predicted to be a rough winter
for illnesses. Masks can prevent a person from becoming infected as well as to prevent the
spread of infection and should be worn when an individual is symptomatic; handwashing;
vaccinations for COVID-19 and the Flu; and staying home when you are sick.
Our current situation is that there are also many children at school with mild symptoms,
which is allowed per our illness protocol; however, we are not seeing a lot of masks being
worn. We ask that you PLEASE have your child wear a mask if they are experiencing mild
symptoms (nasal congestion, cough, etc) and consider masking your child, especially if they
have underlying health conditions like asthma.

Please take a moment to review our Illness protocol.

The Bishop School will be hosting a COVID-19 Booster Clinic on 11/21/22 from 3-7pm for all
students, families, and staff.

Thank you for helping to keep our community safe.

Nurse Martin

Arlington Public Schools - Community Forum Dates -

Would Love to See You There!
 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.

Holiday Food Drive for Arlington EATS and Project 351

Project 351 is now partnering with Arlington EATS to run a food drive in our
community. Project 351 is a service organization that instills a passion for leadership,
community, and service to our own communities. Started by Governor Deval Patrick in 2011,
every year Project 351 brings change to Massachusetts. At the core of Project 351's mission is
empowering individuals to lead change in their own communities. Because of this, every
year students run service projects, like this one, in their own towns to support an issue they
are passionate about. Our community has the ability to prevent hunger in Arlington and
make sure no child goes hungry. I am running this food drive in partnership with both Project
351 and Arlington EATS. This drive will span multiple elementary schools: Peirce School,
Bishop School, Dallin School, and Hardy School. At each of these locations, there will be a
collection bin in the lobby. Please do not donate opened items and check to make sure they
are not expired. Also, please avoid donations that include small individual packages such as
mini cereal boxes. Arlington EATS cannot take them. The dates are November 12 to
December 15. Every donation goes directly to Arlington EATS and into our community. If you
have any questions, please email us at arlington351@gmail.com. All donations are greatly
appreciated, but if you can, please focus on the items listed below since those are the ones
Arlington EATS needs the most. Thank you so much for your support! ~Maeve Padien

BISHOP PTO NEWS AND UPDATES

Original Works Fundraiser - DEADLINE IS TOMORROW, NOVEMBER 4TH

A reminder that the deadline to submit the artwork from your child(ren) is this Friday.
Please return the packet your child received with your artwork, completed order
form, and payment back to school. We look forward to receiving your artwork!

At a loss for a Christmas present for Aunt Petunia this year? Want a keepsake to
show how artistically-gifted your child was on one of their future milestone
birthdays? Need a mug to make you smile every time you and your co-workers look
at it? This is for you!

The Bishop PTO is excited to announce that Bishop has teamed up with Original
Works to offer an exciting art-based program at our school. Through this program,
you can purchase a variety of products featuring your child’s very own artwork, while
also supporting the Bishop school community.

Arlington Orthodontics Candy Buy Back

Arlington Orthodontics is once again offering its popular Cash for Candy program!
Bring us your leftover Halloween candy and we will pay YOU $2/lb. ($10 max). We
will also give a matching donation to the Bishop PTO!
When? Friday, November 4th from 9am-5pm and Saturday, November 5th from
8am-1pm
Where? 800 Mass Ave Arlington, MA

All candy collected will be shipped to our troops serving overseas!

The Bishop Play is Returning with Beauty And The Beast Junior!

We are thrilled to announce that the Bishop

Play is making its return. We are welcoming back the talented children’s theatre
director Sarah Morrison Zeitman to direct this year’s production of Disney’s Beauty
And The Beast Junior!
The play is a huge undertaking and requires a lot of coordination between our
directorial staff, the parent community and PTO, Bishop staff and administration and
Bright Start. This year, we are focused on rebuilding our capacity to produce a play
that is safe and rewarding for everyone involved. The play will be open to Bishop
students in grades 3, 4 and 5.

Details on ways to participate and costs are below. If you have any questions, please
email thebishopplay@gmail.com.

We hope in future years to regrow the play to include the entire student community.
In the meantime, thank you for your support as we bring this great tradition back to
Bishop!

Registration will start on November 7. Details below…

Ways to Participate:
● Students in grades 4-5 can register to:
○ Audition for a leading/larger role
○ Participate in a supporting role (no audition required)
○ Participate in Tech Crew

● Students in grades 3 can register to participate in an ensemble role

Cost:
● $75 for grade 4-5 cast members
● $60 for grade 3 ensemble
● $30 for grade 4-5 Tech Crew
● Scholarships are available for any families in need; please contact Mr.
McAneny

Key Dates:
● Registration: November 7-10 here!
● Mandatory Parent Volunteer Meeting: Wednesday, Nov 30, 7 PM
● Auditions Grades 4-5: Wednesday, Nov 30 (2:45-4:45 PM)
● Call Backs Grades 4-5: Friday, Dec. 2 (2:45-4:45 PM)
● Rehearsals: Wednesdays or Fridays, 2:45-4:45 PM
○ Note: you will select a preferred day to rehearse during registration
○ Grades 4-5 will start rehearsing in December
○ Grade 3 will start rehearsing in January
○ Tech Crew will begin participating after February break
● Dress Rehearsal: Saturday, March 18, 12-5 PM (each cast for approx. 2 hours)
● Performance Weekend March 24, 25, 26
Questions? Please email thebishopplay@gmail.com
Annual Fund
It’s not too late to donate to the PTO’s Annual Fund! Click here for more information
or here to donate via PayPal.

Donations for the SNACK PROGRAM at Bishop Elementary School

Please continue to support the Snack Program by purchasing pre-approved snacks
through our Amazon Snack Wishlist. You can also find the Amazon Snack Wish List
link on the PTO website. Thank you for all of the generous donations!

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.)

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.

MGH Research Study Opportunity for Children Ages 8-11 Years Old
The Cognitive Neuroscience Group at the MGH Institute of Health Professions in
Boston is recruiting children between the ages of 8 and 11 years to participate in
research studies funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National
Institute of Health (NIH).

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the learning patterns of children with typical
and atypical language development. The study will involve 3 visits to the lab at the
MGH Institute of Health Professions. During the visits, children complete a battery of
cognitive and language-based assessments, play several games on the computer
and complete several language/memory tasks. The lab visit includes safe and
noninvasive EEG recording. A visit will last about 3 hours. We are looking for children
who were late to develop language, and who still receive services for language or
learning difficulties. More information can be found at: Rally | Learning Differences in
Children (massgeneralbrigham.org)

Payment is $50 for each in-person visit to the lab ($150 total). We provide free
all-day parking at the Navy Yard. We will mail you the scores of your child on the
cognitive and language tests/subtests. Please email us at cnglead@mghihp.edu or
call us at (617) 643-4821 if you are interested or if you have any questions.

McLean Hospital Research Opportunity

The PediMIND lab is currently looking for children and adolescents to participate in
our research studies. Our lab’s goal is to try to understand what is going on in the
brains of children and adolescents who struggle with mental health concerns. We
investigate how that brain activity intersects with what youth do and feel in daily life.
We hope that by gaining more information, we can help parents, teachers, and
mental health providers understand what’s going on for these youth and make sure
that they and their families are getting the support they need and that practitioners
have as much information as possible to help guide treatment.

We are looking for participants ages 8-17 who either do not have braces or will soon
be getting them off (because all studies involve an MRI brain scan). A mental health
history is not required to participate in our studies. Families who participate in our
studies are compensated for their time (amount varies based on study), and all
receive the summary of their diagnostic interview that may help guide clinical care
and/or individual support. The kids also get to keep structural images of their brains.
More information on our current studies can be found here. If any parents are
interested in speaking with someone about the specific studies, they can contact
research assistant Courtney Kaplan at cakaplan@mclean.harvard.edu.

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 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