The Peirce Weekly
January 9, 2024
Please join us for our January PTO Meeting, TONIGHT, at 7:00 pm over Google Meet. We will hear from the 2nd grade teaching team and talk about planning for Bingo Night and other upcoming events. All are welcome! Join us using this link.
We've got a lot of exciting things in store for the upcoming months:
- Peirce Winter Concert - January 18
- Rainbow Alliance - January 24
- Family Literacy Night - January 25
- Bingo Night - March 2
- Peirce Multicultural Night - March 22 - interested in volunteering and planning ? Email Simmy and Brian at lovinglittleminds@gmail.org.
- Fun Run -TBD
- Spring Picnic -TBD
Whether you're a seasoned PTO pro or a newcomer, your presence and ideas are invaluable, and we can't wait to collaborate and make this year the best one yet!
If you have any suggestions, ideas, or if there's anything specific you'd like to see happening this year, don't hesitate to reach out. We're all ears!
Cheers to a fantastic year ahead!
Kelly, Laura, John & Beth
From Mrs. Nichols:
The elementary librarians are seeking feedback about our school library browsing and borrowing policies to help shape more equitable browsing and borrowing practices across all seven elementary schools. Please take 5-10 minutes to respond to this brief survey by next Wednesday, 1/17.
Who is performing?: 3rd Graders on their recorders, as well as the 4th & 5th Grade Peirce Chorus!
What is happening?: A bunch of music! 3rd Graders will be performing what they have learned so far on the recorders, and 4th and 5th Graders will share their full chorus concert set!
Where is this happening?: In the Peirce gym!
When is it?: Thursday, February 1 at 5pm!
Who is invited?: Parents and families! We cannot wait to see you all and thank you for your support that you have given us!
Resolve to Create Less Waste this Year- Learn How at the Next Green Team Meeting!
Come join the Green Team on Friday, January 19th from 2:30-3:30pm Room 224 (Chloe Bone's Room).
The new year is a good time to start new habits. Resolve to make creating less waste a new habit this year! We'll discuss how with a focus on the 5 Rs of Zero Waste: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rot.
Sign-up here to join in the fun. All are welcome!
Emily, Jyoti, Alex, and Claire
Please join the Rainbow Alliance for its first meeting of 2024!
January 24
1:15 - 1:45 PM
Pickup at 1:45 at the main door, unless your child goes to PASP
Questions? Email Mrs. Lloyd or Mrs. Clark (Colletti)
RSVP here
The Peirce School Rainbow Alliance is a safe space for LGBTQIA+ students and ally students, along with their families to socialize, learn about LGBTQIA+ topics, and participate in inclusive activities.
The Peirce Snack Program, supported by Arlington EATS, provides snacks to any child who needs one (for any reason) so there is no stigma attached to getting a snack at school. Snacks are available in the classrooms and in the main office.
Support The Snack Program: If you have the ability, please consider supporting our snack program by donating snacks. You can purchase off the Amazon wish list by clicking the button below, or by donating snacks or money directly. Donations are welcome throughout the school year.
Join us for a Family Literacy Night on January 25th, from 6-7 pm, where we will delve into the beautiful and powerful world of Lubna and Pebble by Wendy Meddour and Daniel Egnéus.
Student leaders from grades 4-5 will lead engaging discussions with K-3 graders, sharing ideas and impressions of the book.
After the discussions, we will move into the cafeteria to unleash creativity by decorating rocks with paint pens. The painted rocks can be placed around the school or taken home.
Students should bring a small rock to decorate.
All are welcome to join in this literary and artistic celebration.
The Lost & Found is located on the 1st floor by the elevators. We would appreciate it families could label clothes and water bottles to minimize all that has to be donated. We try and take pictures of most items in the lost and found but it does become overwhelming.
Please be sure to check out our google photos for your students lost sweatshirts, water bottles and lunch boxes. The lost and found is already overwhelmed with items.
Arlington SEPAC is seeking input from Arlington parents and caregivers around their experiences with special education in the district. The SEPAC welcomes feedback from anyone with an interest in special education, whether you have a child with an IEP or not. Please help the SEPAC to understand and advocate for the needs of students and families by completing the annual SEPAC survey.
The survey is anonymous. Survey responses will be collected and viewed by SEPAC officers (parent volunteers), and a report on the results will be shared with the administration and with the School Committee. No identifying information will be shared.
The public is invited to tour the new Arlington High School from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. on Saturday January 20th. Self-guided tours will begin and end from the Mass. Ave. entrance. Accessible parking is available on Schouler Court.
Self-guided tours of the recently completed Phase 2 spaces will include the Library, Forum Stairs, Cafeteria, and Humanities classroom wing. The adjacent new school district offices (which include the new Welcome Center) and the new Menotomy Preschool will also be open to visitors.
Multi-phased construction of the new high school began in 2020 and three-quarters of the new facility is now complete. Phase 3, construction of the athletics wing, began November 2023 and is expected to be complete in December 2024. The final phase of the project will follow with construction of two new athletic fields and site work, including a connection to the Minuteman Bikeway. For more information on the project, visit www.ahsbuilding.org.
Join AEF for an evening of inspiration and celebration as grant recipients highlight their creative project happening throughout the Arlington Public Schools.
6:00 – 8:00 PM
Punjab, 485 Massachusetts Ave. Arlington, MA
Guest Speaker
Dr. Mona Ford Walker
Deputy Superintendent of Teaching and Learning
Live Music, Small Plates, and Cash Bar.
The suggested donation is $75 per person.
Learn more and purchase tickets: https://www.aefma.org/events/innovation-showcase/
Capacity is limited. Register today.
All Arlington School Committee meetings are open to the public, and most are held both in person and over Zoom. For additional information on the Arlington School Committee, including its working groups, please visit their website. Agendas and reference material for each meeting will be available at least 48 business hours prior to the meeting and may be viewed on the Committee’s Agendas and Minutes page.
- January 24, 3:00 PM - Arlington School Committee - Policies and Procedure Subcommittee Meeting
- January 25, 6:30 PM - Arlington School Committee Meeting - Hybrid
Thursday, January 25
4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Town Hall Auditorium
Town of Arlington will celebrate our second annual Lunar New Year Celebration on January 25th at 4 pm at the Robbins Memorial Town Hall Auditorium with performances, activities, games and more. Lunar New Year is the most significant celebration of the year in cultures across Asia and is celebrated by millions of people all over the world as welcoming of Spring. Arlington's celebration is presented by the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Division in collaboration with Enhance Asian Community on Health (EACH), Arlington High School’s Asian American Coalition and Chinese Culture Club, and the APS Mandarin Language Department. We are actively seeking volunteers to help co-create this special celebration, please reach out to Community Engagement Coordinator, Teresa, at tmarzilli@town.arlington.ma.us to get involved!
There is a lot to learn about the Lunar New Year! Did you know that in Vietnamese culture the Lunar New Year is called Tet? Seollal is the name of Korean Lunar New Year where it is customary to hide your shoes lest a ghost steals them and curses you with bad luck! Tibetan culture keeps its own lunar calendar, sometimes Losar (Tibetan New Year) is the same as the Chinese New Year, sometimes it’s a whole month later. According to Chinese legend the fireworks, firecrackers and red clothing and decorations customary of the Lunar New Year is due to the monster Nian who used to attack villagers at the beginning of the new year. Nian was terrified of bright lights, loud noises and the color red, so the villagers used those things to chase him away!
Sleep Survey from a former APS Parent
From Gibbs MLL teacher Heather Smith -
Do you wonder about your child(ren)'s sleep habits? Please take a few minutes to provide feedback for an important research project regarding sleep habits of children. A former Hardy parent, Kanako Kawamura is pursuing her PHD in Japan and would appreciate your feedback very much. Thank you! Click here to complete children sleep survey.