Upcoming School Events

Teacher Curriculum Workday, Fri., Nov. 20. No School.

Thanksgiving Recess. Nov. 26-27. No School. (Please note that the elementary schools will be dismissed at 1:20pm on Wednesday, Nov. 25.)

Yearbook Meeting. Wed. Dec. 2, 10:30am, Fort River Cafeteria 3. First meeting of the Yearbook Committee. All interested parent/guardians invited to attend. See below for more info. 

Book Fair. Tues. Dec. 1-Fri. Dec. 4. We will be having after-school hours on Friday, Dec. 4th from 3-6. More information will be coming home in the backpacks. Online sign up sheet here.

Fort River Roasters by Dean's Beans Coffee Orders Due. Friday, Dec. 4. Don't forget to stock up for the holidays! Give as gifts to your coffee-loving friends! Order forms here.

Coffee with the Principals. Friday, Dec. 4, 8:30am in the cafeteria. All Fort River parents are invited to meet with Principal Ray Sharick and/or Asst. Principal Susan Kennedy-Marx for coffee, light refreshments and casual conversation. Younger siblings are welcome to attend.

Winter Clothing and Sports Swap. Friday, Dec. 4, 3-6pm, during the after-school book fair hours. See below for more information.

*Items in teal are sponsored by Parent Council.

Book Fair: Dec. 1-4

The Fort River book fair will be taking place during the first week of December, from Tues. Dec. 1 through Fri. Dec. 4. We will be having after-school hours on Friday, Dec. 4th from 3-6pm. Flyers will be going home in the backpacks soon with information about the class times.

If you would like to sign up to work at the Book Fair, please click the following link for the online sign-up sheet: Book Fair!!!!

Winter Clothing and Sports Swap

We will be holding the Winter Clothing and Sports Swap on Friday, Dec. 4, from 3-6pm, during the after-school book fair hours.

Please bring your unwanted clean and usable winter clothes and sporting equipment to the school lobby during the swap hours. This is a take-it-or-leave-it event without money or obligation. Possible items include but are not limited to dance clothes/shoes, skates and skating clothes, soccer equipment, hats, gloves, winter coats, snowsuits and snowboarding, hockey & skiing equipment. Please bring your items with you--there is no drop-off prior to the swap. 

There is no obligation to bring anything in order to take something.

Contact: Peter Wood cpwolfwood@hotmail.com.

Parent Council Wants YOU!

Parent Council would like to start a running list of parent volunteers who would be willing to help out with small tasks during school hours. Volunteers would do such things as stuffing envelopes and distributing mailings, directories and fundraiser orders. Most of these tasks would take an hour or less.

If you would like to be added to this list, please contact Sue Borden at frpc.sborden@gmail.com.

Thanks!

Yearbook Meeting, Wednesday, December 2 at 10:30 am

Are you interested in learning about publication layout and graphic design? Do you enjoy digital photography? Then come help with the Fort River Yearbook! Parent Council provides a parent/guardian designed yearbook for every student at the end of each school year. The first meeting of the Yearbook Committee will be taking place on Wed. Dec. 2nd at 10:30am  in cafeteria 3. All interested parents/guardians are invited to attend.

Although much of the work involved in putting together the yearbook doesn’t happen until the spring, this committee works throughout the year enlisting people to take pictures and making arrangements for a printer. Once materials have been gathered, this committee works on laying out the book, printing, and distribution during last week of school.

Remember, even if you're not interested in working on the yearbook, there's an easy way for you to contribute by sending us photos of any events, field trips, and in-class activities for ALL grades. If you are going on a field trip, visiting your child's class, or participating in any other school activities--bring a camera!

Coordinators: Joy Sullivan (joyrrs@comcast.net) and Kathy Niedzielski (stonyhill4@verizon.net).

Library Committee

Parent Council is forming a committee of parents/guardians who are interested in working with the school librarian on various projects. If you are interested in joining, please contact Liz Larson at lizinamherst@gmail.com or Sue Borden at FRPC.sborden@gmail.com. Plans are in the works for the first meeting!

Parent Council Thanks...

Parent Council would like to thank Diane Caraker who put in a lot of work organizing this year's Fall Festival, despite the fact that it eventually got canceled due to H1N1 concerns.

Let's hope for better luck next year!

Amherstopoly for the Holidays

Here’s a great gift idea for the holidays – give your friends and family copies of the Amherstopoly board game! This is a unique gift that will provide hours of fun for the whole family and/or be a great souvenir of Amherst.

Ever dream of managing ARMS or Town Hall? Well, your chance is finally here! Amherstopoly, the fantastic board game that is all about Amherst and its most beloved haunts, has arrived just in time to celebrate Amherst’s 250th Anniversary.

Amherstopoly is a collaboration of the Parent Groups of Crocker Farm, Fort River, Mark’s Meadow and Wildwood schools to raise funds for student enrichment programs. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, 100% of the money ($25) raised through school sales of the game will be split equally amongst the four elementary schools.

To order your game: Order forms are due in the front office of Ft. River on Dec 4th. Please include name/phone number/email, number of games ordered) and a check made payable to “Amherstopoly.” Games can be picked up at the front office of Ft. River after Friday, Dec.11th. Games can also be purchased directly from the front office (without an order form) any time. Questions? Please contact Sue Cairn scairn@verizon.net.

Click here for order form.

Easy Ways to Earn $$$ for Fort River!

Stop & Shopʼs A+ BonusBucks Program
Use your Stop & Shop card and Fort River earns a percentage! It's not too late to sign up!  This is an easy way to raise money with absolutely no cost to you. However, for Fort River to receive credit you need to re-designate Fort River each year. Call 1-877-366-2668 or visit www.stopandshop.com/aplus. Fort River ID # 05218. Remember, even if you registered your card last year, you must re-register this year for our school to receive credit. Thanks to everyone who has already signed up. We already have 113 participants and have earned $169.56. Attending to this simple process makes a HUGE difference to our school. Also, don’t forget to encourage your friends and relatives to do the same. And, if you sign up anytime in the month of November, ALL your purchases for the month will be counted! We need your support! Contact Ann McLaughlin if you have any questions or problems.

Big Y Education Express
Use your Big Y Express Savings Club card and Fort River can earn points for buying much needed equipment and supplies! Just visit the Big Y customer service desk and fill out a form that will link Fort River with your card (School ID # 5947). Or go to www.bigy.com/education and sign up from your computer! Whenever you use your card to purchase items designated with the “Education Express” logo, youʼll earn points for our school. 


Target Take Charge of Education
If you have a Target REDcard (credit card), you can designate Fort River to receive up to 1% of the value of your purchases on the card. Go to www.Target.com/tcoe to designate Fort River (School ID # 58645).

Atkins Farms Country Market
Use your Atkins card when you shop at Atkins Farms Country Market, and they will donate a percentage of your purchase to Fort River School. Atkins provided us with one card per family last year, and new cards for new families will be coming soon-- stay tuned! Just show the card when you are checking out. There is an expiration date on the card, which is the date that youngest child graduates from Fort River. 
Last year Fort River parents earned $500 for Fort River by shopping at Atkins! Thanks to everyone who has been participating--and don't forget to keep using your card every time you go.

Box Tops for Education
In case you are not familiar with Box Tops this is an easy way to earn money for Fort River--just take your scissors and clip! Last year we earned over $500. For each Box Top clipped the school receives 10 cents. Just look for the Box Tops logo on products in you already have in your kitchen, cut it out and deliver your box tops to the school's main office. If you would like to learn about the other ways you can make a difference sign up for the Box Tops website at boxtops4education.com. It’s easy, free and you’ll learn about new ways to help our school earn the extra cash it needs.

Cellphones & Ink Jet Cartridges
Protect the environment and raise money for Parent Council by donating used digital cellphones and ink jet cartridges. Please deliver to the Main Office. Cellphones will be recycled, according to EPA regulations, or refurbished and sold, with 100% of the proceeds going to Parent Council.

Limited Supply of Fort River T-shirts and Bags Available!

 
We still have the following sizes and colors available:

Navy t-shirts:  (please note that the kids sizes in Navy run quite small)

Kids sizes small, medium, and large
Adult sizes small, large, and x-large

Celadon t-shirts (the light green): (Kids’ sizes run small, not quite as small as the navy)

Kids sizes small and medium
Adult sizes large and x-large.

EcoConscious bags (11.5 x 14.5 x 5, with handles long enough to fit over the shoulder)

Olive
Black

Please e-mail Libby Stanforth (bstanforth@comcast.net) if you’d like to purchase any of these items!  Prices are as follows:

Kids’ t-shirts    $12
Adult t-shirts    $14
Bags               $14

Click here to see t-shirt and bag colors.