Upcoming Events

Teacher Curriculum Workday. Friday, November 30th. No school. Fort River Roasters Orders Due. Friday, December 7th. Please place in Parent Council Mailbox. Coffee With a Principal. Friday, December 14th, 8:30 to 9:15am. Join Principal Russ Vernon-Jones and/or Vice Principal Lianne Suarez-Werlein for coffee, light breakfast foods, and casual conversation in the cafeteria. Younger siblings are welcome to attend. Diversity and Social Justice Committee. Friday, December 21, 8:40am. Library. Parent Council Meeting. Monday, January 7th, 2008, 6:30-7:30pm. Library. Babysitting will be available.

What Has Parent Council Done for You and Child?

As 2007 comes to an end, we wanted to provide an update about the various activities and events that were brought to you by Parent Council this year – and to ask for your continued support of Parent Council activities and events! *Providing FREE school directories to all children* *Paying $10 per child for all 4th graders to go to Plimouth Plantation* *Coordinating the Fall Festival (e.g., the Halloween Party)* *Funding the Welcome to New Families event* *Funding the monthly Coffee With a Principal event* *Providing the guidance counselors with funds to assist Fort River families in need* *Providing each classroom teacher with special funds to buy books for the classroom* *Coordinating the Summer Read-a-thon* *Providing the Museum of Science presentations to all children* *Paying for flowers for the planters in front of school* *Paying for the Birds of Prey presentation for all 2nd graders*

Big Thank Yous to...

Pam Rietkerk and Alisa Braverman for running the Hillside Pizza (and cookie dough) fundraiser – which raised over $800 (profit) for the playground!

Gift Wrap Orders

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the Fall Gift Wrap fundraiser. The orders will be delivered on Wednesday, December 5th and distributed soon after. Those with large orders will receive notification that their orders can be picked up in the main office. Smaller orders will be sent home with students. Questions? Contact: Karen Zilberstein at eKaren@comcast.net.

Annual Family Donation Fund Update Nov. 29, 2007

Thanks to all the families who have already contributed to our Annual Family Donation Fund, which supports all Parent Council activities (field trips, cultural events, library books, scholarships for children in need, etc.)! We have now raised $5,812 from 152 of our 359 families (42% of families), and are still hoping for contributions from all families (and even a $1.00 donation helps increase our goal of 100% family participation)! Although we suggest $20 a child, contributions of any size are welcome ­ and all contributions are tax deductible (and anonymous). Checks (to Fort River Parent Council) or cash can be sent to the Parent Council mailbox in the main office or to Catherine Sanderson, 23 Alyssum Drive. Want to know how these contributions are spent? Click here.

A Note of Thanks to Parent Council

Don't Forget These Ongoing (and Easy) Fundraisers!

Stop & Shop's A+ BonusBucks Program: If you are a Shop & Shop customer and haven't already signed up, please do so! It's quick, easy and free. You can log on to www.stopandshop.com/aplus to designate online, call 1-877-366-2668 to designate over the phone, or fill out the A+ BonusBucks Form and drop it off at any Stop & Shop store. Even if you designated last year, you must re-designate this year for our school to receive credit. Please be sure to designate Fort River using ID # 05218. Click here for a form. Box Tops for Education: For each Box Top clipped we receives 10 cents! Please send in box tops to the collection box on the table in the Front Office. Cellphones and Ink Jet Cartridges: Please help protect the environment AND raise money for Parent Council by donating your used digital cell phone(s) and ink jet cartridge(s). Your used cell phone(s) will be recycled in accordance with EPA regulations or refurbished and sold, with 100% of the proceeds going to Parent Council. Just bring your used cellphone and/or ink jet cartridges to the box in the main office.

Upcoming Events

Pizza Pick-Up Day. Get your Hillside Pizza Orders, Friday, Nov. 16th, 3-5pm. School lobby. Thanksgiving Recess. Thursday and Friday, Nov. 22nd & 23rd. No school. Parent Council Meeting. Tuesday, November 27th, 8:30 to 9:30am, cafeteria. Teacher Curriculum Workday. Friday, November 30th. No school. Coffee With a Principal. Friday, December 21st, 8:30 to 9:15am.

Hillside Pizza Fundraiser -- Pickup This Afternoon (Friday, Nov. 9)

Don't forget to pick up your Hillside Pizza orders this afternoon at the school lobby between 3-5pm this afternoon! Questions? Contact Pam Rietkerk at pjrietkerk@aol.com or 256-2605 or Alisa Braverman at a.braverman@comcast.net or 253-5362.

Gift Wrap Sales

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the Fall Gift wrap fundraiser. The orders will be delivered on Wednesday, December 5th and distributed so0n after. Those with large orders will receive notification that their orders can be picked up in the main office. Smaller orders will be sent home with students. Questions? Contact Karen Zilberstein, eKaren@comcast.net.

Fort River Parent Council Email List -- An Update

Hi All, We currently have a total of 168 subscribers to our Parent Council emails! I'd love to have as many parents as possible subscribe, so please help me spread the word about this website and about the email list. Feel free to forward this website address to other Fort River families, and let them know that they can get all kinds of great information here! Click here for more information about subscribing to our emails. Thanks, Ann McLaughlin Parent Council Secretary damclaughlin@comcast.net

Upcoming Events

TODAY -- Hillside Pizza Orders Due. Friday, Nov. 9. Veteran's Day Observed. Monday, Nov. 12. No School. Coffee With a Principal. Friday, November 16th, 8:30 to 9:15 am. Please join Principal Russ Vernon-Jones and/or Vice-Principal Lianne Suarez-Werlein for coffee, light breakfast foods, and casual conversation in the cafeteria. Younger siblings are welcome to attend. Pizza Pick-Up Day. Get your Hillside Pizza Orders, Friday, Nov. 16th, 3-5pm. in the school lobby. Diversity and Social Justice Committee Meeting, Friday, November 16th, 9 to 10 am, library. Thanksgiving Recess. Thursday and Friday, Nov. 22nd and 23rd. No School. Parent Council Meeting. Tuesday, November 27th, 8:30 to 9:30 am, cafeteria. Teacher Curriculum Workday. Friday, November 30th. No School. Coffee With a Principal. Friday, December 21, 8:30 to 9:15am.

Hillside Pizza Orders – LAST CHANCE!

Buy delicious, organic, locally-made pizza and cookie dough and help support our new playground! Orders are due TODAY, Friday, November 9th, and pizza/cookie dough pick-up is Friday, November 16th. Extra order forms are available here and in the main office. Ingredient and allergen info here.

Contact Pam Rietkerk (256-2605, pjrietkerk@aol.com) or Alisa Braverman (253-5362, a.braverman@comcast.net) with any questions.

Thanks to Volunteers

Thanks to Louise Levy for organizing the Fall Festival, and to ALL the volunteers who assisted in various ways with this event! Thanks to Morgan Lord for organizing the Winter Gear Drive, the following volunteers for helping with coat pick-up and distribution (Sheri Schmidt, Chris Felton and Pat Ononibaku) and all the families who donated items.

Annual Family Donation Fund Update

Thanks to all the families who have already contributed to our Annual Family Donation Fund, which supports all Parent Council activities (field trips, cultural events, books for the library, scholarships for children in need, etc.)! We have already raised $5,288 from 147 of our 359 families (41% of families), and are still hoping for contributions from all families (and even a $1.00 donation helps increase our goal of 100% family participation)! Although we suggest $20 a child, larger and smaller amounts are welcome ­ and all contributions are tax deductible (and anonymous). Checks (made out to Fort River Parent Council) or cash can be sent to the Parent Council mailbox in the main office or to Catherine Sanderson, 23 Alyssum Drive.

Scenes from the Fall Festival

A fun time was had by all!

Stop and Shop A+ BonusBucks update

As of today (Nov. 3), Fort River has earned $139.88 through the Stop and Shop A+ BonusBucks program! Thanks to the 24 Fort River families who have already signed up for the program, If you are a Shop and Shop customer and haven't already signed up, please click here for information on how to do it. It's very quick and easy and it costs you nothing.

Upcoming Events

Winter Gear Drive--Gear Pick Up. Monday, November 5th & Tuesday, November 6th, 8am-10 am & 2pm-4pm. School lobby. (See below for more details.) Hillside Pizza Orders Due. Friday, Nov. 9. Veteran's Day Observed. Monday, Nov. 12. No School. Coffee With a Principal. Friday, November 16th, 8:30 to 9:15 am. Please join Principal Russ Vernon-Jones and/or Vice-Principal Lianne Suarez-Werlein for coffee, light breakfast foods, and casual conversation in the cafeteria. Younger siblings are welcome to attend. Diversity and Social Justice Committee Meeting, Friday, November 16th, 9 to 10 am, library. Parent Council Meeting. Tuesday, November 27th, 8:30 to 9:30 am, cafeteria.

Celebrate With a Book

This year we are continuing a tradition at Fort River Library: Celebrate With a Book! Books may be donated to the Fort River Library in honor of a student’s birthday, a holiday or for any other occasion. A special book plate will be placed in the donated book stating the name of the donor and of the child or adult being honored. Also, the donor and the honoree will be sent a thank you note acknowledging the donation. In times of limited school budgets, this program helps our school by adding wonderful new books to our library. Children also gain a sense of sharing something meaningful to be enjoyed by readers for years to come. Please choose a book you and your child have enjoyed or you can call or email Fran Ludington, FR librarian, for suggestions (362-1215, ludingtf@arps.org). Here’s all you have to do: 1. Drop the book off in the main office of Fort River School (there is a Celebrate with a Book box there), with this completed form. 2. Any questions, contact parent volunteer Elly Hosea (elly_hosea@yahoo.com) or contact school Librarian Fran Ludington.

Pizza and Cookie Dough Orders Are Due in One Week!

Have YOU Ordered Your Hillside Pizza?? Please support the final push to finish the new playground! Thanks to those of you who have already placed orders and to those of you who haven’t… PLEASE ORDER NOW!!! Here’s how it works: 1. Order pizzas & cookie dough tubs with this order form.

(Ingredient and allergen information available here.)

2. Pick-up is from 3:00-5:00pm in the Fort River lobby on Friday, November 16. Samples of delicious Hillside Pizza will be available at Fort River after school Tuesday, November 6. Order form due Friday, November 9. Pizza pick-up will be Friday, November 16. Ready to Volunteer on Pizza pick-up day? Contact Pam Rietkerk at 256-2605 pjrietkerk@aol.com or Alisa Braverman at 253-5362 a.braverman@comcast.net

A HUGE Thank-You to Our Playground Volunteers

Parent Council thanks the small number of dedicated volunteers who assisted with the preparation of the new playground this past Sunday, October 28th. They worked for several hours removing excess cement, preparing the ground covering, removing brackets and raking woodchips. Thanks to Peter Wood, Mike Jacques, Ray Mann, Catherine Sanderson, Michael Ireland, Mark Marasco, Mark Dooley, and Sue Cairn. The playground looks terrific!

Annual Family Donation Fund Update

Thanks to all families who have already contributed to our Annual Family Donation Fund! Our latest numbers are: 142 families have contributed a total of $5,188. That's 40% of all of our Fort River Families! We are still hoping for contributions from ALL families and even a $1.00 donation helps us toward our goal! Although we suggest $20 a child, larger and smaller amounts are welcome and all contributions are tax deductible (and anonymous). Checks (made out to Fort River Parent Council) or cash can be sent to the Parent Council mailbox in the main office or to Catherine Sanderson, 23 Alyssum Drive.

Winter Gear Drive

Gear Drop off: Thank you to everyone who has already donated coats, snow pants, snow boots, etc. Donations will be accepted until Monday November 5. Gear Pick up: School Lobby Monday, November 5th & Tuesday, November 6th 8am-10 am & 2pm-4pm We will be in the lobby offering donated winter gear to families who may be in need of these items. All families are welcome. We are asking families that are in need to only take one of each item. Then, if there are extras and you need a spare or back up, we can offer those as well. If you are not available to come in during these times, children are allowed to come to the table with a note to receive their articles or call Morgan to arrange a pick up time. If you have any questions, please contact Morgan Lord, storm01060@yahoo.com or 253-9424.