Amherst Bulletin Articles About Retiring Principal Russ Vernon-Jones

"Two principals, 36 years of service, countless lessons: Departing Amherst educators look back" by Mary Carey: http://www.amherstbulletin.com/story/id/97989/ "Vernon-Jones to focus on anti-racism education" by Mary Carey: http://www.amherstbulletin.com/story/id/97980/

6th Grade Poster Auction

Dear 6th Grade Parents and Friends, We are auctioning off a small poster of the last slide of the 6th grade graduation slide show. Proceeds of the auction will go to Fort River Parent Council. We already have one bid for $5. If you would like to bid, please send an email to Catalina Arrubla at carrubla@gmail.com or come in to the school and write down your bid. The deadline is tomorrow (Wed. June 18th) at noon.

Married educators take shared post as interim Amherst superintendent--Article from the Daily Hampshire Gazette

By MARY CAREY Staff Writer Monday, June 16, 2008 AMHERST - An Amherst couple that shares interim superintendent positions is taking a one-year post in the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District, but as a result is backing away from a plan to serve in Greenfield. Alton Sprague and Helen Vivian will succeed outgoing superintendent Jere Hochman for one year. The married couple had been in the job market for an interim position and the Amherst district was the first one to come up with an acceptable contract, Sprague said. He said they had reached a verbal agreement with Greenfield. "We told everyone, however, that whoever had a contract first that we would sign, that's where we would go." Hochman recently accepted the superintendent position in the Bedford Central School district, in Westchester County, N.Y., where he begins July 1. "The Vivian/Sprague team really seemed to understand what we need in an interim superintendent - keep the trains running, keep communications open with the community, keep moving forward on our existing goals, and set things up well for the permanent superintendent next year," Amherst School Committee Chairman Andrew Churchill said in an email message. "Having a team of two experienced superintendents is a bonus - they each bring their areas of expertise, and they can support each other in what is often said to be a lonely position. And as Amherst residents, they know what they're getting into," he said. It is the third position Sprague and Vivian have shared, beginning in Lee in 2001, and later in the Union 28 district which includes Wendell, New Salem, Erving Shutesbury and Leverett. Vivian, 71, has been a superintendent in Orange. Sprague, 69, has been superintendent in Westfield, Athol and Clarksburg. Between them they have 90 years of educational experience, 25 of them as superintendents, Sprague said. Vivian has lived in Amherst since 1974 and has two grown children who went through the school system. Sprague has lived in Amherst since they were married in 1996. They have also taught classes for teachers who want to be principals and superintendents at American International College, in Springfield, and worked for National Evaluation Systems, a test-writing service in Hadley. Sprague said they would overlap with Hochman, who they plan to meet with this week. Their official starting date is July 1 and any days they work before then will be paid per diem, he said. Details of the couple's contract were not available. Their salary, if it is in keeping with the salary at Union 28, would be in the $100,000 range. "These new positions are always exciting and Amherst has got such a fine reputation," Sprague said. He and Vivian work as a sort of tag team, he said, with her concentrating on the financial and elementary schools and he on the upper grades, for example. "The district will get more than one full-time person, although neither one of us works full time. We've had opportunities to work full time, but it's a difficult job and sharing it makes it workable for us."

Confused About the Last Day of School?

Just in case you haven't figured it out, here are the official last days of school. Not all Amherst Schools are ending on the same day this year. Fort River ends on Wednesday, June 18th, with a 1:20 dismissal. This is the official schedule: June 18, 2008: Last day of school for Crocker Farm, Fort River, Wildwood and Pelham Elementary Schools. June 19, 2008: Last day of school for Mark's Meadow Elementary, Amherst Regional Middle School and Amherst Regional High School. The Middle and High Schools had an extra snow day this year, and Mark's Meadow was closed one day due to a bomb scare at UMass. Here's the link to the ARPS website: http://www.arps.org/IntheNews/LastDayofSchoolSchedule.html

Upcoming Events

Sixth Grade Graduation. Monday, June 16, 1:30pm. Gymnasium. Last Day of School. Wednesday, June 18. Dismissal at 1:20pm.

Attention 6th Grade Parents

The graduation planning committee will be decorating the school gymnasium this Sunday, June 15th at 4pm. Contact: Karen Zilberstein eKaren@comcast.net.

Don't Forget Your Surveys!!

Please don't forget to fill out the Fort River Surveys which should have come home in your child's backpack. The information gathered from this survey will be compiled by the School Superintendent's Office and will be provided to our incoming principal, Ray Sharick. You are requested to fill out one survey per child at Fort River, and to send it back to the school office by Monday, June 16th, or send it to the Superintendent's Office at 170 Chestnut Street, Amherst, MA 01002.

A Couple of Parent Council Announcements

We are planning a "Welcome to Fort River Party" from 6:30 to 7:30 pm on Tuesday, August 26th, and we'd love to have a few CURRENT Fort River families (including kids) attend to meet the new families. We typically have new families with kids in all of the grades (and of course MANY new kindergarteners), so it is very helpful if some current families can come to be friendly, make kid-connections, and answer assorted questions. Please let Catherine (casanderson@amherst.edu) know if you are able to attend (and/or can help with set up/clean up) -- popsicles will be served! Second, we are still in search of many volunteers for next year -- Holiday Gift Wrap Sales (fall event), Election Day Bake Sale (November event), the Beach Party (winter event), and Celebrate With a Book (year round). We also are looking for two volunteers to assist with Savings Makes Sense (one hour on some Tuesday mornings year-round). Please contact Catherine Sanderson (casanderson@amherst.edu, 256-4977) if you have any questions about what a particular position involves. We could also use room parents (although we can’t assign room parents to classes until the fall when classes are set, it is VERY helpful to have a list of willing parents so that these matches can be made quickly in August). Please help if you can!

Celebrate With Books---- Thank You Notes

We would like to thank our “Celebrate With A Book” donors: Diana Stiles, Muschinski Family, Steve Klein and Ellie Skinner, and Bridget Darby for donating wonderful books to the Fort River Library. We would also like to announce the “Celebrate With A Book” honorees of the month: Sebastian Stiles-Sieracki, Ms. Irene Eigner, Samantha Klein and Dr. Lou Smith. (If we missed anybody, please let us know).

Soccer Donations Requested

Dear Fort River Parents, I am a Ft. River parent, father of Querube and Laurencio. I have also been facilitating Friday Soccer Pick-up Games, during the school year the past five years. I’m collecting soccer balls, jerseys, shin guards, shorts, socks, trainings shirts, goalkeepers’ gloves/jerseys to send to primary schools in a region called Río Hato, Panamá. You can contact me at 253-0297 or email echonyc@gmail.com. Please drop your donation in a big box that will be placed in the entrance of the school next week. Feel free to pass this information to other families. Mil gracias, Eduardo Suárez

2008 AEF Grant to Russ Vernon-Jones & FR Cambodian Culture Class.

Congratulations to Principal Vernon-Jones for winning a $500 grant from the Amherst Education Foundation. This grant will be used to establish a Center for Racial Justice for the town of Amherst and its schools and to gather educational resources on race, racism and white privilege, and provide workshops for educators, parents, students and community members.
Another Fort River grant went to Seiha Krouch to fund the Fort River Cambodian Culture Class, in which the Cambodian student population learns about and prepares for a Cambodian New Year Festival for the entire Fort River Community. This also funds a dancer to perform as part of the Festival, and informs the community about Cambodian life.


Principal Vernon-Jones participating in
Field Day race
June 12, 2008


For a list of the other 2008 Grants from the AEF, click on this link: AEF 2008 Grant Allocations.

Of Interest to Fort River Families

Please note that these events are not sponsored by Parent Council.

Used Instrument Silent Auction. Saturday, June 14, 2008 from 10:00 am to 12:00 at the cafeteria in the Amherst Regional High School. To benefit the performing arts programs in the Amherst Public Schools including chorus, band, orchestra, theater and dance. Come bid on an instrument, listen to live music, mingle with performers, or purchase a snack. During this silent auction, people may write a bid for an instrument from 10:00 to 11:45 am.

Film 101 for teens. This summer, Multi-Arts offers area teenagers a very interesting class: Filmmaking 101, the magic of sight & sound. The class design is based on a similar course offered at New York University Film Program. Each student will work on a series of several short videos using techniques learned in class exercises to help develop the skills necessary to create their final, larger project. The workshop will be taught by New York University Tisch School of the Arts alumni JOEL TOMAR LEVIN. And, thanks for a donation by New York University of 24 cameras; Multi-Arts will provide the equipment for shooting those short videos. Workshop time: July 21-August 8. Place: Immanuel Lutheran Church, 867 North Pleasant St, Amherst. Time: 1:30-4:30 p.m. For more information about the workshop, the faculty visit and registering visit: http://www.multi-arts.org/ or call 413-584-7951. First come first serve, space is limited.

PVJSL Tryouts: Travel Team. There will be tryouts for a travel soccer team for both boys and girls in the U-9 category (kids under nine, i.e. 2nd and 3rd graders). The tryouts will take place at Crocker Farm on Monday, June 6 and Monday, June 16 from 5-7 p.m. We need a Fort River contigency--especially girls!! If your child is interested, you need to go to PVJSL.com to download a pre-registration form and turn it in to Chris Streeter by Saturday (June 7). The address and other contact information is on the form. Questions? Contact Fort River mom Diane Caracker at dianec711@comcast.net.

Need Help Making Ends Meet? The Amherst Survival Center holds "Family Night" on the first and third Monday of each month, beginning June 2. Children with their parents or guardians are invited to join the staff and volunteers at the Survival Center for supper and fun in addition to access to all our free programs including free groceries, free clothing and free medical care. The Center is located at 1200 North Pleasant Street in Amherst. For more information, or to volunteer, call Tracey at (413) 549-3968 x202 or e-mail tracey@amherstsurvival.org.

A note from Parent Council. We will publish information about non-Parent Council sponsored events with the following conditions:

1. The event should be of interest to Fort River families.
2. The information should be sent to Ann McLaughlin at damclaughlin@comcast.net in the form of a short description.
3. Contact information (name, telephone and/or email address) must be included.

We add new information to the blog every Friday during the school year. Please note that we do not accept announcements of items or services for sale (with the exceptions of children's classes/lessons). Inclusion in this section does not imply any guarantees or endorsements by Fort River Parent Council or Fort River School.

A Note from Ann McLaughlin

Dear Fort River Families and Friends, It has (once again!) been an eventful and interesting year at Fort River. I have enjoyed working on this website throughout the year, and I have received lots of positive feedback. Fort River School is lucky to have so many caring (and smart!) parents, teachers, staff and students and I feel proud and fortunate to be a part of it. I would like to send out my personal thanks to our wonderful Parent Council President of the past three years, Catherine Sanderson, who encouraged me to explore this new way of communicating with all of you, and who has provided me with so much of the information found here every week. Thanks, Catherine, for your tireless work on Parent Council, and continued success as you move on to bigger and better things on the School Committee. I would also like to congratulate Principal Vernon-Jones on his retirement and wish him much luck with his future endeavors (and some well-earned free time and enjoyment)! Thanks also to all the wonderful teachers and staff of Fort River, who continue to amaze me with their daily dedication to all of our children. I hope all families feel as supported and welcome at Fort River as my own family has over the past 8 years. To those of you who will also be moving on next year, we'll all miss you and wish you well. The number of subscribers to our email list has grown steadily throughout the year, and as of today we have 171 people signed up. If you will be leaving us and no longer want to receive updates from me, please send me an email at damclaughlin@comcast.net. I will unsubscribe you after the end of the school year. This will be my last regular update for the year, but I will send out any updates as needed until the last day of school. Have a wonderful summer everyone! I’ll be back next year! Sincerely, Ann McLaughlin Fort River Parent Council Secretary

Field Day Postponed to Thursday, June 12!!

Due to the heatwave, field day has been postponed to Thursday, June 12. Although we are probably all happy not to have to sweat outside tomorrow morning, we will need to line up volunteers for Thursday. Please contact Sarah Murphy at saraha.murphy@comcast.net to let her know if you will still be able to help out. Likewise, anyone who is available on Thursday to lend a hand, please contact Sarah, A.S.A.P. She will need to line people up quickly! Once again, here are the times: Kindergarten: 9:00-9:45 1st, 2nd, and 3rd: 9:30-10:45 4th and 5th :11:00-12:15 Lunch Times: 11:25 1st and 2nd grade 11:45 Kindergarten 12:00 3rd grade 12:25 4th and 5th grade. Thanks for your help!

Late-Breaking News--All Kindergarten Party Venue Change

The venue for the Kindergarten Grade-Wide Event has been changed to Fort River due to the weather. The party will be from 5-7pm. Party on!

Upcoming Events

All Kindergarten Party - Friday, June 6th (TODAY!), 5 - 7 pm, Groff Park. More info here. Field Day – Tuesday, June 10th, all day, Fort River fields. More info here. 2nd Grade Event – Wednesday, June 11th, 5 to 7 pm, Groff Park. See below for more info. Diversity and Social Justice Committee Dinner – Wednesday, June 11th, 6 to 7:30 pm, Cafeteria 1. More info here. 3rd Grade Event – Wednesday, June 11th, 4:30 Pot Luck, 5:30 Ice Cream Social, playground. 4th Grade Event – Thursday, June 12th, Ice Cream Social, 6 to 7:30, playground. Coffee With A Principal – Friday, June 13th, 8:30 to 9:15 am, cafeteria. Sixth Grade Graduation. Monday, June 16, 1:30pm. Gymnasium. Last Day of School. Dismissal at 1:20pm.

Planning for 2008-2009

Parent Council runs entirely on parent volunteers … and unless some more parents step up, we are going to miss out on some important social, educational, and fundraising events! We still need volunteers to coordinate the Family Fair (September event), Holiday Gift Wrap Sales (fall event), Election Day Bake Sale (November event), the Beach Party (winter event), and Celebrate With a Book (year round). We also are looking for two volunteers to assist with Savings Makes Sense (one hour on Tuesday mornings year-round) and a Co-Chair for the Book Fair (early December event). Please contact Catherine Sanderson (casanderson@amherst.edu, 256-4977) if you have any questions about what a particular position involves. We could also use room parents (although we can’t assign room parents to classes until the fall when classes are set, it is VERY helpful to have a list of willing parents so that these matches can be made quickly in August).

Grade-Wide Event for 2nd Grade Families

The 2nd grade wide event will be held at Groff Park on June 11th from 5-7 p.m. Each family should bring a picnic for themselves and there will be ice cream, drinks and relay races. RSVP if CANNOT make it to Dianec711@comcast.net - Thanks! Diane Caraker

Big Thanks Yous To....

...those who helped with the Retirement Party/Brick Walkway Unveiling for Principal Vernon-Jones: Mikey Cutting (and kids!), Kozue Miyama, Catherine Sanderson, & Sue Borden.

Annual Family Donation Fund Update

Thanks to ALL the families who have made a contribution 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 $6,501 from 159 of our 359 families (46% of families), which is the largest amount of money we have received since we started the Annual Fund three years ago! We 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 STILL be sent to the Parent Council mailbox in the main office or to Catherine Sanderson, 23 Alyssum Drive.

Of Interest to Fort River Families

Please note that these events are not sponsored by Parent Council.

PVJSL Tryouts: Travel Team. There will be tryouts for a travel soccer team for both boys and girls in the U-9 category (kids under nine, i.e. 2nd and 3rd graders). The tryouts will take place at Crocker Farm on Monday, June 6 and Monday, June 16 from 5-7 p.m. We need a Fort River contigency--especially girls!! If your child is interested, you need to go to PVJSL.com to download a pre-registration form and turn it in to Chris Streeter by Saturday (June 7). The address and other contact information is on the form. Questions? Contact Fort River mom Diane Caracker at dianec711@comcast.net.

Need Help Making Ends Meet? The Amherst Survival Center holds "Family Night" on the first and third Monday of each month, beginning June 2. Children with their parents or guardians are invited to join the staff and volunteers at the Survival Center for supper and fun in addition to access to all our free programs including free groceries, free clothing and free medical care. The Center is located at 1200 North Pleasant Street in Amherst. For more information, or to volunteer, call Tracey at (413) 549-3968 x202 or e-mail tracey@amherstsurvival.org.

A note from Parent Council. We will publish information about non-Parent Council sponsored events with the following conditions:

1. The event should be of interest to Fort River families.
2. The information should be sent to Ann McLaughlin at damclaughlin@comcast.net in the form of a short description.
3. Contact information (name, telephone and/or email address) must be included.

We add new information to the blog every Friday during the school year. Please note that we do not accept announcements of items or services for sale (with the exceptions of children's classes/lessons). Inclusion in this section does not imply any guarantees or endorsements by Fort River Parent Council or Fort River School.

Used Instrument Silent Auction to Benefit the Amherst Public School Performing Arts Programs -- Saturday June 14th

Dear Performing Arts Students and Families, We are sponsoring a USED INSTRUMENT SILENT AUCTION on Saturday, June 14, 2008 from 10:00 am to 12:00 Noonat the cafeteria in the Amherst Regional High School. It is to benefit the performing arts programs in the Amherst Public Schools including chorus, band, orchestra, theater and dance.Come bid on an instrument, listen to live music, mingle with performers, or purchase a snack. During this silent auction, people may write a bid for an instrument from 10:00 to 11:45 am.If you have an instrument to cosign or donate, please bring it to the Amherst Regional High School lobby on Thursday, June 5, 2008 from 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm Friday, June 6, 2008 from 7:15 am – 7:45 am Friday, June 6, 2008 from 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm A local music store owner will give an appraisal for the collected instruments to FARPA over the weekend. If you have an instrument and cannot drop it at these times please contact:Randa Nachbar, randa@nachbar.com, 549-1122. We look forward to seeing you, FARPA Steering Committee, Randa Nachbar, Miriam Oppenheimer Pam Ledoux, Annie Figliola

Bus/Van Driver Appreciation Breakfast

The Annual Bus/Van Driver Appreciation Breakfast will be held this coming Thursday, June 5 from 9:30-10:30am. We are in dire need of people willing to contribute. If you are willing to donate food for the breakfast please contact Jennifer Wellman (email: ajwellman@comcast.net or tel. 253-7324) as soon as possible!