Fort River PGO: June 2009

Friday, June 19, 2009

Upcoming School Events

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL. Monday, June 22nd, FULL DAY. First Day of School 2009-2010, Thursday, August 27, Grades 1-6 Monday, August 31st, Kindergarten. Note: Items in teal are sponsored by Fort River Parent Council.

A Message from Ann McLaughlin, Keeper of the Blog

Dear Fort River Friends and Families, I can't believe the end of the school year is upon us once again! I have enjoyed working on this website throughout the year. Thanks to everyone who has sent me positive feedback and notes of appreciation. It's great to know my efforts have been helpful to parents trying to keep track of the many activities going on at school! I currently have 310 subscribers to the Parent Council emails, which is a big increase from 171 subscribers at this time last year. Unfortunately, some of you will be leaving us soon for the Middle School. If you no longer want to receive updates from me, please send any email to the following address: fort_river_parent_council_newsletter-unsubscribe@npogroups.org. You will be automatically unsubscribed. Just be sure to send the email from the same address that you used to subscribe in the first place. If you have trouble unsubscribing, please send me an email at damclaughlin@comcast.net and I will take care of it for you. Good luck to all of you who are leaving Fort River. We will miss you! This will be my last regular update to the website for the school year, but I will send out any last-minute updates as needed until Monday. Don't forget that Monday is the last day of school, with a normal dismissal time of 3:05pm. Have a wonderful summer everyone! See you in August! Sincerely, Ann McLaughlin

You Still Have Time to Do the Survey! June 22nd is the Deadline

The Superintendent’s office has asked the parents of all the district schools to fill out an online survey about your child’s experiences during the current school year. Please take a few minutes to fill it out ! Here's the link for the Fort River survey: http://is.gd/ZXoc Paper copies are available in the Principal's Office. The deadline for completing online surveys is 11:00 p.m. on the last day of school, Monday, June 22nd. Paper surveys should be returned either to the Principal’s Office of your school or to the Superintendent’s Office at 170 Chestnut Street by 4:00 p.m. on June 22nd.

New Book About Amherst: Amherst A-Z

Amherst A-Z, 1759-2009 is hot off the press and available for purchase. This highly readable book is loaded with photos and brief commentary on more than 100 Amherst topics. For example, C contains Cold War Bunker, Collapsing Skirt Factory, Cambodian Community (featuring Fort River dancers), Conservation Areas, and the Conch Shell used to call early citizens to Town Meeting. Look under S for schools (featuring some familiar Fort River faces), Shoes in the Chimney, Slaves (slavery existed in Amherst through the 1770s), and Sand Dunes. It was written by historian Elizabeth Sharpe, edited by Debbie Gabor and designed by Mary Zyskowski, all Fort River parents. 82 pages, full color, $20. Available at local bookstores and the Amherst Historical Society. In commemoration of Amherst's 250th; all profits go to the Amherst Historical Society For more information contact elizabeth.sharpe@comcast.net.

Upcoming Community Events

Please note that these events are not sponsored by Parent Council. 18th Annual Taste of Amherst. June 19-20. The Taste starts this evening at 5pm! Lots of great food, entertainment, and fun! Lots more info here. Certified Teacher w/Masters in Early Childhood Ed. Available all summer for tutoring and/or childcare. Victoria Bruno, phone (973) 495-4595, email: indigo026@aol.com Music Together For Valley Families, an internationally recognized parent/child music enrichment program, offers summer classes for young children and their parents/caregivers. They are celebrating 10 years of classes in the area. The eight week Summer session begins June 23 and the registration deadline has been extended. Please call first to check availability. Locations are in Amherst at Immanuel Lutheran Church, at The Congregational Church Parish House in Belchertown, The Children’s Museum at Holyoke and All Saint’s Episcopal Church in So. Hadley. Call (413) 259-9400 or see www.valleymusicgroup.com for more information. Please call for available class times and to reserve a space. 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 (website or 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.

Ongoing Fundraisers: Don't Forget Fort River Over the Summer!

You can still participate in many of these fundraisers over the summer. Save Box Tops, use your Atkins cards, and save your old ink jets cartridges and cellphones! 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. Just show the card when you are checking out. Atkins has provided us with one card per family, which should have come home in an envelope with your youngest Fort River child. There is an expiration date on the card, which is the date that youngest child graduates from Fort River. It's another easy way to earn money for your school! Stop & Shopʼs A+ BonusBucks Program. This program has ended for the year: Fort River has earned $2,198.43!! Please keep in mind that you will have to re-register your card next fall for the next school year. Thanks to everyone who participated. Box Tops For Education. Keep clipping and bringing the Box Tops to the office! Even though have made our last submission for this school year, we will hold all additional box tops clipped this year and over the summer for submission next October. Big Y Education Express. Use your Big Y Express Savings Club card and Fort River can earn points for buying equipment and supplies! Visit the Big Y customer service desk and ﬁll out a form that will link Fort River with your card. Fort River ID # 5947. Target Take Charge of Education. Designate 1% of the value of your purchases to Fort River every time you use your Target REDcard (credit card). Visit www.Target.com/tcoe . Fort River ID 58645. 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.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Upcoming School Events

Field Day. Tuesday, June 16. If you signed up and were on the schedule to help but can't come next Tuesday please contact Sarah Murphy at saraha.murphy@comcast.net ASAP to let her know so she can try to find somebody else to fill your slot. Check the Field Day online signup sheet for scheduled time slots. School Committee Meeting. Thursday, June 18. 7:30pm. High School Library. (Please note that this meeting has been rescheduled from its original date of June 16. Also note the 7:30 start time.) Sixth Grade Graduation. Friday, June 19th 1:30pm. Fort River Gymnasium. LAST DAY OF SCHOOL. Monday, June 22nd, FULL DAY. First Day of School 2009-2010, Thursday, August 27, Grades 1-6 Monday, August 31st, Kindergarten. Note: Items in teal are sponsored by Fort River Parent Council.

Lost and Found: Next Week, Monday-Wednesday

The contents of the school's lost and found will be on display in the school lobby on Monday-Wednesday (June 15-17) of next week. Please come by and look for your child's long-lost possessions!

Sixth Grade Graduation is around the corner!

It is hard to believe that graduation is one week away. A few final details: Food: We are counting on all families to contribute to food for the reception and dance later that evening. Please bring your contributions to the cafeteria that morning from 8:30-11:00. Parking: We do expect many vehicles on campus that day and it is important that parking safety is observed. Do not park in the driveway in front of the school or block access in any way. The Jewish Community of Amherst has graciously allowed overflow vehicles to be parked in their lot during graduation. To access this lot take a left onto Main Street at the light and the lot is directly on the right. Many people have been and will continue to work hard to make certain that Friday June 19th is a special day for all our sixth grade students. The emphasis of the day is on the students with memory boards, Powerpoint presentation and the students themselves being the focal points. Bring your Kleenex as it will prove to be an emotional day. Thanks: The planning for the day began six months ago at a snowy meeting and has continued throughout the spring. Special thanks go to all the committee chairs: Joy Sullivan for the production of the invitation and program (after also spending hours and hours producing the school yearbook), Alison Donta-Venman for coordinating the food, and Liz Larson for coordinating the decorations. Lynn Hayes has spent many hours preparing a wonderful Powerpoint presentation where all our sixth graders will be represented. Carla Carpenter used her artistic ability to create a special backdrop and coordinate the memory boards. Cathy Cullen not only spent countless hours working on many details as co-chair but also took hundreds of stunning pictures for both the yearbook and Powerpoint. Her good humor, willingness to come to school as often as it took to take every students picture and make certain it was a good representation of the them and her prowess as a photographer help make this years Powerpoint presentation an amazing success. If I have forgotten anyone I apologize but know that every contribution no matter the size has been important to making graduation happen. As parents we would be remiss without also thanking Ray Sharick for his support not only of the sixth grade activities but of all our children every day, Paula Mangiaratti and Karen Bonneau for all the behind the scenes assistance, the special teachers, the maintenance staff, cafeteria staff, and last but certainly not least the sixth grade team who have guided our students each and every day of the 2009-2010 academic year. It certainly does take a village or at least a school of dedicated individuals. See you all the 19th ready to celebrate our sixth grade graduates.

Sixth Grade Graduation: Food Donations Needed

Attention Sixth Grade Parents We are still in need of food donations for the sixth grade graduation reception and dance. Donations can be brought to school between 8AM and 11AM on Friday, June 19th--we do have refrigeration. Please help make this a special day for our kids! Food assignments by class: Mr. Stone’s class: Cheese/crackers, humus/pita Mr. Lamdin’s class: Fruit and Veggies Mr. Wallace’s class: Desserts Ms. Trowbridge’s Class: Chips, Pretzels, Dips, Salsa You can sign up on line at these following links: Mr. Stone: http://frpc.pleasebringit.com/events/0g5R6NEV4pw=/public Mr. Lamdin: http://frpc.pleasebringit.com/events/wKz3$7xA6Tc=/public Mr. Wallace: http://frpc.pleasebringit.com/events/ovdIL9trMqQ=/public Ms. Trowbridge: http://frpc.pleasebringit.com/events/TQFy9t+V7uM=/public You can also sign up by contacting the parent coordinating food for your class: Mr. Stone’s class: Sarah Murphy (saraha.murphy@comcast.net) Mr. Lamdin’s class: Alison Donta-Venman (adonta@mtholyoke.edu) Mr. Wallace’s class: Jenny Reynolds (reynoldsjh@aol.com) Ms. Trowbridge’s Class: Jenn Wellman (ajwellman@comcast.net)

Teacher/Staff Appreciation Lunch: Thanks to Parents!

Hickory Ridge Country Club was the setting last week once again for the Parent Council sponsored Ft. River Teacher & Staff Appreciation Luncheon & the day was a smashing success! Over seventy staff members were present & all enjoyed a lovely buffet lunch while being serenaded by two Ft. River alums, Solomon Goldstein-Rose & Dorian Elgers-Lo, who provided background cello & violin music during the afternoon. Thank you to all those in the Ft. River community who contributed entries to the Gratitude Walls, the brainchild of Ft. River parent & "Multi-Arts Guru" Catalina Arrubla, that were posted graffiti-style at the school entrance during the week leading up to the luncheon. You were so prolific that Catalina had to post a second wall so that everyone's sentiments were captured! The Gratitude Walls were displayed in the room during the luncheon for the teachers & staff to appreciate. They are now hanging in the Staff Lounge at school. To those who made cards of thanks to acknowledge the many kindnesses of teachers & staff throughout the year, a heartfelt "thank you" to you from Catalina, Coleman Cornelius and Eileen Marasco, event volunteers. They were all much appreciated by the teachers & staff when they were distributed around the room at the luncheon as decorations. The variety of the messages written on the cards served as a reminder of the many ways in which our outstanding Ft. River teachers & staff touch our children on a daily basis, some of them perhaps in ways that they'd never even imagined. It was heartwarming to read the outpouring of thanks & appreciation expressed by the kids for all the little "extras" the Ft. River staff is known for that make our school such a special place. The kids may misplace a sweater on the playground, forget to finish a piece of homework, or goof off & ignore directions when asked to do something in class, but they really do "get" the teachers & staff in ways that would amaze you! Nothing is lost on those to whom it really matters. To Catalina, Coleman & Eileen, job well done & many thanks! Kudos to Susan Noonan for covering the phones at school so that all of our hardworking office staff could enjoy the event. Thanks to Danielle & the staff of Capacidad for having the kids there churn out a number of thank you cards for us & to Seiha Krouch for lending the support of the Cambodian Culture Club to the effort. To those who took the time from dinner to create a card during the Ft. River Pub Night, thank you! We'll leave the table out with the card-making station on it at the entrance to the school building through next week if students or others in the Ft. River community would like to continue sharing messages of gratitude with teachers & staff. Thanks to everyone for supporting the Ft. River Parent Council so that once again we were able to treat the teachers & staff to this memorable day when they are able to gather together as a group & leisurely share time together in a relaxed setting to be celebrated. We are so lucky & grateful to have all of you! --Eileen Marasco

A Great Big THANK YOU to ...

... Eileen Marasco, Catalina Arrubla, and Coleman Cornelius for organizing the Staff Appreciation Luncheon. ... to all the Fort River students who filled the “Gratitude Wall” and helped decorate the tables with their heartfelt notes of thanks. ... to Fort River alums Solomon & Dorian Goldstein who provided a musical interlude for the Luncheon. ... to Susan Noonan for manning the office during the event. ... to Diane Caraker, Libby Stanforth and Desiree Bohl for staffing the Scholastic Book Event last week. ... to Jen Wellman who did such a wonderful job organizing the Bus/Van Driver Appreciation Breakfast ... and to all the parents who provided goodies and came to thank the drivers.

Congratulations to Mr Austin’s 5th Grade Class!

...who raised over $1200 for the American Cancer Society by participating in the “Relay for Life”. They collectively ran an impressive 94 miles around the track. Kudos runners!

Ongoing Fundraisers

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. Just show the card when you are checking out. Atkins has provided us with one card per family, which should have come home in an envelope with your youngest Fort River child. There is an expiration date on the card, which is the date that youngest child graduates from Fort River. It's another easy way to earn money for your school! Stop & Shopʼs A+ BonusBucks Program. This program has ended for the year: Fort River has earned $2,198.43!! Please keep in mind that you will have to re-register your card next fall for the next school year. Thanks to everyone who participated. Box Tops For Education. Keep clipping and bringing the Box Tops to the office! Even though have made our last submission for this school year, we will hold all additional box tops clipped this year and over the summer for submission next October. Big Y Education Express. Use your Big Y Express Savings Club card and Fort River can earn points for buying equipment and supplies! Visit the Big Y customer service desk and ﬁll out a form that will link Fort River with your card. Fort River ID # 5947. Target Take Charge of Education. Designate 1% of the value of your purchases to Fort River every time you use your Target REDcard (credit card). Visit www.Target.com/tcoe . Fort River ID 58645. 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.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Field Day Postponed--Message from the Principal

Dear Fort River Families & Staff, Due to tomorrow's forecast for chilly/rainy weather, Field Day has been postponed. It will take place NEXT TUESDAY, JUNE 16th and will follow the same schedule as originally planned. In terms of planning for lunches, please note that there will not be a cook-out for lunch tomorrow as originally planned for Field Day. Tomorrow, the cafeteria will be serving nachos instead of hot dog/hamburgers. The cookout will be next Tuesday, June 16th. On Thursday (6/18) they will serve tacos (instead of hamburgers). ATTENTION VOLUNTEERS If you signed up and were on the schedule to help but can't come next Tuesday please contact Sarah Murphy at saraha.murphy@comcast.net ASAP to let her know so she can try to find somebody else to fill your slot. Sincerely, Ray Sharick

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Upcoming School Events

Band and Orchestra Concert. Thursday, June 4th. 7:30pm. Fort River Gym. Coffee With the Principal. Friday, June 5. 8:30-9:45am. Fort River Cafeteria. *****Field Day. POSTPONED TO JUNE 16th.********* School Council Meeting. Thursday, June 11th, 7pm. Principal's Office. Parent Council Meeting. Friday, June 12, 9am. Fort River Cafeteria. (Please note delayed time.) We will be discussing next year's budget. School Committee Meeting. Tues., June 16, 7pm. High School Library. 6th Grade Camping Trip. Mon-Wed., June 8-10. Sixth Grade Graduation. Friday, June 19th 1:30pm. Fort River Gymnasium. LAST DAY OF SCHOOL. Monday, June 22nd, FULL DAY. First Day of School 2009-2010, Thursday, August 27, Grades 1-6 Monday, August 31st, Kindergarten. Note: Items in teal are sponsored by Fort River Parent Council.

Fort River T-Shirts and Bags are Here

The Fort River T-shirts and bags have arrived! Your orders can be picked up at the following upcoming functions:

Band concert Thursday, June 4
Coffee with the Principal, Friday, June 5
Field Day, Tues., June 9
The next Parent Council meeting (Friday, June 12)

If you aren't able to pick up your order at one of these times, it will be sent home in your child's backpack. We also have some extra t-shirts and bags which will be available for sale on a first come, first served basis.

Field Day Volunteers Still Needed

Field Day is coming up soon! We still need a few parent volunteers to help out. This is an easy way for parents to get involved in a fun Parent Council event. Field Day will be taking place during the morning hours on Tuesday, June 12 at the Fort River playing fields. Please click on the link for online sign-up sheet: Field Day Sign-Up. Volunteers should plan to show up fifteen minutes before their scheduled shift, unless they are setting up or cleaning up. Any questions, please contact Sarah Murphy at Saraha.murphy@comcast.net.

Photos of Chorus Needed for Yearbook ASAP!!

Due to a last-minute technical problem, the folks who are putting together the yearbook are in need of pictures of the school chorus. If you have any photos of the chorus, please get them to Joy Sullivan and Kathy Niedzielski as soon as possible! They can accept photos in one of the following ways:

Send file(s) by email to Joy Sullivan at joyrrs@comcast.net by the end of school on Friday, June 5.
Bring in photos on CD-Rom to the Parent Council mailbox by the end of school Friday, June 5.
Bring in prints to the Parent Council mailbox by NOON on Friday, June 5 (they need extra time to scan the prints).

Thanks for your help!!

Fort River Receives Grant from Amherst Education Foundation

The Amherst Education Foundation has just announced a gift of $20,000 to the Amherst Regional Schools! Thanks to hundreds of donors this year, AEF is putting donor generosity to work, helping assuage a few of the most urgent needs and providing support for important programs. As a result of recent conversations with the principals, this grant is intended to support the schools and our kids in the following areas: -ARHS: to support the restoration of funds to underwrite stipends for club advisors -ARMS: for professional development in the area of differentiated instruction -Fort River: to provide stipends to staff members who will be developing and implementing a new project with the UMass Amherst Commonwealth College & Office of Community Service Learning to support students with enrichment programming -Wildwood: to support further professional development in the Lucy Calkins Workshop Model for the Language Arts program -Crocker Farm: to support the school’s Wednesday afternoon enrichment clubs -Marks Meadow: for after school clubs and enrichment activities, and to expand the repertoire of materials to be used by our Intervention teachers in math and reading. -Pelham: for library books. -Leverett/Shutesbury: to enrich programming AEF continues their fundraising efforts and looks forward to working with Superintendent Rodriguez, the principals and teachers next year to make the most effective use of future grants. http://www.amhersteducationfoundation.org Also, you can still make an end-of-year gift in honor of a teacher or staff member by making a donation to the AEF. They'll deliver a personalized Thank You card to the person you wish to honor during the last week of school and your contribution will be used for grants to schools next year.

Click on image to enlarge and print form.

Don't Forget to Fill Out the Online Survey!

The Superintendent's office has asked the parents of all the district schools to fill out an online survey about your child's experiences during the current school year. Please don't forget to take a few minutes to fill it out! Click here for the elementary school survey.

Upcoming Community Events

Please note that these events are not sponsored by Parent Council. 6th grade girls are invited to “You Win,” a high impact, interactive anti-bullying program that tackles the social issues that girls face repeatedly during their school years. Date: Saturday June 13th; Time: 9-11 am, Place: First Baptist Church in Amherst, in the lower level of the church, enter through the rear. RSVP: Anita Sever asever@gscwm.org. COST: $10/girl if not a Girl Scout. This event is open to all girls and is sponsored by Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts. Music Together For Valley Families offers summer classes for young children and their parents/caregivers. Through May 29, 2009: Free sample classes offered celebrating 10 years of Music Together® for Valley Families, an internationally recognized parent/child music enrichment program. Eight week Summer session begins June 23 and registration deadline is June 8. Locations are in Amherst at Immanuel Lutheran Church, at The Congregational Church Parish House in Belchertown, The Children’s Museum at Holyoke and All Saint’s Episcopal Church in So. Hadley. Call (413) 259-9400 or see www.valleymusicgroup.com for more information. Please call for available class times and to reserve a space. 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 (website or 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.

Fort River PGO Information

Friday, June 19, 2009

Friday, June 12, 2009

Monday, June 8, 2009

Thursday, June 4, 2009