Try Hockey This Winter

The Amherst Hockey Association is hosting two FREE Try Hockey for Free events this fall:
- October 6, 1-3pm for girls only
- November 10, 2-4pm for boys and girls
Both events will be held at the Mullins Community Ice Rink at UMass. Free skate rentals, all you need is any kind of helmet and gloves. There will also be new hockey helmets and used gear for sale. www.amhersthockey.org

Open House

 

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2018  6:00 - 7:00 pm

We hope all students and families will attend this special night at Fort River! During Open House the students will be in a leadership role as guides for their families. They will have a chance to share their learning environment with you and show you samples of their work.

Bus transportation is available.  Pick up times and locations are: 

5:30 Mill Valley office, 5:40 Center of Colonial Village, 5:50 Rolling green office. 

The bus will depart Fort River at 7:00 for the return trip.

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JUEVES, 4 DE OCTUBRE DE 2018 6:00PM - 7:00PM

 ¡Esperamos que todos los estudiantes y familias asistan a esta noche especial en Fort River! Durante la Casa Abierta, los estudiantes tendrán un papel de liderazgo como guías para sus familias. Tendrán la oportunidad de compartir su entorno de aprendizaje con usted y mostrarle algunos de sus trabajos.

Transporte en autobús estará disponible. Los horarios y lugares de recogido son: 

5:30PM Oficina de Mill Valley, 5:40PM Centro de Colonial Village, 5:50PM Oficina de Rolling Green. 

El autobús saldrá de Fort River a las 7:00PM para el viaje de regreso.

T-shirt Winner!

Congratulations to 6th grader, Ruby, for her winning design in Fort River's T-shirt contest! Be on the lookout for order forms which were backpacked today! 

All T-shirts are just $10 and all proceeds benefit the Fort River community via funding for field trips, the free student directory and many other programs!

PGO Meeting - October 1

The next PGO meeting will be on Monday, October 1 at 9 am.

All are welcome to join!

Fort River Family Fun Fair - Wednesday Sept. 26th 6-7pm

Come to The 6th Grade Family Fun Fair!

THIS WEDNESDAY!!! Behind the school (rain location - cafeteria)

Our 6th grade students will be selling pizza, drinks, and dessert and have also organized fun games for younger students. All proceeds will help to support their activities throughout the year.

All 6th grade families should try to bring a dessert or drink contribution. Desserts should be nut free and please attach an ingredient list if possible. In addition, we also need parent volunteers for help on the night of the fair. Help is needed for set up, clean up, and general supervision of the games. Parents are also needed to supervise the students while they are serving food. Thanks in advance for all your help! 

6th Grade Families - Please sign up to help at: http://frpc.pleasebringit.com/public/q$$sTI9oPhA

Save The Date! Around the World at Fort River on October 24

Join us for “Around the World at Fort River” on Wednesday, October 24th from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in the cafeteria to celebrate our diverse cultures with the Fort River community. 

Come and enjoy some food, poster displays, photos, artifacts, costumes, artwork, dances, music, stories, or performances, or simply come to support our diversity. 

If your child or someone you know can share their talents, skills, or treasures with the Fort River community, or if you can help at the fair (many hands make light work!), please contact Yoosun Park (yoosun82@gmail.com). 

We welcome any genre, from music and dance to martial arts, crafts, etc. at any skill levels. Of course, cultural heritage doesn’t have to be from “other” places. We need a Yankee booth, too! Please help us make this event interesting, educational, and most importantly, FUN!

Amherst Survival Center Community Breakfast

 The Amherst Survival Center is once again hosting a community appreciation breakfast on Saturday September 29, 2018 from 9am to 11am . All are welcome to attend. A free pancake breakfast will be served. The Amherst Survival Center is usually not open on the weekends, but for this event it opens and offers a breakfast to any one who attends. Tours of the building will also be available. The Amherst Survival Center is located at 138 Sunderland Road in North Amherst, across the street from Cowls' Hardware. The Amherst Survival Center includes a community kitchen (lunches 4 days/week), a food pantry (serving residents of 13 towns), a community (free thrift) store, a walk-in free health clinic and other programs.  More information on the Center can be found on its website: www.amherstsurvival.org

AEF Candidate Education Forum

Tuesday, October 2
7 to 9pm
Amherst Regional Middle School Auditorium

Hear the six candidates discuss their views and visions on the important topic of public education at all levels. 

The evening will include a panel discussion moderated by UMass Professor Rebecca Woodland, followed by a meet and greet with the candidates.

Rebecca H. Woodland, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Co-Director of the Center for Educational Policy, Research and Administration in the College of Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

PGO Coffee / Dual language program

Come join Principal Diane Chamberlain and Superintendent Michael Morris for coffee and an exploration of a dual language program on Friday, September 28 at 9 am in the Fort River library.

Thank you for the skis!

Dear Fort River Nordic Rocks donors,

It is with great appreciation that I share with you the attached letter, addressed to our school committee, asking them to accept the donation of skis and equipment for the Nordic Rocks program!  

Thanks to you, we will bring quality instruction and exposure to a new activity to many students who would otherwise not be pursuing Nordic Skiing.  

Your generosity is allowing great possibilities for our students.  Thank you so very much!

In gratitude, 

Diane

Multilingual Story Time

Last year, Lani (our Fort River librarian) worked with an Amherst College class to find children's books in many languages other than English. Students researched and selected a list of the greatest children's books around the world to share with the community here in Amherst. Amherst College then purchased the books for Fort River Library and for the Amherst College Library. To celebrate this growing collection at the Amherst College Library, they are hosting a Multilingual Storytime and some of our students from Fort River will be reading!

This event is free and open to the local community, including children of all ages. Snacks will be provided. The organizers of this collection are Fort River parents.

Monday, September 24, 4:30 pm

Amherst College Frost Library

Library Volunteers Needed

New Year, New Books!

We need you! The school year is underway and there is lots to do in the library. There is a constant and regular need to shelve books. With almost 400 students checking out books and teachers checking out books to support curriculum, shelving is an essential library task. Can you spare some time to help? In addition to shelving, there is variety of other tasks -- moving books, stamping books, marking books, scanning book and much more! Please email FR Librarian, Lani: blechmanl@arps.org if you can help.

Directory Forms Due

Thanks to all families who returned their directory forms promptly! 

Participation is not required, however, if you want to be included in this year's directory you MUST complete a new form - one per family. Prompt distribution of the Family Directory depends upon speedy return of the forms! We need the remaining forms ASAP. Thank you for your help!

Extra forms are available in the FR office or send an email to stacey.fortriver@gmail.com

T-Shirt Design Contest

Show your school spirit as you design this year's Fort River T-Shirt! Draw a Fort River animal mascot "Catching the Wave!" Designs are due into the office by Wednesday, September 12th. After choosing the design that best represents Fort River, we will work with the winning student to make sure that it's ready for print! T-Shirt  order forms will go out soon after that and we hope to distribute the T-shirts by early October.

Only One You Rock Garden - Volunteers Needed

DATA CHANGE - now taking place MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17!

Last year, the graduating 6th grade class at Fort River gifted our school with funds to build a rock garden inspired by the book "Only One You" by Linda Kranz. We are making this a reality! Students have been painting rocks in art class with Ms. Singer and Ms. Chamberlain is hard at work planning its location in the front of the school. Each classroom has also received a copy of the book.

Ms. Singer needs your help! We need parent volunteers to lacquer the rocks so they can brave the elements! All day on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18th, she will welcome volunteers and give them instructions -- please coordinate with her via email: singern@arps.org

Once the rocks are finished, the students will assemble and each place their rock into the garden. It will serve as a reminder that we are all unique and we are all awesome!

Classroom parents needed!

The PGO is looking for classroom parents! The classroom parents serve as a vital link between teachers and families. There can be more than one per class! Each teacher asks their volunteers to help in ways that suit them and their classrooms, so the tasks vary. You may be asked to inform parents about classroom events, coordinate getting snacks for the class, plan classroom events, etc. 

See if your classroom needs a room parent: http://ftriver.blogspot.com/p/room-parents.html (even if there is someone listed, many hands make light work!)

If you are interested in volunteering as a classroom parent, please contact Meri Clark at meri.fortriver@gmail.com as soon as possible. Thank you!

Extracurricular activities

Looking for something to do outside of school? Here are some activities to keep in mind:

Amherst Boys and Girls Club will once again be offering an after school program.	After-school art classes at Joy Art Space, www.joyartspace.com.
Amherst Tritons Swim Team, atst.org	Audition for a part in Peter Pan, alsct.org
New England Football Club (NEFC) soccer academy, http://www.nefc.us/westjracademy	Find a story. Find your feet. Then, tell us a dance, http://thecenterdance.com
Amherst Youth Soccer rec programs, amherstsoccer.org	Amherst Hockey Learn to Skate, Learn to Play, travel and Girls programs, amhersthockey.org
Girls 5K Club, email: rebecca.spencer@gmail.com	LSSE after school sports, lsse.org