PGO Coffee Friday November 2nd at 9am

Please join the Fort River PGO and Principal Diane Chamberlain in welcoming Lt. Johnson from the Amherst Police Department to the PGO Coffee this Friday at 9am in the FR Library. We will be discussing ALICE training and school safety. Please sign into the office when you arrive and as always, young children are welcome.

Around the World Wrap-Up

The Around the World – Cultural Heritage Fair ROCKED!!

This year we had over 37(!) dishes, lots of culture/project booths, and a variety of amazing performances!

The food was AMAZING too!! Thank you so much for the many food contributions from “Around the World”!

We are also so grateful for your contributions and your time gathering and displaying things from your culture. Everything you shared was so PRECIOUS and wonderful.

The performances were FANTASTIC!!

So many folks gave a helping hand to set-up, clean-up and coordinate this event. THANK YOU!!

We are so glad so MANY families and teachers attended this event and a big thank you to EVERYONE who brought the most diverse and delicious gathering Fort River has ever seen! We look forward to seeing you all next year again!!!

Gift Card Sale!

Buy Gift Cards from the Fort River PGO!

The PGO will be selling gift cards that you can use for your normal weekly purchases at the grocery store or for Holiday shopping. This is money that you would already be spending, but if you use our gift cards, you will be earning money for Fort River! You pay full face value, but the PGO buys the gift cards at a discount (from 2-16% depending on the retailer.)

Look for an order form in your child's backpack! Orders are due on THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8th! Checks made payable to Fort River PGO.

Election Day (Nov 6) Bake Sale

Calling all volunteers.  With election day around the corner, come exercise your civic duty and your baking skills.  The PGO is looking for baking volunteers as well as folks willing to donate their time to sell.  Proceeds from he bake sale will help support Fort River as well as support the districts preschool program.  Please contact Rebecca Kennedy with any questions rebecca.fortriver@gmail.com

http://frpc.pleasebringit.com/public/9OVAaNLulP0-- Volunteer Sign Up

http://frpc.pleasebringit.com/public/+zqVnpdKWcE–Baked Good Contribution Sign Up Sheet

Medieval Feast Celebration

Meet the US Women's XC Ski Team Head Coach!

November 7 at 7 pm
Amherst Regional High School Library

Matt Whitcomb is a three-time U.S. Olympic Ski Team coach in cross country skiing, and a five-time U.S. Ski and Snowboard International Coach of the Year. He was awarded the United States Olympic Committee’s Order of Ikkos Award following Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins’ gold medal performance in the 2018 Olympics.

Matt will share his approach to training and competing in the sport of cross country skiing. He’ll talk about working hard as an individual while building strong team culture, and will give us a glimpse into xc skiing at an elite level, on an international stage. Young, old, novice, and expert skiers alike will glean insights from his talk. Come with questions; he looks forward to engaging with the audience.

This event is FREE and open to the public. Contact: Steve Bruner sbruner@hotmail.com

Amherst Suburban Basketball Tryouts This Week

Around the World Cultural Heritage Fair

Wednesday, October 24. 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Fort River Cafeteria

• International potluck
• Performances
• Crafts/games
• Artifacts & more!

Please sign up to share international food at: http://frpc.pleasebringit.com/public/RqTYqAfOU3c or on the sign-up sheet in the main office.

Anyone from the Fort River community may bring poster displays, artifacts, photos, etc. to our “Artifacts Museum” at the event (arrive by 5:45 to get a name tag for your items)! You’re welcome to wear a costume or favorite outfit! Or, simply come and enjoy the cultural diversity! Questions? Yoosun Park (yoosun82@gmail.com)

The Fort River Directory has arrived!

The Fort River PGO is thrilled that we can provide this year's School Directory free of charge once again. Thank you to all the efforts and donations from our community throughout the year that make this a possibility. Directories will be distributed this week (one per family) and they will be going home with the youngest sibling, so be on the lookout!

ABC Fall Foliage 5K Run

Represent Fort River at the ABC 5k Run/Walk!

 Please join us for the 47^th Annual Amherst-A Better Chance Fall Foliage 5Kwalk/run on Saturday, October 20^th. The course begins on the Amherst town common and will include beautiful vistas during peak foliage! This is a family event with lots of great post run entertainment including drumming, dancing, DJ and Amherst’s own rap artist.

This year we are hoping to create elementary school teams so if you are interested in joining Team Fort River, please contact one of FR’s captains-Chelsea Holabird, holabird12@gmail.com or Manny Wineman, winemani@arps.org.  There will be prizes, free t-shirts, food and lots of school spirit to support A Better Chance.

Also, we need adult volunteers so let the captain know if you are interested.

Click here to register https://www.amherstabetterchance.org/fallfoliagewalkrun/  or go to our FB page https://www.facebook.com/ABCfall.foliage.walk.run/

This is not a school sponsored event. 

AEF Trivia Bee

Jones Library - Mash Family Dance Party

A family-friendly dance party for kids of all ages! There will be spooktacular tunes, crafts and photo opportunities. Costumes welcome!

ARHS Performing Arts Gala

The annual ARHS Performing Arts Gala is coming up on October 10! This is a unique chance to experience the wide variety of performing arts opportunities offered at ARHS. The evening includes performances from choirs, orchestras, bands, jazz band, dance ensembles, theater groups, and information about all of these programs. The event begins in the high school auditorium at 6:45 and is free and open to the public. We would love to see you there!

T-Shirts are on Sale now!

Fort River T-shirts for sale!

Show your school spirit while helping the PGO raise money to
support the Fort River community!

GOLD shirts with our mascot for the year -- a moose -- are now on
sale! They feature 6th grader Ruby A’s winning design from this
fall’s t-shirt contest! Students, staff and parents -- we’ve got you
covered with lots of available sizes!

ALL SHIRTS ARE JUST $10!!!

Please return your order form with payment to the main office by TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9th. Checks can be made payable to Fort River PGO. Questions? Send an email to  stacey.fortriver@gmail.com

Click to access the order form.

Picture Day

Fort River Picture Day is Tuesday, October 16! 

In addition to providing keepsakes of your children for family and friends, Grynn & Barrett donates a percentage of sales to Fort River School.

All students will be photographed for the yearbook and will receive a class picture free of charge.

CLASS PICTURES: Group photos of your child’s class will be taken on Picture Day.  These will be provided FREE to all families. 

ORDERING A PICTURE PACKAGE: Please read the order form carefully, fill out completely and return with payment to your child’s teacher by Monday, October 15th.If you do not with to order a package, please write your child's name and "No Package" on the form and return it.

LATE ORDERS: Every student photographed on Picture Day will be able to order additional pictures, packages and merchandise through the Grynn & Barrett website.

Proceeds from picture orders go to support school field trips throughout the year. 

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED, to help direct students to their photos. 

Sign up to help at: http://frpc.pleasebringit.com/public/rz4Ebb8jwIc

Questions? contact Deb Leonard at deb.fortriver@gmail.com.

This is a very fun volunteer opportunity!

        

Performers and Food Wanted! Around the World Celebration

Wednesday, October 24, 6 - 7:30 pm, Fort River Cafeteria

We need lots of international food to have a fun and successful event! Please sign up: http://frpc.pleasebringit.com/public/RqTYqAfOU3c

If you can share some poster displays, photos, artifacts, games, crafts, costumes, performances, or you want to set up a table/booth dedicated to your culture, please contact Yoosun Park (yoosun82@gmail.com).

We’re still looking for volunteers to help during the event, too! Or simply come to enjoy our diverse cultures! We hope to see you there!

Fort River School Building Committee Update

Over the summer, the Fort River School Building Committee has continued to make progress with its feasibility study. 

The  results of the indoor air quality study performed by ATC Group Services of West Springfield showed that the levels of asbestos, bacteria, mold, and radon are within acceptable levels and similar to or below background/outside concentrations.

The designers,TSKP Studio, have been attending the committee’s meeting and a working subgroup has joined in meetings with the Amherst School District to understand programming needs of the school in order to produce a range of options for a school building to serve PreK-6 students attending the Fort River Elementary School.  

Community meetings will be scheduled over the upcoming months and public input sought as plans develop. The next meeting is October 10. A timeline for the committee and designer’s work, along with other documents, can be found at https://www.amherstma.gov/3379/Fort-River-School-Building-Committee . If you would like to be notified about upcoming meetings and receive press releases directly to your in-box, you can join our list serve by signing up through our web page.