Giving Tuesday is November 28 - So Many Ways to Give

#GivingTuesday is a global giving movement that has been built by individuals, families, organizations, businesses and communities in all 50 states and in countries around the world. Millions of people come together to support and champion the causes they believe in and the communities in which they live.

Random acts of kindness are a great way to teach young children about giving and supporting each other. Helping a neighbor with yard work or donating clothes and books are easy ways to get kids involved. The Fort River Student Council is currently organizing a toy and necessities drive for victims of Hurricane Maria. The Amherst Survival Center and local religious groups have ongoing opportunities to donate or volunteer locally. The Amherst Education Foundation provides grants to ARPS teachers allowing students to tangibly see their families' donations at work.

The Fort River PGO also depends on generous giving from our community so that we can continue to support the work of our incredible teachers and staff. The Annual Fund needs to cover about 30% of the annual budget. Please consider joining the Fort River community on Tuesday, November 28, 2017 by including the PGO in your end-of-year giving. If you are able to help, please click here to donate using PayPal or send a check into the Main Office made out to "Fort River PGO." Thanks!

Update from the Amherst School Committee Chair and Vice-Chair

The Amherst School Committee is pleased to announce the membership of the School Building Committee for the Fort River Building and Site Feasibility Study. At our Tuesday, October 17th meeting, we randomly selected four at-large community members to serve on this 12-member committee. We would sincerely like to thank all those who submitted applications, and to those community members, educators, administrators, and town employees who will be offering their time and service to do the important work of this committee going forward.

The selection process went as follows:

• All completed applications were numbered and names were removed.
• These numbered applications were shared with all School Committee members via email.
• The Chair and Vice-Chair reviewed the numbered applications and sorted them according to the positions for which they applied, which included:
• Community Member with Green Energy Expertise and Architectural Background-At-Large Parent/Guardian/Caregiver
• At-Large Community Member #1
• At-Large Community Member #2

The Chair and Vice-Chair shared all complete applications and the categories with the Committee; final selections were made randomly during the public Committee meeting on Tuesday. The Committee publicly committed to having a minimum of 50% of the voting membership of the School Building Committee be composed of women and persons of color. Applications were considered accordingly based on the optional self-identification of applicants.

The final School Building Committee is as follows:

- Eric Nakajima, Amherst School Committee Representative

- Diane Chamberlain, Fort River Principal

- TBD, Green Design/Architectural Representative

- Heather Sheldon, SEPAC Representative

- Jonathan Salvon, Fort River PGO Representative

- Irene Dujovne, Parent-at-Large

- Allison Page, Community Member-at-Large

- Maria Kopicki, Community Member-at-Large

- Claire McGinnis, Town Finance Representative

- Jean Fay, ARPS Staff Member

- Nicole Singer, Fort River Teacher

- TBD, Facilities Director

- Dr. Michael Morris, Superintendent (ex-officio member)

We appreciate the range of experience and expertise represented in this group and look forward to working together on behalf of our schools.

Questions or comments for the School Committee can be emailed to: schoolcommittee@arps.org. Visit www.arps.org for posted meetings, agendas, and meeting minutes.

Phoebe Hazzard, Chair Anastasia Ordonez, Vice-Chair

Welcome letter from the PGO / Una Carta de Bienvenida del PGO

You should have received a welcome letter from the PGO in your child's backpack last week.  You may also access the letter here.  Please note that the email address for Beatriz Garcia, our Latino Community Liaison, was incorrect in the letter.  It has been corrected in the online version, and you can contact Beatriz at chiquilinatita@gmail.com.

Usted debe haber recibido una carta de bienvenida del PGO en la mocila de su niño la semana pasada. También puede acceder a la carta aquí.  Por favor, tenga en cuenta que la dirección de correo electrónico para Beatriz García, nuestro Latino Enlace con la Comunidad, era incorrecta en la carta. Se ha corregido
en la versión en línea, y usted puede contactar a Beatriz chiquilinatita@gmail.com.

Thanks for a Great Year!

Thanks for a great year at Fort River! As we are winding down this school year, the PGO is already planning ahead for September. At our final PGO meeting of the year last week, we elected officers for next school year. You can see the meeting minutes and budget HERE.

While many of the volunteer coordinators for PGO events are continuing, we are always looking for volunteers to help organize and guide our events! In particular, we still have openings for the officer positions of Vice-President and Blog Editor. If you are interested in taking over either of these positions, or simply getting involved with the PGO, please contact new PGO President Liz Larson. Many thanks to outgoing officers Pam Rietkerk, Michele Spirko and Catherine McGraw for all their work in helping make Fort River great.

Thanks for a great year, and have a fantastic summer!

- 2011-2012 Officers Pam Rietkerk (Chair), Michele Spirko (Vice-chair), Catherine McGraw (Secretary), Liz Larson (Treasuerer), & Erin Cherewatti (Blog Editor)