Thanks from the 6th Grade!

THANKS!!!  The 6th grade raised over $950 in ticket sales from their raffle fundraiser, helping them get closer to their goal to fund upcoming field trips and experiences at the Boston Science Museum and Camp Howe in Goshen. Thank you to all of the Fort River community that helped in purchasing tickets!  We would also like to thank our very generous sponsors, providing over $1,400 in fabulous prizes. Shop local!

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)

Election Day Bake Sale: Big Success!

On Tuesday, November 2nd, the hard-working fifth grade classes held an Election Day Bake Sale to raise funds for their annual field trip. Each spring the fifth grade visits the historic textile mills of Lowell, MA as part of an interdisciplinary curricular unit integrating early US History, Geography, Economics, and Immigration. Read more about the mills and their fascinating history here.

Due to the incredible generosity of our school community and Precinct 6 voters, the fifth grade was able to raise $592.76! Cheers to all of the successful bakers, sellers, and eaters!

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

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.

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