Staff & Teacher Appreciation Luncheon - Thanks for your support!

Fort River staff enjoyed a wonderful lunch gathering this week at the Amherst Brewing Company. We had a record 80 staff members in attendance. Thanks to the support of Fort River families, we more than covered the costs of the luncheon and staff were so grateful at the outpouring of generosity of our community. It really shows how much our families care about the staff and teachers of Fort River!

Thank you everyone for your support!  Special thanks to Fran Luddington, Paula Mangiaratti and the front office team, and parents Suzanne Schilling, Sue Borden, Tammy Rahhal, Pam Rietkerk, and Michele Spirko for helping make the day a success.

Many Thanks!

MANY THANKS to the members of our community who brought in delicious treats for the staff on the teacher work day last Friday. We heard loud and clear that they were really surprised and most appreciative of the show of love and support from parents. Thanks for so much participation!

Thanks for Family Fair Help

Lynn Hayes wanted me to send the following message:

Thanks to all those who helped with the family fair this year. The weather cooperated, the games were loads of fun and the food was delicious. A thank you goes out to all those who brought in food donations and for those who purchased the food.

A special thanks goes out to our volunteers, Carrie Turkot, Chris Felton, Mary Donoghue, Catalina Arrubla, Lisa Harvey, Jan Kelly, Wendy Curtis, Timothy Russell, David Hayes, Molly Patton, Louise Levy, the janitors and all the sixth grade teachers. If I have forgotten to list your name, I'm sorry, there were so many people helping out.

And the PGO thanks Lynn Hayes and Carrie Turkot for volunteering to be coordinators of this fun event!

Thanks to Local Businesses for Their Generous Donations

Fort River would like to thank our local businesses - Hadley Garden Center and Andrew's Greenhouse for donating fall mums and planting soil to help make our building entrance welcoming and beautiful for the first day of school. Hadley Garden Center donated 5 bags of composted soil and Andrew's donated the 8" mums planted in each of the five barrels out front.

The PGO would also like to thank Ruthie and Michael Ireland for soliciting the donations, cleaning up the front of the building, and planting mums in the half-barrel planters out front!

Faculty/Staff Welcome Back Event Held September 1st - Lovely Brunch for Fort River

Families showed up early and in large numbers on the day before school, bringing delicious food, gorgeous flowers, and helping hands as we prepared for the arrival of our talented teachers and staff. Thanks to all who helped by cooking, shopping, setting-up, arranging flowers, washing dishes, etc. Many hands made light work, and the Fort River families once again treated our teachers and staff to a lovely meal.  We sincerely appreciate all of the following volunteers as well as anyone who we may have missed!

Tammy Rahhal-Schulkind
Rebecca Fricke
Becky Michaels
Carol Slaughter
Carol Richardson
Matt Mitchell
Dorie Goldman
Laura Wenk
Eileen Marasco
Carmela Gravante
Mike Lynch
Jenn Wellman
Iris Berkman
Suzanne Schilling
Erin Cherewatti
Ellie Skinner
Jenn Green
Kathryn Mahony
Katie Wright
Karen Zilberstein
Hana Rivkin
Nora Martin
Catherine Sanderson
Sue Borden
Chris Felton

The PGO also thanks Michele Spirko for organizing this event!

Thanks for Haiti Donations

Band Director Sue Dunbar asked me to report that $350 was raised at the recent band and orchestra concert for Haiti earthquake relief! Thanks to everyone who donated.

Thanks for the Books!

FRPC President Sue Borden reports that many teachers have wished to express their thanks for all the books that were so generously donated to classrooms during the book fair. So thanks to everyone who used the teacher wishlists to donate books, including all those of you who wished to remain anonymous!

Parent Council Thanks Atkins

Parent Council would like to thank Atkins Farms Country Market for their $500 donation to Fort River. We received this money by using the cards that Atkins provided us with last year.

You can still use this same card until it expires, which is when your youngest child will graduate from Fort River. Just show your card when you are checking out. New cards for new Fort River families will be coming soon!

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

Bus/Van Drivers Appreciation Breakfast: A Smashing Success!

Dear Families of Fort River, I want to thank all the parents very much who contributed food to the Bus/Van Driver Appreciation Breakfast this year. There were plenty of delicious things to eat, and the drivers were able to bring some goodies back to those who weren't able to attend. They were all so appreciative. We had a great time talking with each other, and it was wonderful to see some parents come in just to shake the hand of their child's bus driver. This small gesture means alot. Again, many thanks to all who made this event a huge success!!! Also, a few parents brought their food items on a plate from home. I washed up everything, and left the plates in the teacher's lounge right next to the sink. With gratitude, Jenn Wellman

2nd Grade Event: Big Thanks to Sponsors

The garden & ice cream party was a wonderful community-building event. Kids and parents entered in and made it a huge success. We are truly grateful to our business sponsors who donated all garden supplies and ice cream toward the event: Amherst Farmer's Supply, Andrew's Greenhouse, Annie's Garden Store, Hadley Garden Center, Big Y, and Wagner Wood.

Toy Drive News

Lynn Logan has asked me to post a A HUGE thank you to all of you who helped to make this one of the most successful toy drives ever at Fort River! The students in Catherine Davies' class counted 240 toys!! On behalf of Family Outreach of Amherst I want to thank you again for reaching deep during these tough times to help make this a special day for hundreds of children in our community. Way to go Fort River!!

Annual Family Donation Fund

Thanks to all the families who have already contributed to our Annual Family Donation Fund. This fund supports all Parent Council activities - field trips, cultural events, library books, scholarships for children in need, etc. - and gets each student a free Fort River directory and yearbook! We have now raised $4,200 from 120 of our 347 families (35% of families), and are still hoping for contributions from ALL families; even a $1.00 donation helps increase our goal of 100% family participation! Although we suggest $20 a child, contributions of any size are welcome -- and all contributions are tax deductible (and anonymous). Checks (to Fort River Parent Council) or cash can be sent to the Parent Council mailbox in the main office. FYI, we are running behind compared to our donations from last year, so if you have forgotten, please send your donations in! Thanks!

Election Day Bake Sale: Update

Thanks to Lynn Logan and Cathy Cullen for organizing the Election Day Bake Sale which made $454 for the Parent Council! Thanks also to: Janet Kannel, Libby Stanforth and Sue Borden for helping staff the Bake Sale, Catalina Arrubla and Multi-Arts for donating student decorated notecards for sale, and to all the Fort River Parents who contributed the DELICIOUS goodies !

Parent Council Thanks Fall Festival Volunteers

The fall festival and sports swap was a great success thanks to the efforts of a lot of parents and Fort River alums! Hats off to Jen Ditkoff, Peter Wood, Pam Reitkirk, Diane Caraker. Alisa Braverman, Joy Sullivan, Mikey Cutting, Leah Hebert, Gloria McCann, Ann McLaughlin, Carole Slaughter, Mary Donoghue, Andy Donoghue, Klaus Becker,Anna Sullivan, Courtney Milne, Shelby Cutting, Rachel Madowitz, Sam Becker, Johann Becker,Amelia Ahlborg, Louise Levy, Jay Levy for running a craft/game or set-up or clean up. Also the fair would not be a success without the many donations of supplies and cupcakes/cookies (please forgive me if I missed anyone): Michelle Spirko,Catherine Sanderson,Edy Howe,Mike Lynch,Carrie Turkott, Iris Berkman, Debra Russell,Margit Carkoff,Natalie Stafford,Elisabeth Becker. Finally, kudos to West farm in Hadley for supplying 100 mini pumpkins at a much reduced rate for the pumpkin decorating craft! Hope to see you all next year!

Annual Family Donation Fund

Thanks to all the families who have already contributed to our Annual Family Donation Fund, which supports all Parent Council activities (field trips, cultural events, library books, scholarships for children in need, etc.) and gets each student a free Fort River directory and yearbook! We have now raised $2,163 from 64 of our 347 families (18% of families), and are still hoping for contributions from ALL families (and even a $1.00 donation helps increase our goal of 100% family participation)! Although we suggest $20 a child, contributions of any size are welcome, and all contributions are tax deductible (and anonymous). Checks (to Fort River Parent Council) or cash can be sent to the Parent Council mailbox in the main office.

Important Playground Update

As you have probably noticed, the next phase of the playground renovation has been completed – we have three new picnic table and two new springboards! We are very thankful to a number of people/businesses who have made this new playground possible: • New England Greenscape (665-3493) installed the lovely brick walkway at cost (no profit for them); • Jim Rodrigue assisted with providing and pouring cement for the playground on three separate occasions; • Chris Rice Associates (427-7505), who handles precision excavation and materials handling, assisted tremendously with digging holes, leveling ground, and providing concrete; • Libby Stanforth and Hana Rivkin coordinated the Fort River Roasters program last year (which netted $1000) and Pam Rietkerk coordinated the Hillside Pizza fundraiser (which netted $800); • Alison Donta, Mike Jacques, Jon Kane, Mark Marasco, Steve Poulin, Nancy Reffsin, Steve Reynolds, Amy Rose, Catherine Sanderson, Patrick Schilling, Blake Spirko, Michele Spirko, Peter Venman, and Principal Ray Sharick assembled the picnic tables; • Mike Jacques, Matt Lewis, Kristen Lynch, Ray Mann, Cam Mann, Jim Rodrigue, Catherine Sanderson, Ray Sharick, and Peter Wood installed the picnic tables and springboards; We are nearing the final phase of the playground renovation, which will include work on planting and landscaping (thanks to a lovely design by Carol Pope) and painting games (hop scotch, four square) on the blacktop! If you’d like to be involved in this final phase of the playground, please contact Catherine Sanderson (casanderson@amherst.edu, 256-4977).

Celebrate With Books---- Thank You Notes

We would like to thank our “Celebrate With A Book” donors: Diana Stiles, Muschinski Family, Steve Klein and Ellie Skinner, and Bridget Darby for donating wonderful books to the Fort River Library. We would also like to announce the “Celebrate With A Book” honorees of the month: Sebastian Stiles-Sieracki, Ms. Irene Eigner, Samantha Klein and Dr. Lou Smith. (If we missed anybody, please let us know).

Celebrate With Books--Thank You Notes

We would like to thank Katie Michaels, Eleanor Wolfe, Teddy Wolfe, Tyler Hayes, Mina Stern-Wenk and Jonathan Hosea for donating books to the Library this year (if we missed anybody, let us know). Persons that have been honored through this program for this school year are: Ms. Yeh, Ms. Rondeau, Ms. Maurisa Davis, Jared Kannel and Fran Ludington.