Fort River Garden Soup Day on October 26

This Thursday, October 26th, the Fort River cafeteria will be serving vegetable soup made with the veggies that students harvested from our very own Fort River School garden a few weeks ago. All students will have the opportunity to taste the soup, as this is an important part of the learning cycle for them--to eat the produce that they planted, tended, and harvested. Fort River's kitchen staff will prepare small taster cups of soup for students that day. As always, no student is required to try the soup.

We need volunteers to get the trays of taster cups from the kitchen staff and to walk around the cafeteria, offering/encouraging students to give the soup a try. The volunteers will also be responsible for ensuring that used taster cups make their way to the trash bins.

Click http://frpc.pleasebringit.com/public/vwwIeUGeTzY to sign up for a shift or email Stacey Beganny at stacey.fortriver@gmail.com if you have any questions! Thanks, and don't forget that you must have CORI certification to volunteer at school.

"Moving Toward Zero Waste" Campaign Launch on October 19

Celebrate the launching of a Zero Waste Amherst public education campaign! 

Thursday, October 19 at 6 PM

Hitchcock Center for the Environment

845 West St., Amherst

Free, Registration Appreciated

6 PM – 7 PM: Refreshments and tour of Hitchcock Center

7 PM – 9 PM: Learn about what’s being planned and share your ideas for helping to reduce waste and promote recycling in Amherst.

Sponsored by the Amherst Recycling and Refuse Management Committee,
Amherst League of Women Voters, Sustaining Amherst,
and The Hitchcock Center for the Environment.

“If you’re not for Zero Waste, how much waste are you for?”

Contact the Hitchcock Center (413-256-6006) or the Recycling and Refuse Management Committee (rrmc@amherstma.gov) for further information. More details are available in this Gazette article.

ARMS Science Club in the News

The ARMS Science Club, under the direction of Team Y Science Teacher Jennifer Welborn, was featured in the Amherst Bulletin and Daily Hampshire Gazette last week. The club is modeled on UMass Amherst’s Integrated Concentration in Science program and is co-facilitated by a Fort River parent. UMass students serve as mentors. To read the article, click here: http://www.amherstbulletin.com/Amherst-middle-schoolers-asking-complex-questions-at-science-club-10268014

Fort River Division of Silvio O. Conte Wildlife Refuge "Migratory Bird's Egg Hunt" on April 15th from 12pm-2pm

The new Fort River Division of Silvio O. Conte Wildlife Refuge will be hosting monthly storybook hikes and other activities.  Our first activity will take place on April 15th from 12pm-2pm.  

Title: Migratory Bird's Egg Hunt at Fort River Division

Date: April 15th

Time: 12pm-2pm

Age Range:  1-100+, Trail is Handicap Accessible 

Contact Information: Tasha_Daniels@fws.gov or call (413) 548-8002 Extension: 8132

Location: Silvio O. Conte Refuge, 69 Moody Bridge Road, Hadley, MA

Cost: FREE

Facebook Page: Friends of Fort River Refuge

Join us at the Migratory Bird's Egg Hunt at Fort River Division. Not your traditional egg hunt! We will use Geographic Positioning Units (GPS) to find eggs! Each colorful egg has a bird inside that makes the Refuge its home for the spring and summer. The challenge is to read a fun story as you walk the trail, find all your colorful eggs, learn about the birds and decode the special message found within the golden eggs. There is an interactive worksheet to help you along as you hunt. Look for eggs as you walk the trail finding clues to fill in your hunt worksheet, then you put the clues back in the eggs so the next family can play too! So, at the end of the journey, if you can tell us the magic phrase, each child will receive a grab bag.

To RSVP Contact: Tasha_Daniels@fws.gov or call (413) 548-8002 Extension: 8132

Please download these FREE GPS App to your smartphone we will teach you how to use it:

IPHONE in Apps store search: EASY GPS by 2Kit Consulting

ANDROID in Google Play search: GPS Coordinates by WOOZILLI, LLC

Leapfrog – after school program for K-4

Join the Snowy Owls, a weekly after school program for K-4, and plunge into a wild world of nature exploration, crafting and feasting! Explore the woods, streams and trails while learning awareness, naturalist and survival skills!

This program meets once a week, participants picking a Tuesday or Thursday clan, from 3:45 to 5:30 at Amethyst Brook Conservation Land, Amherst. Begins Tuesday March 7, 2017.

Snowy Owls is offered by Leapfrog Programs. Leap frog Programs cultivates nature connection and education for humans of all ages in Western Massachusetts, offering during and after school programs and weekend workshops. We work to empower participants with meaningful and practical life-long relationships between each other, and the living land.

To sign up or to find out more visit us at: leapfrogprograms.weebly.com

With gratitude from The Compost Collective,

Margaret and Sara

https://thecompostcollective413.wordpress.com/

Science and Nature: Local Resources for Families

Amherst College's Beneski Museum of Natural History

from Interim Superintendent Dr. Michael Morris, published in the ARPS March 10 newsletter:

"... we are fortunate to live in an area that offers many resources that can be used to support science learning. To help elementary families make the most of these opportunities, we offer you "Science for Families," a print and digital resource which features natural areas, museums, education centers, libraries, and more. 

Soon, elementary students will bring home a copy of the guide; it is included in this newsletter and you can also access it at https://goo.gl/sbzom3. We hope this resource connects you and your children with many joyful learning experiences in and around Amherst.

GARDEN HELP NEEDED: Request for Volunteers

A request for volunteers from Jennifer Reese, Science Coordinator & Resource Teacher, Amherst Public Schools, 413-362-1897

GARDEN HELP NEEDED:

At Wildwood, volunteers are needed to help weed the garden beds and compost the weeds. Volunteers would work with small groups (2-3 children) at at time, meeting with several groups over the course of a 45-60 minute period. Contact Lisa Poirer (poirierl@arps.org) if interested.

At Fort River, volunteers are needed to help revitalize the pollinator garden. This will involve weeding, trimming plants, cleaning out debris, adding fertilizer, and spreading wood chips. Contact Jane Costello (costelloj@arps.org) if interested.

ARHS Science Events and Opportunities Website

The ARHS science department has launched a new web page to share information about science events and opportunities in the local community. Currently posted are details about an upcoming "Women in Engineering and Computing Career Day" at UMass for high school girls.

If you would like to submit an event for possible inclusion, send it to ARHS lab technician, Deb Leonard at leonardd@arps.org. To learn about upcoming events, click here.

School Garden Volunteers Needed in Summer

From Jennifer Reese, K-6 Science Coordinator

Dear PGOs, 

Our elementary school gardens need your help to have a healthy summer growing season! Parents and guardians are invited to sign up for ​1hour volunteer sessions in July and August. Duties will include watering, weeding, and planting. Children are welcome to join their families as helpers. All volunteers will be asked to participate in an on-site orientation session with Leila Tunnell, a wonderful farm & garden educator who has been helping us and who also serves as Brookfield Farm's educator. At the orientation sessions, volunteers will become familiar with the garden space, learn about the plants we're growing and what type of care they need, and how to access the garden tools. Sign ups for summer weeks will take place at the orientation sessions.

Orientation sessions: Saturday, July 2nd or Saturday July 9th - 9am-10am @Crocker Farm; 11am-12pm @ Fort River; 1pm-2pm @Wildwood 

​Questions or comments? Please contact Jen Reese (reesej@arps.org) or Leila Tunnell (ltunnell18@gmail.com).

Thank you!​

-- 

Jennifer Reese

Science Coordinator, K-6

Amherst Public Schools

413-362-1897

Fort River Alumni part of ARHS’s JETS Engineering Club Teams that win BEST IN STATE!

Alumni News! Reposted from ARHS PGO:

Congratulations to the JETS Teams!

This has been an outstanding year for Amherst Regional High School’s JETS Engineering Club. The club entered five teams (40 students, grades 9-12) into the national Test of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science (TEAM+S) and won Best in State at both the 9^th/10^th grade and 11^th/12^th grade level. All six teams finished in the top 10% nationally.

Our top finishing 11^th/12^th grade team consisted of seniors: Brody Lynch, Liam Brandt, Michael Kamlarz, Jonathan Hosea, Solomon Rueschemeyer-Bailey, Dennis Shen, Nathaniel Corp, and Jacob Kaplan.

Our top finishing 9^th/10^th grade team consisted of: 10^thgraders John Dinsmore, Alvaro Borrell, Doug Eveleigh, Aleksa Kosanovic, Alexandra Patton, Eric Thompson-Martin, Nathan Ji, and 9^th grader Tim Demling.

ARHS has competed in the TEAM+S competition since 1989. TEAM+S is a national high school academic competition formally sponsored by the Junior Engineering Technical Society and recently taken over by the Technology Student Association. More than 1,000 teams of students compete every year in a fun and fast-paced competition that inspires creativity, teamwork, critical thinking and valuable insight into the world of engineering.  The theme of this year’s competition was “Engineering the Tools of Innovation.” It challenged students to use their engineering and design skills to address pressing issues currently faced by computing and information technology industries.