Upcoming Events

Fort River Roasters Orders Due. Friday, December 7th. Please send forms in to the Parent Council mailbox in the school front office. Order forms are available on the right-hand side of this webpage under "Parent Council Forms" or at the Parent Council bulletin board in the school lobby. Coffee With a Principal. Friday, December 14th, 8:30 to 9:15am. Join Principal Russ Vernon-Jones and/or Vice Principal Lianne Suarez-Werlein for coffee, light breakfast foods, and casual conversation in the cafeteria. Younger siblings are welcome to attend. Diversity and Social Justice Committee. Friday, December 21, 8:40am. Library. School Vacation. December 24-January 1, 2008. School reopens Jan. 2, 2008. Fort River Roaster's/Deans Beans Coffee Orders Due. Friday, Jan. 4, 2008. Please send orders in to the Parent Council mailbox in the front office. Order forms are available for download in the "Parent Council Forms" section on the right-hand side of the page or at the Parent Council bulletin board in the school lobby. Parent Council Meeting. Monday, January 7th, 2008, 6:30-7:30pm. Library. Babysitting will be available.

Winter Choral Concert by 4th, 5th, and 6th Grade Choruses

Dear Parents and Guardians of Fort River Chorus students, The fourth, fifth and sixth grade choruses will present a winter choral concert on Thursday, January 24th at 7 pm in the Amherst Middle School auditorium. Please have your child report to the auditorium by 6:40 pm that night so that we can have the chorus warm up and prepare for the concert. Concert attire for boys includes white shirts or sweaters and dark slacks. Girls should wear a white blouses or sweaters and dark skirts or slacks. If you are unable to attend the evening concert, we will also be presenting a daytime performance for the school in the Fort River gym on Thursday, January 24th at 2:10 pm. Thank you. It has been a joy working with your students. They are terrific singers! See you in January, Anne White

Amherst Regional Middle School Principal Search

Dear Amherst Elementary School Parents, At the next meeting of the Amherst Middle School Family School Partnership, Dr. Jere Hochman (School Superintendent) will speak on the ARMS principal search. The meeting is on Wednesday December 19 at 7 PM in the Middle School library. All elementary school parents are invited to attend. If you have questions that you would like Dr. Hochman to address please send them to the ARMS Family School Partnership: armsfsp@yahoo.com. Thanks & Best Regards, Kate Troast and Lise Halpern Co-Chairs, ARMS Family School Partnership

Of Interest to Fort River Families

Please note that these events are not sponsored by Parent Council. Cataline Arrubla of Multi-Arts has asked me to post the following information: Remember the movie being shot this past summer "Bubble Trubble?" (Several of your children took part it it.) Well, we are doing a "test show," and we would like to invite you all: children, friends and parents to see the entire movie (90 mins.). Thanks to Amherst College we will be showing it at their Campus Center Theater twice: Saturday, December 8 at 2:00 p.m. & Sunday, December 9 at 11:00 a.m. Event free of charge. For more information about the movie and to see the preview visit: http://www.bubbletrubblethemovie.com/. Also we would like to invite you to see our art exhibition at the Henion Bakery, 174 N. Pleasant St, Amherst. With beautiful paintings made by several children who have participated in Multi-Arts during our past 7 years. INES ARRUBLA FLAMENCO DANCE THEATER presents "SON FLAMENCO 2007." Who: 7 musicians 4 dancers. When: December 7th and 8th, 7-9 pm. Where: Iron Horse, Northampton. Tickets: $22.50 in advance / $25 at the door. Northampton Box Office, 413-586-8686/1.800. THE.TICK. & IHEG.comyou can view our trailer on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8BYGbIHHTk. Contact: Catalina Arrubla, Director http://www.multi-arts.org/ ACAC Holiday Drop & Shops. Bring your kids to Amherst Community Arts Center for a 3 hour workshop while you shop in town! December 8: Origami Workshop with Annie Zirin 9:30-12:30am. Marble Chutes with David Costello, 12:30-3:30pm. December 15: Clay Masks with Dara Herman-Zierlein, 9:30-12:30am. Greeting Card & Gift Paper Workshop with Carolyn Toomey, 12:30-3:30pm. December 22: Paper & Bookmaking with Sarah Balascio, 9:30-12:30am. Ornament Workshop with Hillary Milens 12:30-3:30pm. $30/session or $50/2 sessions. Parents may attend workshops with children for a combined cost of $50/session. Pre-registration required. Please call ACAC at (413) 253-9265, http://www.amherstarts.org/. Northampton Family Dance. Please come to the Family Dance! Our second dance of the season will be held on Sunday, December 16. The dance takes place 3:00 - 5:00 PM at First Churches, 129 Main Street, Northampton (use the Center Street entrance across from the Iron Horse). Come enjoy a variety of folk and contra dances geared to children and families. All dances are taught, and all ages are welcome--no dance experience is necessary. Live music! Admission is $4 per person for ages 3 and up, $15 maximum per family. For more information, please call Judy Stern at 256-2613 or email judystern44@yahoo.com. A note from Parent Council. We will publish information about non-Parent Council sponsored events with the following conditions: 1. The event should be of interest to Fort River families. 2. The information should be sent to Ann McLaughlin at damclaughlin@comcast.net in the form of a short blurb of 100 words or less. 3. Contact information (name, telephone and/or email address) must be included. We will add new information to the blog every Friday. Thanks for your cooperation!

It's Time to Wake Up and Order the Coffee!

Orders for Fort River Roasters coffee from Dean's Beans are due this coming Friday, Dec. 7. Please be sure to get your forms into the Parent Council mailbox by then. Extra forms are now available at the Parent Council bulletin board in the school lobby. You can also click HERE to download a form or click on the link on the right hand side of this webpage under "Parent Council Forms."

Upcoming Events

Teacher Curriculum Workday. Friday, November 30th. No school. Fort River Roasters Orders Due. Friday, December 7th. Please place in Parent Council Mailbox. Coffee With a Principal. Friday, December 14th, 8:30 to 9:15am. Join Principal Russ Vernon-Jones and/or Vice Principal Lianne Suarez-Werlein for coffee, light breakfast foods, and casual conversation in the cafeteria. Younger siblings are welcome to attend. Diversity and Social Justice Committee. Friday, December 21, 8:40am. Library. Parent Council Meeting. Monday, January 7th, 2008, 6:30-7:30pm. Library. Babysitting will be available.

What Has Parent Council Done for You and Child?

As 2007 comes to an end, we wanted to provide an update about the various activities and events that were brought to you by Parent Council this year – and to ask for your continued support of Parent Council activities and events! *Providing FREE school directories to all children* *Paying $10 per child for all 4th graders to go to Plimouth Plantation* *Coordinating the Fall Festival (e.g., the Halloween Party)* *Funding the Welcome to New Families event* *Funding the monthly Coffee With a Principal event* *Providing the guidance counselors with funds to assist Fort River families in need* *Providing each classroom teacher with special funds to buy books for the classroom* *Coordinating the Summer Read-a-thon* *Providing the Museum of Science presentations to all children* *Paying for flowers for the planters in front of school* *Paying for the Birds of Prey presentation for all 2nd graders*