Book Fair

The annual book fair will be held from Monday, April 14th through Thursday April 17, from 9:00am-12 Noon. Extended hours on Thursday, April 17, 3:00-7:00pm. Scholastic Books has many great, affordable books and Food for Thought Books provides an excellent array of multicultural books for children and adults. Ellare Books is a local home-run book store that offers numerous educational books, activity books, hardcovers and softcovers at at least 50% off the cover price. It's a great time of year to pick up some books for birthdays, April vacation reading and of course to stock up on summer reading! Families are always welcome to visit the Book Fair with their child's class or at any other time. If you can't make it to the fair, you can send your child with cash in an envelope or a check made payable to Fort River Parent Council. If you choose to send a check, please designate on the memo line a maximum amount available for book purchases. 5% sales tax is added to the price of all purchases. Credit/Debit cards are also accepted. Those who would like to donate to the Scholarship Fund may leave money at the Cashier's Table. The Fund is used to assure that every Fort River student goes home from the book fair with at least one book. Teacher wish lists will be at the Cashier's Table if you are interested in making a purchase for a teacher or a donation to the Fort River Library. Your children will be coming home with a schedule of class visits to help you plan your child's time at the fair. We have some parent volunteers but can always use more. If you would like to volunteer for a 2 or 3 hour block, please contact Diane Caraker at Dianec711@comcast.net or 253-4191. Thank you for making the Fort River book fair a success year after year and continuing to foster you child's love for reading!

Of Interest to Fort River Families

Please note that these events are not sponsored by Parent Council. Group Swim Lessons at Hampshire Athletic Club. Another session of group swim lessons will begin on May 3rd with sign-ups and level placement. Lessons will be held on the four following Saturdays in May. To sign-up students should come in to the club on the 3rd from 2:00-4:00pm. The price for the four lessons is $60 ($50 for members) Please contact Julian Porcino at (413) 687-2692 or jcp1405@yahoo.com with questions. Amherst Community Arts Center, Leverett Crafts & Arts, and Hampshire Franklin Children's Daycare Center are pleased to present: Go, Kids Art, Go! Celebrating the artist in every child. An exhibition of children's artwork from schools and organizations in the Hampshire-Franklin Region. On display in the Barnes Gallery at Leverett Crafts & Arts, Saturday March 8-Sunday April 27, 2008. Gallery Hours: Fri-Sun, 2-5pm. Website: http://www.amherstarts.org/. Nomads Field Hockey Club, Spring 2008 Season. When our children go on to the middle school, field hockey is one of the sports they will be able to participate in. In addition to LSSE’s summer field hockey camp, here is another opportunity for young players to learn the sport. The Nomads Field Hockey Club is now offering an Under 12 program that will be coached by the Nomads’ senior players under the guidance of Kerry Ann Jaggassar (former UMASS assistant coach) as well as Jamie Ginsberg (current Smith College coach)! Fort River parent Susan Anderson Noonan (noonanfamily@comcast.net) would be happy to answer any questions about this organization and this amazing opportunity. For more information, schedules and to register, please click here: http://www.nomadsfieldhockey.org/. Come Downtown and Celebrate: Amherst Grows Green! Saturday, April 26th Arbor Day Festivities at Amherst Common (across from Town Hall) 9am-1pm. Earth Day festivities on North Pleasant Street (shopping area) 11am-3pm. For details on all information, events and free tree seedlings, please see "In the News" link at http://www.amherstma.gov/. In case of rain, Arbor Day events will take place at the Amherst Cinema building’s covered walkway. 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 add new information to the blog every Friday during the school year. Please note that we do not accept announcements of items or services for sale (with the exceptions of children's classes/lessons). Inclusion in this section does not imply any guarantees or endorsements by Fort River Parent Council or Fort River School.

School Committee Election Results

Congratulations to Fort River Parent Council President Catherine Sanderson for winning a seat on the Amherst School Committee in yesterday's election! On a personal note, I would like to thank both Catherine and Chrystel Romero (also a Fort River Parent!) for their willingness to take on such a big and important challenge. Thanks also to Chrystel Romero for her past year's service on the School Committee. It was great to see the involvement of so many Fort River parents in both of the campaigns. I believe it shows the dedication of the Fort River community as a whole to the quality of our public schools and to the welfare of all of our children. --Ann McLaughlin, Parent Council Secretary The Amherst Bulletin has posted a short summary of the election results here: http://www.amherstbulletin.com/story/id/927205500229/. Unofficial Town-Wide Tallies of all the votes for various offices are posted here: http://www.amherstma.gov/TownWideTally.pdf.

Upcoming Events

Buy-a-Brick Forms Dues. Monday, March 31st. Last chance to order a brick! Click here for more information and forms: Buy-a-Brick Info. Town Election. Tuesday, April 1st. Polls open 7am-8pm. See below for more info. Dean's Beans/Fort River Roasters Orders Due. Friday, April 4th. Click here for form. Media, Body Image and Our Kids. Tuesday, April 8th, 6:30-8:00pm. Amherst Regional Middle School Cafeteria. See below for more info. Sponsored by the Diversity and Social Justice Committee. Coffee With A Principal – Friday, April 11th, 8:30 to 9:15 am, cafeteria. Book Fair - Week of April 14th to 18th. Spring Recess. Week of April 21st. Parent Council Meeting – Wednesday, April 30th, 8:30 to 9:30 am, cafeteria.

Media, Body Image and Our Kids

To the Fathers, Mothers, Guardians, Teachers and Staff of the Amherst/Pelham Elementary School Community: Join us to explore Media, Body Image, and Our Kids on Tuesday, April 8, 2008, from 6:30-8:00pm in the Amherst Regional Middle School Cafeteria.

Erica Scharrer, Department of Communication, UMass Amherst and Tom Gardner, Department of Communication, Westfield State College, will facilitate a discussion on the following questions: How is body image portrayed in the media? How does media imagery of bodies impact our kids, both boys and girls? What are ways to help kids think critically about messages in the media? We'll view parts of two films, "Slim Hopes: Advertising and the Obsession with Thinness" and "Tough Guise: Violence, Media, and the Crisis in Masculinity," and follow with an informal discussion. For more information, contact Chris Felton, 253-1242, cmfelton@comcol.umass.edu or Sue Cairn, 253-9148, scairn@verizon.net. Childcare can be provided. Please contact Chris by April 4 if childcare is needed. Sponsored by: Diversity and Social Justice Committee of the Fort River Parent Council.

It's No Joke: Town Elections on April 1st!

Town elections are being held this coming April Fool's Day (Tuesday). Polls are open 7am-8pm. Given the budget problems in town, it's vitally important that parents with kids in the public schools make their voices heard. Also, both candidates for the open School Committee seat are Fort River parents!

For more information on who is running, check out the Amherst Bulletin website at http://amherstbulletin.com/. The Amherst Town Government website also has a wealth of voter information including candidates, sample ballots, polling places, etc.: http://www.amherstma.gov/voter_information.asp.

Of Interest to Fort River Families

Please note that these events are not sponsored by Parent Council. The Amherst Survival Center will be holding its first ever "Family Night" on Monday March 31 from 4-6 PM at the Center (1200 North Pleasant Street). We are opening outside of our usual hours in order to welcome families and school age children to come and learn what the Center is about, have a nice kid-friendly dinner, shop in the Free Store, or get a box of groceries from our Pantry. We'll also have arts and crafts activities for the children. For more information contact Sue Cairn (scairn@verizon.net) or Tracey mailto:tracey@amherstsurvival.org). Amherst Community Arts Center, Leverett Crafts & Arts, and Hampshire Franklin Children's Daycare Center are pleased to present: Go, Kids Art, Go! Celebrating the artist in every child. An exhibition of children's artwork from schools and organizations in the Hampshire-Franklin Region. On display in the Barnes Gallery at Leverett Crafts & Arts, Saturday March 8-Sunday April 27, 2008. Gallery Hours: Fri-Sun, 2-5pm. Opening Reception & Party, Saturday March 29, 2008, 11am-5pm. FREE EVENTS for children and families, including: music, dance, art demos and face painting. FEATURING: The Pop Rockets! A raffle and bakesale will also be held to benefit the three organizations and Go, Kids Art, Go! For further information contact Hillary Milens, Executive Director, Amherst Community Arts Center(413) 253-65, http://www.amherstarts.org/. Nomads Field Hockey Club, Spring 2008 Season. When our children go on to the middle school, field hockey is one of the sports they will be able to participate in. In addition to LSSE’s summer field hockey camp, here is another opportunity for young players to learn the sport. The Nomads Field Hockey Club is now offering an Under 12 program that will be coached by the Nomads’ senior players under the guidance of Kerry Ann Jaggassar (former UMASS assistant coach) as well as Jamie Ginsberg (current Smith College coach)! Fort River parent Susan Anderson Noonan (noonanfamily@comcast.net) would be happy to answer any questions about this organization and this amazing opportunity. For more information, schedules and to register, please click here: http://www.nomadsfieldhockey.org/. Come Downtown and Celebrate: Amherst Grows Green! Saturday, April 26th Arbor Day Festivities at Amherst Common (across from Town Hall) 9am-1pm. Earth Day festivities on North Pleasant Street (shopping area) 11am-3pm. For details on all information, events and free tree seedlings, please see "In the News" link at http://www.amherstma.gov/. In case of rain, Arbor Day events will take place at the Amherst Cinema building’s covered walkway. 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 add new information to the blog every Friday during the school year. Please note that we do not accept announcements of items or services for sale (with the exceptions of children's classes/lessons). Inclusion in this section does not imply any guarantees or endorsements by Fort River Parent Council or Fort River School.