Upcoming School Events

Grade 1 Event: Reading Night/PJ Party, Monday, April 13, Ft. River library/lobby. 6:30-8pm. See below for more information. Donations still needed. School Committee Meeting. Tues., Apr. 14, 7pm. High School Library. School Council Meeting, Thursday, Apr. 16, 7-9pm. Ft. River Principal's Office. Spring Recess. No School, Apr. 20-24. *Public Forum on Redistricting the Public Schools and the School Budget. Wednesday, Apr. 29, 5pm. Fort River Parent Council/ Community. Location at Ft. River TBA. See below for more information. (Other meetings/locations below.) Grade 5 Event: Family Fun-n-Games Evening. Wednesday, April 29, 6:30-8:00pm. At Fort River. (Rain date May 5). Click here for more details. 6th Grade Graduation Planning Meeting, Thursday, April 30, 7-9pm in the Fort River Library. See below for more information. Fort River Roasters by Dean's Beans Coffee Orders Due. Friday, May 1st. Coffee With the Principals. Friday, May 1st. 8:30-9:15am. Fort River Cafeteria. Parent Council Meeting, Thursday, May 7th, 8:30-9:30am. Fort River Cafeteria. 4th, 5th & 6th Grade Chorus Concert, Thursday, May 7th, 7:30pm. Click here for more info. Kindergarten Event: Family Dance Party, Friday, May 8th, 5-7pm, Ft. River Cafeteria. Grade 3 Event: Potluck and Games at Mill River Park. Friday, May 15th, Time: TBA. Grade 4 Event: Potluck Dinner. Thursday, May 28 at 5:30pm. Sixth Grade Graduation. Friday, June 19th 1:30pm. Note: Items in teal are sponsored by Fort River Parent Council.

Public Forums on Redistricting and the School Budget

Public forums have been scheduled to discuss the budget problems facing the Amherst public schools. Representatives from the Superintendent's Office and the School Committee will be holding forums to discuss the potential impact of two possible scenarios for upcoming school years. These scenarios are: reducing the number of elementary schools to three by closing Marks Meadow School (and redistricting the remaining schools) or keeping the current four schools. The possible impact of each option on the budget will be discussed. Please plan on attending one of the the forums. The same information will be provided at each. From the ARPS website:

Public Forums Set Regarding Potential Redistricting of Amherst Public Schools Home

At their March 17th meeting, the Amherst School Committee made a motion to close Marks Meadow Elementary School at the end of the 2009-2010 school year and redistrict to create three elementary schools with proportionate numbers of children on free/reduced lunch for the start of the 2010-2011 school year. The following public meetings are scheduled to provide the community with opportunities to hear more about the educational and budgetary impact of redistricting, as well as to ask questions and provide feedback:

• Wednesday, April 29th at 12:00 Noon: Wildwood PGO/Wildwood Community (WW location TBA)
• Wednesday, April 29th at 5:00 p.m.: Fort River PGO/FR Community (FR location TBA)
• Thursday, April 30th at 5:00 p.m.: Crocker Farm PGO/CF Community (CF library)
• NOTE: The Marks Meadow PGO/MM Community date is still being finalized. It will be posted ASAP.
• Tuesday, May 5th at 7:00 p.m.: Community-Wide Forum (Middle School auditorium)

The Amherst School Committee plans to take a vote on the redistricting motion at their regular meeting on Tuesday, May 19th. Redistricting is not an agenda topic for their regular meeting next Tuesday, April 14th.

Grade-Wide Event for 4th Grade: New Date, May 28th

The 4th grade potluck dinner has been rescheduled for Thursday, May 28th at 5:30pm at the Fort River Playground.

1st Grade Event--Drop Everything and Read on Monday, April 13, Food Donations Needed!

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

You can sign up online to bring in a snack or beverage here. DONATIONS ARE STILL NEEDED!

Stop & Shop A+ BonusBucks: Year-End Results

The Stop & Shop A+ BonusBucks program has ended for the school year. Fort River has earned a terrific $2,198.43 for the year! We ended up with 135 people signed up for the program, and we earned $405.60 in the month of March. We earned $866 MORE than last year's total! Principal Sharick should be receiving the check from Stop and Shop by the end of the school year. Click here to check the totals for all Amherst Schools. Thanks to everyone who participated this year. Remember that you must re-register next fall for your donations to continue during the next school year.

Sixth Grade Graduation Planning Meeting: Thursday, Apr. 30 at 7pm

Graduation will be Friday June 19 @ 1:30 pm with the student dance that evening. Mark your calendars! We need the help of as many parents as possible in order to make this a successful event. If you would like to volunteer please contact either co-chairs Jan Kelly at janandkevink@comcast.net or Cathy Cullen at cullorder@comcast.net. Areas where we need help are: 1. Donation Committee: Anyone interested in helping solicit local area businesses for donations or goods in kind. This committee currently needs a co-chair and several individuals to help with the task. Our budget is tight and donations will determine how much we can do. 2. Photos for the Powerpoint presentation: Lynn Hayes, chair of this committee, has asked that anyone who has photos of any sixth grader in activities or events over the years at Fort River to either e-mail them to her at hay3bay@comcast.net or burn a CD and put it in the Parent Council mailbox with Lynn’s name. The more photos we have the more choices we can make. Each student will have a current photo but to have more candid pictures will make for a memorable power point for our kids. 3. Chair 6th Grade class Gift and contact for Roger Wallace’s class. 4. Other areas to volunteer are decorating the gym and cafeteria. The actual decoration will happen the night before, however we need creative individuals to develop a theme and prepare decorations for both the cafeteria and the gym in the weeks before. Liz Larson has agreed to chair the committee. Everyone will be contacted closer to the event to bring in food for the reception. There will be a planning meeting on Thursday, April 30 from 7:00- 9:00 in the Fort River Library. We recognize that spring is very busy; however, this meeting will be a roll up the sleeves and get things done time so try to attend if at all possible. We will talk about the event and break into committees in order to minimize other meetings needed.

What To Read When: A Evening with Author Pam Allyn

The Amherst Public School District is pleased to announce that Pam Allyn, distinguished author, will be visiting the district on Monday, May 4th at 5:30 P.M. at Crocker Farm Elementary School. Childcare will be available WHAT TO READ WHEN mirrors the cycle of childhood—the occasions big and small that offer opportunities for parents to bond most with their children. Allyn's advice is essential because she helps us to take into account a child's age, attention ability, gender, and interests as we choose among the hundreds of wonderful books to read. Pam celebrates the capacity of children's literature to enlighten, entertain, and inform. Her goal is to make it easier for children to have transforming moments with books by helping parents and educators find and read with them just the right books at just the right times. WHAT TO READ WHEN is a must-have guidebook for creating and sustaining a lifelong love of reading. About the Author: Pam Allyn is the Executive Director of LitLife, a national organization specializing in innovative literacy education programs for schools and families. Pam is also the Founding Director of LitWorld, which brings the power of stories to the world's most vulnerable children. Pam is the author of The Complete 4 for Literacy, a guide for educators, and coauthor of the six-book series The Complete Year in Reading and Writing. She is the recipient of several awards for her commitment to childhood literacy. Pam is widely known as a motivational speaker on the subject of raising lifelong readers and writers.