Fort River T-Shirts and Bags are Here

The Fort River T-shirts and bags have arrived! Your orders can be picked up at the following upcoming functions:

• Band concert Thursday, June 4
• Coffee with the Principal, Friday, June 5
• Field Day, Tues., June 9
• The next Parent Council meeting (Friday, June 12)

If you aren't able to pick up your order at one of these times, it will be sent home in your child's backpack. We also have some extra t-shirts and bags which will be available for sale on a first come, first served basis.

Field Day Volunteers Still Needed

Field Day is coming up soon! We still need a few parent volunteers to help out. This is an easy way for parents to get involved in a fun Parent Council event. Field Day will be taking place during the morning hours on Tuesday, June 12 at the Fort River playing fields. Please click on the link for online sign-up sheet: Field Day Sign-Up. Volunteers should plan to show up fifteen minutes before their scheduled shift, unless they are setting up or cleaning up. Any questions, please contact Sarah Murphy at Saraha.murphy@comcast.net.

Photos of Chorus Needed for Yearbook ASAP!!

Due to a last-minute technical problem, the folks who are putting together the yearbook are in need of pictures of the school chorus. If you have any photos of the chorus, please get them to Joy Sullivan and Kathy Niedzielski as soon as possible! They can accept photos in one of the following ways:

• Send file(s) by email to Joy Sullivan at joyrrs@comcast.net by the end of school on Friday, June 5.
• Bring in photos on CD-Rom to the Parent Council mailbox by the end of school Friday, June 5.
• Bring in prints to the Parent Council mailbox by NOON on Friday, June 5 (they need extra time to scan the prints).

Thanks for your help!!

Fort River Receives Grant from Amherst Education Foundation

The Amherst Education Foundation has just announced a gift of $20,000 to the Amherst Regional Schools! Thanks to hundreds of donors this year, AEF is putting donor generosity to work, helping assuage a few of the most urgent needs and providing support for important programs. As a result of recent conversations with the principals, this grant is intended to support the schools and our kids in the following areas: -ARHS: to support the restoration of funds to underwrite stipends for club advisors -ARMS: for professional development in the area of differentiated instruction -Fort River: to provide stipends to staff members who will be developing and implementing a new project with the UMass Amherst Commonwealth College & Office of Community Service Learning to support students with enrichment programming -Wildwood: to support further professional development in the Lucy Calkins Workshop Model for the Language Arts program -Crocker Farm: to support the school’s Wednesday afternoon enrichment clubs -Marks Meadow: for after school clubs and enrichment activities, and to expand the repertoire of materials to be used by our Intervention teachers in math and reading. -Pelham: for library books. -Leverett/Shutesbury: to enrich programming AEF continues their fundraising efforts and looks forward to working with Superintendent Rodriguez, the principals and teachers next year to make the most effective use of future grants. http://www.amhersteducationfoundation.org Also, you can still make an end-of-year gift in honor of a teacher or staff member by making a donation to the AEF. They'll deliver a personalized Thank You card to the person you wish to honor during the last week of school and your contribution will be used for grants to schools next year. Click on image to enlarge and print form.

Don't Forget to Fill Out the Online Survey!

The Superintendent's office has asked the parents of all the district schools to fill out an online survey about your child's experiences during the current school year. Please don't forget to take a few minutes to fill it out! Click here for the elementary school survey.

Upcoming Community Events

Please note that these events are not sponsored by Parent Council. 6th grade girls are invited to “You Win,” a high impact, interactive anti-bullying program that tackles the social issues that girls face repeatedly during their school years. Date: Saturday June 13th; Time: 9-11 am, Place: First Baptist Church in Amherst, in the lower level of the church, enter through the rear. RSVP: Anita Sever asever@gscwm.org. COST: $10/girl if not a Girl Scout. This event is open to all girls and is sponsored by Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts. Music Together For Valley Families offers summer classes for young children and their parents/caregivers. Through May 29, 2009: Free sample classes offered celebrating 10 years of Music Together® for Valley Families, an internationally recognized parent/child music enrichment program. Eight week Summer session begins June 23 and registration deadline is June 8. Locations are in Amherst at Immanuel Lutheran Church, at The Congregational Church Parish House in Belchertown, The Children’s Museum at Holyoke and All Saint’s Episcopal Church in So. Hadley. Call (413) 259-9400 or see www.valleymusicgroup.com for more information. Please call for available class times and to reserve a space. 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 description. 3. Contact information (website or 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.

Ongoing Fundraisers

Atkins Farms Country Market. Use your Atkins card when you shop at Atkins Farms Country Market, and they will donate a percentage of your purchase to Fort River School. Just show the card when you are checking out. Atkins has provided us with one card per family, which should have come home in an envelope with your youngest Fort River child. There is an expiration date on the card, which is the date that youngest child graduates from Fort River. It's another easy way to earn money for your school! Stop & Shopʼs A+ BonusBucks Program. This program has ended for the year: Fort River has earned $2,198.43!! Please keep in mind that you will have to re-register your card next fall for the next school year. Thanks to everyone who participated. Box Tops For Education. Keep clipping and bringing the Box Tops to the office! Even though have made our last submission for this school year, we will hold all additional box tops clipped this year and over the summer for submission next October. Big Y Education Express. Use your Big Y Express Savings Club card and Fort River can earn points for buying equipment and supplies! Visit the Big Y customer service desk and fill out a form that will link Fort River with your card. Fort River ID # 5947. Target Take Charge of Education. Designate 1% of the value of your purchases to Fort River every time you use your Target REDcard (credit card). Visit www.Target.com/tcoe . Fort River ID 58645. Cellphones & Ink Jet Cartridges. Protect the environment and raise money for Parent Council by donating used digital cellphones and ink jet cartridges. Please deliver to the Main Office.