New Family Welcome--Help Us Welcome Fort River Newcomers!

The New Family Welcome Popsicle Party is Tuesday, August 31 from 6:30-7:30pm on the FR playground. We have MANY new students in EVERY grade joining the Fort River community this Fall. Please drop by with your kids, have a popsicle, and welcome the new families to our community!

Welcome Back Event for Faculty and Staff

A "Welcome Back" event is planned for our fabulous Fort River faculty and staff on Wednesday, September 1st. Help is needed! This will be a casual drop-in brunch held from 10:30 am until 1:00 pm in the cafeteria. The teachers often linger and socialize, and then may grab some “take-out” to bring back with them as they prepare their classrooms. Volunteers are needed to set up (9:00 – 10:00 am . . . any time), provide the food (make or purchase), and clean up (1:00 – 2:00 pm . . . again, any time). Any help would be greatly appreciated! Here are some suggestions for the meal:

fresh fruit (whole is fine)
fresh veggies
salads
egg dishes
casseroles
sandwich items
quiches
noodle or rice dishes
baked goods
snacks
beverages (e.g. juice, lemonade, iced tea, fancy tea bags! Coffee will also be available.)
 
Fresh cut flowers from your garden would also be great; lots of families brought flowers in last year and many teachers commented on how lovely all of the arrangements were (any drinking glass, can, etc., will do for a creative vase!)

Let's make this a beautiful morning as the faculty and staff return for the upcoming school year! Items can be dropped off in the designated cafeteria (look for posted signs) any time after 9:00 am. Dishes will be washed and available for retrieval in the Main Office on the 1st day of school.

Please respond directly to Michele Spirko if you are able to help or have further suggestions or questions, or sign up here.

Thanks so much, and enjoy/cherish these last few weeks of summer with your kids!

Sincerely,
Michele Spirko
(mom to Colton – 5th grade, Anthea – 2nd grade, and Korinna - preschool)
spirko@pol.net

Come Have Coffee with the Principal on the First Day of School

On the first day of school you are invited to pay a brief visit to your child's new classroom and meet their new teacher. Please join us directly after for the first "Coffee with the Principal" in the cafeteria from 8:30-9:30am on Thursday, September 2. Kindergarten families are invited to a special "Coffee with the Principal" in the cafeteria from 8:30-9:30am on Tuesday, September 7.

Room Parents Needed

You will receive a packet on the first day of school which will give full descriptions of many volunteer opportunities. We do need to fill the posts of room parent very soon after the start of school. If you are willing to volunteer as a room parent, please contact Michele Spirko at michele.fortriver@gmail.com.

Time to Spruce Up Fort River!

Dear Fort River families,
I hope you are all enjoying your summer!

Please join Principal Sharick and others from the community on Friday, August 20 & Saturday, August 21 to spruce up Fort River for the start of the school year! These are the housekeeping projects which need some attention:

1.   Painting part of the cafeteria.
One of Principal Sharick's continuing priorities is to upgrade the cafeteria. The international flags were taken down and cleaned, more new long tables have arrived, and an exciting composting program will be introduced at the start of the year. But before those clean flags are rehung, there is some painting to be done!! The plan is to paint all the outdated wood paneling on the far side of the caf. Many hands will make this easy and should make a big, bright difference. Please join us!

2.  Spreading wood chips.
 We also need volunteers to spread wood chips on the playground. The chips will be there and folks who want to take a break from painting can step out for fresh air and wood chip spreading! (You can also come for the spreading only!)

3.   Gardening.
And once again we need a few volunteers to thin out and cut back the plantings around the Fort River sign at the entrance to the school.

Please come ANY TIME you can spare for ANY of the projects on 8/20 and/or 8/21 from 8:00am-5:00pm. Mr. Sharick will provide the donuts and coffee!!  Also, if you want to help with the spreading of wood chips or gardening but cannot make those dates, let me know. We may organize an alternative time for those projects.

Please email and let me know if you can come so we can make sure we have enough help to get things done.

Thanks and enjoy the rest of the summer,
Pam Rietkerk
pamrietkerk@gmail.com

Subscribe to Fort River PGO Emails

If you aren't already receiving emails from the Fort River PGO, please consider signing up. You'll get weekly email notifications after the PGO website has been updated, and you'll also get automatic calendar reminders before the various Fort River events such as the Family Fair and PGO meetings. Just click on the link below and tell me your name and preferred email address. All Fort River families, staff and faculty are welcome to sign up!

Subscribe to the Fort River Email list.

Have you been getting PGO emails this year? Have you recently changed your email address? Make sure I have your latest email address or else you won't be kept up-to-date on the latest PGO news! Click on the above link to let me know your new email address. Please include your old email address so I can remove it from the list.

Thanks!
Ann McLaughlin,V.P. for Website
Fort River PGO
damclaughlin@comcast.net

Backpacks Project

In keeping with the Social Justice Commitment of the Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools, aspiring toward equity of opportunity, inclusion, respect and community-building in and out of the classroom, our district has envisioned the Back Packs Project.  This initiative has been designed to help support income-eligible families to acquire the necessary school supplies their children need to be ready for the first day of school and the academic year. 

This project will provide free access to backpacks filled with appropriate, grade-level supplies, to families who qualify for Free/Reduced lunch.  Our goal is to help ease the financial burden the beginning of the school year can mean for families struggling financially.

We will be collecting supplies during the month of July and the first two weeks of August.  Donations can be dropped off in the Central Office of our district, located in 170 Chestnut Street.  If you have any questions, please write to Dr. Marta Guevara, guevaram@arps.org or call 413-362-1859. Our goal is to collect enough supplies to provide 200 back packs for elementary students and 200 for middle and high school students.  Back packs will be available for families the week before school begins.  We will notify families the schedule for distribution during the week of August 23, 2010.

The following supplies will be collected:

For elementary school students:
Assignment books
Backpacks
Colored pencils
Contraction paper
Crayons
Drawing Paper
English Dictionary (both, regular and picture)
Erasers
Folders
Glue sticks
Markers
Pencils (#2)
Pencil sharpeners
Rulers

For MS and HS students:
Assignment books
Backpacks
Binders
Calculators (both, graphic and regular)
Cards (3 x 5)
English Dictionary (both, regular and picture)
Erasers
Folders
Graphic Paper
Highlighters
Locks for lockers
Loose leaf paper
Notebooks
Pencils (#2)
Pencil sharpeners
Rulers