Fall Festival and Sport Swap TONIGHT!

Fall Festival and Sports Swap

Friday, October 24th 2008 6:30-8:00 pm

Fall Festival There will be a costume parade, lots of games and prizes, crafts, and face painting! Please remember; admission is a donation to the festival's snack table if your child is in grades K-2, or for grades 3-6 a food donation to the Amherst Survival Center. Volunteers are STILL needed for the Fall Festival. Please contact Ann Becker (253-6449; annmbecker@comcast.net) if you are willing to volunteer. Reminder: The Fall Festival is NOT a drop-off event! All children must be supervised by a parent/guardian. Sports Swap The Fort River Sports Swap will be happening at the same time as the Fall Festival. Please bring your unwanted clean and usable winter clothes and sporting equipment to the school lobby on your way into the Fall Festival. This is a take-it-or-leave-it event without money or obligation. Possible items include but are not limited to dance clothes/shoes, skates and skating clothes, soccer equipment, hats, gloves, coats, snowsuits, and skiing equipment. All winter coats remaining at the end of the evening will be donated to our upcoming Winter Coat Drive. Please note: you can simply bring your items and drop them with us at the door. There is no obligation to bring anything in order to take something. Contact: Peter Wood cpwolfwood@hotmail.com.

Election Day Bake Sale--Tuesday, Nov. 4th During the Election

Click on picture to enlarge! 

Upcoming Community Events

Please note that these events are not sponsored by Parent Council. HITCHCOCK CENTER ENCHANTED FOREST: CREATURES OF OUR FOREST -- A NON-SCARY, FAMILY HALLOWEEN EVENT. Friday, October 24, 5 to 8:30 p.m. and Saturday, October 25, 5 to 8:30 p.m. Rain date: Sunday, October 26, 5 to 8:30 p.m. Every October the trails at the Hitchcock Center come alive with a fun and intriguing assortment of nature creatures. This year you will meet creatures that live right here in our eastern hardwood forests. Adults and children of all ages will enjoy meeting our magical characters as you are guided along the pumpkin-lit trails. Walks leave the center every 15 minutes and last approximately 45 minutes. Simple crafts and games and a visit to a fortune teller in the Center are included in the fee. Seasonal baked goods will be on sale. This is one of the most popular and fun events we hold all year and is always sold out. Reservations for a specific date and time are required. Call early to register by phone. Indoor activities close promptly at 8:30 p.m., so if you are registered for a later walk please arrive with enough time to participate in the indoor activities before your walk. Pre-registration is required; please call (413) 256-6006. Member: $8, Non-member: $12 . No charge for children age 2 and under. Group rates are not available. AMHERST TRIVIA BEE, Thursday, October 30, 2008, 7:00-9:00pm, Middle School Auditorium. FOR TEAMS: To sponsor a team or play on a team contact Linda Rotti at Jones, Town and Country, 549-3700. Proceeds to benefit the Amherst Education Foundation, Inc. Currently there are 20 plus teams registered, we need 10 more teams to fill the stage. Teams, which are comprised of area business or 4 individuals form a group. For instance 4 elementary school principals who are out to prove they are "Smarter Than a 5th Grader". The entry fee is 125.00 per team. The committee will also pair up a 4-player teams with a sponsor if the team does not have one. We get our sponsors from area businesses, who support the Amherst Education Foundation's mission and see it as an opportunity to participate in a community wide event! THE QUESTIONS: We have a team of trivia bee question makers who are hidden away in a sealed room grinding out secret questions in all different categories (Ha, ha). This year we are adding a special flash round of Amherst area trivia in preparation to Amherst's 250-year celebration next year! THE AUDIENCE: What a great family evening out. Only $3 admission per audience member. Baked goods and lots of fun for all ages. Come join us, the bigger the crowd the more fun! All proceeds benefit Amherst Education Foundation. Multi-Arts Electronic Magazine. Allow yourself to be surprised, delighted, and inspired. Children's creativity and depth of thinking can be mesmerizing. Take a look at Multi-Arts Electronic Magazine: http://www.multi-arts.org/newsletter/10-08/index.html. 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.

Upcoming School Events

School Governance Council Ballots Due. Friday, Oct. 17th. Early Release Days. 1:20 dismissal. Tuesday, Oct. 21st & Thursday, Oct. 23rd. Parent-teacher conferences will take place on these afternoons. Presentation by Principal Ray Sharick on Fort River's MCAS Results. Friday, Oct. 24th, 8:30-9:30am. This is a second informational session with a brief Powerpoint presentation & question and answer period. Parent Council will also be serving coffee and light refreshments during the presentation. In the Fort River Cafeteria. Fall Festival and Fort River Swap. Fri., Oct. 24th, 6:30-8:00pm. Fort River Cafeteria. See below for more information. Coffee With a Principal. Friday, Nov. 7th, 8:30-9:15am. Please join Principal Ray Sharick and/or Asst. Principal Lianne Suarez-Werlein for coffee, light breakfast foods and casual conversation in the cafeteria. Younger siblings are welcome to attend. Fort River Roasters by Dean's Beans Orders Due. Friday, Nov. 7th. Please send in your forms to the Parent Council mailbox. Click here for form. **Items in teal are sponsored by Fort River Parent Council.

Don't Forget the Fall Festival & Fort River Swap! Friday, Oct. 24th, 6:30-8:00pm.

Parent Council will be holding this year's Fall Festival on Friday, Oct. 24th (next week). This is one of Parent Council's most popular and fun events, complete with a costume parade, games and crafts, and of course, food. The kids (and some parents!) wear their Halloween costumes. We hope to see you all in your costumes!

Volunteers are STILL needed for the Fall Festival. Please contact Ann Becker (253-6449; annmbecker@comcast.net) if you are willing to volunteer. A reminder: the Fall Festival is NOT a drop-off event! All children must be supervised by a parent/guardian. Also, at the same time as the Fall Festival, we will also be holding a Fort River Swap. Please bring your unwanted clean and usable winter clothes and sporting equipment to the school lobby on your way into the Fall Festival. This is a take-it-or-leave-it event without money or obligation. Possible items include but are not limited to dance clothes/shoes, skates and skating clothes, soccer equipment, hats, gloves, coats, snowsuits, and skiing equipment. Bring your items to the Family Fair and drop them off in the school lobby. Contact: Peter Wood cpwolfwood@hotmail.com

Amherst's Community Choices: Let Your Voice Be Heard!

The Facilitation of Community Choices Committee was appointed by the Amherst Select Board last May with the task of reviewing the components of Amherst's budget, formulating alternative scenarios for the next 5 years, and presenting their results to us, the citizens of Amherst. In turn we are being asked to study and debate their findings, and to provide our own feedback. The Committee with then use these results to make recommendations to the Finance Committee and Town Meeting. At last night's Parent Council meeting, Fort River parent and committee member, Alison Donta, gave an informative presentation about the outlook for our Town's budget for the next 5 years (hint: it's not pretty!). It is important that we, as parents of children in the public schools, be aware of the budget outlook, not only for the town as a whole, but also of the schools, which make up a large portion of the town's overall budget. If you weren't able to attend last night's meeting, you can view a lot of information about the budget and the various funding scenarios on the committee's website: www.amherstchoices.org. Please take some time to look at their site and to give feedback on their online questionnaire. You can also download paper copies of the questionnaire from the website. The deadline for submitting feedback is November 4th. Please encourage your friends and neighbors to do the same! There are also several more upcoming budget presentations by the committee that are open to the public: Monday October 20, Bangs Center Room 101, 2 p.m. – 3 p.m. Tuesday October 21, ACTV Studio with the TMCC, 7 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. Tuesday October 28, Amherst Club, 12:30 p.m.

Parent Council Meeting Calendar 2008-09

Here's the schedule for this year's Parent Council Meetings. September 10: Wed 8:30 AM October 16: Thurs 6:30 PM November 19: Weds 8:30 AM January 8: Thurs 8:30 AM March 18: Wed 6:30 PM May 7: Thurs 8:30 AM June 3: Wed 8:30 AM Morning meetings are held in the cafeteria. Evening meetings are held in the school library.