Upcoming School Events

Election Day Bake Sale. Tues. Nov. 4th. During voting hours. Donations of baked goods and volunteers to sell them are needed. Don't forget to stop by and buy something! Click here 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. Veteran's Day. Tuesday, Nov. 11th. No School. Parent Council Meeting. Tues. Nov. 18th. 8:30-9:30am. In the cafeteria. School Committee Meeting. Tuesday, Nov. 18th, 7pm. High School Library. **Items in teal are sponsored by Fort River Parent Council.

Don't Forget to Vote: Tues. Nov. 4th.

This coming Tuesday, Nov. 4th is election day. Polls are open from 7am to 8pm. Please be prepared to wait to vote: turnout is expected to be large! I would personally like to ask you to be aware of the issues raised by Ballot Question #1 about eliminating the state income tax. The outcome of this question could have a huge impact on our schools and our town. As parents of children in our public schools, it is important for you all to be informed when you step into the voting booth. Here's some voting information to get you started!

CLICK TO VIEW THE STATE/FEDERAL 2008 BALLOT CLICK TO VIEW THE AMHERST BALLOT

CANDIDATES AND BALLOT QUESTIONS

The 2008 Massachusetts ballot features state, national, and presidential elections, as well as three ballot questions.

• Candidates on the ballot
• Question 1: Eliminating state income tax
• Question 2: Change in marijuana laws
• Question 3: Prohibit dog racing for wagering purposes
• Download a voter information guide (PDF)

ABSENTEE BALLOTS

You can vote by absentee ballot if you:

• Will be absent from your city or town on election day
• Have a physical disability that prevents you from voting at the polling place
• Cannot vote at the polls due to religious beliefs

The deadline for applying for an absentee ballot is noon the day before the election -- Monday, Nov. 3, 2008. You can fill out your absentee ballot at the clerk's office, request that an absentee ballot be mailed to you, or download an application below.

Absentee ballot applications:

• Absentee Ballot Application (PDF)
• Peticion de Voto en Ausencia (PDF)

Information for this guide was compiled from the Massachusetts secretary of state's office: http://www.sec.state.ma.us/. Sincerely, Ann McLaughlin, Parent Council Secretary. Thanks to the Wildwood PTO putting this information together.

Fall Festival Pictures

Pictures of some of the great costumes (& kids!) that were seen at this year's Fall Festival.

Parent Council Thanks Fall Festival Volunteers

The fall festival and sports swap was a great success thanks to the efforts of a lot of parents and Fort River alums! Hats off to Jen Ditkoff, Peter Wood, Pam Reitkirk, Diane Caraker. Alisa Braverman, Joy Sullivan, Mikey Cutting, Leah Hebert, Gloria McCann, Ann McLaughlin, Carole Slaughter, Mary Donoghue, Andy Donoghue, Klaus Becker,Anna Sullivan, Courtney Milne, Shelby Cutting, Rachel Madowitz, Sam Becker, Johann Becker,Amelia Ahlborg, Louise Levy, Jay Levy for running a craft/game or set-up or clean up. Also the fair would not be a success without the many donations of supplies and cupcakes/cookies (please forgive me if I missed anyone): Michelle Spirko,Catherine Sanderson,Edy Howe,Mike Lynch,Carrie Turkott, Iris Berkman, Debra Russell,Margit Carkoff,Natalie Stafford,Elisabeth Becker. Finally, kudos to West farm in Hadley for supplying 100 mini pumpkins at a much reduced rate for the pumpkin decorating craft! Hope to see you all next year!

Box Tops for Education: Update

Thanks to all who have been busily cutting Box Tops Coupons. The first submission was this week and we sent in over 3,300 box tops totaling $338.00! This is the best we have ever done and we hope that everyone will keep checking products to make certain they are not throwing away coupons. They may only be worth 10 cents each, but over time that adds up. For comparison, last year we earned $128.75 for the fall submissions with a total for the year of $295. The year before our total for the year was $97.00! We are off to an amazing start! The final submissions for checks to be received this school year will be February 28. Please keep clipping and sending the Box Tops to school (There is a box on the front table in the main office.) Each year our goal has been $500 and this year we may even exceed it! In addition to cutting coupons, you may also register on the Box Tops for Education website for periodic raffles of Box Tops. Once you have registered, you can purchase things through the Box Tops Market Place from many on-line companies. If you ever order things on-line from places like Target, Barnes and Noble, The Gap, or Lands End to name a few, consider registering at Box Tops and accessing these sites through the Market Place. Target for example will donate 1.5% of the total purchase to our school. I am not asking anyone to buy anything they do not already need, just take a few minutes to see if there is a way for your purchase to help out Fort River School. This is the best fund raiser as it does not require any monetary donation, just a few minutes to get out the scissors and clip. So when you are preparing Thanksgiving dinner look for the Box Tops symbol. Let’s exceed our goal for the year! Thanks, Jan Kelly

Hillside Pizza Fundraiser

Back by Popular Demand: Hillside Pizza Fundraiser The Parent Council is very excited to announce another Hillside Pizza Fundraiser for the Fort River Playground! Thanks to everyone who participated last year we made over $850 for picnic tables and benches. Let’s try to beat our record this fall and make a larger contribution to the planned landscaping around the playground. Up to $4 of every pizza and cookie tub sold goes to the Fort River Playground Fund. The more product we sell the more Hillside gives back to Fort River. Order forms will be available soon and due on November 25. Pizza pick-up will be Friday, December 5. Keep an eye out for the order form and start planning your pizza party! Questions? Contact Pam Rietkerk at pjrietkerk@aol.com or 256-2605.

Lunch Cards

About our New Lunch Cards As you may know by now, the company that provides our food service has instituted a new procedure for payment which involves the use of individual cards with bar codes on them. Each student has been assigned a card that s/he can swipe at the check-out counter. The primary reason the school district implemented this procedure is to ensure the anonymity of students who receive free or reduced lunch. (Prior to this, students on free/reduced lunch would give their names to the person at the check-out counter, who checked them off of a list.) Now, all students will have a card, and it will not be clear to everyone whether a student gets free or reduced lunch. These cards will also have the benefit of making the lunch lines move more quickly, which will give students a longer time to eat their lunches. In order for this system to work efficiently, it would be very helpful if students put money on their cards once a week or month and spend it gradually. (It makes no sense for them to have the cards if they continue to pay with cash.) If your child purchases school lunches, please assist us in implementing our new payment system by pre-paying for one week, two weeks or even a month. Thank you!