Upcoming Events

Teacher Curriculum Workday. Friday, Nov. 21st. NO SCHOOL. Hillside Pizza Fundraiser Order Forms Due. Tuesday, Nov. 25th. Get order form here. See below for more information. Thanksgiving Recess. Thurs. Nov. 26-Fri. Nov. 27. NO SCHOOL. Fort River Book Fair. Tuesday, December 2 through Friday, December 5, 9am-12noon. There will be after school hours on Friday, December 5 from 3-7pm. See below for more information. Coffee With the Principals. Friday, Dec. 5, 8:30-9:15am. In the cafeteria. Join Principal Ray Sharick and Asst. Principal Lianne Suarez-Werlein for coffee and light refreshments. Younger siblings welcome. Fort River Roasters by Dean's Beans Coffee Orders Due. Friday, Dec. 5. Click here for order form. Hillside Pizza Fundraiser--Pizza Pick-Up Day. Friday, Dec. 5. Pick up your pizza orders and shop at the Book Fair after school. **Items in teal are sponsored by Fort River Parent Council.

Have YOU Ordered Your Hillside Pizza?

Please Support the Final Push to Finish the New Playground!

Hillside Pizza samples will be available after school on Tuesday, November 25. The deadline for order forms is Wednesday, November 26.

Order forms are available HERE. Pizza pick-up day in Friday, Dec. 5th. Pick up your pizza and shop at the Book Fair after school!

Fall 2008 Book Fair

The Fall Book Fair will take place from

Tuesday, December 2 through Friday, December 5th

9:00am-12:00noon Extended hours during Pizza Pick-Up Day, Friday, Dec. 5th from 3:00pm-7:00pm.

It's a great time of year to pick up some books for the holidays, special occasions and of course winter vacation, all while helping to support the many activities offered by the Fort River Parent Council. Families are always welcome to visit the Book Fair with their child's class or at any other time that we are open. If you can't make it to the fair, you can send your child with cash in an envelope or a check made payable to Fort River Parent Council. If you choose to send a check, please designate on the memo line a maximum amount available for book purchases. (5% sales tax is added to the price of all purchases.) Credit/debit cards are also accepted. If you are interested in making a purchase for a specific teacher or for the Fort River Library, wish lists will be at the Cashier's Table to help with your selection. Also, anybody who would like to donate to the Scholarship Fund can leave money at the Cashier's Table. (This fund is used to assure that every Fort River student goes home from the book fair with a least one book.) Also, Scholastic Books, Food for Thought Books, and Ellare Books (a local home run book store) provide an excellent selection of books for both children and adults--fiction and non-fiction, science fiction, multicultural, educational, and activity books all at very reasonable prices! VOLUNTEERS: If you would like to volunteer to work at the book fair, please contact Diane Caracker at Dianec711@comcast.net. Thank you all for making the Fort River Book Fair a success year after year and continuing to foster your child's love for reading!

Help Us Win a Florence Savings Bank Customer's Choice Grant!

Florence Savings Bank’s annual $50,000 Customers’ Choice Community Grants Program is now accepting votes for non-profit organizations. Florence Savings Bank gives awards up to $5000 and this year they will also be distributing $500 grants to 6 non-profit organizations randomly selected from the pool of non-profits which receive less than 1% of the vote. Voting is limited to Florence Savings Bank customers and last year’s winners needed only 68 votes to win. We urge all of you who are FSB customers to cast your vote for the Fort River Parent Council by completing a ballot sheet (available at FSB branches) or by visiting their website www.florencesavings.com. There is only one vote per customer and all ballots must be completed and submitted by December 31, 2008. The grant awards will be announced in March. Please help us win a Customers’ Choice Community Grant!

Annual Family Donation Fund: Update

Thanks to all the families who have already contributed to our Annual Family Donation Fund. This fund supports all Parent Council activities and gets each student a free Fort River directory and yearbook! We have now raised $4,450 from 124 of our 347 families (36% of families), and are still hoping for contributions from ALL families; even a $1.00 donation helps increase our goal of 100% family participation ! Although we suggest $20 a child, contributions of any size are welcome ¬ and all contributions are tax deductible (and anonymous). Checks (to Fort River Parent Council) or cash can be sent to the Parent Council mailbox in the main office. FYI, we are running behind compared to our donations from last year, so if you have forgotten, please send your donations in!

Stop & Shop A+ Bonus Bucks: Reminder

Here's another reminder to sign up for the Stop and Shop Bonus Bucks program. If you already shop at Stop & Shop and have a Stop & Shop card, please sign up ASAP! If you sign up before the end of the month, ALL of your November grocery purchases (including your Thanksgiving feast!) will be counted towards this program. It's incredibly easy to sign up: all you need to do is GET UP RIGHT NOW, GRAB YOUR STOP & SHOP CARD, COME BACK TO YOUR COMPUTER and CLICK HERE: http://www.stopandshop.com/aplus. Then all you need to do is click on "Register Your Card." When you enter your Stop & Shop card number, you have to include 13 digits. Start with the small numbers to the left of the bar code, then the 10 digits under the bar code, then the digit to the right of the bar code. Fort River's school code is 05218. Please register your card ASAP. The program only runs until the April 2nd, so the sooner you do it the more money Fort River will get. Remember, even if you registered your card last year, you need to re-register this year. It is simple and painless! Click here for more info and more ways to register: http://ftriver.blogspot.com/2008/09/stop-bonus-bucks-easy-fundraiser.html. Thanks, Ann

Volunteers Needed

• “Amherst-opoly” Fundraiser: Fort River Parent Council has been asked to participate in a Amherst Elementary School fundraiser, where a group is designing an "Amherst-opoly" monopoly game. If you are interested in this joint school endeavor please contact Sue Borden (FRPC.sborden@gmail.com).
• Gardening Committee: We are nearing the final phase of the playground renovation, which will include work on planting and landscaping (thanks to a lovely design by Carol Pope) and painting games (hop scotch, four square) on the blacktop! If you’d like to be involved in this final phase of the playground, please contact Catherine Sanderson (casanderson@amherst.edu).
• Yearbook: Photos and Help Wanted: Are you interested in learning about publication layout and graphic design? Do you enjoy digital photography? Then come help with the Fort River Yearbook! Parent Council provides a parent/guardian designed yearbook for every student at the end of each school year. Contact: Mary Zyskowski (m.zyskowski@comcast.net).
• Resource Coordinators for Same-Sex Parent Families and for Single-Parent Families: act as a contact for families with questions about Fort River and the community. Contact: Sue Borden(FRPC.sborden@gmail.com).