Breaking News: It's Official--Superintendents Resign

The following is from the ARPS website:

Superintendents Vivian and Sprague Resign; Maria Geryk Appointed

February 27, 2009 The Amherst-Pelham, Pelham, and Amherst School Committees announce acceptance of the resignation of Interim Co-Superintendents Helen Vivian and Al Sprague for personal reasons. Concurrently, the School Committees have appointed Maria Geryk as Interim Superintendent, effective February 27 through June 30, 2009. Ms. Geryk has served as Director of Student Services for the district for the past six years. She has current certifications in the following areas: Intensive Special Needs, School Psychologist, Supervisor/Director - Pupil Personnel Services, and Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent. The School Committees appreciate the services of Dr. Vivian and Mr. Sprague and wish them all the best in their future endeavors.

Upcoming School Events

Regional School Committee Meeting. Monday, March 2. 7:30pm. ARHS Library. The Regional School Committee will vote for the next Superintendent at this meeting. Please see below for more information. Amherst School Committee Meeting. Tuesday, March 3. 7:00pm. ARHS Cafeteria. Discussion of possible cuts to the elementary school budget. Agenda here. Coffee With the Principal. Friday, March 6, 8:30-9:30am. Fort River Cafeteria. Fort River Roasters by Deans Beans. Monday, March 9 . Orders Due (order deadline has been postponed from Friday 3/6). Forms here. Parent Council Meeting. Wed. March 18th, 6:30pm. Fort River Library. Stay tuned for more information on: School Reorganization/Budget Options Data Presentation. Date and time to be announced. Fort River Library. Note: Items in teal are sponsored by Fort River Parent Council.

Box Tops for Education Update: New Record Set!

Thank you to everyone for clipping Box Tops so far this year. For the first time ever we have reached our goal of $500. We actually surpassed the goal with a grand total of $530.50! A huge increase over previous years - $98 in 06-07 and $296 in 07-08. Keep clipping and bringing the Box Tops to the office. Even though this was the last submission for this year, the reason we made our goal was the huge submission we sent in October from Box Tops clipped from March on and over the summer. Again thanks to everyone. I personally love the fund raisers that do not cost me anything but a little time and effort. Jan Kelly

Superintendent Vote on Monday, March 2 at 7:30pm, ARHS Library

The Regional School Committee is going to meet this coming Monday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the High School library to vote on its top pick for School Superintendent. By law, their deliberations must be made in public. All nine members of the Regional School Committee, which includes five Amherst School Committee members, will be voting. Many Fort River parents made a special effort to attend the public sessions with the three superintendent finalist candidates. It's important for Fort River parents to be heard, so please consider contacting the members of the School Committee with your personal impressions about the candidates and your recommendations for how you would like to see them vote. You can email the school committee as a whole by sending an email to the following address: schoolcommittee@arps.org. You can also find contact information for the individual committee members at this link: http://www.arps.org/contact-us/. It's important that you contact the members of the school committee, even if you filled out the forms at the various public sessions. Also, please plan on attending the meeting on Monday evening. If you would like to refresh your memories about the candidates, you can see their resumes on the ARPS.org website. You can watch the evening sessions with each of the candidates online at the ACTV website. Also, please note that there will be an Amherst School Committee meeting the following evening, Tuesday March 3rd, at 7p.m. in the ARHS cafeteria. They will be discussing the possible cuts to next year's budget. The agenda for that meeting can be seen here.

Recent Newspaper Articles about the School District

Please click on the title to view the full text. "Superintendent choice due Monday in Amherst." Daily Hampshire Gazette, Feb. 26. "Cuts Eyed for Regional School," Amherst Bulletin, Feb. 27. "Skarz: Amherst is where I belong," Amherst Bulletin, Feb. 27 "Rodriguez: 'Students smarter than we were,'" Amherst Bulletin, Feb. 27. "Rodriguez 'Interviews' with town," Amherst Bulletin, Feb 13.

Instrumental Music Program Petition

I have been asked to post this link for all who would like to voice their concern about the possible loss of the instrumental music program--Ann McLaughlin. A growing group of parents is very concerned about possibly losing the instrumental music program in the elementary schools. Right now the school committee is considering proposals to eliminate the orchestra and band programs along with the instrumental lessons that support those groups. If you would like to learn more about this and voice your concern, parents have created an online petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/viCCu5ro/petition.html. Sincerely, Sara Eddy and Jessica Payne Crocker Farm Parents

Upcoming Community Events

Please note that these events are not sponsored by Parent Council. The Fresh Air Fund: Host a Child This Summer. The Fresh Air fund is in need of hosts for this summer. Host families are volunteers who open their hearts and home to a child from the city to give a fresh air experience that disadvantaged children never forget. There's lots of info on the Fresh Air Fund website here: http://www.freshair.org/the-fresh-air-fund. FOA Salute to Families. On March 26th, 2009, Family Outreach of Amherst (FOA) will be hosting its Seventh Annual Salute To Families Series, at the the Amherst College Cole Assembly Room of Converse Hall, from 7:00 - 9:00 PM. This year's event, titled "Coming Home: Memoir Writing and Transformation", will feature author Leslie Garris. Ms. Garris is an Amherst native and granddaughter of the authors of numerous popular childrens' books, including The Bobbsey Twins and the Uncle Wiggly series. Ms. Garris will read from her recent book, The House of Happy Endings: A Memoir. Additionally, she will discuss some of the challenges and rewards inherent in writing about one's family, particularly one fraught with mental illness. The evening will be moderated by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Madeleine Blais. Following the book reading and discussion, there will be a reception and book signing. Tickets to this event will be available at the door. The cost of tickets ranges from $25 Benefactor, $10 General, $ Seniors, to free for Students. All proceeds will benefit Family Outreach of Amherst. Multi-Arts Winter 08-09 Online Magazine. Multi-Arts has published its latest edition of its online magazine with contributions from many of the valley's talented young people! Click here to take a look. Multi-Arts Play-Writing Competition. As a way to inspire children and young adults to create stories and promote their imagination, Multi-Arts invites them to enter a play-writing competition. The winner will receive $200 and the staging of their play by children in our summer program. Rules can be found on our website: www.multi-arts.org. 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.