Volunteers Needed for 2009-2010

The following Fort River Parent Council Events need volunteers! If you are interested in assisting with any of these please contact Sue Borden (FRPC.sborden@gmail.com). Also, please note the following calendar items scheduled for the end of the summer: New Family Welcome Mon, August 24, 6:30 - 8 pm Staff Welcome Back Day Wed, August 26, TBA =================================================================================== Student Directory - Volunteer needed to coordinate Advertising Sales. This occurs in late summer / early fall. This person will work with Hana Rivkin who will be coordinating the Student Directory production. Family Fair Coordinator - One or two people needed to help coordinate this early fall all-school event. The Family Fair helps welcome everyone back to school AND helps fund the 6th grade camping trip. The Family Fair is run by the sixth graders who create/run games and/or sell food. The coordinator(s) will work in conjunction with the 6th grade teachers in informing the Fort River community, ordering / obtaining pizzas & drinks and organizing the sale and distribution of food by the 6th graders the night of the fair. Mr Wallace is the key contact. Cultural Enrichment Committee- This volunteer notifies teachers of cultural events in the area, orders the tickets the teachers request, and submits applications for grant reimbursement if the events qualify. This is an easy job that requires early fall paperwork and coordination. Book Fair - Volunteer needed to work with Diane Caraker in organizing the Fall Bookfair ocurring in early December. 6th grade Graduation Coordinator(s)- One or two sixth grade parents are needed to coordinate June graduation. There are many 6th grade parent volunteers for this committee. The coordinator organizes the committee to: decorate the gym, prepare the slideshow, and purchase the class gift. The fifth grade parents plan the reception after the ceremony. Field Day - One or two coordinators needed to organize volunteers for Field Day. This event takes place on a school day in June and involves the entire school. The activities are planned with the Physical Education teachers. The coordinator's job involves informing teachers and parents of the upcoming event as well as being at Field Day to connect volunteers with their stations / equipment. Staff/Teacher Appreciation Luncheon - We need one or two people to organize this June event to thank the Fort River teachers and staff. This job involves finding and coordinating with the restaurant as well as sending invitations and counting RSVP's (which can be done electronically). MultiCultural Fair - Coordinator(s) needed for this new Spring all school event. It is planned as a potluck community building event that will occur in May. Summer Read-a-thon Coordinator(s) - This is a great way to encourage students to read over the summer -- and (by getting people to sponsor them) to raise money for Fort River. In the spring folders are given to students who want to participate, and in the fall small prizes are distributed to all students who turn in a booklist. Room Parents - Room Parents check in with the teacher monthly to see what is needed (snacks, field trip volunteers, etc), update the teacher's online wishlist monthly, plan a class pot-luck, and may organize a class gift in December and/or June. Although we can't officially set room parents for classrooms until the class lists are announced in August, we are hoping to get a list of wiling volunteers now to help make this process easier in the fall.

New Assistant Principal Hired

From the Principal:

I'm very pleased to say that I have offered the Assistant Principal position to Susan Kennedy Marx, and she has accepted. I'm sure many of you know that Susan did an excellent job working in Guidance at Fort River this past year, and she also has extensive experience in administration. I am very confident that Susan will be an excellent Assistant Principal, and Fort River will continue to work on "taking it to the next level" with Susan in this position. Please join me in welcoming Susan in her new role at Fort River. I hope you are all able to enjoy your summer. Sincerely, Ray Sharick

Upcoming School Events

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL. Monday, June 22nd, FULL DAY. First Day of School 2009-2010, Thursday, August 27, Grades 1-6 Monday, August 31st, Kindergarten. Note: Items in teal are sponsored by Fort River Parent Council.

A Message from Ann McLaughlin, Keeper of the Blog

Dear Fort River Friends and Families, I can't believe the end of the school year is upon us once again! I have enjoyed working on this website throughout the year. Thanks to everyone who has sent me positive feedback and notes of appreciation. It's great to know my efforts have been helpful to parents trying to keep track of the many activities going on at school! I currently have 310 subscribers to the Parent Council emails, which is a big increase from 171 subscribers at this time last year. Unfortunately, some of you will be leaving us soon for the Middle School. If you no longer want to receive updates from me, please send any email to the following address: fort_river_parent_council_newsletter-unsubscribe@npogroups.org. You will be automatically unsubscribed. Just be sure to send the email from the same address that you used to subscribe in the first place. If you have trouble unsubscribing, please send me an email at damclaughlin@comcast.net and I will take care of it for you. Good luck to all of you who are leaving Fort River. We will miss you! This will be my last regular update to the website for the school year, but I will send out any last-minute updates as needed until Monday. Don't forget that Monday is the last day of school, with a normal dismissal time of 3:05pm. Have a wonderful summer everyone! See you in August! Sincerely, Ann McLaughlin

You Still Have Time to Do the Survey! June 22nd is the Deadline

The Superintendent’s office has asked the parents of all the district schools to fill out an online survey about your child’s experiences during the current school year. Please take a few minutes to fill it out ! Here's the link for the Fort River survey: http://is.gd/ZXoc Paper copies are available in the Principal's Office. The deadline for completing online surveys is 11:00 p.m. on the last day of school, Monday, June 22nd. Paper surveys should be returned either to the Principal’s Office of your school or to the Superintendent’s Office at 170 Chestnut Street by 4:00 p.m. on June 22nd.

New Book About Amherst: Amherst A-Z

Amherst A-Z, 1759-2009 is hot off the press and available for purchase. This highly readable book is loaded with photos and brief commentary on more than 100 Amherst topics. For example, C contains Cold War Bunker, Collapsing Skirt Factory, Cambodian Community (featuring Fort River dancers), Conservation Areas, and the Conch Shell used to call early citizens to Town Meeting. Look under S for schools (featuring some familiar Fort River faces), Shoes in the Chimney, Slaves (slavery existed in Amherst through the 1770s), and Sand Dunes. It was written by historian Elizabeth Sharpe, edited by Debbie Gabor and designed by Mary Zyskowski, all Fort River parents. 82 pages, full color, $20. Available at local bookstores and the Amherst Historical Society. In commemoration of Amherst's 250th; all profits go to the Amherst Historical Society For more information contact elizabeth.sharpe@comcast.net.

Upcoming Community Events

Please note that these events are not sponsored by Parent Council. 18th Annual Taste of Amherst. June 19-20. The Taste starts this evening at 5pm! Lots of great food, entertainment, and fun! Lots more info here. Certified Teacher w/Masters in Early Childhood Ed. Available all summer for tutoring and/or childcare. Victoria Bruno, phone (973) 495-4595, email: indigo026@aol.com Music Together For Valley Families, an internationally recognized parent/child music enrichment program, offers summer classes for young children and their parents/caregivers. They are celebrating 10 years of classes in the area. The eight week Summer session begins June 23 and the registration deadline has been extended. Please call first to check availability. Locations are in Amherst at Immanuel Lutheran Church, at The Congregational Church Parish House in Belchertown, The Children’s Museum at Holyoke and All Saint’s Episcopal Church in So. Hadley. Call (413) 259-9400 or see www.valleymusicgroup.com for more information. Please call for available class times and to reserve a space. 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.