Friday, August 28, 2009

Welcome Back!

Dear Fort River Parents,

Welcome to the start of the new year!

Parent Council is an organization of parents and guardians who work together to make Fort River a fun, stimulating, and welcoming environment for all children and families. Every parent and guardian is automatically a member of Parent Council.

Here are some of last year’s Parent Council sponsored events:

  • A Free Yearbook and Student Directory for Every Student
  • Family Fair
  • School Picture Day
  • Fall Festival
  • Book Fair
  • Field Day
  • Special Education Staff Needs
  • Classroom Support & Enrichment
  • Extra Funds for Field Trips
  • Library Funds
  • Scholarship Fund
  • After School Clubs
  • Staff Appreciation Luncheon
  • Bus Driver Breakfast
  • And many more …

    To continue these and other activities we hope all parents will make two commitments to Parent Council this year:

    • Volunteer 2 hours of your time.
    • Donate money to our Annual Fund.


    ANNUAL FUND

    This year Parent Council would like to focus time and energy on student events and community building rather than fundraising. If we can raise a significant portion of our $13,000 budget by Sept 25th we will eliminate several time-consuming fundraisers. Please help us by making an early donation to our Annual Fund. Suggested donation is $25-$50 a child, but donating more will help the families who cannot afford as much. All amounts will help us reach our goal. Please choose your tax deductible donation amount:
    • $25

    • $50

    • $75

    • Other
    Send cash or check (payable to Fort River Parent Council) to the Fort River Office (mail it or send it to school with your child to give to his/her teacher) or

    Donate online via PayPal.

    Thanks for all your support !

    Sue Borden
    Parent Council President

    Upcoming School Events

    COFFEE WITH A PRINCIPAL.  Friday, Sept 4.  8:30 am. Cafeteria. Fort River parents are invited to share coffee and light refreshments with Principal Ray Sharick and Asst. Principal Susan Kennedy-Marx.

    LABOR DAY. Monday, Sept. 7. No School.

    PARENT COUNCIL MEETING
    . Wed, Sept 9. 8:45 am, Cafeteria. All parents are invited to attend the first Parent Council meeing of the year.  

    *Items in teal are sponsored by Parent Council.

    Parent Council Thanks Volunteers for Staff/Faculty Welcome Back Brunch

    Parent Council would like to thank the following Fort River parents who helped out and/or donated food items at this week's staff and faculty welcome back event:

    Iris Berkman
    Chris Felton
    Rebecca Fricke
    Elly Hosea
    Jacqueline Kang
    Karen Helfer
    Bart Hollander
    Lynn Logan
    Susan Loring-Wells
    Michael Lynch
    Gloria McCann
    Tammy Rahhal
    Carol Richardson
    Hana Rivkin
    Catherine Sanderson
    Suzanne Schilling
    Matt Schulkind
    Ellie Skinner
    Michele Spirko
    Jenn Wellman
    Traci Wolfe

    And special thanks to Michele Spirko who organized this lovely event!

    Sorry if we missed anyone!

    Thursday, August 27, 2009

    Welcome to the Fort River Parent Council Website

    Welcome to the new school year!

    This is the official website of the Fort River Parent Council. 

    Parent Council is an organization of parents and guardians who work together to make Fort River a fun, stimulating, and welcoming environment for all children and families. Every parent and guardian is automatically a member of Parent Council.

    This website is the place to check for the latest information on all Parent Council events. It is updated by the Fort River Parent Council every Friday during the school year and is completely parent-run. It is not an official publication of the Amherst School District or the Town of Amherst. All content is published solely at the discretion of the Fort River Parent Council.

    SIGN UP FOR PARENT COUNCIL EMAIL REMINDERS. If you're not already on our email list, you might want to consider signing up. You'll get weekly email notifications after the website has been updated, and you'll also get automatic calendar reminders before the various Fort River events such as the Family Fair and Parent Council meetings. Just click on the link below and tell me your name and preferred email address. All Fort River families, staff and faculty are welcome to sign up!

    Subscribe to the Fort River Email list.

    Have you been getting Parent Council emails this year? Have you recently changed your email address? Make sure I have your latest email address or else you won't be kept up-to-date on the latest Parent Council news! Click on the above link to let me know your new email address. Please include your old email address so I can remove it from the list.

    Thanks!
    Ann McLaughlin, Webmaster
    Fort River Parent Council
    damclaughlin@comcast.net

    Monday, August 24, 2009

    Upcoming School Events

    Hi All! We have two events this week before the start of school on Thursday. New Family Welcome - Monday, August 24, 6:30-8 pm. Staff Welcome Back Event - Wednesday, August 26th - 10:30 am drop off for food. Contact: Michelle Spirko email: spirko@pol.net. I'm looking forward to seeing you all soon! Ann McLaughlin

    Tuesday, July 14, 2009

    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.

    Friday, July 10, 2009

    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