Upcoming School Events

School Council Meeting. Thurs. Jan. 28, 5-6:30pm. Fort River Conference Room.

Band and Orchestra Concert. Monday, Feb. 1. 7pm. Fort River Gymnasium. See below for more info.

Regional School Committee Public Budget Hearing. Tues. Feb. 2, 6:30pm. Amherst Town Hall. Public comment on the Regional School Budget will be heard. See below for more information.

Coffee With the Principals. Friday, Feb. 5, 8:30-9:15am. Fort River Cafeteria. 

Fort River Roasters Coffee Orders Due. Friday, Feb. 5.

Parent Council Meeting. Thurs. Feb. 11. 8:45-9:45am. Fort River Library.

Jump Rope for Heart Jumpathon. Feb. 11 & 12 during school hours. See below for more info.

Winter Recess. Feb. 15-19. No school.

*Items in teal are sponsored by Parent Council.

Regional School Committee Budget Hearing.

Tuesday, February, 2nd at 6:30pm the Regional School Committee will host a public budget hearing at the Town Room in Amherst Town Hall. The Budget Hearing will begin at 7:00 after a short Regional School Committee Meeting.

6th Grade parents and guardians may be particularly interested in reviewing the Middle School/High School budget priorities for next year and giving the administrators your feedback. There will be time for public comment at this meeting.

Please join the discussion about the FY11 priorities for our schools. All community input is welcome. The meeting can be viewed live on ACTV.

Fort River Band and Orchestra Concert, Feb. 1st at 7pm, FR Gymnasium

The Fort River Orchestra and Band concert will be held on Monday evening, February 1, 2010 at 7pm. for parents and friends. A concert for students and staff is to be held on Thursday, Jan. 28th at 2pm. Both concerts will take place in the Fort River gymnasium. Recommended concert dress for the evening will be a white shirt and dark pants/skirt. The duration of each concert will be about 45 minutes.

For the night concert the orchestra will warm up in the music room at 6:30pm and the band will warm up in the cafeteria at 6:15pm. Please try to be prompt!

                                                              Sue Dunbar and Laurie Rabut

Fort River Jumpathon—Feb. 11-12

Fort River is sponsoring a Jump Rope For Heart Jumpathon on February 11 & 12. All students in grades 1-6 will be participating at different times of the day for 45 minutes. Jump Rope for Heart is an event conducted nationwide to educate students about the benefits of aerobic exercise and heart health, while raising funds to support the American Heart Association’s fight against heart disease and stroke. We are encouraging children to establish a healthy lifestyle by including physical activity in their daily lives. Risks for later heart disease are often set in childhood but can be reversed by being physically active, not smoking and eating well. Collection envelopes will be sent home the first week in February with more information. Parents are invited to come and jump with their children on that day.  It is a healthy day for the whole family!

                                                      Yours in fitness,
                                                      Dianna Spaulding
                                                      Physical Education Teacher

Parents please note:

Ms. Spaulding is looking for parent volunteers to help count money during the jumpathon. She needs one or two people per hour. You can check the schedule here to see when your child's class will be jumping. 

Click here for class schedule. 

Teacher/Staff Appreciation Lunch: Volunteer Needed

Parent Council is looking for a volunteer to help organize the teacher appreciation lunch. Any interested parents/guardians should contact Sue Borden at frpc.sborden@gmail.com.

Fort River Families: Let's Help Crocker Farm Build Their New Playground!

Dear Fort River Families,

Re-districting means that many Amherst families will soon be new Crocker Farm families. With the understanding that we are all in this together, and knowing how fortunate we are at Fort River to have a fantastic playground, the Parent Council urges you to open your wallets and help Crocker Farm improve theirs! And remember all families with kids will benefit from having a fun new playground in town!

Please read the message from the Crocker Farm PGO below:

Calling all Amherst residents... We need your help building a new playground at Crocker Farm!

Our existing equipment is almost 20 years old, in bad shape, and many components are broken. The landscaping needs to be updated to adhere to legal codes and provide basic safety. There is simply not enough equipment to meet the physical needs of the school.

The proposed new playground for Crocker Farm is a lively outdoor space which will better support Crocker Farm's growing student body. It also will be a destination play area for the greater Amherst community. Playgrounds encourage children to develop strong social skills, understanding of spatial concepts, and appreciation for physical activity.

With redistricting, it is more important than ever to create a play space that meets the physical needs of a expanding school. We have an ambitious goal of raising $40,000 to have a new playground installed this summer. Please help us reach this goal by donating today!

Donations can be made online at crockerfarmpgo.blogspot.com or mailed to:

Crocker Farm PGO
280 West Street
Amherst, MA 01002
ATTN: Playground

Please note: CF is not a 503(c)3. For more information, please contact Becky at 230-3306 or email the PGO at crockerfarmpgo@gmail.com.

Thank you for your support!

Reminder: Fort River Directories Have Been Sent Home in the Backpacks

We hope you have received your family's copy of the directory. This year one directory has been provided (free!) for each family.  Extra copies can be purchased for $5 at the Fort River Main Office. 
Fort River Parent Council is grateful for your contributions to the Parent Council Annual Fund, which has enabled us to provide directories and yearbooks free of charge for a fifth year.  Your contributions also support many other Parent Council activities and events.

        If you have not yet contributed – it's not too late !

We are still hoping for contributions from ALL families.  Although the suggested donation is $25-$50 a child, contributions of any size are welcome; even a $1.00 donation helps us reach our goal of 100% family participation.  Checks (to Fort River Parent Council) or cash can be sent to the Parent Council mailbox in the main office.  Contributions can also be made online using the PayPal "Donate" button at the top right-hand column of this webpage.

Sue Borden
Parent Council President