Thursday, November 5, 2009

Upcoming School Events

School Council Meeting. Thursday, Nov. 5, 7pm. FR Conference Room.

Fort River Roasters Order Forms Due. Friday, November 6. Click here for form

Coffee With A Principal.
Friday, November 6, 8:30 am. FR Cafeteria. All Fort River parents/guardians are invited to share coffee and light refreshments with Principal Sharick and Asst. Principal Kennedy-Marx. Younger siblings welcome. Please note that Amherst School Superintendent Alberto Rodriguez is scheduled to attend this month's coffee!

Picture Retake Day, Tuesday, Nov. 10th  from 9am-12pm. Click here for details.

Veteran's Day. Wed., Nov. 11. No School.

Parent Council Meeting. Wed. Nov. 18, 8:45-9:45am. Fort River Cafeteria.

Teacher Curriculum Workday, Fri., Nov. 20. No School.

Thanksgiving Recess
. Nov. 26-27. No School.


*Items in teal are sponsored by Parent Council.

Limited Supply of Fort River T-shirts and Bags Available!


 
We still have the following sizes and colors available:

Navy t-shirts:  (please note that the kids sizes in Navy run quite small)

Kids sizes small, medium, and large
Adult sizes small, large, and x-large

Celadon t-shirts (the light green): (Kids’ sizes run small, not quite as small as the navy)

Kids sizes small and medium
Adult sizes large and x-large.

EcoConscious bags (11.5 x 14.5 x 5, with handles long enough to fit over the shoulder)

Olive
Black

Please e-mail Libby Stanforth (bstanforth@comcast.net) if you’d like to purchase any of these items!  Prices are as follows:

Kids’ t-shirts    $12
Adult t-shirts    $14
Bags               $14

Click here to see t-shirt and bag colors.

Fort River Roasters by Dean's Beans: Orders Due Friday, Nov. 6

Don't forget to send or bring in your Dean's Beans orders, due TOMORROW (Friday, Nov. 6).

Here's the order form .

Make checks out to "Fort River Parent Council." 

Questions or comments? Contact Libby Stanforth (bstanforth@comcast.net) or Hana Rivkin (hrivkin@yahoo.com).

The next order due date is Friday, Nov. 6th.

AEF Trivia Bee Results


The Amherst Regional Middle School auditorium was "abuzz" with contestants and spectators at the Amherst Education Foundation's 15th Annual Trivia Bee on Thursday, October 29.  120 contestants, many in costumes, competed for bragging rights to the title of Amherst area trivia champion. Hosted by AEF President Katie Allan Zobel and emceed by State Representative Ellen Story, the evening of challenge, wit and fun netted a record $6,150.00 for the benefit of Amherst, Pelham, Leverett and Shutesbury schools.

While area schools are the big winners from the event, bragging rights belong to the team of bee champion Jones Group Realtors, comprised of Doug Albertson, Tim McGee, Maureen Porter and Micki Sanderson, who won an exciting sudden death playoff against competitors New England Finishing and the Amherst College Center for Community Engagement.  Winning prizes for best costume were the teams from Atkinson Family Practice (Slum"doc" Millionaires), Attorney David Noonan (the Harry Potters) and Minuteman Pest Control (the H1N1 Swine Patrol.)  Awards for best team spirit went to the Amherst Club, New England Greenscape and the Amherst College Center for Community Engagement.   The audience contest, themed Amherst 250th, offered a unique glimpse into Amherst's past and was won by Jackie Churchill.

The trivia bee marks AEF's first fundraising event since the organization completed its strategic plan last year, and launches what promises to be a new era in AEF history.  AEF's mission is to provide significant and consistent support for area teachers and students by awarding grants, funding district-wide projects, and encouraging teacher innovation and academic excellence.

The event was underwritten by Northampton Cooperative Bank and made possible by the local businesses who provided sponsorships for the teams, donated prizes and/or helped with publicity.  The Amherst Education Foundation is profoundly grateful to these businesses for their support, and is already looking forward to another successful Trivia Bee in 2010.   For more information, or to make a tax-deductible gift to the schools via AEF, please visit our website at www.amhersteducationfoundation.org.

Upcoming Community Events

Please note that these events are not sponsored by Parent Council.

Stone House Farm Gifting Classes. At Stone House Farm Arts and Crafts Program, our annual "gifting crafts" classes will begin Monday and Tuesday November 9 and 10.  This year we will make custom teas, wood burn a gift box, make an herb wreath, decorate candles, and more!  These on-going after school crafts classes are $140 a month, and go from 3:30 to 5:30 pm.  Join us for a month or more! For more information, contact Candi at her e-mail  Candace@stonehousefarmbb.com, and check our website stonehousefarmbb.com and select children's program.

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Fort River Parent Council 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 Thursday during the school year. Please send your announcement no later than 5pm Wednesday for inclusion in the week's updates. Also 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.

Easy Ways to Earn $$$ for Fort River!

Stop & Shopʼs A+ BonusBucks Program
Use your Stop & Shop card and Fort River earns a percentage! It's not too late to sign up!  This is an easy way to raise money with absolutely no cost to you. However, for Fort River to receive credit you need to re-designate Fort River each year. Call 1-877-366-2668 or visit www.stopandshop.com/aplus. Fort River ID # 05218. Remember, even if you registered your card last year, you must re-register this year for our school to receive credit. Thanks to everyone who has already signed up. We already have 107 participants. Attending to this simple process makes a HUGE difference to our school. Also, don’t forget to encourage your friends and relatives to do the same. We need your support! Contact Ann McLaughlin if you have any questions or problems.

Big Y Education Express

Use your Big Y Express Savings Club card and Fort River can earn points for buying much needed equipment and supplies! Just visit the Big Y customer service desk and fill out a form that will link Fort River with your card (School ID # 5947). Or go to www.bigy.com/education and sign up from your computer! Whenever you use your card to purchase items designated with the “Education Express” logo, youʼll earn points for our school. 


Target Take Charge of Education

If you have a Target REDcard (credit card), you can designate Fort River to receive up to 1% of the value of your purchases on the card. Go to www.Target.com/tcoe to designate Fort River (School ID # 58645).

Atkins Farms Country Market
Use your Atkins card when you shop at Atkins Farms Country Market, and they will donate a percentage of your purchase to Fort River School. Atkins provided us with one card per family last year, and new cards for new families will be coming soon-- stay tuned! Just show the card when you are checking out. There is an expiration date on the card, which is the date that youngest child graduates from Fort River. 


Box Tops for Education
In case you are not familiar with Box Tops this is an easy way to earn money for Fort River--just take your scissors and clip! Last year we earned over $500. For each Box Top clipped the school receives 10 cents. Just look for the Box Tops logo on products in you already have in your kitchen, cut it out and deliver your box tops to the school's main office. If you would like to learn about the other ways you can make a difference sign up for the Box Tops website at boxtops4education.com. It’s easy, free and you’ll learn about new ways to help our school earn the extra cash it needs.

Cellphones & Ink Jet Cartridges
Protect the environment and raise money for Parent Council by donating used digital cellphones and ink jet cartridges. Please deliver to the Main Office. Cellphones will be recycled, according to EPA regulations, or refurbished and sold, with 100% of the proceeds going to Parent Council.

Amherstopoly On Sale In School Office


Amherstopoly is a collaboration of the Parent Groups of Crocker Farm, Fort River, Mark’s Meadow and Wildwood Schools to raise funds for student enrichment programs. Copies of the game are now available for purchase in the Fort River office. Games are $25 each, cash or check (payable to “Amherstopoly”). If you have any questions, please contact Sue Cairn (scairn@verizon.net). Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, 100% of the money raised through school sales of the game will go directly to benefit the students.

Educational Forum at ARMS: Social-Emotional Development in Early Adolescence

The Counselors at Amherst Regional Middle School will be presenting an educational talk/discussion session for the benefit of parents of middle school. The topic of the first talk will be on the social-emotional development in early adolescence and will be given on Thursday, November 19 from 7:00 to 8:30 pm in the Middle School Library. The material for discussion will include social skills, parenting, keeping students safe in cyberspace, typical development, etc. This is a great way to understand the metamorphosis taking place in your adolescent child and how to deal with it. If you would like specific items to be discussed, please send your request to the Family School Partnership Co-Chair, Rama Janaswamy (doctor_jey2000@yahoo.com), and he will make sure to pass them on to the Counselors ahead of the talk. All parents and families, including those of prospective middle-schoolers, are welcome.