¡Felicitaciones! and Congratulations!

Congratulations to Mike and Melanie Morris on the birth of their daughter Maya Emilia on Monday the 28th! We hope that everyone is happy and healthy!

Drink Me!

Reminder: Crocker Java coffee orders are due on the first Wednesday of each month - May 7th is right around the corner folks! Download your order forms here.

Book Sellers & Cookie Bakers Needed!

Can you volunteer for an hour at the Book Fair or can you bake a batch of homemade cookies for the Crocker Cafe on May 7th? If so please contact Suzanne Severin at 256-4730 or Erika Zekos at 256-1045 or studiozed@comcast.net.

Coming Up Soon!

It’s not just the daffodils that are coming up this spring. Make sure you’ve got plans to come to all of these upcoming events at Crocker Farm!

Scholastic Book Fair + Crocker Café
Wed. May 7, 6:30 – 8:00pm
Good books at great prices! Even better is that your purchases support hundreds of dollars of books for the classrooms. Students will have a chance to preview the offerings on Tuesday and to purchase the books during the day or at the evening fair on Wednesday. Info has been sent home in the Crumbs & another flyer should come home this week to remind you.

New this year – the Crocker Café! Socializing and storytelling, milk and cookies in the cafeteria. Let your little ones listen to a good story while you chat during the fair. No fee, but donations will be appreciated to cover the PGO's costs.

Ice Cream Social
Fri. May 16 , 6:00 – 7:30pm
This year the Ice Cream Social steps out on its own. It's going to be a very special event for the whole Crocker community!! Come for cool treats and fun music by renowned children’s musician Roger Tincknell!! Look for details coming home soon.

“Roger's repertoire includes original and contemporary material, as well as traditional folk styles. Ballads, country swing, bluegrass, and yodeling are interspersed with Latin American and international folksongs. Roger accompanies himself on a variety of musical instruments, including guitar, banjo, mandolin, bazouki, harmonica, and piano.” (from RT's website)

PGO Tag Sale
Sat. May 31, All day
We’ll be holding another fantastic All-School Tag Sale! Now is the time to start your spring cleaning and set aside gently used items to donate to the school for the sale. More details coming soon!

Teacher Appreciation Day

Teacher Appreciation Day is May 6th! Last year, the NEA (National Education Association) conducted an online poll asking teachers what kind of gift would most make them feel appreciated. The answer? A simple "thank you," according to nearly half (48%) of all poll respondents. Be sure to visit www.teacherthankyoucard.org to find out more about how you can say "thanks" to your teacher.

Looking for Pictures

Does anyone have photos of children and teachers from this year or past years? We’re looking to make a photo collage for the Teacher Appreciation Lunch in June. All contributions would be great… by email studiozed@comcast.net or drop them in the PGO Mailbox in the Main Office.

May activities in Town

May 1 Thursday Art Walk 5-8pm
May 2 Book Sale: LWV on the common under the tent Friday - Sunday
May 3 Farmers' Market opens Saturday 7:30am - 1:30
May 8-10 Amherst Town Fair on the Common

A Wonderful Event

The One World Festival on Wednesday night was a fantastic event. About 200 attended and the food was truly international, plentiful and so delicious! (Did you LOVE the Tembleque too? Here's a recipe link). And the performers were inspiring and entertaining - congratulations to all of them! A special thank you to Jose Gerena who organized the event for his first time. A fantastic job of bringing the community together for a fun night. See you next year!

Earth Day Celebration

Amherst Grows Green!
Saturday, April 26 11am-3pm
Earth Day Uptown Amherst
Lots of activities uptown and check out Arbor Day activities on the Common near the Town Hall. Learn about Trees! Shop locally and help celebrate actions Amherst businesses and individuals are choosing to take to care for the earth! On April 26th in the streets of downtown Amherst, you’ll find out about “green” actions being taken by local businesses, how to take actions of your own, and you’ll have a chance to ride a bucket lift or participate in a “Green Scavenger Hunt,” along with other activities.

PGO Meeting Thursday 4/10

Please join us at the next PGO meeting Thursday night from 6:30 - 7:30pm. As always: free childcare in the Cafeteria / Great ideas in the Community Room.

How Great Is This?

Stop&Shop's A+ BonusBucks program has wrapped up for the year and the PGO is happy to report that 42 households earned $734.83 for Crocker Farm just by grocery shopping! A check will be sent to Mr. Wiley at the end of the school year & the money will be used to support student activities. Thanks for all of your support!

Pancakes for S.A.F.E.

SUNDAY 4/13 7:00am - 12:30pm: Join Amherst Firefighters for a Pancake Breakfast to benefit the Amherst Fire S.A.F.E. (Student Awareness of Fire Education) program. The breakfast will be held at the VFW on Main St. Adults $6:00, Children $4.00. There will also be raffles!

The S.A.F.E. program is a highly sensitive and valuable 4 session fire safety curriculum for children in the fourth grades in Amherst, Pelham, Leverett and Shutesbury. Show your support on Saturday!

Spaghetti for Crocker Farm Soccer Star

SUNDAY 4/13 4:00 - 8:00pm: The Dixon Family is organizing a Spaghetti Dinner Benefit is to help raise money for Keith's trip as a Sports Ambassador to Austria:
Where: Shutesbury Athletic Club 282 Wendell Rd. Shutesbury MA
Details: Dinners will be $12 ALL YOU CAN EAT spaghetti salad and bread!!! There will be meat sauce and vegetarian tomato sauce offered!!! Music by the JUKEBOX JUNKIES !!! Raffles & door prizes too!

If you cannot attend the benefit but would like to contribute please contact Tory Dixon at torydixon@hotmail.com. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Keith to play soccer at an International Tournament which is one of his dreams. www.sportsambassadors.org.

One World Festival next Wednesday 4/9

The One World Festival is Crocker Farm's annual multicultural event. This is a fantastic evening where students and their families get to show off their cultural heritage through food and performances.

The evening begins at 6:00pm with a pot luck sampling of dishes from all around the world. Everyone who attends the event is invited to bring food to share.

After the food comes the performances (usually at around 7:00pm). This year there is a full slate ranging from Latin to Hungarian, Indian to Middle Eastern. There's dance, magic, singing, and more! You'll be amazed and impressed by the talents of Crocker Farm's kids and families!

Announcements have been sent home in the Crocker Crumbs and have been posted on this blog, but the PGO is concerned that ONLY ONE volunteer form has been returned to the office! C'mon folks - this event just isn't the same without YOUR participation. It's simple - we need you to step up and let us know that you plan to bring a dish to the event! Tell your friends too - the more the merrier! Please contact Jose Gerena at josegerena@gmail.com or Erika Zekos at studiozed@comcast.net if you can help.

Thank you!

We would like to extend a big Thank You to the members of South Amherst's Congregational Church who volunteered their time on Sunday to help clean up the back playground and the 6th grade garden at Crocker Farm. Thank you for your time and for showing that you care about Crocker Farm!

School Climate Survey

Many of you recently received notification of the "School Climate Survey". If you haven't taken the time yet to fill it out, please do so soon. Your response will help the School Governance Council and Mr. Morris valuable information to use as the transition takes place this summer and fall.

The survey has only 27 questions and should take about 5-10 minutes to complete. We will be accepting surveys until Friday, April 11. Thank you for your participating in this important project. Survey in English and Spanish.