Coffee with the Principal and Superintendent

Please join us this Friday morning from 8:30 AM until 9:30 AM in the CF Community Room for an informal coffee with Mr. Morris and Dr. Alberto Rodriguez. Coffee and refreshments provided. Siblings welcome.

Read-A-Thon Pledges Due Friday Oct. 9th

2009 Summer Read-A Thon pledges are due Friday October 9th. The money raised will go to the teachers to purchase materials for our students. And remember the grade with the most participants gets a trophy!!!

If you have any questions, please contact Yaniris M. Fernandez at 413-559-5781 or yfernandez@hampshire.edu. Thanks!

Learning Playground preschool

Home preschool in S. Amherst has openings for children 18mo.-5 years. Aftercare program available. Contact Sarah: 253-0539. Please check out my website for all the info.!
http://www.learningplayground.info

Hampshire Young Peoples Chorus

Bring a Friend to Choir Day
When: Tuesday, October 6, 4:00-5:00 (Junior Choir, grades 2-4)
5:30-7:00 (Concert Choir, grades 5-7)
Where: Immanuel Lutheran Church, 867 North Pleasant Street, Amherst
Who: Anyone who loves to sing! Come visit and sing with us. Find out what YPC is all about!Questions? Call 253-7346
http://www.hampshireypc.org

National Hispanic Heritage Month

CROCKER FARM COMMUNITY CELEBRATION OF
National Hispanic Heritage Month

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2009 6:00 PM-8:00 PM
CROCKER FARM CAFETERIA

Come and celebrate a night of Hispanic food, culture, music, and entertainment!
If you have any questions please contact Xiomara Hernández (413-256-1397) or Kaye Dougan (413-253-8166)

LA COMUNIDAD DE CROCKER FARM CELEBRA
EL MES NACÍONAL DE LA HERENCIA HISPANA
EL MARTES, 13 DE OCTUBRE, 2009 6:00 PM-8:00 PM
CAFETERIA DE CROCKER FARM
Venga a celebrar una noche con comida Latina, cultura, música, y entrenemiento!
Si tiene algunas preguntas, por favor llame a Xiomara Hernández (413-256-1397) o Kaye Dougan (413-253-8166)

Fun family 5K Run or Walk for a great cause!

Fun family 5K Run or Walk for a great cause!

Join us at the Fit Together 5K on Sunday, October 4th. This event celebrates each person’s ability to be healthy regardless of fitness level or mental, physical, or intellectual challenges. All proceeds from this family-friendly event will support Fit Together, a unique wellness center in Hadley where people with emotional, cognitive, and physical disabilities transform their lives through exercise and good nutrition.

Every participant will get a free t-shirt and a $7 gift certificate to Bueno y Sano. Great prizes including restaurant gift certificates, gym memberships and massages will be raffled. The race starts on the Hadley Town Common at 10:00 a.m., rain or shine, with day-of registration beginning at 9:00.

Family rate and scholarships available. For more information, please go to: www.fit-together.org or call 584-1508

Next Week At Crocker Farm

Here's a look at what's coming up. (But don't forget to check the CF Calendar by clicking the link on the right)

Wednesday Sept. 30 - Read-a-Thon Pledges Due!

Friday Oct. 2 - First Friday Coffee w/ Mr. Morris & Dr. Rodriguez 8:45 - 9:30am in the Community Room. This is a regular event (the "first Friday" of every month) & a great opportunity to talk directly with Mr. Morris or Mr. Smith about what's happening at Crocker Farm. This month we'll be joined by our new Superintendent, Dr. Rodriguez. Please join us!

Happy Birthday Amherst!

THERE'S SO MUCH GOING ON THIS WEEKEND TO CELEBRATE THE HERITAGE, CHARACTER & HISTORY OF AMHERST!

Amherst's 250th Celebration Parade will start at 1:00 Sunday, September 27th. Over 100 units will be in the parade, including organizations, businesses, industries, churches, schools, clubs, groups, police and fire, as well as marching units and floats. Volunteers needed! For more information, call committee member, Pat Wagner, at 413-537-5626. www.amherst250.org. or Click on the images below to see them full sized.

March in the Parade. Calling all Amherst Elementary School Students! Be in Amherst's 250th Anniversary Parade and be part of Your Town and Public Libraries’ History!

Apple Harvest Crafts Fair and Children's Festival. Saturday, Sept. 26. 10:00am-5:00pm. Amherst Town Common. Games, crafts, food, petting zoo, pony rides, and entertainment.

Redistricting Meetings

The school committee will be taking comments from the public about the proposed new elementary school districts at the following two meetings:

• Thursday, October 8. At the Crocker Farm cafeteria.
• Wednesday, October 14. At the Marks Meadow School Auditorium.

Please note that the locations for each meeting have been switched from what was originally announced.
Both meetings will start at 7:00pm and are scheduled to last 2 hours. Childcare will be provided

Tag Sale 9/19/09 Saturday

Tag Sale, Saturday, September 19, 8:00 am - 1:00 pm. 35 Elf Hill Rd, Amherst.
Lots of great children's books and toys in excellent condition. Plus miscellaneous kitchen items, children's and women's clothing and more, including two vintage Apple computers: Performa 6115CD (in the box!) and a G3 iMac tower and monitor and lots of vintage Mac software.

Yoga for Young People

Yoga For Kids, ages 5-9 Tuesdays, 4-5 PM
Yoga Center Amherst 17 Kellogg St (upstairs from Rao's Coffee)
to register/for more info: <http://yogacenteramherst.com> 256-0604
NEW session begins on September 29!

Class Parents 2010-2011

~ Kindergarten ~


Ms. Wilcox

Ms. Newcomb 


~ Grade 1~

Ms. Shaw

Ms. Joyce
 
Dr. Preston


~ Grade 2~

Mr. Silverstone 

Ms. Mattone

Ms. Ferro


~ Grade 3~

Ms. Robinson

Ms. Carson
 

~ Grade 4 ~

Ms. Donovan

Ms. Schreiber 


~ Grade 5 ~

Ms. Goodwin-Brown

Ms. Conklin


~Grade 6 ~

Mr. Prather

Ms. Guiteau

Ms. Harvey
 

Library Museum Passes

Museum Passes

The Friends of the Jones Library System provide museum discount passes. Use your free library card to check one out at the Children’s Desk.

Amherst History Museum, next door to Jones Library
Eric Carle Museum, Hampshire College, Amherst

Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Historic Deerfield, Deerfield
Holyoke Children’s Museum, Holyoke

Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton

Springfield Museums at the Quadrangle, Springfield

The Zoo in Forest Park, Springfield

Mass. Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams

Clark Art Institute, Williamstown

Massachusetts State Parks – statewide

In Connecticut:
Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, CT
Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford, CT

***

For more about the Friends, visit http://www.friendsofthejones.org/ Call the Jones Library Children’s Desk at 259-3091 for more about museum passes or visit http://joneslibrary.org/ and click on “services.”

Amherst Education Foundation 15th Annual Trivia Bee

October 29^th, 2009

Sign-up now!

The Amherst Education Foundation is busy working to organize our Annual Trivia Bee fundraiser. We invite you to sponsor a team. A donation to sponsor a team is only $175.00 which assists us in funding grants that directly benefit the students in the Amherst, Leverett, Pelham, and Shutesbury schools.

The AEF’s mission is to support our public schools in providing a challenging and enriching educational experience that maximizes the learning potential of every student and prepares them to succeed in the 21^st century.

We can provide you with a copy of the Trivia Bee rules if you are interested in sponsoring a team from your business or we have a number of individuals who would be happy to have you sponsor them. A number of the teachers and local trivia buffs love to compete in the contest and your sponsorship makes all the difference.

We look forward to having you and your team join us on Thursday, October 29^th, 2009 at 7:00 PM at the Amherst Middle School auditorium for a fun night of trivia, prizes, and refreshments! All payments are due by October 1^st, 2009 and can be mailed to:

Amherst Education Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 2237
Amherst, MA 01004

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Becky Demling at 413-230-3306 or beckydemling@yahoo.com.

BBQ Benefit for the Library

Come Celebrate Our Libraries and Help Reopen the Jones on Friday Afternoons!


ALL YOU CAN EAT BBQ AT THE HARP!
LIVE CELTIC MUSIC! GAMES FOR KIDS!

Sunday, October 4, 12 Noon to 5 PM
163 Sunderland Road, North Amherst (rain or shine)

Tickets $20 for adults, $10 for children
On Sale at Food for Thought Books, Jones, North Amherst, and Munson Libraries

Tickets are contributions to the Jones Library Inc. and qualify for a $3,000 anonymous matching grant! $11,000 reopens the Jones on Friday afternoons from October 9th to June 2010.

Many thanks to library co-sponsors Mark “Harpo” Power and Collective Copies.

Cirque du Soleil in Amherst

Cirque du Soleil is a blend of astonishing acrobatics, awe-inspiring aerial acts, spectacular sets and eccentric characters with flamboyant costumes.

The latest tour of Cirque du Soleil is entitled "Alegria" and will be at the Mullins Center September 16th-20th.Take advantage of Cirque du Soleil’s Back to School offer, which allows Students and Parents of Students to see Alegria for as low as $25.

For more information, click here:

http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/special/alegria/Amherst.htm

(Not a school or PGO sponsored event.)

Picnic at School Tonight!

It may be cloudy and gray but the rain is staying away! Join us at the front playground tonight for food and fun from 5:30 - 7:00 PM

Welcome Back Picnic!

Mark your calendars! The Welcome Back to School picnic is set for THIS Wednesday, September 16, from 5:30-7:00!

This year's theme is "The Trumpet of the Swan" and if you read the book, you'll find loads of other families to talk with about it.

Games to play, friends and families to hang out with, and pizza and desserts for sale. What more could you want?

We hope to see you there!

Attention Read-a-Thon Participants

Dear Read-a-thon Participant,
Welcome back to school and if you participated in the Crocker Farm Summer Read-a-Thon we would like to thank you for your participation and ask you to follow the instructions below. We hope you enjoyed the books you read! It's time to collect the money your sponsors pledged. This money will be given to teachers for use in the classroom.

Here's what to do:
1. Calculate your pledges. Multiply the number of books you read by the amount per book pledged by each person. Then contact your sponsors to let them know how much their total donation will be. Tell them that you have until [date] to hand in your pledges. It's okay if you didn't meet your reading goal – just multiply the number of books you did read by the amount pledged. And remember – even very small donations make a difference!
2. Ask your sponsors to make their donations in the form of checks payable to the Crocker Farm Parent Guardian Organization. Cash donations are also welcome.
3. Put the donations you collect in the envelope provided in your Read-a-thon packet. If you've lost that envelope, it's okay to use another one in its place.
4. Bring your envelope to school no later than September 30, 2009 and give it to your classroom teacher. Make sure your name and grade is on the envelope!
5. Once we receive the collected pledges, we will put together a package of small treats for each child who has participated in the Read-a-thon. These will be distributed through your classroom. In addition, a trophy will be awarded to the grade that collected the most sponsors.
6. If your parent/guardian has any questions, s/he can call Claudia Canale-Parola (253-6325),Yaniris Fernandez (253-2309), Monica Moran (256-1545) or Bobbie Jemsek (256-1698).
And thanks again for reading on behalf of Crocker Farm!

PGO Meeting TONIGHT

The first PGO meeting will be Tonight, September 10, from 6:30-7:30. Meetings are in the Community Room and free childcare is provided in the cafeteria.

Lisa Cain, biologist, foodie, and mother of two, will speak with us about healthy foods for our children. We will also discuss upcoming PGO events and activities.

Please come join us!

Compost Happens...

...at Crocker Farm, that is. And we need help to make it all work. Preschool teacher Ricci Mastroianni is looking for parent volunteers!

If you can help on Fridays after breakfast (8:45-9:15) or at any lunch times (12:45-1:30), it would be wonderful.

Send us an email at crockerfarmpgo@gmail.com.

Not only do you get to help make the world a better place but you also get to see your own kid during the day! Really, what more could you want?

Oh Coffee, How We've Missed You!

Crocker Farm PGO sells Deans Beans rich, dark, organic, Fair Trade, Kosher, locally roasted and DELICIOUS coffee for a great price EVERY MONTH!

This month orders are due Sept. 16. Click Here to download an order form and send it into school with your payment. We'll have your coffee delivered to your child by the 23rd.

You can order every month or order for the whole year. The price is very competitive ($8.50 for a pound of regular, $9.50 for decaf) & the proceeds ($3.00 per bag) support your school - what a great deal!

Dates For Your Calendar

Click here to take a look at the Crocker Farm Calendar. It's got all the district's dates for the whole year as well as dates for events that are happening at CF as we plan them.

We'll do our best to keep it up to date so check often at the link on the right side of this page & feel free to send notices of community events our way... we'll do our best to post them.

Weekly PGO Email

On most Friday's during the school year, the CF PGO emails out a brief but interesting email about happenings with a link to the blog. Most families have signed up to get on this list and if you'd like to join, just email Clare Bertrand at clarebertrand@comcast.net to sign up.
The list and the blog provide a free informational service designed to improve communication, collaboration, and participation among families with children at Crocker Farm Elementary School in Amherst, MA, and other
community members. All content is provided by Crocker Farm families to benefit other Crocker Farm families. Not an official publication of the Town of Amherst, nor of the Amherst Public Schools, nor of the Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools. No public resources are used in creation or
publication of this newsletter.