Crocker Farm Coffee with the Principal

Friday, May 4th at 8:45 AM

Join us for a community "Coffee with the Principal"

Come to the Crocker Farm Community Room this Friday

at 8;45 AM and join us for coffee and talk in a casual setting. This is a continuation in the series of monthly opportunities to sit with Principal Mike Morris in an interactive forum. Mr. Morris will respond to your questions, concerns, or comments and will provide information and insights relevant to Crocker Farm and the larger Amherst/Pelham Regional School District.

Tasty treats will be provided and small children are always welcome.

Book Fair - next week!

6th grade event - MARK your calendar!

The Sixth Grade is hosting a Social/Fundraiser on Friday, May 11th at 6:30. Funds from this event will go towards the end of the year Sixth Grade Lake Compounce Trip. The entire event is run by the two sixth grade classes. There will be food, activities, music and a really amazing raffle! Everyone is invited, so come and support our Crocker Farm graduating class of 2012.

 

 

Updated locations and times for Zumba with Zulma

Mondays 5:30pm at the Aerobics and Fitness Studio  NEW!   
Thursdays 10:30am at the Aerobics and Fitness Studio                  
Sundays 9:30am at the Amherst Ballet

Free kids' concert!

LSSE drama offering

Summer camps with Miss Leticia

Music and Art Summer Camp Guitar and Ukulele!  Music and art instruction for beginners & more advanced students, ages 6-12.  Weekly themed camps go for 4 weeks total, July 6 - Aug 3. The weeks are: July 9-13 (Travel the World); July 16-20  (Contemporary Rock & Pop); July 23-27 (Country & Western); July 30-Aug 3 (Music of The 60's).  Classes held at 41 Blue Hills Rd. in Amherst @ Miss Leticia's Music School, 8:30am-1:30pm.  Campers provide their own lunch. Snack provided.  Cost: $275 Weekly (multiweek and sibling discounts available).  Classes limited to 8 children total.  Instructors are Rhys Davies (BFA in Fine Art) &  Leticia Davies (Montessori school music instructor). More info at www.missleticia.com or call 413-256-1778 . Email leticiadavies@comcast.net for an application form.

Breakfast for bus drivers on Friday morning!

Bus driver appreciation breakfast will be held in the foyer of Crocker Farm on Friday the 27th of April (after morning drop-off of the kids) -- feel free to contribute a heavenly baked treat for your favorite bus driver -- drop off in the front office OR call Angela for pick-up 413-219-6344

Changes to the last week of school schedule! TAKE NOTE!

Please note that we will follow the Wednesday schedule (1:20 dismissal) on both Wednesday, June 20 and on the last day, Friday, June 22.

Ultimate Tournament

21st Annual Amherst Invitational Tournament on Saturday, May 5th and Sunday, May 6th

Thirty high school teams from coast to coast will compete in one of the largest and most prestigious Ultimate tournaments in the country. Founded in 1992 by ARHS Boys Varsity Coach Tiina Booth, the first year had only 8 teams show. This year, the 21st year, 538 athletes and 60 coaches and chaperones from seven states will participate in the tournament. To orchestrate this growing event, there are 17 (all-volunteer) committees that handle every aspect of the tournament. This is truly a community event!

On Saturday, games will be played from 9:45am to 5pm at ARHS, ARMS, Groff Park and Hampshire College; on Sunday, all the action will run from 8:30am to 5pm at ARHS. The “Invite” will once again be divided into three groups: Girls and Boys A & B Divisions. The Boys Division A finals will be played Sunday at 1:45 pm at ARHS. The Girls Division and Boys B Division finals will be played Sunday at 3:30pm at ARHS.

The ARHS Boys Varsity Ultimate team plays all of its early games against college teams and, last year, won both the state championship and the USA Ultimate Eastern Championship. The ARHS Girls Varsity team, coached by Josh Nugent, went 22-0 last season and also won the USA Ultimate Eastern Championship in 2011. A testament to the strength of the ARHS team was evident last month as three ARHS Players were chosen to represent the USA on the National Team at the World Championships (the Olympics of Ultimate) in Dublin, Ireland in August 2012. These three ARHS students, Danny On, Angela Zhu and Zoë Freedman-Coleman, will be playing in the 21^st Amherst Invitational. Both ARHS varsity teams won this tournament last year! Come cheer the 'Canes on to another AI tournament victory!

For schedules, times, locations, and much more information on the tournament, see: http://www.facebook.com/amherstinvitational - and please don't forget to "Like" the AI 2012.

Thank you!

Many thanks to the families who ate dinner at The Pub last night.  We appreciate your support of our community and are thankful to all the individuals who carefully planned the evening fundraiser.  Thanks!

PGO meeting Thursday!

Thursday evening - come and join us for some spring news!  We'll discuss the new community garden, plans for the future, upcoming events, Crocker Press, the book swap, the Scholastic book fair, fundraising projects, and initiatives for the upcoming school year.  Children are welcome - there will be a table full of art supplies and some projects for the classrooms for collaboration.

We'll get the fun-filled evening going at 7pm and will wrap up in an hour.  We hope to see you there,
The Crocker Farm PGO co-chairs Justyne and Angela

League of Women Voters Event

The League of Women Voters Amherst will hold their 64^th annual used book sale on the Amherst Town Common May 4, 5, and 6.  Sale hours are 9 am to 7 pm Friday and Saturday and 11 am to 4 pm on Sunday.

Thousands of donated used books will be sold.  Books are sorted by category; popular categories include cookbooks, children’s books, history, foreign languages, gardening, sports, and fiction. 

Books are priced from 50 cents up, with many books in the $2-$4 range.   Tables are restocked throughout the sale so, if you love books, be sure to stop by more than once.  For additional information, contact the League of Women Voters Amherst at 253-0633 or visit our websitewww.lwvamherst.org.

The book sale is one of the oldest and largest in New England.  It serves as the major fund raiser for the League and helps finance voter service programs and publications.

Unused 5"x7" photo frames?

Mrs. Joyce, our school's literacy curriculum coordinator, would like to do a hallway display of children reading -- so if you have any unused photo frames that are 5"x7" that you are willing to donate - please send them to school marked "PGO" or drop them off in the front office in the PGO mailbox.

MANY THANKS - in advance - for your generosity!!!

Football clinic hosted by UMass Minutemen

There is a FREE youth clinic to offer from UMass Athletics for kids 12 and under. This clinic is on Saturday, April 28th from 1:00-2:30pm at McGuirk Stadium, and will be run by theUMass Football team. The clinic will feature football drills and other fun athletic activities and will be preceded by a FREE autograph session with the team from 12:30-1:00pm.

Following the Sports Clinic will be the UMass Spring Football Game, which will pair the Minutemen against a team of alumni players. The Spring Football Game is set to kick off at 4pm at McGuirk Stadium.

If anyone is interested in attending the clinic, please have them register by mailin

Tennis anyone?

The Amherst LSSE Department offers tennis classes for children taught by Sonja (Sunny) Meidell. 

Pee Wee Tennis is for children ages 5 to 7.  The focus is on footwork drills, hand-eye coordination, racquet techniques, scoring and set up through games and tennis play. Children must be able to catch a tennis ball and parents must stay for the class. Children should have the appropriate Pee Wee racquet and sneakers. The rain date is the following Saturday.

The class meets Sundays from May 6-27 from 10 a.m. to 10:30 am.  at the Regional Middle School.

Youth Tennis is for ages 8-12. The focus is on coordination concentration movement and stroke fundamentals. Students should wear tennis shoes and bring a racquet. Balls will be provided.   The rain date is the following Saturday.

 The class meets Sundays from May 6-27 from 9 to 10 am.  at   the Regional Middle School.

 To register or for information call 259-3065 or visit: www.lsse.org .

Eat at The Pub -- Tonight

Tonight's the night! Please make your way to The Pub (in downtown Amherst) for dinner -- a portion of the profits from tonight's sales from 4pm - 9pm will go towards helping Sabir Anderson and his battle against cancer!  Eat local and support a local family -- thanks, in advance, for making our town a special and caring place in which to live.

Scholastic Book Fair is coming!

Get ready to read!  Hey everyone, in case you haven't heard, the annual Scholastic Book Fair will be at Crocker Farm from Monday April 30 - Wednesday May 2.  Kids will preview books on & bring home their wish lists on Monday.  Tuesday & Wednesday will be the shopping days (look on your child's wish list for their date). 


And back again this year is the Evening Book Fair from 6:30 - 8:00pm on Wednesday May 2.  Come by to see Clifford the Big Red Dog, have a snack & purchase some GREAT books for your family. PLUS, we have an extra wonderful treat this year -- author Lisa Papademetriou who will be on hand to read from her books!  Woo hoo!!

Crocker Garden News

Making A Difference By Planting A Garden

Snack Girl

Here is a blog article from Crocker Farm parent Lisa Cain.

 

 

BOOK SWAP @ Crocker Farm Elementary

Amherst youth soccer association - MESSAGE

This is a final reminder that registration for Spring 2012 Recreational League will end on Friday, April 20. Three is still space remaining at most grade levels.

If you want to register, go to www.amherstsoccer.org and click on the registration link.

Mission Accomplished! Thanks Alex and Jeff!!! Crocker Community Garden - Now a reality... come visit!

Thank you Alex and Jeff for having a vision and making it come to life!  We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for this gift that is grand and will keep on giving!  Thanks for being so generous and for inspiring our community to share and be generous just like you.

Itching to dig in some dirt? Come help...

Spring Sprint Details details details

The Amherst Education Foundation (AEF) is excited to be registering runners/walkers for its 2nd Annual Spring Sprint, a 5K Run/Walk and a 1 mile Fun Run for kids. This year’s race is scheduled for May 5^th at 9:00 am, beginning and ending at Wildwood Elementary School.  As a special bonus this year, local artist and author Tony DiTerlizzi of the Spiderwick Chronicles designed our t-shirt.  See the shirt online.  All pre-registered participants will get a t-shirt, so register today!  Also new this year – kids can use a pledge form to collect donations for their run/walk.  You can find both a mail-in registration form and the pledge form attached here.  Remember – in order to get a special t-shirt, you must PRE-register by April 29^th online, or by April 21^st through the mail.

 

Time is a wastin' - get your sneakers ready and register now to get this cool t-shirt and run or walk to support our scholars!

REGISTER NOW for this cool t-shirt

THANK YOU MUSICAL PERFORMERS AND DIRECTORS!

Thank you Crocker Farm Elementary for a stunning musical performance. We all enjoyed the performers, the teachers and the music!!!! We are so very lucky to have such a generous and talented community!!! Hats off to Ms. Z for coordinating everything and working so hard !!

LSSE Summer Sports Camps

(not school sponsored)

Register NOW for the AEF Spring Sprint & get a GREAT T-shirt!

SPRING SPRINT 2012
The Amherst Education Foundation (AEF) is excited to be registering runners/walkers for its 2nd Annual Spring Sprint, a 5K Run/Walk and a 1 mile Fun Run for kids.  
DATE: SATURDAY, MAY 5th, 2012 
LOCATION: WILDWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: 71 STRONG ST., AMHERST, MA 
TIME: Registration: 8:00 AM All races start: 9:00 AM
 Full details here

We are very grateful toTony DiTerlizzi (local author / illustrator of the Search for WondLa and the Spiderwick Chronicles, among many others), for designing our Spring Sprint T-shirt. If you pre-register for the May 5th race by April 29th you automatically get one of these t-shirts. T-shirts are also available at the race. There will be a limited number so we hope you register now!

Keep them biking safely!

Here's a handy guide to ensuring your children are wearing their helmets properly and biking as safely as they can.  It's a quick 14-page (big print! wide margins! photos!) read.  It won't take long and it can help keep our kids safe.

Happy trails!

Help for those of us with "challenging children"

Gabrielli LaChiara is offering an introduction class and three week follow-up series on the Nurtured Heart Approach.  This communication strategy can profoundly change interactions with your favorite challenging children. 

Two hour workshop:  April 30  6-8pm 

                                 $50 person / $75 couple

Three week series:     May 7, 14, and 21   6-8pm

                                  $150 per person / $200 per couple

Open to educators, professionals, parents, and caregivers who work with and love children!  

In these workshops, you will learn:

*how the Nurtured Heart Approach (NHA) fosters healthy relationships and increases children’s self esteem and positive behavior.

*a set of strategies designed to teach you how positive relationships can create lasting change.

  

*a communication approach which effectively teaches life skills when children are most responsive to learning. 

*a system to create new habits which empowers both you and the child to evaluate experiences and grow into a supportive, healthy relationship.

Gabrielli LaChiara: Over the past 25 years, Gabrielli has dedicated herself to helping people cultivate tools and resources for personal growth and success.  In addition to operating her private counseling practice, Gabrielli is currently the Northeast regional leading expert of the Nurtured Heart Approach, and continues to consult with schools, human service organizations and families throughout the country.  For more information, please visit gabrielli.org

Zumba with Zulma at Crocker!!!!

Congratulations to Mrs. Joyce and to Crocker Farm Elementary!

Congratulations to Stephanie Joyce on receiving $11,000 grant monies from AEF to foster an Affiliate School relationship between Crocker Farm School and Teachers College Reading and Writing Project and continue building on effective literacy practices with the readers and writers of Crocker Farm School!    We thank you and Ms. Lambert, Ms. McCloskey, Ms. Watkins, who also collaborated on this grant funding proposal.  We appreciate all of your efforts on behalf of our children and the community.

Steeltowns, Cornfields and the Unbroken Circle

Saturday, April 21, 2012; 11am
The Jones Library's Large Meeting Room

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tom Breiding delivers unique musical stories of life in American towns over the last century.  With guitar, banjo and harmonica accompaniment, Breiding captivates audiences while they learn about the history behind West Virginia's coal industry and about generations of workers in the steel, coal and glass industries of Pittsburgh.

For adults and children ages 8+.

AYSA summer soccer camp -- sign up early!

Sabir Anderson Benefit

Magical Mystical Mermaids

(not a school sponsored event)

Crocker Farm Coffee with the Principal

Friday, April 13th at 8:45 AM

Join us for a community "Coffee with the Principal"

Come to the Crocker Farm Community Room this Friday

at 8;45 AM and join us for coffee and talk in a casual setting. This is a continuation in the series of monthly opportunities to sit with Principal Mike Morris in an interactive forum. Mr. Morris will respond to your questions, concerns, or comments and will provide information and insights relevant to Crocker Farm and the larger Amherst/Pelham Regional School District.

Tasty treats will be provided and small children are always welcome.

New Zumba News!!!!

Zulma Rivera just dropped the Zumba class price to $5 -- don't miss your opportunity to try a fun-filled Zumba class with Zulma tonight at Crocker Farm (music room) at 6pm!

Horseback riding lessons w/ LSSE

Horse Lovers for Children with LSSE.

Our new Horseback riding classes are fast approaching!   Ages 6-10.  Our course goals are focuse around the relationship and confidence building effects related to working with horses. Activities will include grooming and handling, bonding games and individual rides.  Remember, we offer horseback riding classes for older kids and adults too!    Lessons will be held at Craig Equestrian Center located at 470 Long Plain Road, on Route 63 at the base of Mount Toby. (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Craig-Memorial-Equestrian-Center/174830869240795) Please call 413-259-3065 or visit www.lsse.org to register.

Come DANCE - it's fun and you sweat a TON!

April 24th fundraiser for Sabir Anderson

April 24^th, 2012 --  Mark your calendar…

The CF PGO is holding an Eat Out Fundraiser to Benefit Sabir Anderson and his family.  

His story:

South Amherst resident Sabir Anderson, age four and a half, was diagnosed with a malignant tumor a few months ago.  Thankfully, cell activity is localized only to his bladder area.  While we do not know the length of time it will take for Sabir’s health to be fully restored, his medical team is optimistic about his prognosis.  During the treatment and recovery phase, expenses are staggering.  Even with customary employment insurance coverage, the costs associated with weekly hospital trips, a 6 week long hospital stay, radiation and chemo therapies, daily medicines, visiting-nurse home care, and any other unforeseen accompanying expenses can be overwhelming for a median income household.  That is why we are asking for the community’s help.  Participation is simple, have dinner with family and friends at The Pub.  They will donate a portion of their proceeds to a fund set up for the family.  We will also be holding a 50/50 raffle and accepting additional donations throughout the evening.  

Crocker Java

Time to get that coffee order in!
Freshly roasted, fair-trade, organic coffee that supports our PGO! Cocoa and chocolate covered espresso beans also available. Order form here or in the office.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Congratulations to Kara McCloskey on her Teacher of the 


Year Award! We are all so proud of you and feel so lucky to 


have you as part of our learning community!