ARPS Family Center & Steps for Success - this summer

el Centro de Familias de ARPS -- horario de verano

Summer Read-a-Thon Info

 If your child would like to participate in the Crocker Farm summer read-a-thon, but they didn't pickup a read-a-thon folder from Ms. McQuaid before school ended, the forms & related can be downloaded from this link (read-a-thon). 

Happy reading, and happy summer to all!

Crocker Chronicles & Teacher Assignments for Next Year

The final Crocker Chronicles of the school year was emailed out yesterday. If you didn't see it, it can be accessed at the link below.

Among the updates it included are the classroom teacher assignments for next year:
Kindergarten: Kara McCloskey, Judi Newcomb
Grade 1: Mary Donoghue, Anna Bartaloni, Jeff Lefebvre
Grade 2: Carol Carson, Lauren Mattone
Grade 3: Judah Hughes, Stephanie Joyce, Jasmine Robinson
Grade 4: Cat Coley, Lisa Moriarty, Susan Radtke
Grade 5: Mary Donovan, Alice Goodwin-Brown
Grade 6: Denise Harvey, Christopher Prather, TBD

Link to the Chronicles: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7UVv-MmKrUOblBoTnA0WGdHV3M/edit?usp=sharing

Thank you!

The PGO's last letter to families for the year is below & can also be accessed at this link: letter

Thank you for a great school year.  
Have a wonderful summer,
Your PGO

June 20th, 2014

 

Dear Crocker Farm Families,

 

What a year!  Looking back, we have fond memories of so many school events from the year.  We are grateful to everyone who helped with various PGO events or activities this year, who supported our events by attending, or who contributed to our annual appeal or participated in our other fundraisers.  All Crocker Farm families are automatically part of the PGO, and we couldn’t do what we do without you.  We are grateful too to the school staff and teachers, especially the staff in the front office: Dr. Tesauro, Mr. Shea, Ms. Mills, & Ms. Aldrich.  Thank you for your help throughout the year. 

 

Some of the highlights of the year for the PGO:  (though there are too many to mention in a short list)

• Chess Club.  The PGO restarted the afterschool chess club, and close to 60 students participated.  Amherst College student volunteers assisted with the club, and we had a special guest, Charles Hertan, a highly rated chess player who writes books for kids about learning chess.
• Winter Clothing Share.  This year, with PGO support at all the Amherst public schools, the winter clothing share expanded to all the schools and served many more families. 
• Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration.  The PGO coordinated the school-wide breakfast and funded Evelyn Harris’ performance at the event. 
• Book Swap.  It was so wonderful to see students enjoying their “new” books.  We are grateful for all the book donations we received from families and from our librarian Ms. McQuaid.
• Mosaic Mural.  This beautiful addition to the Crocker Farm School involved the whole school community, and has so many wonderful details, we could look at it for hours.  Special thanks to the Massachusetts Cultural Council for their partial funding of this project, and to our art teacher Ms. Travis and mural artist Mr. Winer for all their work with students creating the mural.
• Science Night.  The PGO leaders first talked with Dr. Tesauro about having a school-wide science night when we met with her in July 2013, and it was so nice to see it come to fruition. What an event!  Many thanks to the teachers and classes for their informative science displays, to Dr. Tesauro and the guidance staff for arranging the bus transportation, and to all the volunteers.  
• Crocker Press.  The “publishing” of stories from Crocker Farm’s kindergarten through third grade students is truly a labor of love.  Teachers have their students prepare stories, and then volunteers type them, print them, and bind them into books using student-illustrated covers.  Special thanks to parent Jeni Kaplan for coordinating this year’s Crocker Press and carrying on this wonderful, long Crocker Farm tradition.

The Crocker Farm PGO is still seeking volunteers to join the PGO leadership team for next school year.  PGO positions are flexible and can work around volunteers’ schedules, and serving on the leadership team is a very rewarding experience.  If you are interested in serving as a PGO officer or in finding out more, please contact us.  

Have a great summer!  

 

Tracy Zafian & Justyne Ogdahl,

Crocker Farm PGO

Teacher & Staff Awards & Recognition

Tonight, the ARPS School District celebrates and honors its faculty & staff in a ceremony at the Amherst Regional Middle School.  Here are the honorees from Crocker Farm.    Congratulations to them, & everyone else who is being recognized for their service in the school district. 

Clerical/Media Award:
Angela Mills

Retirees:
Janet Ryan
Lucia Spiro
Greta Wilcox
Sue Dunbar
Cynthia Waring

15 Years of Service:
Judith Newcomb

20 Years of Service:
Sharri Conklin
Stephanie Joyce
Seiha Krouch
Wendy Yaffe

25 Years of Service:
Kathleen Kellogg
Elizabeth Devlin
Ingrid Estrany-Frau
Alice Goodwin-Brown
Linda Prothers

Request from the Crocker Farm Guidance Office -- Help for Camp

The Crocker Farm Guidance Office is looking for donations of NEW waterbottles and NEW beach towels for Crocker Farm students who will be attending a few weeks of camp (LSSE or Camp Norwich) with scholarship support.

Please leave donations in the box in the front lobby near the art room by June 24th.  Thanks so much to everyone for your help!

Summer Read-a-Thon: Signup Now

If your child wants to participate in the Crocker Farm read-a-thon & you haven't seen the signup permission form in their backpack yet, you can download here. 

Once the form is turned in, your child will receive a read-a-thon folder with the reading log, & more info.  

Happy summer reading to all! 

AEF Stars in Our Schools Deadline Extended

The deadline for recognizing a teacher or staff person through AEF's Stars in Our Schools program has been extended to Friday, June 20th. 

Donations to AEF are tax-deductible and go to help our schools. "AEF is an independent, non-profit education fund committed to stimulating excellence, promoting equity, enhancing diversity and mobilizing broad community support for the public schools of Amherst, Leverett, Pelham, & Shutesbury" (AEF web site). 

For the online and mail-in (PDF) form, please visit:
www.amhersteducationfoundation.org/stars

Band & Orchestra Concert Tonight

Dear Crocker Farm families,
The Band/Orchestra concert is set to take place tonight at 7:30 pm. Soloist will begin at 7:00pm. All families are invited to attend this wonderful performance which takes place in the Crocker Farm cafetorium. Enjoy the show!

-Crocker Farm front office
-----------------------
The PGO apologizes for listing the time incorrectly in a blog post earlier this week and for any confusion this may have caused.

Upcoming at Crocker Farm & ARPS

Crocker Farm
* Mon, 6/16:  Crocker Press final group working session, 6:30 pm, CF cafeteria  --
           Volunteers welcome!  
* Tues, 6/17: Yearbook order forms & payments due  (Download order form here)
* Tues, 6/17:  Band & Orchestra Concert
* Fri, 6/20:  Teacher & Staff Appreciation Breakfast, 7:30 am
* Mon, 6/23:  6th grade graduation
* Wed, 6/25:  Last Day of School, dismissal at 1:20 pm

Amherst Regional Public Schools
* Tues, 6/17: Amherst School Committee Meeting, 7 pm, ARHS Library
             (agenda is here)
* Wed, 6/18:  Meeting of the School Equity Task Force, 5:30 pm, ARHS Library
             (agenda is here)
* Tues, 6/24:  Last Joint, Regional, Amherst, & Pelham School Committee Meeting of the school year, 7 pm

Pre-Order this Year's Yearbook

Yearbook pre-order forms went home in backpacks on Friday. You can also download the form here.

This year's Crocker Farm yearbook is $6.50 if you pre-order & $10 if you don't. Plus there are only a limited number of books printed in addition to the pre-orders so if you don't pre-order, yearbook availability is NOT guaranteed.  

Pre-order yearbook forms and payments are due tomorrow, June 17th.  
Low-income families can request a free copy & this information is kept confidential. 

Amherst Survival Center - Summer Food Program for Families with School-Age Children

If your child/children receive a meal benefit in school, you’ll want to know about a new Amherst Survival Center summer program that gives families with school-age children (5-17 years) extra food in July and August.

KIDS SUMMER BOOST:  
SIGN UP AT THE FOOD PANTRY.

Amherst Survival Center, 138 Sunderland Road in North Amherst

Food Pantry Hours:  Monday, Tuesday, & Friday 11am-3pm; Thursday 11am – 7pm
Summer Saturdays include: July 19 & August 16, 9:30am – 11:30am

Amherst Survival Center
Tel: 413-549-3968
E-mail: info@amherstsurvival.org
Website: www.amherstsurvival.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/amherstsurvival

ASC Food Pantry Towns: Amherst, Belchertown, Deerfield, Granby, Hadley, Leverett, Pelham, Shutesbury, South Deerfield, South Hadley, Sunderland, Whately, Ware

Amherst School Committee Meeting - Tues, 6/16, 7pm

The school meeting agenda includes a vote on PARCC/MCAS testing for future years, & a presentation regarding high-achieving students. 

The full agenda is at this link:  AGENDA. 

Many thanks for last week!

Last week was an especially busy one at Crocker Farm:
* Science Night & the PGO's Ice Cream Social on Wed
* Field Day on Thurs,  and
* Tag Sale, Bake Sale, & Electronics Recycling on Sat.

 and none of these would have been possible without support of our teachers & staff and wonderful volunteers.  

Science Night was amazing!   There was a great turnout, and it was wonderful to see so many families there.  The cafeteria and a few classrooms were packed as students showed off class science projects and volunteers gave demos of lego robotics, and talked about birds and computer science.   Outside there were hands on activities with bubbles and more.... and ice cream.   We hope that everyone had fun and learned a little too.   Many, many THANKS to the teachers and classes for their wonderful displays, to Dr. Tesauro & staff for arranging the bus transportation, & to all the volunteers who helped make the event a success. 

 Field Day was spectacular! Mr. James did a phenomenal job coordinating Crocker Farm's Field Day, the school's first field day in many years, maybe ever.   Despite the rainy mist for much of the day, it looked like everyone had fun.    PGO volunteers provided watermelon and water for all.    Thank you to everyone who helped out at Field Day!  May this be the start of a wonderful new Crocker Farm tradition.

Tag Sale, Bake Sale, & Electronics Recycling proceeds will go to support our students and teachers, & the activities for the Crocker Farm community, including the special end of year field trip for sixth graders.   Thank you to everyone who contributed items for the tag sale or bake sale, volunteered on Sat, or came to support the events.   These events are a lot of work, but they were a big success.   Special thanks to Angela Mills for working so hard on the tag sale, and to Becky Demling for coordinating the electronics recycling.  

Thank you, all!

Tag Sale, Electronics Recycling, Bake Sale, Can Collection This Saturday at Crocker Farm

All proceeds go to support our students & teachers, & the PGO's activities on their behalf.  Thank you!  

 

For the tag sale, the Crocker Farm Parent & Guardian Organization (PGO) is seeking:
bikes, toys, games, puzzles, books
sports equipment
small appliances and housewares
kids clothes
baby gear (no cribs please)
furniture in good condition
Items can be dropped off on Fri 4:30-7:00 pm or Sat 8:00-9:00 am
Questions about the tag sale: please contact Angela at pavs4all@yahoo.com or the PGO at crockerfarmpgo@gmail.com.

For the electronics recycling:
Items can be dropped off as follows:
for $1 each: keyboards, computer mice, lead acid batteries (car/boat/lawn mower, etc.), cell phones
for $6 each: computer monitors, computers, stereos, printers, radios, DVD players, VCRs
for $15 each: all kinds of appliances: dishwashers, stoves, washers, dryers, water heaters, microwaves, refrigerators, lawn mowers, snow blowers, exercise equipment, air conditioning units, dehumidifiers, small engine items
for $25 each: TVs under 30"
for $30 each: TVs over 30" and TVs in wood cabinets/casing
Items can be dropped off early on Fri 4:30-6:30 pm or on Sat.
Questions about the electronics recycling: please contact Becky at beckydemling@yahoo.com.

Can & bottle recycling:
In addition to the tag sale & electronics recycling, this year, on Sat, 9 am-5 pm, the Crocker Farm 6th grade class is collecting redeemable cans & bottles to help fund their end of year field trip. Have redeemables piling up in your garage/basement/closet? This is a perfect time to get rid of them. Drop them off or email mgklaes@comcast.net for someone to pick them up. Pickups accepted through June 17th.

 
 

Science Night - Wed, June 11th

Science Night and the Ice Cream Social is this Wednesday. (Some of the flyers that went home in backpacks incorrectly said June 10th).   We hope to see you there!  

 

There will be:

Displays of class science projects from many classes

Lego robotics demonstrations

Hands-on science activities

Special guests such as local birder Danny Ziomek

 

Bus Transportation for this event is available for Crocker Farm families living in the following housing complexes:  Butternut (the bus will pickup families there at 6:00 pm), Southpoint (6:10 pm), and The Brook (6:15-6:20 pm).  The same bus will provide transportation home leaving from Crocker farm at 7:40 pm.   The bus will stop only at the main entrance for each complex, not make multiple stops for each.  For more information about the bus, please contact Toby Bobbitt or Tara Luce at Crocker Farm (362-1600).  

School Committee Meeting & District Trends Subcommittee Meeting - Tues, 6/10

Tuesday night's Amherst Regional School Committee meeting (7 pm, ARHS library) includes updates on Teaching & Learning regarding the Common Core & math & social studies (MS/HS focus), as well as a discussion & vote on PARCC & MCAS testing for future years. The full agenda is available at this link: AGENDA
  
The District Trends Subcommittee meets at 5:30 pm before the School Committee meeting. The Subcommittee is currently soliciting input from "students, staff, parents and the community as to what measurements should be considered" to track district trends. To provide input, or find out more about the subcommittee, visit the subcommittee's web site HERE (http://www.arpstrends.info/) 

Help Needed for Science (and Ice Cream) Night & Field Day

 Dear Parents and Guardians:

There are two exciting events this week at Crocker Farm:
* Wed, June 11th:  Science Night & the Ice Cream Social (evening)
* Thurs, June 12th:  Field Day
and the PGO is looking for volunteers to help with both of them.
 
Science Night & Ice Cream.
Volunteers are needed to help with setup, running hands-on science stations, ice cream serving and more.
You can signup to help at this at this link:  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4ca9ac22a5fa7-science

Field Day. 
The younger grades (K-3) are having their Field Day in the morning, & the older grades in the afternoon.
The PGO has offered to provide watermelon to all the participants at the end of each Field Day sessions as a nice healthy snack.   We are looking for volunteers (one per class) to bring in a watermelon, & people to help cut up the provided watermelons for the a.m. & p.m. sessions.   You can signup to help at this link:  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4ca9ac22a5fa7-watermelon

If you can help with either of these events, the PGO would be most appreciative.
Thank you in advance!

Please email crockerfarmpgo@gmail.com or contact Tracy Zafian (tmz23@zafian.com; 413-265-1274) if you have any questions or have trouble signing up at the links above.

Annual Tag Sale, Electronics Recycling, & more this Sat at Crocker Farm, 9 am - 1 pm

For the tag sale, we are seeking:

bikes, toys, games, puzzles, sports equipment
small appliances and housewares, including lamps
baskets, pots, candles, hardware
kids clothes
clean furniture in good condition
Items can be dropped off on Fri 4:30-6:30 pm or Sat 8:00-9:00 am
Questions about the tag sale: please contact Angela at pavs4all@yahoo.com or the PGO at crockerfarmpgo@gmail.com.

For the electronics recycling:
Items can be dropped off as follows:
for $1 each:  keyboards, computer mice, lead acid batteries (car/boat/lawn mower, etc.), cell phones
for $6 each: computer monitors, computers, stereos, printers, radios, DVD players, VCRs
for $15 each: all kinds of appliances:  dishwashers, stoves, washers, dryers, water heaters, microwaves, refrigerators, lawn mowers, snow blowers, exercise equipment, air conditioning units, dehumidifiers, small engine items
for $25 each:  TVs under 30"
for $30 each: TVs over 30" and TVs in wood cabinets/casing
Items can be dropped off early on Fri 4:30-6:30 pm or on Sat.  
Questions about the electronics recycling: please contact Becky at beckydemling@yahoo.com.

Can & bottle recycling: 
In addition to the tag sale, & electronics recycling, this year, 9 am-5 pm, the 6th grade class is collecting redeemable cans & bottles to help fund their end of year field trip. Have redeemables piling up in your garage/basement/closet? This is a perfect time to get rid of them. Drop them off or email mgklaes@comcast.net for someone to pick them up.  Pickups are accepted through June 17th.  

 

SciTech Cafe - Monday, June 9th, @ ABC

This is not a PGO or school-sponsored event

June 9th, 6pm
Amherst Brewing Company
UMass Physicists Fold Under Pressure

Can origami prove theorems? 

What is the smallest crane ever folded?
 Is it possible to do hands-free origami?

At our next SciTech Cafe event on June 9th, Professors Ryan Hayward, Tom Hull, and Chris Santangelo will share their research on creating soft, micro-scale polymer gels that can fold in remarkably complex origami shapes which could have applications in bio-medical engineering.  In this presentation you'll see the wizardry or origami and how its mysteries are being unlocked  
and harnessed by researchers in the Pioneer Valley.

Please help us advertise (and please come!), forwarding the announcement below to any who may be interested. All are very much welcome (kids, college students, your parents).  You'll learn something if you come.  And you might win a prize!  Please check out our website, www.scitechcafe.org for more info. 

Fundraiser for Youth Action Coalition - Sun 6/8

(this is not a PGO or school-sponsored event)

Youth Action Coalition (YAC) Fundraiser

Eat Out For Art!
Sunday, June 8th
11am-9pm

Bertucci’s Restaurant
51 N. Pleasant St. Amherst

Order from Bertucci’s Restaurant in Amherst  and 15% of the proceeds will go to Youth Action Coalition.
Dine in, take out, and bar included, brunch, lunch or dinner!
* You must mention YAC to your server *

Youth Action Coalition (YAC) promotes youth empowerment through creative expression and social action projects. YAC’s core program, Arts-for-Change (AfC), is a series of distinct arts and media projects that pairs intensive arts immersion with social justice education.   AfC provides youth from across the race/class/social spectrum access to free, high quality arts programming, helping youth break down barriers, and offering a safe space for shared dialogue and collaboration.

Learn more about YAC & YAC's programs at YAC's web site:   http://youthactioncoalition.org/


 

THIS Friday!

Questions about next year?  Comments about this year?  Come chat.

The final Coffee with the Principal with Dr. Tesauro will be this Friday!  

The first Coffee with Assistant Principal-to-be Sharri Conklin will be this Friday!  

Want hot coffee and fresh scones?

You know where you to be Friday!

(click on image to enlarge.)

Grow Food Amherst events at the Wed Farmers' Market - start June 4th

Grow Food Amherst invites Amherst school children to join us at the Wednesday Farmers' Market in Kendrick Park for a special kid-friendly event every Wednesday.  The events scheduled for June are s follows:

June 4 - The Common School will teach kids about the importance of soil while they "plant and explore with mud."   Dirt is where its at!  Teachers from this local school will have a fun activity for kids.  Join us from 4:00pm - 5:00pm at the Wednesday Farmers' Market in Kendrick Park.

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June 11 - Decorate a free Potted Plant for Papa (in preparation for Father's Day on Sunday)
Give dad a tomato plant to grow in the yard, patio pot or window box.  Stop by and decorate the pot for Father's Day and we'll provide the tomato plant!  Bring kids of all ages to the Grow Food Amherst booth at the Kendrick Park Farmers' Market between 4:00pm and 5:00pm and we'll teach them all they need to know about taking care of Dad's "living present"!  

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June 18 - The Leverett 4-H Gardening Club on backyard bees
Raising bees is less difficult than you might think.  Join 4-H'ers Henry (age 13) and Scully (age 15) to learn about their experience raising backyard bees.  Live bees will not be present but you will learn what is involved to get started producing honey in your own yard.  Join us from 4:00pm - 5:00pm at the Wednesday Farmers' Market in Kendrick Park.

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June 25 - Evan Curran will help children learn to write a song together!
According to the Huffington Post, "for children, listening to music is like dreaming. Kids connect to the raw data feed and interface directly with the sound waves."  Songwriter Evan Curran continues "I know this because I work in a school and I play music with kids almost every day."  Bring the kids to the Wednesday Farmers' Market from 4:00pm - 5:00pm to write a song with Evan!

More events are planned for July!

This Week & Upcoming at Crocker Farm & APRS

This Week -- Crocker Farm
* 6/2-6/4: Scholastic Book Fair; evening event for families on Wed, June 4th, 6:30 pm
* Fri, 6/6:  PGO Coffee with Dr. Tesauro & Ms. Conklin, 8:50 am
* Fri, 6/6:  Box Tops & Labels for Education Due; drop off in the lobby or office

 This Week -- Amherst Regional Public Schools
* Tues, 6/3:  Workshop on PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention Supports) &
            Discipline Disparity, sponsored by the Special Education Parents
            Advisory Council (SEPAC), 6:30 pm, Professional Development room
            at the Middle School  (link)

* Thurs, 6/5:  School Equity Task Force meeting, 5:30 pm, HS library (link)

Upcoming -- Crocker Farm
* Wed, 6/11: Science Night & Ice Cream Social, 6:30 pm
* Thurs, 6/12:  School Field Day, during the day
* Sat, 6/14:  Tag Sale, Bake Sale, Electronics Recycling, 9 am - 1 pm
       Drop off Fri: 4:30-6:30 pm; and Sat, 8-9 am
* Wed, 6/25:  Last Day of School, dismissal at 1:20 pm

School Equity Task Force Meeting - Thurs 5:30 pm

The first meeting of the district's School Equity Task Force will be held this Thursday at the high school library.

On the agenda (link here): organizing & structuring the task force, & discussing the district's equity policies & practices, & their current status.

The meeting is open to all.

SEPAC Workshop This Tuesday -- PBIS & Discipline Disparity

June 3rd, 6-7:30 pm

Workshop on PBIS (Positive Behavior & Intervention Supports) & Discipline Disparity

This free workshop is open to all community members.

 The workshop will provide an overview of PBIS, and how PBIS can enable improve academic & behavioral practices, & help address discipline disparities

Location:  Professional Development Room at the Amherst Regional Middle School

To be added to the SEPAC email list, please contact basilstew@comcast.net