Hopes and dreams, folks. Hopes and dreams.

What do you love about the Jones Library? What would you change about the Jones Library? The library community needs advice from the hive! Help the good people at the library brainstorm the future of the library. Click here to contribute your thoughts.

photo credit: Larry Kelley

And thanks, Crocker families!

PGO Letter to Families - June 2016

(this is the same letter that went home in backpacks)

June 16, 2016

Dear Crocker Farm Families,

The end of the school year is almost here. Looking back, we have many fond memories of the year. We are grateful for Crocker Farm’s teachers and staff and for the wonderful Crocker Farm community. We are thankful for everyone who helped during the year with various PGO events and activities, who supported our events by attending, and/or who contributed to our annual appeal for donations 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 and your support. We also would like specifically to thank the staff in the Crocker Farm front office – Mr. Shea, Ms. Conklin, Ms. Aldrich, Ms. Mills – as well as Mr. Stedman and the other custodians who assisted with the setup and cleanup of the PGO’s various events. We are grateful for your help throughout the year.

A few of our favorite PGO events/activities since our last letter:

·         Bus Driver & Crossing Guard Appreciation Breakfast and Staff Appreciation Luncheon. These are the PGO’s annual events to recognize the staff and teachers who are part of the Crocker Farm community.   Thank you to everyone who contributed food or volunteered at these events.  We also want to thank Andrew’s Greenhouse for donating table flowers for the luncheon; they were beautiful. 

·         Field Day Watermelon. The Field Day tradition started by PE Teacher Mr. James is so much fun and the PGO was again happy to staff a watermelon and water station to help keep everyone cool and refreshed. Thank you to everyone who contributed a watermelon and helped serve them. Thank you too to all the Field Day activities helpers.

With the ending of the school year, the PGO is wrapping up our annual appeal for donations. If you have been thinking of donating, or donating again, this is a great time to do so. The funds we raise now will help pay remaining expenses for the year, and will help with startup funds and field trip subsidies in the fall. In recent weeks, the PGO has helped pay for:

·         The kindergarten field trip to the Magic Wings Butterfly Conservancy & the 6th grade field trip to the Morse Hill Outdoor Education Center.

·         Books for emerging ELL readers, and books for children with few books of their own, to bring home to read over the summer.

·         Costumes and other supplies for the school musical.

·         Starter plants for the Crocker Farm garden.

·         The appreciation breakfast for all the Crocker Farm bus drivers and crossing guards.

·         The appreciation luncheon for all the preK-6th grade teachers and staff.

You can donate to the PGO using the envelopes that were sent home or online at

valleygives.razoo.com/us/story/Crocker-Farm-Parent-Guardian-Organization

Donations of any amount are welcome and every contribution makes a difference! Thank you!

We hope that everyone has a great summer.

Best wishes,

Your Crocker Farm PGO

Tracy Zafian, Chairperson (2015-16 school year)

Carta del grupo de padres y guardianes en Crocker Farm

16 de junio de 2016

Estimadas Familias de Crocker Farm,

El final del año escolar ya casi está aquí. Mirando hacia atrás, tenemos muchos buenos recuerdos del año. Estamos muy agradecidos a los profesores y al personal de Crocker Farm y a la maravillosa comunidad de Crocker Farm. Estamos realmente agradecidos a todos los que ayudaron durante el año con diversos eventos y actividades para OPG, a los que apoyaron nuestros eventos asistiendo, y / o contribuyendo a nuestro pedido anual o participado en nuestros otros eventos para recaudar fondos. Todas las familias de Crocker Farm son automáticamente parte del OPG y no podríamos hacer lo que hacemos sin su apoyo! También nos gustaría especialmente dar las gracias al personal de la oficina central de la escuela: Sr. Shea, Sra. Conklin, Sra Aldrich, Sra. Mills, así como Sr. Stedman y los otros custodios que colaboraron en la preparación y la limpieza de diferentes actos de OPG. Estamos muy agradecidos por su ayuda durante todo el año.

Algunos de nuestros eventos  y actividades favoritas desde nuestra última carta:

·         Desayuno de Apreciación al Conductor del autobús y al Guardia de Cruce de calle. Agradecimiento tambien al personal.Estos son eventos anuales de la OPG para reconocer al personal y los profesores que forman parte de la comunidad Crocker Farm. ¡Gracias a todos los que contribuyeron los alimentos o como voluntarios en estos eventos. También queremos dar las gracias al jardín invernadero de Andrew por la donación de flores de mesa para el almuerzo; que  hermosas eran! .  

·         La tradición del Dia de Campo de la sandía. El día de campo iniciado por el Sr. James, maestro de educación física es tan divertido que  el OPG estuvo de nuevo feliz de ofrecerlo! Se aportó personal  y la estación de agua y sandías para ayudar a mantener a todos frescos y renovados. ¡Gracias a todos los que contribuyeron una sandía y ayudaron a servir también. Gracias también a todos los voluntarios del evento del día de campo!.

Con el final del año escolar muy próximo, el OPG está terminando nuestra convocatoria anual para las donaciones. Si usted ha estado pensando en donar, o donar una vez más, este es un buen momento para hacerlo. Los fondos que recaudamos ahora ayudarán a pagar los gastos restantes para el año, y le ayudará con los fondos de inicio y los subsidios viaje de campo en el otoño. En las últimas semanas, el OPG ha ayudado a pagar:

·         .La excursión de jardín de infantes al conservatorio de mariposas Conservancy Magic Wings y el sexto viaje de estudios de grado para el Centro de Educación al aire libre Morse Hill.

·         Libros para lectores ELL emergente, y los libros para niños para llevar a casa para leer durante el verano.

·         Traje y otros suministros para el musical de la escuela.

·         Plantines para el jardín Crocker Farm.

·         Desayuno de Apreciación al Conductor del autobús y al Guardia de Cruce de calle.

·         el almuerzo de agradecimiento para los maestros y el personal.

Usted puede donar usando los sobres que fueron enviados a casa o en línea en

valleygives.razoo.com/us/story/Crocker-Farm-Parent-Guardian-Organization

Son bienvenidas las donaciones de cualquier cantidad  y cada contribución hace una diferencia!

Gracias,Esperamos que todo el mundo pase un gran verano.

Los mejores deseos,

su OPG de Crocker Farm

Tracy Zafian, Presidente (2015-16 año escolar)

Crocker Farm 6th grade graduation with special guests - UMass Chancellor Subbaswamy & Superintendent Geryk

UMass-Amherst Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy & ARPS Superintendent Maria Geryk spoke at Friday's Crocker Farm 6th grade graduation ceremony.

The Chancellor gave a great speech & had the following words of wisdom for the graduates: Remain curious, be open minded, work hard, don't be afraid of failure and look for solutions in life.

Congratulations & best wishes, 6th graders!

 

Class sizes & number of classes per grade next year at Crocker Farm

Letter from Principal Derek Shea:

Dear Families of 2016-2017 4th Graders,

As you may recall, with the superintendent’s support we added a third classroom to this year’s 3rd grade class. This allowed us to have three 3rd grade classrooms of 13-15 students.

Each year, our budget process for the next year begins in the fall. Our planning for classroom sections is based on both actual and projected enrollments.

The School Committee guidelines for class size are as follows:

· Grades K and 1 maintain 17-21 students

· Grades 2 and 3 maintain 19-23 students

· Grades 4, 5, 6 maintain 20-24 students

During the initial planning, and even up until last week, we were intending to have three sections of 4th grade for next year. However, in the past month, our rising 4th grade dropped from 43 to 41 students which would mean 13-14 students in each classroom.

The current 1st grade group (rising 2nd grade) has 44 students with 22 students in each class. In recent weeks, four new students enrolled in this grade level for next year. The rising 2nd grade enrollment has grown from 44 students to 48 students. This would mean next year’s 2nd grade would have 24 students in each classroom.

As an administrative team, Ms. Conklin and I have monitored these enrollment changes closely. After consultation with the central office administrators, we are planning to reduce the number of sections in 4th grade from three to two, and increase the number of sections of 2nd grade from two to three. As many of you are aware, our school is quite full in terms of space. Any change in one grade level has a resulting impact on another in terms of the number of sections we can offer. Crocker Farm can only accommodate 19 total classrooms, which is our current and projected total.

Current classroom configuration planned for 2016-2017:

Kindergarten: 2 classrooms

1st grade: 3 classrooms

2nd grade: 2 classrooms (possible 3 classrooms)

3rd grade: 3 classrooms

4th grade: 3 classrooms (possible 2 classrooms)

5th grade: 3 classrooms

6th grade: 3 classrooms

Total classrooms: 19

These are not easy decisions to make and we will most certainly continue to monitor the enrollment at each of these grade levels throughout the summer. At this time, we wanted to let you know that the current enrollment numbers necessitate this change. If enrollment were to change between now and the start of school, we will certainly let you know and make the necessary adjustments.

In addition, please know that we are working diligently to find ways to provide additional professional teacher support for a model of two 4th grade classes. We will be able to provide specific details later this summer. We will also monitor new student enrollment and have already been in touch with the central office administrators about limiting new enrollments in that grade level for next year.

 

Thank you for your patience and understanding. Please feel free to contact me and we will certainly be in touch as our plan develops,

 

Sincerely,

Derek Shea

Lost & Found -- last call -- items to be donated after the school year ends

The lost & found still has plenty of coats, sweatshirts, lunch boxes, & more.   If you are missing items, please come take a look.  The lost & found will be cleared out after the end of school later this week & items will be donated to the Amherst Survival Center and other location organizations.   Thanks.

& a big THANK YOU to Ms. Bobbitt for her work on organizing the lost & found racks throughout the year.

Box Tops Really Add Up - Turn them in now, Collect them over the summer & turn them in, in Sept

Don’t forget your box tops

* Turn them in now

* Clip them all summer & turn them in when school starts again in the fall 

The end of school is just around the corner, but it is not too late to submit your box tops! My name is Jennifer Restucci and I’m thrilled to be one of Crocker Farm’s school’s Box Tops for Education™ Coordinators, along with Marcia Turner.

Clipping Box Tops is an easy way to help earn cash for our school. Each one is worth 10¢ for our school! Just look for the pink Box Tops on hundreds of products. All you have to do is clip them and send them to school.

 

This school year, we earned $300 for our school from Box Tops and used the money to help fund food for the Martin Luther King Jr. school community breakfast, student snacks for guidance staff,  and other special requests. This school year, our goal was to earn $1000.00.   Although we did not meet our goal this year, we are continuing to help contribute to the Crocker Farm community. 

Even though the school year is ending, Box Top earnings continue year round.  For more information on Box Tops, including a list of participating products, go to BTFE.com. Be sure to sign up as a member (it’s free!) so you can check out our school’s earnings details and get access to coupons and bonus offers.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I’m here to help make our school’s Box Tops for Education™ program a huge success.

 

Keep on clipping! All Box Tops turned in from now through November 1 will go toward our next Box Tops check in December.

Thanks for your help!
Jennifer Restucci (Zach’s mom, rising 2nd grader)

Email: vtpeanut@yahoo.com



Congratulations Jaime Cruz, winner of the Crocker Farm alumni award given out to an ARHS senior each year

In his essay applying for the award, he recognized a number of teachers & staff who helped him and inspired him at Crocker Farm including Mrs. Fay, Mrs. Fitz, Ms. Dougherty, Ms. Nambu, Ms. Madison, Ms. Spiro, & Ms. Martinez.
 
Jaime closed his essay by saying "I will always remember the love and support I received from all the teachers I had because for me, Crocker Farm was my home." Thank you to the Crocker Farm teachers & staff who make such a difference in the lives of their students.

Congratulations and good luck at college, Jaime!

Ice Cream Social & Field Day Thanks

There are so many great events going on at Crocker Farm lately, it's hard to keep up. 

The PGO wants to send belated thanks to those who helped with Field Day on June 10th and the Ice Cream Social last week, and helped both be a great success.

Field Day
Crocker Farm's 3rd Field Day had perfect weather & the day was filled with activity & fun. Thank you to Mr. James, & all the teachers, staff, & volunteers who made Field Day such a success!
The PGO gave out plenty of watermelon & water to all. A big thanks to everyone who donated watermelon & to those staffed the table. We also want to give a special shout out to parent Aidza M. who donated freeze pops for the whole school. They were a wonderful end of Field Day treat. Thank you!

Ice Cream Social
What a perfect night for the Ice Cream Social! It was great to see so many families there. We hope that everyone had fun. Thank you to all the volunteers who made the event possible, especially Marla J., the event's coordinator. Thanks also to Wendy B. for offering a dairy-free, nut-free option.
The delicious ice cream last night came from Atkins, who gave us a great price. We love supporting our local businesses & are grateful for their support of our schools & school events.

Summer Camp at The Center dance studio

Massachusetts Soccer School Camps - at UMass

Massachusetts Soccer School

SUMMER DAY CAMP
JULY 6-9
JULY 13-16

HELD AT UMASS AMHERST

MASSSOCCERSCHOOL.COM

LSSE camps & discounts for Amherst families

LSSE have a variety of sports & day camp options.
Find the full listing here: www.lsse.org, or call 413-259-3065.

Amherst families receive 20% off youth programs with the following promo code: Webb20.
This discount ends June 30th.

 LSSE Sports Camps: (click to enlarge)

 

Multi-Art Summer Camps - Registration closes June 20th

 

Registration for our SUMMER CAMP closes on June 20

at Multi-Arts, children ages 4 to 12 work with top-notch, professional artists every day

For a complete listing of workshops, please visit our website multi-arts.org

Space is limited. Sign up today! http://www.multi-arts.org/summer-camp-2016.html

 

Location: Wildwood Elementary School, Amherst

Do you have an ARMS 7th grader?

The ARMS PGO is in desperate need of volunteers for the 8th grade End of the Year Dance! Unfortunately, 8th grade parents aren't supposed to be anywhere near there (ew, how embarrassing! Your parents at your dance!) so if there are any 7th grade parents willing and able to help out, please oh please sign up:

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0e49a4ae2faaff2-8thgrade

You'll feel so virtuous for having helped out such a good cause that you can skip flossing that night.

Field Day in Two Days -- A few more watermelons & volunteers needed

Crocker Farm's Field Day is this Fri, in two days.  - Yay!  

Mr. James & the PGO are still looking for parent volunteers to help with the watermelon & water station & with the Field Day events in the afternoon, 1-3:15 pm, for grades 4-6. The PGO is also seeking more watermelon donations to have enough for everyone. 

Signup to bring in a watermelon or help with the watermelon & water station here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4ca9ac22a5fa7-watermelon

If you would like to help with the Field Day events themselves, please contact Mr. James, atjamesd@ARPS.ORG.

Thank you!

Free Interactive Theatre Performance for ages 7-10, this Sun, June 12th

From the ARHS Theater Company

Dear Families,
The Amherst Regional High School Theater Company invites families with 7-10 year olds to sign them up to attend a special immersive theater performance designed exclusively for them! A Letter from Sabine, first mounted by the company in 2013 returns with its story of a mysterious post card shop that has popped up in downtown Amherst and a curious cast of characters to boot. The show is designed for four lucky audience members at a time. Performances start at noon in downtown Amherst and continue on the hour.

Additional information can be found here: bit.ly/arhssabineabout
Ticket reservations (free!) can be found here: bit.ly/arhssabine

Questions can go to the Performing Arts chair John Bechtold at bechtolj@arps.org.

Field Day, June 10th - Seeking Watermelons & Volunteers

Crocker Farm's Field Day is this Fri, June 10th 

Kindergarten-3rd gr students are having Field Day in the morning, & the older grades are having their Field Day events in the afternoon.

As in years past, the Crocker Farm PGO will be hosting a watermelon & water station throughout the day. We are seeking families to donate watermelons (at least 1 per class we hope) & volunteers to staff our station during the morning & afternoon. If you can help, please sign up here. Also, if anyone has a pop-up shade tent we can borrow for the day, please let us know asap.

Watermelon signup:  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4ca9ac22a5fa7-watermelon

If you would like to help with the Field Day events themselves, please contact Mr. James (jamesd@ARPS.ORG) or signup here:

Field Day event signup:  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4ca9ac22a5fa7-field1

THANK YOU!

Crocker Farm Ice Cream Social, Wed, June 15th

 

6:30 – 7:30 pm

At the main playground

Suggested donation: Cones $1-$1.50

(not required, but appreciated!)

Families are welcome to come & have their own picnic dinner beforehand, starting at 6 pm.

In the event of rain, the Ice Cream Social will be held in the cafeteria. 

Any extra funds raised by the Ice Cream Social will go to support activities for the school community.

Event organized by the Crocker Farm PGO.  

**THE PGO IS SEEKING VOLUNTEERS TO SERVE ICE CREAM AT THIS EVENT, & HELP WITH SETUP & CLEANUP.  IF YOU'D LIKE TO HELP, PLEASE CONTACT MARLA at marlagonow@gmail.com.    Thanks!

Fiesta social con helado, 15 de junio

en el patio de la escuela, 6:30-7:30 pm

Donación sugerida para un cucurucho de helado: $1.00-$1.50

Pueden traer cena para comer estilo “picnic” en el patio, a las 6 pm.

En casi de lluvia, el evento tendrá lugar en la cafeteria.

Todo el dinero recaudado apoya a actividades para nuestros hijos y sus maestros en la escuela de Crocker Farm.

Organizado por el PGO de Crocker Farm.

Preguntas?  Correo electrónico Crockerfarmpgo@gmail.com.

Coming Together Film Showing: What's Race Got to Do with It, Thurs, June 9th

Thursday, June 9th, 6:30PM - at The Jones Library, downtown Amherst

A trailer for the movie is here: https://youtu.be/T-Q9Ue3slCY

Showing being sponsored by the Coming Together project. Coming Together: Understanding Racism, Building Fairness and Connection is a local project seeking to bring people together to gain a deeper understanding of how race affects the Amherst area and our nation, make connections with each other, and lay the groundwork for effective action to create a more equitable, interconnected and inclusive community.

Learn more at: http://www.coming-together.org/

(not a school or PGO-sponsored event)

Crocker Farm Upcoming Retirements - Ms. Frau & Ms. Zsigmondi

Ms. Frau & Ms. Zsigmondi will be retiring at the end of this school year after many years at Crocker Farm.    They will be missed, and we wish them all the best. 

Congratulations to them both! 

Family forum on the new elementary school building this Wed, June 8th, at Crocker Farm

The forum starts at 5:30 pm. 
ARPS administrators & the building architects will be in attendance
Pizza & drinks will be served.  All Crocker Farm & Wildwood families are welcome to attend.

A big ole thank you!

To all the Crocker Farm families who contributed to yesterday's Teacher & Staff Appreciation Luncheon, the PGO thanks you! You guys are some awesome bakers and salad makers! The lunch was a huge success with lots of tasty foods, all wonderfully donated by you.

Thanks, Crocker families!

 We'd like to give a shout out too to Andrew's Greenhouse for donating the table plants for the luncheon. A big thanks to them for their beautiful, generous donation.