Proposed Middle School Schedule Changes - Meeting Jan 8th, 7 pm

Parents of upper elementary school students: the middle school (ARMS) is proposing some significant changes in the school day schedule for next year's 7th and 8th graders.

On Thursday January 8th, at 7 PM (at the ARMS Library) the middle school administration will be hosting an information night for the school community at large where they will share their rationale for the proposed schedule change and answer questions.

Information about the proposed schedule change is on the school website: http://arms.arps.org/

Here is a link to the rationale for the proposed schedule change:
http://arms.arps.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_927081/File/Rationale%20for%20ARMS%20Schedule%20Change.pdf

Here is a visual on the proposed schedule change:
http://arms.arps.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_927081/File/Schedule%20Change%20Visual%2012.23.pdf

Comments about the proposed changes can be directed to the ARMS principal, the superintendent and the school committee.


Some of the key changes embedded in and/or facilitated by the proposed schedule:
(from the link above)

• Co - teaching will be the model for inclusion.

• Students will have PE/Health every other day all year (from every other day for ½ the year)

• Music will be every other day (2.5 days per week or 162.5 minutes per week), a decrease from 4 days per week or 197 minutes per week, a 17.5% decrease).   In addition, the schedule will have new music classes, and there will also be intro to music classes and electives , addressing long - standing access issues and increasing access to music from roughly 70% of students to over 90% (some students will continue to need to access services during music) .

• Exploratories for 7th grade will be in quarters as they are now: however, two of the four quarters will be introductions to two languages/cultures: French, Spanish or Latin – students will register for their top two languages/cultures and be guaranteed to receive one of them. 7th graders will also have one quarter of Drama and one quarter of Art.

• 8th graders will have Exploratory or Language Electives. 8th graders will choose either a full year of language 1 (Spanish, French or Latin for a year of HS credit) or a choice mixture of semester drama, semester art, semester dance/movement

• No more study halls – students will be in music/PE and Exploratories in 7th and will choose between full year of language 1 or semesters of Drama/Art/Dance in 8th

• World Language (WL) - Chinese 1A discontinued (1B still offered next year for students currently in 1A) - While there may appear to be a risk of having less student s in WL in 8th grade, currently (2014 - 2015) 48% of 8th graders don’t take a language (50% of 8th graders are in language 1B and 2% are in language 1A) . We anticipate 50% or more of 8th graders will continue to take language.

• Advisory in the middle of the day, and longer Advisory will increase from 81 mins per week to 135 (11 mins Mon and 20 mins Tues – Friday to 27 minutes each day). Thus, all students’ schedules will have a one hour break from academics in the middle of the day, as lunch and advisory will make up a one hour section. This will increase our ability to deliver academic support as well as our PBIS, social - emotional, school climate, wellness and movement and social justice and equity curricula, and give students a full hour each day of non-core time.

• Overall. The balance between core academic time and aesthetics and World Language shifts from 62.5% core (with 12.5% of that in core skills, in which curricula could not be completed) and 37.5% aesthetics and World Language (music, exploratories) to 66.6% core (all time focused on curricula) and 33.3% aesthetics and World Language. While this is a shift, we believe this shift is necessary to meet our mission of bringing all students to proficiency according to the Mass standards while attending to the social, emotional and physical needs of our students. This balance (1/3+ of overall instructional time in non-core classes) maintains Amherst Middle School’s and the Amherst and Pelham region’s commitment to the whole child and a rich and wide variety of opportunities to explore a range of means to engage, learn and grow.

Two-hour delay on Thurs, Jan 8th

All families, please take note:

From the ARPS Web site (http://www.arps.org/)

Two Hour Delay 1-8-15
Due to extreme cold, all Amherst, Pelham, and Regional Schools will have a two hour delay tomorrow, Thursday 1/8/2015. As a reminder, it is especially important to wear warm clothing when the weather is this severe.

Target Grant for field trip to UMass Fine Arts Center

Congratulations & many thanks to Ms. Zsigmondi and parent Rima Dael for their work on an application for a field trip grant from Target. We just learned that the $700 we requested was awarded to Crocker Farm. Hurray! This money will be used to subsidize the cost of our 3rd, 5th, & 6th grades attending The Folktales of Zora Neale Hurston at the Fine Arts Center at UMass. 

 

There is limited money for field trips in the school budget, so Ms. Z & the PGO seeks out other sources of funding to help pay for them & make them accessible & affordable to all our families. Congrats, again! 

 

& Thank You Target for your donations for education. To date, Target has given more than $875 million to schools for special programs, books & supplies, field trips, and more, & has made a goal of reaching $1 billion by 2015.   You can learn more about Target's commitment to education here:  www.target.com/education

IDT Host Family Opportunities

New Bricks 4 Kidz Preschool and Elementary Enrichment classes

New Bricks 4 Kidz Preschool and Elementary Enrichment classes are starting up in January in the following locations:

Second Chances in South Amherst

• "Ticket to Ride" Ages 6-10 Fridays 3:45 pm-4:45 pm starting January 9
• "Numbers 0-5" Ages 3-5  Fridays 5:00 pm-5:45 pm starting January 9

Hadley Parks and Recreation Building

• "Numbers 0-5" Ages 3-5 Fridays 9:00 am-9:45 am starting January 9

Hadley Elementary School

• Free demo class: Spin Art Machine Grades 1-5 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm Wed. Jan. 7
• "Cranium Contraptions" Grades 1-5 Wednesdays 3:00-4:00 pm starting January 14

South Hadley Public Library

• "USA Landmarks" Ages 5-7 Tuesdays 3:45 pm - 4:45 pm starting January 6
• "Transportation Timeline" Ages 7-10 Tuesdays 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm starting January 6
• "Numbers 0-5" Ages 3-5 Wednesdays 10:00 am -10:45 am starting January 7
• "It's a Wild Life" Ages 5-7 Saturdays 9:45 am - 10:45 am starting January 10
• "Cranium Contraptions" Ages 7-10 Saturdays 11:00 am -12:00 pm starting January 10

Please visit our Website to learn more about these programs and to register.

Not a School Sponsored Event.

Comming Together Project: Michelle Alexander speech screening this Thurs, Jan 8th

Dear Community Members,

  

We at Coming Together Amherst hope that your holidays were restorative and joyful.  As we enter the new year we continue our Coming Together film series with a powerful speech given by Michelle Alexander, author of "The New Jim Crow”.  Please Join us Thursday January 8th at The Jones Library in Amherst at 7pm. 

 

 Michelle Alexander speaks about “The New Jim Crow”- a powerful speech given at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, NY- Thursday, January 8th, 2015 at The Jones Library.  Free and open to the public.

“The New Jim Crow is a stunning account of the rebirth of a caste-like system in the United States, one that has resulted in millions of African Americans locked behind bars and then relegated to a permanent second-class status denied the very rights supposedly won in the Civil Rights Movement. This DVD has been dubbed the secular bible of a new social movement by numerous commentators, including Cornel West, and has led to consciousness-raising efforts in universities, churches, community centers, re-entry centers and prisons nationwide. The New Jim Crow tells a truth our nation has been reluctant to face.”

“Alexander shows that, by targeting black men through the War on Drugs and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control, even as it formally adheres to the principle of colorblindness.”

Hoping to see you there,

Russ Vernon-Jones and the rest of us at Coming Together Amherst

Upcoming Dates:

• Thursday, Feb 5 – video; “Vincent Who?” a powerful film about Vincent Chin and the Asian American civil rights movement
• Tuesday, March 3 – feature film:  “Smoke Signals” a film debunking stereotypes about native people, followed by discussion with some local native people.
• We are also planning an evening with a multi-racial panel of local people sharing their experiences and perspectives and leading a general conversation with the community.
• 
  

This Week & Upcoming at Crocker Farm & ARPS

This Week & Upcoming At Crocker Farm:
Today, Jan 5th:  1st day of school for 2015.  Welcome back
Thurs, Jan 8th: afterschool Zumba class for parents & staff, 3:30 pm
Fri & Sat, Jan 9th-10th:  Ski & Snowboard Sale at Crocker Farm,
         (fundraiser for the Amherst Lions Club & the Crocker Farm PGO)

Wed, Jan 14th:  Early dismissal.  1:20 pm
Thurs, Jan 15th:  Martin Luther King Jr. celebration
Fri, Jan 16th:  Afterschool chess club starts for grades 4-6   (signup form)
Mon, Jan 19th:  No school

Other ARPS Events:
Thurs, Jan 8th:  Meeting on proposed middle school schedule for 2015-16, 7 pm, 
              ARMS Library (more details here)
Tues, Jan 13th:  Regional School Committee meeting, 6 pm
Wed, Jan 14th:   School Equity Task Force meeting, 6 pm, ARHS library
Thurs, Jan 15th:  Meeting on HS Math curriculum for next year,  6:30 pm, ARHS library (more details here)   

Reminder: Easy to Support Crocker Farm when you Shop at Stop & Shop and Target

Two Great Ways to Support Crocker Farm At No Cost to You


Stop & Shop  A+ Rewards

 Through the program, families register their Stop & Shop card to earn points for their school(s), and then the school(s) each time the family shops at the store.  Last year, Crocker Farm earned close to $500.  

If you haven't registered your Stop & Shop card yet for the A+ Rewards program, you can do so at this web site. http://www.stopandshop.com/aplus/register-card/    Crocker Farm has school ID 05194 for the program.  Family members can register to support Crocker Farm School too.   Stop & Shop (& its parent company) has stores in MA, CT, VT, NJ, NY, DE, MD, and WV. 

So far this school year, Crocker Farm has earned just over $140 in A+ Rewards.  The A+ Rewards program for the 2014-2015 year runs through March 19th, 2015.   There are just 2 1/2 months to go!  
 

Target Take Charge of Education

Families with a Target REDcard can signup in the Take Charge of Education program so that Crocker Farm earns 1% of the value of all purchases.   The online signup is here.   Crocker Farm's program ID: 58644.   So far this school year, Crocker Farm has earned just over $300. 

If you are interested in a REDcard debit or credit card and don't have one yet, you can apply for one here.   REDcard holders receive 5% off on all purchases, free shipping at target.com, and 30 extra days for returns (some restrictions apply).  

January School Lunch Menu

The school lunch menu can also be downloaded at this link:  school_menu_link

(click to enlarge)

Free Zumba classes for parents & school staff, 3:30 pm on Thursdays

Join us for these fun workouts!   These free classes are being taught by Rebecca Woodland, a Crocker Farm parent & licensed Zumba instructor.