November School Calendar Updates

From Angela Mills in the Crocker Farm office.   Thank you, Angela! 

November is a month full of interesting events and our first long vacation break – here are the details:

​​Friday, November 6^th – Community breakfast with Student-Athletes from UMass 8am in the cafeteria, come join us and meet some interesting members of our valley community

Wednesday, November 11 – Veterans’ Day – School is closed.

Friday, November 20 – Coffee with the principal 8:45am – special guests Tara Luce, School Counselor and Amy Baver, School Psychologist

Wednesday, November 25 – 27 – Thanksgiving Recess – School is closed.

Monday, November 30 - Teacher Curriculum/Workday – School is closed.

Tues, December 1 -  School open again.    

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From the Crocker Farm PGO:

Saturday, November 7th.  Crocker Farm PGO Bookfair at the Hadley Barnes & Noble.   This is one of our big fundraisers of the year.   The bookfair runs all day, & the store is open 9 am until 10 pm.   Please mention "Crocker Farm" when checking out to earn credit for our school.    See the next blog post for additional details.   

Monday, November 9th  (8:30 am - 5 pm) & Tuesday, November 10th (8:30 am - 3:00 pm).    Crocker Farm PGO's annual winter coat & clothing share.  Come "shop" for whatever your family needs for the winter.  All school & community members are welcome.    & if you have gently used winter outerwear your family no longer needs,  please drop them off at Crocker Farm by Friday afternoon (tomorrow).   We'll be setting up afterschool for next week's distribution. Families, parents/guardians are welcome to stop by & help with the setup.  

Upcoming @ Crocker Farm & great volunteer opportunities

Upcoming @ Crocker Farm:
**Tues, Nov 3rd:  School picture makeup day

** Sat, Nov 7th:  Crocker Farm Barnes & Noble Bookfair day, at the Hadley B&N.  We are still looking for people to sit out our table in-store & help promote our bookfair.  There are a number of fun tech events the store that day (link to more info here), so there will be more people in the store, & more potential participants for our bookfair.  This is one of our big fundraisers for the year, & volunteers are still needed.  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4ca9ac22a5fa7-volunteer

** Mon & Tues, Nov 9th & 10th:  Crocker Farm Winter Coat & Clothing Share.  We are still seeking coats, snowpants, boots, etc. to give away -- the collection bins will be out until Friday afternoon --  & more volunteers to help.  We are looking for coats & clothing in all sizes (baby through adult).  This is one of the PGO's most important events of the year & a great way to help our community.  Volunteers can sign at this link:  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0f4ca9ac22a5fa7-winter

** Wed, Nov 11th:  No school.  Veteran's Day holiday.


Upcoming @ ARPS:
 **Tues, Nov 3rd.  Amherst School Committee meeting, 6 pm, ARHS Library.  The School Committee is expected to take a vote at the meeting on which proposed elementary school building option to support to the next stage.  To find out more about the Amherst elementary school building study, you can visit the project's web page (here) or the district's Facebook page for the project.

The Wildwood PGO has created an online feedback form to encourage input from parents, teachers, school staff, & community members about the district's recommendation to consolidate the current three K-6 Amherst public elementary schools into two schools: a K-1 school at Crocker Farm (which also houses the district's preK program) & a grades 2-6 school at a location still tbd. The link to the Wildwood PGO's online feedback form is below, & the form is available in both English & Spanish. Those wanting to give feedback to the district about its recommendations can also email the Amherst School Committee at schoolcommittee@arps.org.   Like the Wildwood PGO, the Crocker Farm PGO is taking no position on the building study & the district's recommendations, & is providing information on the project & the feedback form link only as a service to help our families learn more about the project & help them give an easy way to  provide feedback should they care to do so.
Link to Wildwood PGO feedback form:  http://wildwoodpgo.com/reconfiguration-feedback-form/

November school lunch menu

(click to enlarge)

You can also view it online here: https://drive.google.com/open…

Crocker Farm PGO Bookfair at Barnes & Noble - next Sat, Nov 7th

Hadley Barnes & Noble, all day

10 am: Music with Miss Leticia (Crocker Farm parent) & her students
11 am: Storytime with Amy Coulthard (Crocker Farm Preschool Teacher)

Enjoy a day of shopping while supporting the Crocker Farm PGO!
Mention "Crocker Farm" when checking out to earn money for our school. 

Stop by our table in-store to enter our FREE kids & adult raffles. 

Explore Barnes & Noble’s first-ever Mini Maker Faire. Events throughout the day.
* Make & Collaborate - Hands-On Activities at Noon, 4 pm, & 5 pm; different activities for ages 5+, 8+, & teens/adults

* Demonstrations of tech/gadget products at 11 am, 3 pm, & 6 pm including a 3D printer, and a Meccanoid personal robots.  

Mini-Maker Faires are being held at Barnes & Noble stores nationwide, Nov 6th-8th.    Learn more about the events for the Hadley store HERE.

Crocker Farm PGO: Bookfair ID 11714474  

Crocker Farm Gardens - Seeking Gardening Gloves for Kids & Adults

The new garden beds installed by the district are looking good, & classes have started planting fall crops (Spinach) & spring/summer ones (garlic).   The new garden shed from the district is a huge help.

MANY THANKS to the 2nd grade classes for weeding the older beds, & to volunteer extraordinaire Sylvia K. for the long hours she has spent on weeding & garden cleanup.

The 2nd grade teachers (Ms. Mattone, Ms. Carson, & Mr. Lefebvre) are jointly sharing the job of being Crocker Farm's garden coordinator.   If you are interested in helping with the garden, please let the PGO or one of the 2nd grade teachers know.

The 2nd teachers are currently seeking donations of gardening gloves (kid size & adult size), as they have none.  Used gloves are fine.  Thanks in advance! 

Online Feedback Form from Wildwood PGO on the Disrict's Recommendation for Elementary School Consolidation

At this week's public forum on the elementary school building project, Wildwood PGO board member Laura Quilter spoke & mentioned an online feedback form that she has created to encourage input from parents, teachers, school staff, & community members about the district's recommendation to consolidate the current three K-6 Amherst public elementary schools into two schools: a K-1 school at Crocker Farm (which also houses the district's preK program) & a grades 2-6 school at a location still tbd. At the forum, the Assistant Superintendent Mike Morris thanked Laura for her efforts.

The link to the Wildwood PGO's online feedback form is below, & the form is available in both English & Spanish. Those wanting to give feedback to the district about its recommendations can also email the Amherst School Committee at schoolcommittee@arps.org.

Like the Wildwood PGO, the Crocker Farm PGO is taking no position on the building study & the district's recommendations, & is providing information on the project & the feedback form link only as a service to help our families learn more about the project & help them give an easy way to provide feedback should they care to do so.

Link to form:  http://wildwoodpgo.com/reconfiguration-feedback-form/

To learn more about the Wildwood/elementary school building study, you can visit the study's web site: http://wildwood.projects.joslinlesser.com/

District-SEPAC Meetings for Parents on the District's Recommendations for the Elementary Schools & Proposed School Consolidation

The district & SEPAC (the Special Education Parents Advisory Council)  will be holding meetings next Mon, Nov 2nd, at Crocker Farm (9 am) & Fort River (5:30 pm) to discuss the impacts of the district's recommended elementary school changes on students with IEPs or 504 Plans.

All families with children on an IEP/504 Plan are welcome to attend.

The meetings will include:
Maria Geryk, Superintendent
Mike Morris, Assistant Superintendent...
Faye Brady, Director of Student Services
Katherine Appy, Amherst School Committee Chair
Nancy Stewart & Laura Kent; SEPAC Executive Board Members

Workshop for Parents of Children on IEPs - RSVPs due Oct 29th

** This workshop is free & open to all but reservations are required **   

RVSP to Nancy Stewart, by October 29th
(413)687-4255  * sepac@arps.org 

Family TIES of Massachusetts            

 Let’s Get Organized

Wed, November 4th, 2015

6:30-8:30 pm

Amherst Regional High School Library

Do you wish you had a way to keep track of your child’s IEPs, evaluations, progress reports, doctor reports, test results, and more? Western Parent Coordinator will offer effective ways for parents to organize and manage paperwork, building a customized binder for your child - plus general ideas on “keeping it together” and tips for developing community connections for your child. This workshop is free and open to the public.

Family TIES of Massachusetts is a project at the Federation for Children with Special  Needs, funded by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Family and Community Health, Division for Perinatal, Early Childhood & Special Health Needs.

 

Amherst Educational Foundation Trivia Bee Tonight

The Amherst Education Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization committed to promoting students’ educational equity, supporting diversity, stimulating excellence, & mobilizing broad community support for the public schools of Amherst, Leverett, Pelham, & Shutesbury.

AEF has been raising & distributing funds to support community schools since 1994. TONIGHT is the AEF's Trivia Bee, one of the AEF's major annual fundraisers. The Trivia Bee is wonderful community event in which teams match wits for trivia glory, all to benefit our public schools.

 

Thank you, AEF, & thanks AEF supporters for helping our public schools! 

Amherst School Winter Coat Share - collecting now, distributions starting soon

(click to enlarge)

The Crocker Farm PGO is partnering with the parent groups in the other Amherst public schools again this year for our annual Warm Winter Clothing Share.  

As the temperatures are getting lower, we are seeking coats & other warm winter clothes of all sizes to pass along to school & community families. 

At Crocker Farm, the collection boxes will be out in the main lobby & at the preschool/afterschool pickup door until Fri, Nov 6th.

The Crocker Farm PGO is seeking volunteers to help with distributing the collected clothes, including helping set everything up on Fri, Nov 6th afterschool & on Mon & Tues, Nov 9-10th during the day.   If you can help, please signup HERE or email Tracy at tmz23@zafian.com. 

The Crocker Farm PGO is also looking to borrow a coat rack for the distribution days.  If anyone has one they can lend out, please let us know.   Thank you!