ARMS Ultimate Rec and Travel Teams Spring 2014 Update

Ultimate Frisbee has been a spring sport at ARMS since 1994.  Ultimate Intramurals is coed, open to all students, and students with no Ultimate experience are enthusiastically welcome.  There will also be a Travel Team (also coed) of approximately 18 students, selected after a tryout period.  Students on the Travel Team must also participate in Intramurals. All students must register with ARHS Athletics and have an up-to-date Sports Physical on file with the school nurse in order to participate. Registration information and a link to online registration can be found here:

http://arhs.arps.org/sports/sports_registration_forms

Detailed information about the team and schedule can be found at:

http://www.amherstultimate.org/arms

If you have questions or need more information call Jim Pistrang at 256-1737 or send him an email at ultimate@jpcr.com.  The first day of practice is Monday, March 17^th, so register now!

AYL Registration Continues

Winterfest is Next Weekend!

Creation of a District Life-Threatening Food Allergy Policy Update

School Committee members have recently voted to explore creating a policy regarding life-threatening food allergies, and referred this topic to the policy subcommittee for further discussion and action.   Any policy on this topic that is prepared by the policy subcommittee needs to come back to the full School Committee for a vote before it can be adopted.      

The policy subcommittee meet on this topic on Wed, 1/29, 5 pm on this topic. 

The current nut ban restrictions are considered guidelines (not policy). These guidelines and restrictions remain in place as is in all the district's school unless/until the School Committee approves a life-threatening food allergy policy that would support different guidelines and restrictions.  

Here is a link to the school district's Allergy Aware Schools web page and guidelines (http://www.arps.org/district_info/services/health_information/allergy_aware_schools/). 

Amherst Residents- Consider running for Town Meeting

The deadline for getting your name on the ballot as a candidate for Town Meeting is Tuesday, February 4 at 5:00pm. Sign up in the Town Clerk's office in Town Hall. You must be a registered voter in the Town of Amherst. All it takes is one signature. Remember -Town Meeting sets the budget for our schools!
If you have any questions, contact townmeeting@amherstma.gov. The Annual Town Election takes place on Tuesday, March 25, 2014. 2014 Annual Town Meeting begins Monday, April 28, 2014 at 7:00 pm in the Middle School Auditorium.

Late Start Thursday 1/16!

Don't forget that there is a late arrival day on Thursday, January 16th. School starts at 10 am. Enjoy those extra few hours of sleep!

Future Late Start Days are:
Thursday, February 13
Thursday, March 6
Thursday, April 10
Thursday, May 15

The Difference Between Positive & Negative Reinforcement - 1/16 at 7:00 p.m.

On Thursday, January 16th, the ARPS Family Center Presents THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POSITIVE & NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT. Positive reinforcement is a technique used by parents and caregivers to modify their children’s behavior by reinforcing desired behaviors. This technique has proven effective for parents, teachers, coaches, leaders and anyone responsible for a child or group of children.

Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D. is currently a professor of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is the author of over 160 refereed articles and book chapters and 16 books (many in multiple editions and translations), her most recent popular work is The Search for Fulfillment (January 2010, Ballantine Books). She is also a frequent commentator on local, national, and international media outlets including Dateline, Money Magazine, USA Today, and Time.com.

Thursday January 16th @ 7:00 p.m. in the ARHS Library

Jan. 20 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: No School

Information About Low Cost Solar Electricity Coming to Amherst 1/30 at 6pm

Solarize Massachusetts is a joint initiative of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) Green Communities Division, local municipal officials and community volunteers designed to i
ncrease the adoption of small-scale solar electricity within a community.

On December 2, 2013 Mass CEC announced that Amherst was selected to participate in Round 2 of the program. Solarize Amherst will use community outreach and a grassroots education campaign to leverage group purchasing to reduce the installation costs of solar electricity. Homeowners and businesses will have the option to either purchase a system at a reduced cost or enter into a
lease/Power Purchase Arrangement with no money down. The Solarize Amherst installer partner will be chosen by February 2014 and program enrollment will be from February to June 30, 2014.

MassCEC will present an informational program Solar 101 on January 30, 2014 at 6 pm in the Town Room, Town Hall (4 Boltwood Avenue). The program will be broadcast on Amherst Media Channel 17 at a later date. The public is encouraged to attend.

Please visit the website www.amherstma.gov/Solarize for more information or email
SolarizeAmherst@gmail.com to be placed on the email distribution list.

Kimberly Stender

Community, Partnerships & Volunteers

Office of the Superintendent

Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools

170 Chestnut Street

Amherst, MA 01002

413-362-1825

stenderk@arps.org

Community Fundraiser for Mi Tierra's Workers 1/25 4-7 p.m. at ARMS

Amherst Community Theater - Les Miserables 1/16 through 1/26

Don't forget to get your tickets for the Amherst Leisure Services Community Theater production of Les Mis at the Bowker Auditorium (UMass) . General Admission: Thursday, January 16, 2014 @ 7:30 p.m. Adult ticket $12/Children 10 and under $10. Reserved Seating: January 17, 18, 23, 24, 25 @ 7:30 p.m. & January 19 & 26 @ 2:00 p.m. Reserved Tickets: Adults $20, Students & Seniors $16, Children (ten and under) $10.

Mark Your Calendars! The Next ARMS FSP Meeting is 1/14

Don't miss the next ARMS FSP Meeting next Tuesday starting at 6:45 p.m. in the ARMS library.

LSSE Improvisational Skills Class -- Ages 11-15 -- With Hampshire Students

Friday 1/17-Sunday 1/19 -- Build Your Own Computer Board

Catching Teachable Minutes with Kids -Jan. 16

Parent, guardians, and grandparents are invited to attend a presentation that will help them make the most of those unexpected moments where the right words can help kids of all ages learn important things about what’s happening just then. Join us on Thursday evening, January 16, 2014 at 7 pm in the Woodbury Room for this program, presented by Dr. Connie Hebert especially for parents – or anyone else who takes care of kids!

Dr. Connie Hebert has served a decade as senior national consultant for Staff Development for Educators (SDE) and 3 years as a Treasures™ reading program consultant and national speaker for Macmillan/McGraw-Hill. She has her doctorate in Educational Leadership and masters in Reading Education. Field experience includes director of reading (K-12), elementary classroom teacher in 7 school districts, Reading Recovery specialist in 3 districts, and instructor for 3 Massachusetts colleges. Free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Janet Ryan at 413/259-3223.

A Note From the Health Teachers re Sexuality, Reproduction & Anatomy Upcoming Lecture, Classroom Work, and Assembly

Dear Parent & Guardians,

All 7^th and 8^th graders will be participating in a lecture, classroom work, and assembly on the topic of Human Sexuality, Reproduction & Anatomy.  We will be starting after the December break.  If you do not wish your son/daughter to participate, please contact the school so an alternative lesson can be assigned.  Please feel free to contact one of us by email or call 362-1958.

Thank you,

Ms. Carey

Ms. Bell-Perkins

Amherst Middle School Health Teachers

You Belong Information - Important Dates, Needed Permission Slips, and Fundraising

8th grade: You Belong is on – January 21, 22 and 23 

ARMS is pleased to announce that our 8th grade will be participating in the “You Belong” program in the week of January 21st, 2014, after being originally scheduled for November 2013. “You Belong” is an all-day team and leadership skill-building event. It is facilitated by local adventure learning group Adventure In Adventure Out. The program has been developed over the past 6 months to reinforce our ARMS core values of accountability, respect, motivation and safety. The program is being supported by the ARMS FSP/PGO, Amherst Rotary Club, the Toy Box in Amherst, among others. Thank you to all who are giving their support!

A number of students/families have not yet returned permission slips. To give families another
chance, 8th grade students will be bringing home an updated information sheet on Thursday,
December 12th. This sheet will have a permission section, which includes an opt-out section. We
hope that with the fuller communication planned (see dates below), all families will feel confident
in giving permission for their child to participate in You Belong.

To date we have raised 60% of the total funds needed for the You Belong program. We plan to
complete the fundraising efforts with a Hillside pizza and frozen cookie dough sale. Brochures go
home with students on Thursday, December 12th (completed order forms are due Friday, January
3rd). The goal is for all students to sell two items. If all students sell two items, we will fully fund
You Belong, and put any additional funds toward the end of the year Mill River Day and 8th grade
Social in June. Prizes for advisories and individuals with the highest sales.

Thursday, December 12 – 9:50 am – Adventure In/Adventure Out team leader Ben Delozier addressed the 8th grade in special class meeting New information/permission slips were handed out
Hillside Pizza and frozen cookie dough fundraiser launched TBA - Parent information meeting with Ben Delozier and ARMS AP Mike Malone ARMS library – have your questions answered and learn how to support the class of 2018.

 Friday, January 3 – Hillside fundraiser forms due

 Friday, January 17 – Hillside pizza and cookie dough pick up 2:30-4:00 in ARMS cafeteria

 Tuesday, January 21st – TEAM EVERGREEN in You Belong

 Wednesday, January 22nd –TEAM FROST in You Belong

 Thursday, January 23rd TEAM GREYLOCK in You Belong

Host Families Needed

Amherst Regional Middle School is once again hosting students from Kanegasaki, Japan from March 19-23th. Host families are needed for this visit. Students from Kanegasaki have been coming to Amherst for 20 years. This cultural exchange program has been the core of the long standing relationship that has linked our two sister cities.

If your family is interested in hosting, please pick up an application in the front office or talk to Ms. Boyd, 8th Grade Guidance Counselor.

Library News - How to Create a Bibliography Using EasyBib.com

One skill that is taught in our middle school is how to create and format a bibliography of the sources used for research projects. There are many excellent online tools to make this job quick and stress-free. One of the most popular is EasyBib. Below is a reproduction of a handout used with our students to help them get started with EasyBib:

Easy Steps to Create a BIBLIOGRAPHY or WORKS CITED Page in MLA 7 Format with EasyBib [www.EasyBib.com] 

1. Visit www.easybib.com 

2. Login (if you have an account) or register (to create an account) –see top-right corner of the web page 

3. Click on the tab that describes your source: 

a. For a WEBSITE, copy and paste the URL into the search box 

b. For a BOOK, type the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) of the book into the search box 

c. For a DATABASE (and ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA ONLINE), click on the link to “Copy & paste.” 

Copy the MLA Citation for your article – located at the very end of an article in a database OR 

available by clicking on “Cite” (look for an icon of a checkmark in a box at the top of every Encyclopaedia Britannica acticle) – and paste into the box in EasyBib. Click the “Create Citation” 

box. 

4. Edit your citations. Check capitalization and punctuation!

5. Click the “Sort order” button to put your citations in alphabetical order.

6. Select “Export and Print” to print as a Microsoft Word Document.

Students are always welcome and encouraged to seek out help in the library when they need to find good sources of information or when they are putting together a bibliography.

Safety Protocols

 A number of parents have asked for clarification about the presence of Amherst police officers on our school grounds. Given the significant number of incidents of violence occurring across our country, school personnel have joined with law enforcement and first responders to develop crisis response protocols. These protocols include having local police visit schools as part of their regular routine. To help alleviate concerns that a police officer in our driveway or office means that there is a danger in school, we wanted to let students know that they can expect to see officers in or around the building a few times each month. Two Amherst police officers, Glenn Jackson and Bill Laramee, were introduced to our students during class meeting this fall in an effort to familiarize our students with officers they may see driving on our grounds or visiting the building. In addition, Officer Laramee shared information with students about the Adventure Based Ropes Course that is available to students in the spring and summer months.

Late Start - 1/16 and No School 1/20 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Mark your calendars!

Jan. 16 - Late Start Day: 10 am

Jan. 20 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: No School