Athletic Gear Swap for All ARPS Families, Oct 3rd

FREE Athletic Equipment Swap for K-12th Grade Families

Saturday, October 3rd, 9 am-noon,  ARHS Back Gym, 21 Mattoon Street

All families are welcome to come & take whatever they need.

* Equipment donations being accepted through October 3rd

*Equipment swap being coordinated by Fort River parent Christine St. Laurent.  Please contact cwstlaurent@gmail.com for more info or with any questions. 

Special Education Workshop for Parents - Oct 5th

The Federation for Children with Special Needs will be conducting a workshop in Amherst next week, hosted by the schools' SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Committee). 

The workshop: 
Basic Rights in Special Education: Provides a basic understanding of the complex special education laws and procedures.
 
Date/Time: October 5th, 5:30-7:30 pm
The workshop is free and open to all.


Web link:  http://fcsn.org/ptic/event/basic-rights-in-special-education-amherst-2/

ARMS PGO Meeting

Please join us Tuesday, October 13th at 6:30 PM in the ARMS Library for the monthly ARMS PGO meeting.  Agenda items this month include: PGO Grant Program 2015-16,  ARMS Educator Award, PGO Officer nominations, Team Parents, and more!  Please contact us if you would like to add any items to the agenda.  This meeting is open to all.  We hope that you can join us!

Por favor acompáñanos el martes, 13 de octubre, a las 6:30 PM en la Biblioteca ARMS para la reunión mensual del PGO.  Los temas en la agenda para este mes incluyen:  Programa de Becas PGO 2015-16, Premio al Educador ARMS, nominaciones para Oficial PGO, Padres de Equipos y más.  Por favor comunícate con nosotros/as si deseas añadir otros temas a la agenda.  Todos/as son bienvenidos/as a esta reunión.  ¡Esperamos que nos acompañes!

ARMS After School Clubs

The After School Club Pamphlet is available here: ARMS After School Clubs Pamphlet - 2015 or club information is available online on the ARMS website at: http://arms.arps.org/for_students/after_school_clubs or you can pick up a paper copy in the ARMS Main Office. 

There is no forms to complete and no sign up sheets for clubs. Students who wish to join a club attend the first meeting date listed in the pamphlet and sign in with the club advisor and their signup is complete.

A Better Chance (ABC) Fall Foliage Walk

The ABC Fall Foliage Walk and 5K Run is coming up on October 17th. This fundraiser combines a beautiful day outdoors, an opportunity to generate funds that help our A Better Chance (ABC) scholars, and the chance to come together to show our support for this valuable project. You can print the registration form here or register at the A Better Chance website. If you can’t make it, but want to help anyway, please consider a donation.

ARPS PGO Fall Public Meeting

ARPS PGO

Fall Public Meeting Notice

The Amherst Regional Public Schools Parent Guardian Organization (ARPS PGO) is a Registered 501c3 Massachusetts Charity encompassing the individual PGOs of the Amherst Regional High and Middle Schools, Crocker Farm and Wildwood Elementary.

Our mission is to support the education of children within our schools through fundraising, supplemental programming and volunteer efforts.  We help build community by fostering relationships among the schools, parents, teachers and staff. 

Our Fall Public Meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 14, 2015 from 4:00 PM – 5:20 PM in the Crocker Farm Lobby. 

Agenda

- Introductions
- Approval of Spring Meeting Minutes
- Voting on new representatives and officers
-  Fall Filings/ Paperwork
-  Paypal on Websites
-  Processing Large Donations/ Matching Gifts Protocol
-  Grant Writing Protocol
-Valley Gives, Giving Tuesday, Whole Foods & future other joint fundraising opportunities
- Sales Tax Exemption Use
- Other new business

 

Upcoming Public Forums on Regionalization, School Consolidation, & More

The Amherst schools are asking some big questions right now about what our schools for the near & longer-term future? Should the three Amherst elementary schools be consolidated into two? Should the MS & HS be combined into one building? & does Amherst want to extend the current regional district for MS & HS (which includes Pelham, Leverett, & Shutesbury) to the elementary schools as well?

There are a number of upcoming public forums to discuss each of these topics, & ARPS families & community members are invited to attend. Childcare will be available at all the upcoming public forums and listening sessions, & transportation & translation services are available upon request (by calling 362-1823).  The first forums will be held Tues, Sept 29th, at 3:30 & 7:00 pm at the ARMS auditorium, & will discuss the Wildwood building study & possible elementary school configuration. The forum will be recorded & will play later through Amherst Media for those who cannot attend in person. More information about the Wildwood/elementary reconfiguration study & these other topics, including documents with the most Frequently Answered Questions and the district's answers, is available on the school district's web site, www.arps.org.

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Also, recently, a League of Women's Voters (LWV) member Joan Temkin hosted Superintendent Maria Geryk, Assistant Superintendent Mike Morris, & ARPS Human Resources Director Kathryn Mazur in a televised discussion about the possible MS-HS consolidation & the possible elementary school consolidation.  The 40 minute program was produced by Amherst Media and the recording can be viewed here.
For answers to frequently asked questions, please use the following links:

Wildwood Building Project FAQ Document

7-12 Consolidation FAQ Document