Dear Parents and Guardians: Today I had the wonderful opportunity

Dear Parents and Guardians:
Today I had the wonderful opportunity to welcome guests from our sister city of Kanegasaki, Japan. As has
happened annually for the past 20 years, a group of Kanegasaki students have been in town to stay with host
families from the Middle School and to visit classes and local sites. A special thank you goes to Denise Boyd,
ARMS Counselor, for her oversight and organization of the visit. It is a truly special experience for our students
and the Kanegasaki visitors.
Next Tuesday, March 22 there will be a joint meeting of the Amherst and Amherst-Pelham Regional School
Committees at 5:30 p.m. This will be the last meeting for two of our dedicated members—Rick Hood and
Kathleen Traphagen. I wanted to take this opportunity to acknowledge both Rick and Kathleen for their years of
service on the Amherst and Regional committees. They have been tremendous partners in our work for our
communities’ children and they will be missed. Thank you Rick and Kathleen!
Have a great weekend,
Maria
Estimados padres y encargados:
Hoy he tenido la maravillosa oportunidad de recibir a los huéspedes de nuestra ciudad hermana de Kanegasaki,
Japón. Como ha ocurrido cada año durante los últimos 20 años, un grupo de estudiantes de Kanegasaki llegan al
pueblo para alojarse con las familias anfitrionas de la Escuela Intermedia y visitar las clases y los lugares de la
zona. Un agradecimiento especial va a Denise Boyd, Consejera en ARMS, por su supervisión y organización de la
visita. Es una experiencia verdaderamente especial para nuestros estudiantes y los visitantes de Kanegasaki.
El próximo martes, 22 de marzo habrá una reunión conjunta de los Comités Escolares de Amherst y Regional
Amherst-Pelham a las 5:30 p.m. Esta será la última reunión de dos de nuestros dedicados miembros-Rick Hood y
Kathleen Traphagen. Quería aprovechar esta oportunidad para reconocer a Rick y Kathleen, por sus años de
servicio en los comités de Amherst y Regionales. Han sido enormes socios en nuestro trabajo para los niños de
nuestras comunidades y se les extrañara. ¡Gracias Rick y Kathleen!
Que tengan un buen fin de semana,
Maria
Updat es f r om Su per i n t en den t M ar i a Ger yk
M arch 18, 2016
Why fit in when you were born to stand out?
-Dr. Suess
Upcom ing Meet ings
and
Tuesday, March 22
Amherst School Committee Meeting
ARHS Library @ 6:00 p.m..
Publ ic Invit ed t o Review Proposed
AP Biol ogy Text book
The ARPS Science Department will be
purchasing a new textbook for use in the AP
Biology course. To date, the science faculty has
reviewed the top AP Biology books on the market
and has selected the one they believe best meets
the needs of ARHS students.
The next step in the selection process is to make
the recommended book and the others reviewed
available for public
review and comment. A
copy of the recommended
book, Principles of Life (2e)
by Hill, Sadava and Price,
is available for review,
along with other top
books considered, in two
locations? the front office
of the High School and at
the Jones Library.
Those interested in
reviewing the books will
be able to read the
Science Department?s explanation of why they
recommend Principles of Life (2e) and will be able
to complete a public comment sheet at either
location. The books will be available through
Thursday, March 31, and no appointment is
required to view them.
moving presentation on how to be smart about
guns and gun safety around curious children.
Amherst Police officers speak about gun safety at the 7th Family Dialogue Event
Moms Demand Act ion f or Gun Sense in
America and ARPS Host Famil y Dial ogue
On March 10, the ARPS Family Center hosted this
year's seventh Family Dialogue with Moms Demand
Action for Gun Sense in America. The group, along
with District Attorney David Sullivan and the
Amherst Police Department, gave a powerful and
District Attorney David Sullivan shared
information about the ?Gun Buy Back Safety
Initiative? for Franklin and Hampshire counties
to safely dispose of guns. He also gave recent
statistics about how unsecured guns have
affected our society and, more importantly,
children and teens.
Two officers from the Amherst Police
Department discussed the steps required and
the process for gun ownership and how to safely
secure guns in the home. They also provided free
gun locks for members of the audience and
encouraged them to take some for anyone they knew
that had an unsecured gun in their home.
Many thanks to these community partners for such
an informative and timely presentation.
UChicago Impact Surveys Coming Soon
Healthy schools and school districts are
always in a continuous cycle of
improvement. A key aspect to finding
out what is working, and what is not, is
hearing from the people who matter
the most: students, staff and families.
As a school and as a district we have
needed a consistent way of surveying
these stakeholders to inform our
School and District Improvement Plans.
To that end, the Amherst-Pelham
Schools have formed a partnership
with UChicago Impact to provide us
with reliable, ongoing trend data.
UChicago Impact surveys center around
what they call the 5Essentials: 1)
Ambit ious Inst ruct ion? Classes are
challenging and engaging, 2) Ef f ect ive
Leaders? Principals and teachers
implement a shared vision for success,
3) Col l aborat ive Teachers? Teachers
collaborate to promote professional
growth, 4) Invol ved Famil ies? The
entire staff builds strong external
relationships with families, and 5)
Support ive Environment ? The school is
safe, demanding, and supportive. Each
of the 5Essentials is closely aligned
with the work being done in our
districts over the past few years, and
we are excited to gather survey data
around that work. UChicago Impact
provides ways for us to easily analyze
this data, and more importantly, turn it
into actionable steps for improvement.
During the next month we will be
surveying students and staff in our
school, and will be inviting families to
participate in an online survey. The
online survey will be open from
Wednesday, March 23 through Friday,
April 15. Schools will provide families
with information about how to access
the survey when it opens. Support will
also be available through the ARPS
Family Center for any families who may
need assistance in completing the
survey for any reason. Watch for more
information in next week?s newsletter!
Not a school -sponsored event .