On Tuesday, October 17th Wildwood students will be participating in National Walk to School Day. Leaving from Bertucchi’s restaurant at 8am the students will make their way to Wildwood school. The students will be joined by athletes from UMass as well as the outreach coordinator for Massachusetts department of transportation. Promoting healthy choices, healthy environment, and safety awareness for walking children, Nick (W.W principal) will lead the way!

It has been a privilege to have spent my educational career in our districts working on behalf of the children of Amherst, Leverett, Pelham and Shutesbury, and I am honored that I have been allowed to continue that work as the Superintendent of Schools. I want to thank the members of the School Committee for developing an open and thoughtful process in making this decision and for affording me this opportunity. The support of the School Committees, the outstanding Amherst Regional Public Schools faculty and staff, and the broader community has been invaluable during my time as Interim Superintendent. I look forward to continuing to build on those strong working relationships as we move forward with our vital work to support our communities’ most valuable resource—our children. Thank you again to the School Committee for showing your confidence in me in the vote for my appointment as well as over the past 13 months; I am excited for the journey ahead that we will travel, together, for the betterment of our students, families, staff, and community.

Autism Specialists from Amherst, Pelham, and Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools have put together an upcoming Parent Training Series that is not to be missed. Please have a look at the attached flyers (English and Spanish) for information on this informative five-part series.

Please RSVP one week prior to each event date: BloomenthalW@arps.org or (413) 362-1834

Parent Training Series (English) ASD Parent Training Series_English(1)

Parent Training Series (Spanish) ASD Parent Training Series Flyer_Spanish

AMHERST, MA – Join us on Thursday, October 19, 2017 at 7:00 pm in the Woodbury Room for the next event in this ongoing film and discussion series that may educate, touch your heart, and inspire you to action to help dismantle racism.

This month’s screening is a powerful documentary which explores the history of race and the criminal justice system in the United States by Ava DuVernay, the director of the feature film Selma.   We will view 50 minutes this month, and the rest at the December meeting. After the discussion, work will continue in small working groups to advance anti-racism action projects that have been undertaken.

Free and open to the public.  For more information, please contact Janet Ryan at 413/259-3223. 

This film series is co-sponsored by the Jones Library and Coming Together.  More information about Coming Together can be found at http://www.coming-together.org/.

Join us to celebrate the launching of a Zero Waste Amherst public education campaign! 

Thursday, October 19 at 6 PM

Hitchcock Center for the Environment, 845 West St., Amherst

6 PM – 7 PM: Refreshments and tour of Hitchcock Center

7 PM – 9 PM: Learn about what’s being planned and share your ideas for helping to reduce waste and promote recycling in Amherst

Sponsored by the Amherst Recycling and Refuse Management Committee,
Amherst League of Women Voters, Sustaining Amherst,
and The Hitchcock Center for the Environment.

“If you’re not for Zero Waste, how much waste are you for?”

Contact the Hitchcock Center (413-256-6006)
or the Recycling and Refuse Management Committee (rrmc@amherstma.gov)
for further information.

Amherst Regional Middle School Pool

2017 Fall Open Swim Schedule

Saturday & Sundays, September 24-November 18
Adult Lap Swim: 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.
Open Swim: 1:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m. * If space allows a lap lane will be put in during the open swim hours

Location: Amherst Regional Middle School is located at 170 Chestnut Street in Amherst. Please enter through the far north end doors. The pool and locker rooms are located upstairs.

Daily Admission Fees:
Amherst Residents                                       Nonresidents
Adult                 $3                                         Adults               $4
Youth/Seniors   $2                                         Youth/Seniors   $3

LSSE would like to thank the Amherst Regional School District for their support of this important collaboration!

Please sign up for the 46th annual Amherst A Better Chance Fall Foliage 5k Walk/Run on Saturday, October 14th.  The Amherst Town Common will be full of fun, family activities as walkers and runners begin the race. The course is a beautiful loop through scenic countryside during peak foliage! All levels of participation are encouraged. Bring the whole family!

Hope to see you there!

Every year we ask all families attending schools in Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools to fill out our Military Families Survey.  The survey is required by the state and helps to identify students who may be eligible for scholarships based on the military service of family members. Please take a moment to fill out the survey by clicking on the link below.  Thanks so much!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QQTG7RR

Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools and our fantastic Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) are pleased to invite you to kick off our 2017-2018 SEPAC hosted events.

Monday October 16, 2017:  Join us at the ARHS library at 6:00 PM for an informal gathering.  This is a great opportunity to meet school staff who support your child on their IEP or 504; learn more about SEPAC and the vital role that SEPAC provides in supporting our students and families;  share results of the special education survey completed in last spring; meet other families from across our district(s).

Thursday November 9, 2017: Basic Rights in Special Education – A Workshop for Parents and Professionals.  This informative workshop is 6:00 – 8:00 PM in the ARHS library.  Learn more about your rights and responsibilities under the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Massachusetts Special Education Law.  RSVP today to ensure your spot in this popular workshop.

Please see the attached flyers (English and Spanish) for additional information and RSVP contact information.

Upcoming SEPAC Events

Upcoming SEPAC Events_Spanish

How do naps benefit memory and cognition? Researchers from the Cognition & Action Lab at UMass Amherst are asking this simple question. From previous research, we know that sleep enhances and protects learning in adults and our hypothesis is that it serves a similar function in children.
We are currently recruiting children ages 3-5yrs to participate in our in- lab nap study at UMass. Children will have their sleep physiology recorded and be assessed on learning and behavior through different games.
We would love to tell you more about our research if you’re interested in participating!
Please feel free to contact us at the email address provided or call the Cognition and Action Lab at (413) 545-4831.

Email: preschoolnapstudy@gmail.com
Website: http://cognaclab.com/wp/

Calling all future Katie Ledeckys and Caeleb Dressels!!!

We are preparing for the upcoming winter season and looking for new swimmers ages 5-18! The Amherst Tritons Swim Team (ATST) is an non profit, competitive swim team dedicated to building the love of the sport or swimming while gaining fitness and confidence. We offer tiered, ability based practices after school in our fall/winter season (September-January) and a spring/summer season (April-July). Our coaches are certified through US swimming and have provided a terrific atmosphere for youth swimming since 1972. Interested families must pre-register by visiting http://www.atst.org and selecting the “contact us” button on the webpage. We hope to see you at the pool!

Click for flyer:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-2bHm-1AjRfMFdKd2lTWWRlYWs

A Partnership Between the University of Massachusetts Amherst School Psychology Program and the ARPS Family Center

The ARPS Family Center is working with the University of Massachusetts School Psychology program to offer ARPS parent/guardian a unique opportunity to sign up for a 7-session workshop to improve family interactions, decrease stress, and build parenting skills!

HOT DOCS is a parent/guardian education program for families of young children (2-7 years of age) who have some challenging behaviors. This program is appropriate for caregivers and parent/guardian of all children, including those with disabilities.  During the (7 week) 2-hour group sessions, you will be able to connect with other parent/guardians to learn specific strategies and parenting tips to prevent and manage your child’s problem behaviors.

HOT DOCS Course Preview:
Week # 1 – Early Childhood Development.
Week # 2 – Routines, Rituals, and Development.
Week # 3 – Development and Behavior.
Week # 4 – Developing Preventions.
Week # 5 – Teaching New Skills.
Week # 6 – Planning New Responses.
Week # 7 – Reducing Stress the HOT DOCS Way

This program has been used with thousands of families who report improvements in family well-being and decreased parent stress.  Together with other parents, you will learn more about child development, engage in hands-on activities, watch and discuss videos, and practice applying HOT DOCS problem-solving approach to real-world parenting scenarios.

At home, you will complete brief daily activities with your child to practice the skills learned in class. After you complete the training, you will be able to figure out why your child misbehaves, and have the tools necessary to help your child be more successful at home and at school.

We will offer HOT DOCS in two seven-week session on Tuesdays.  Each session will last for 2 hours.  Light refreshments will be served.

The first session will meet on Tuesday mornings from 9:00am – 11:00am on:  9-26-2017 / 10-3-2017 / 10-10-2017 / 10-17-2017 / 10-24-2017 / 10-31-2017 / 11-7-2017

The second session will meet on Tuesday evenings from 5:30pm – 7:30pm on:  11-14-2017 / 11-21-2017 / 11-28-2017 / 12-5-2017 / 12-12-2017 / 12-19-2017 / 1-3-2018