Friday, October 19, 2018

JFK PTO Update – October 19, 2018



JFK PTO Update – October 19, 2018
Important Dates:
October 27 - National Prescription Take Back Day at JFK (10am-2pm)
November 1 - School Picture Make-Up Day
November 4 - JFK Antique Sale & After School Fundraiser (Bakers Needed!)
November 6 - No School - Election Day
November 7 - JFK PTO Meeting
November 12 - No School - Veterans Day Observed

This Sunday! Jazz Brunch to Support JFK Jazz Band (12pm)
The Northampton Jazz Festival will be hosting a jazz brunch fundraiser at 12pm on Sunday, October 21 at the Hotel Northampton. Featuring trombonist Steve Davis, vocalist Linda Ransom and The Green Street Trio (Paul Arslanian, George Kaye, Jon Fisher). A nine-piece ensemble of JFK students will be performing along with the professional musicians. Proceeds for this event go to support artist visits to work with the Jazz Band. Tickets to support this great new initiative are $40 and must be purchased in advance. For details, visit 

Save the Dates!
The Scholastic Book Fair will be held from December 3-7 at JFK. Stay tuned for more info.

Please Participate in the District Review Parent Survey
The Northampton Public School District is scheduled to participate in a District Review this year. The Office of District Reviews and Monitoring (ODRM) at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) conducts district reviews on a regular basis to provide all districts with an assessment of district systems, enabling district leaders to reflect on progress and strengthen performance.

The district review is intended to add value to the improvement cycle by providing an experienced team of district leaders who will provide an objective analysis and suggestions for improvement. The value of the district review is measured: first, by the reflection preparing and participating in the review promotes; second, by the usefulness of the findings and recommendations to district leaders and stakeholders; third, by the effectiveness of the resulting action steps and goals that the process generates; and, ultimately, by improved results.

As part of our preparation for the District Review, we have developed a set of standards-linked questionnaires for various stakeholder groups including parents. English and Spanish versions are posted on the district homepage at http://www.northamptonschools.org/

Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts by responding to this survey.

JFK Antique Show (November 4 from 9am-3pm) & Bakers Needed!
The Antique Show and Sale is organized by Pioneer Valley Antique Dealers Association but directly benefits the JFK After School Program. The show runs from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in the JFK Cafetorium. There will be a bake sale, raffle and lunch is available. The admission is $5 but discount coupons are available. We need bakers for the bake sale as well as volunteers to help with admissions, bake sale, raffle and lunch. To sign up, please contact Peggy Clapp at pclapp@northampton-k12.us

Next JFK PTO Meeting (November 7 from 6-7:30pm)
Due to Election Day, our November PTO meeting will be held Wednesday, November 7 at 6pm in the JFK library. Mark your calendars and join us to help us help JFK.

Shop and Support JFK!
You can support JFK at Stop and Shop by clicking here. Big Y Express can be found at this link: https://www.bigy.com/rs/educationexpress. Be sure to share your Boxtops for Education with us by having your student drop them off in the JFK office. And be sure to link to JFK MS PTO through Amazon Smile. We appreciate your support.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

4 Participants Still Needed for UMass-Amherst Research Survey
If you have a child in Grade 5 or above and you are not a school teacher, you are invited to take an online survey. The survey takes 30-40 minutes and you will receive a $30 Amazon gift card via email after completing it. The purpose of this study is to get more information about perceptions of labels used to describe students’ performance on statewide tests. Currently, many different types of labels are used and little is known about how they are interpreted. Participation is voluntary and your responses will be kept confidential. If you have any questions or to participate, contact Francis O’Donnell at fodonnell@educ.umass.edu. Francis is a doctoral candidate at UMass Amherst studying labels from school tests (words like Partially Meeting Expectations and Proficient) and your feedback would be much appreciated.

The Northampton prevention Coalition will host its Annual Retreat on Thursday November 8th, 2018 from 9am-1pm at Smith College. Please join us! We will have two presenters at this year's retreat: Aaron Pitrat, a current UMass student, and Diane Fedorchak, Director of the UMass BASICS program. There will be time for Q&A. We'd love to have as many parents and guardians attend as possible. Lunch will be provided by Bueno y Sano. Event is FREE. RSVP is required at: http://evite.me/s2CvMx96BC

Northampton Parks & Recreation is taking registrations for the Quabbin Valley Basketball League. The divisions are for grades 3 & 4, grades 5 & 6, and grades 7 & 8 with divisions for both boys and girls. All participants play in every game and are placed on teams based on grade and skill level. Visit the Parks and Recreation website to get more information and to register. http://www.northamptonma.gov/871/Basketball

 
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Si desea recibir esta información en español, envíenos un mensaje a jfkmspto@gmail.com.