JFK PTO Update – October 19, 2018
Important Dates:
Sunday! October 21 - Jazz Brunch to
benefit JFK Jazz Band
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.
Northampton
Prevention Coalition Annual Retreat (November 8)
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
Follow us on
our JFK PTO Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/jfkmspto/
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