JFK PTO Update – October 12, 2018
Important Dates:
October 17 - Health Advisory Council Meeting at JFK
October 18 - JFK School Council Meeting
October 21 - Jazz Brunch to benefit JFK Jazz Band
October 27 - National Prescription Take Back Day at JFK (10am-2pm)
November 1 - School Picture Make-Up Day
November 6 - No School - Election Day
November 7 - JFK PTO Meeting
Reminder: Sign and Return Progress Reports
Progress Reports went home on Wednesday, October 10. Be sure you have signed and returned a copy. MCAS test scores were also sent home this week. If you missed the Gazette article, see this link for an overview.
Yearbook and Boston Globe Writing Clubs Have Started
Be sure to check JFK School Calendar for more information. We are working on getting updates on more school clubs posted soon.
Congratulations to our new JFK School Council Members!
Our new parent/guardian members elected onto JFK’s School Council are Tamara Galvin, Deb Krivoy and William Sherr. 95 ballots were turned in during the JFK Open House evening for the 7 candidates that stepped forward. Big thanks to everyone for participating this election. To our candidates and all that voted! We truly appreciate your time and willingness to serve. It's a great statement about our JFK community that so many parents are willing to serve on both the School Council and in various ways on the PTO.
Sunday, October 21: 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. Visit northamptonjazzfest.org/jazzbrunch for all the details.
Volunteers are Needed to Coordinate Electronics Recycling & Election Day Bake Sale
We need parent volunteers to assist us with these fall fundraisers. The Electronics Recycling and Election Day Bake Sale bring in thousands of dollars to support programs at the school and are both a great way to support our community. Please email jfkmspto@gmail.com and tell us you’ll help lead one of these great fundraisers.
Stay Tuned for New Spirit Wear Designs
Our spirit wear design contest was a great success. Congratulations to all our artists who submitted designs for consideration. Stay tuned for more details and to see the results chosen from our outstanding group of finalists.
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.
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.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Invitation to Participate in 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
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