ARHS PGO Parent News

Both Jaime and Kate are “graduating” from the ARHS PGO, so next year’s newsletter will come to you from another set of ARHS family members. We have enjoyed learning more about the school and the community in this role, and we have been humbled by all that we have learned about mail chimp, broken links and other minor web-publishing fiascoes along the way. Thanks to our predecessor Becky Demling for answering more than a few late-night panicked emails, and to all of you who asked us questions, sent us announcements, and yes, pointed out those broken links.

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If your senior has not already returned their Chromebook to the school, they should return it before June 20. Seniors do NOT need to return their caps and gowns!

If your senior received an award but did not pick it up, awards were mailed to their home address.

Senior Final Transcripts were sent out to Colleges on June 6, 2024.  If you have another school you want that sent to, please contact Ms Melendez at melendezw@arps.org

Thanks to everyone who contributed treats to Thank-you Thursdays this year. Thank you also to everyone who contributed to the Staff Appreciation Lunch fund and to those of you who have signed up to help the PGO put on this event–we look forward to seeing you next Thursday.

June 17: SEAC meeting
June 17-18: Final exams
June 19: No school (Juneteenth)
June 20: Exam makeup day
July 5: Frederick Douglass Reading

A public reading of Frederick Douglass’s “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” speech will take place on the South Amherst Common, 1066 South East Street, on July 5. The reading is funded by Mass Humanities and the League of Women Voters and hosted by South Congregational Church. A similar reading three years ago drew 300 people. The organizers are seeking to recruit more youth readers this time. The event will include refreshments, a follow-up discussion, and free books!

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Graduation is tonight (Friday) at 6 pm at the UMass Fine Arts Center; graduating seniors should arrive at the venue by 5 pm. Check your email for a ParentSquare announcement that went out Thursday with details about parking and morning rehearsal.

Thank you to those who have already signed up to help and/or made a donation to help fund this event on June 20.

We need $1030 more to reach our goal and be able to pay for this lunch without dipping into the funds we will use to fund student/staff grants next year. If you can help with any size donation, click here.

Sign up here for a volunteer shift; the PGO members could especially use some help on the second (cleanup) shift.

Fall sports registration is now open! Please use this link to view more information and to register. Once registered more information will be sent out by the coach at a later date. The coaches directory and more information can be found on the athletic webpage. In addition, to learn more about fall sports join us during our fall sports night on 8/15/24 at 6PM in the high school gymnasium. 

Members of the Music Production Club traveled to Northfire Recording Studio recently to record a song they wrote, funded by a grant from the PGO. Click here to listen to “Chai Guy,” with credits noted below. 

Lead vocals: Sophie Michel
Guitars: Kaethe Jackson
Piano: Todd Fruth
Backing vocals: Emma Learned-Miller, Kaethe Jackson, Sophie Lindsey, Sophie Michel, Caroline Garman, Todd Fruth
Songwriters: Emma Learned-Miller, Kaethe Jackson, Dalia Strohmeidav, Sophie Lindsey, Oliver Hansell, Ezrah Ginsberg, Sophie Michel
Producers: Emma Learned-Miller, Kaethe Jackson, Dalia Strohmeidav, Sophie Lindsey, Sophie Michel, Caroline Garman
Engineer: Angelo Quaglia

. . . the ARHS PGO next year! Do you have a student continuing (or starting) at ARHS next year? Many of this year’s PGO crew are about to “graduate,” so we are looking for new volunteers to help out our fantastic continuing members (Heather Anderson, Arina Beg, Jennifer Moyston and Shannon Reilly). We are especially looking for people interested in either doing the weekly newsletter or managing our various fundraising efforts. If you are interested in finding out more about these and/or other PGO efforts, please send us an email at arhspgonews@gmail.com.

(This is an update to a previously-posted announcement.) The SEAC is led by Chairwoman Dr. Bridget Hynes of the ARPS Regional School Committee, and Co-Chair Alyssa Melnick, RSC member William Sherr also holds a seat.

We have invited Superintendent Dr. Douglas Slaughter and Administrative Assistant, Director of Communications and Operations Ms. Debra Westmoreland to come themselves or send a representative to let us know how the district is dealing with the Disciplinary and Academic Disparities.  ​**Parents/Caregivers/Grandparents and All, Please attend and see how we work to assure an equitable education for all our children.

We will be having our monthly meeting June 17th, 2024, 6 pm- 8 pm in the ARHS Library.

June 7: ARHS graduation
June 11: last day of AR[T]HS exhibit
June 17: SEAC meeting
June 19: No school (Juneteenth)

The Multi-Arts Counselor-In-Training (CIT) program has a few open positions for this Summer Camp. This program will provide excellent training for students interested in pursuing a career in music, art, theater, or teaching, or for students simply looking to gain experience as a counselor. 

Fill in 2024 registration form:https://forms.gle/NWh8ctBejPm4mGT46

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The Amherst Regional High School Art Department is proud to announce the opening of AR[T]HS 2024, the 16^th annual juried exhibition of outstanding student artwork produced at ARHS this year. The exhibit showcases the very best works of art made from all of the Art Department’s areas of study: Foundations of Art, Ceramics, Drawing, Fiber Arts, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, and Sculpture.

The exhibit will run from June 4^th – June 11^th* at the Eli Marsh Gallery, located in Fayerweather Hall at Amherst College, with an opening reception on Tuesday June 4^th from 5:00pm-8:00pm. Gallery hours are from 10am – 4pm on weekdays and from noon to 4pm on the weekend. 
*Please note that the gallery will be closed on Thursday, June 6th. 

The PGO will put on our annual thank-you luncheon for ARHS staff on Thursday, June 20. There are two ways for you to help with this event:

1) Donate here to help us pay for catering for this event.
2) Sign up here for a volunteer shift to help with setup, serving or cleanup on the day of the event.

Fall sports registration is now open! Please use this link to view more information and to register. Once registered more information will be sent out by the coach at a later date. The coaches directory and more information can be found on the athletic webpage. In addition, to learn more about fall sports join us during our fall sports night on 8/15/24 at 6PM in the high school gymnasium. 

Congratulations to all the spring Hurricanes teams on great seasons! Special shout-outs to:

The girls’ lacrosse team, who won their first-ever Class B Western Mass Championship (pictured below)

Individual Division 4 State Champions in Track and Field: Logan Alfandari in the shot put, and Moriah Luetjen in the 400 meters.

Finally, check out this showcase of senior Hurricanes who will be continuing their sports in college (and please contact Victoria Dawson if your senior has plans to share).

The Amherst Hurricane Athletic Boosters is proud of all our student-athletes.  This year, 5 girls have qualified for the Nike National Track Competition in Oregon.  We hope you will help support these amazing athletes.  They are currently raising funds to help them go to Nationals.  Please give what you can through the Zeffy Fundraising site HERE.

May 31: Seniors Last Day!!!!!
May 31: Senior prom
June 1: AEF Mini Golf
June 4: AR[T]HS show opens
June 7: ARHS graduation
June 19: No school (Juneteenth)

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The PGO will put on our annual thank-you luncheon for ARHS staff on Thursday, June 20. There are two ways for you to help with this event:

1) Donate here to help us pay for catering for this event.
2) Sign up here for a volunteer shift to help with setup, serving or cleanup on the day of the event.

There are currently 124 items overdue from the ARHS Library! We are working to have all checked out items returned or renewed and we would love your support in helping your students get these materials back to the high school before the end of the year. Please take a look around your house and check with your students to see if they may have missing items. 

If you have questions or concerns, contact the ARHS Librarian Ella Stocker at stockere@arps.org – thank you for your help recovering these community resources!

This Spring, the ARHS PGO is partnering with the North Hadley Sugar Shack and Market to sell Hanging Flower Baskets for this Spring Fundraiser! One Hanging Flower Basket is $25.00, and all profits are to go to the ARHS PGO to support grants and scholarships for students, staff, and teachers! 

Once you purchase the Hanging Flower Basket, you will receive a voucher sent to your address to present to the North Hadley Sugar Shack to pick up your plant. This fundraiser begins on Monday, April 29th, 2024, and ends on May 27th, 2024.

You will receive your voucher throughout the fundraiser period. This will be our last active fundraiser for the year, and we would like to thank you for all your support during the 2023-2024 school year.

Submit your order HERE. Pay either using Venmo (Grace-Johnson-258) or with a check payable to ARHS PGO. A purchase voucher will arrive by mail at the address you indicate in the form.

While this fundraiser will end at the end of May, people will be able to present their purchase vouchers to the shack throughout the summer.

Does your student-athlete’s team need money for activities or equipment? Would you like to see all of your team’s seniors recognized? The Boosters can help! Parents and coaches, email to let us know what is needed by your team, but first, if you ask, your team will need to participate in the Boosters in at least one of the following ways:

1. Join the Board of Directors
2. Be a “doer”- (i.e. work on projects, tasks, committees) by volunteering your time/skills
3. Be your child’s team liaison to Boosters
4. Attend Boosters meetings, or
5. Donate to the Boosters general fund to support Senior Night funding, Scholarship support, VIDSWAP athletic video support used by coaches and athletes, team needs/equipment, etc.

To help with any of the items above, or to make a donation, please email 413hurricanes@gmail.com and join our next meeting on Wednesday, June 12th at 6pm via Zoom: https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1609142632?pwd=YWJkZDdwMmhLU3JTTVgvUnBDbnFiQT09

The SEAC is led by Chairwoman Dr. Bridget Hynes of the ARPS Regional School Committee, and Co-Chair Alyssa Melnick, RSC member William Sherr also holds a seat. We invite all interested parents to hop on board.

We continue our work to support the Restorative Justice Programs, which practice the alternative to punitive punishments like suspensions and expulsions. We believe that when one child is expelled-especially for nonviolent, suspected reasons, our whole community is hurt.

We will be having our monthly meeting June 12th, 2024, Wednesday evening from 6:45 to 8:45 in the ARHS Library.

Please join us on Saturday, June 1st from 10am-1pm for a fun event that will also have a raffle (you don’t have to attend to enter) and refreshments. All proceeds will go towards funding valuable education grants to public school teachers and staff in Amherst, Pelham, Leverett and Shutesbury.

Come play and support our schools!
Register at bit.ly/2024-aef-minigolf
Thank you to all the sponsors listed on the flier who have helped make this event possible. To learn more about our grants go to amhersteducationfoundation.org/grants

The ARPS-Wellness Committee is looking for parent participants; they will meet again on May 22nd, 2024 1:30pm to 2:30pm since the Food Services Director, Michael Gallo-O’Connell was not able to attend the last meeting. Other guests will include Faye Brady and Robbin Suprenant.

May 27: Memorial Day – no school
May 27: PGO Spring Season Fundraiser ends
May 31: Seniors Last Day!!!!!
May 31: Senior prom
June 1: AEF Mini Golf
June 7: ARHS graduation

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Continue to check ArbiterLive for updates, the link is on the athletic webpage. 

Please make sure an up-to-date physical is in with our school nurse, Robin Suprenant. Robbin’s email is suprenantr@arps.org . 

This Spring, the ARHS PGO is partnering with the North Hadley Sugar Shack and Market to sell Hanging Flower Baskets for this Spring Fundraiser! One Hanging Flower Basket is $25.00, and all profits are to go to the ARHS PGO to support grants and scholarships for students, staff, and teachers! 

Once you purchase the Hanging Flower Basket, you will receive a voucher sent to your address to present to the North Hadley Sugar Shack to pick up your plant. This fundraiser begins on Monday, April 29th, 2024, and ends on May 27th, 2024.

You will receive your voucher throughout the fundraiser period. This will be our last active fundraiser for the year, and we would like to thank you for all your support during the 2023-2024 school year.

Submit your order HERE. Pay either using Venmo (Grace-Johnson-258) or with a check payable to ARHS PGO. A purchase voucher will arrive by mail at the address you indicate in the form.

While this fundraiser will end at the end of May, people will be able to present their purchase vouchers to the shack throughout the summer.

If you ordered a Senior Lawn Sign and have not yet received it, contact Pam Rietkerk pamrietkerk@gmail.com to make arrangements for pickup. 

Does your student-athlete’s team need money for activities or equipment? Would you like to see all of your team’s seniors recognized? The Boosters can help!

Parents and coaches, email to let us know what is needed by your team, but first, if you ask, your team will need to participate in the Boosters in at least one of the following ways:

1. Join the Board of Directors
2. Be a “doer”- (i.e. work on projects, tasks, committees) by volunteering your time/skills
3. Be your child’s team liaison to Boosters
4. Attend Boosters meetings, or
5. Donate to the Boosters general fund to support Senior Night funding, Scholarship support, VIDSWAP athletic video support used by coaches and athletes, team needs/equipment, etc.

To help with any of the items above, or to make a donation, please email 413hurricanes@gmail.com and join our next meeting on Wednesday, June 12th at 6pm via Zoom: https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1609142632?pwd=YWJkZDdwMmhLU3JTTVgvUnBDbnFiQT09

Class of 2024

Seniors – ALL SENIORS – Must complete the FINAL CLASS of 2024 SENIOR SURVEY in Scior. This is an important survey as it allows to pronounce your full name properly at Senior Awards and Graduation. Due on May 26th. Complete the Survey in Scior – LINK.

Looking for continued support? Set a “Now What?!! Meeting” with Ms. Cuffee-Gray. What pathway? Financial Aid? Job Search? Which College to go to? Placement test for community college? SET A MEETING TIME.

Extended Deadline – Are you a First Generation College Student? 2 Year or 4 Year? The Barbara R. and Arthur Elkins Scholarship has been extended to the 13th. Use this APPLICATION to apply, and submit to scholarships@arps.org by 12 noon on May 13th. $1,000 for 4 years!!!

All reusable sneakers from our sneaker drive fundraiser program are recirculated to secondhand markets so people can access quality, pre-owned footwear at affordable prices.

Please consider donating used or unwanted athletic shoes to this fundraiser for the ARHS PGO and to help others and our environment! For each pair of athletic shoes donated to gotsneakers? you will not only be making a global impact, but you will also be helping the ARHS PGO earn money for student and teacher grants.

There are boxes ready to be filled in the high school guidance office. If you have a donation but cannot get to the high school, please get in touch with Nancy Johnson at johnce34@gmail.com to make other arrangements.

May 10: PreK-12 Early Release
May 27: Memorial Day – no school
May 31: PGO Spring Season Fundraiser ends
May 31: Seniors Last Day!!!!!

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Seniors are heading into the homestretch and we are working hard to plan their celebrations. Here is the schedule for their last two weeks.  Please note that the prom will be at UMASS in the Student Union Ballroom, and graduation will be at the Fine Arts Center at UMASS.  More details to come!

Sam Camera
Assistant Principal 

This Spring, the ARHS PGO is partnering with the North Hadley Sugar Shack and Market to sell Hanging Flower Baskets for this Spring Fundraiser! One Hanging Flower Basket is $25.00, and all profits are to go to the ARHS PGO to support grants and scholarships for students, staff, and teachers! 

Once you purchase the Hanging Flower Basket, you will receive a voucher sent to your address to present to the North Hadley Sugar Shack to pick up your plant. This fundraiser begins on Monday, April 29th, 2024, and ends on May 27th, 2024.

You will receive your voucher throughout the fundraiser period. This will be our last active fundraiser for the year, and we would like to thank you for all your support during the 2023-2024 school year.

Submit your order HERE. Pay either using Venmo (Grace-Johnson-258) or with a check payable to ARHS PGO. A purchase voucher will arrive by mail at the address you indicate in the form.

While this fundraiser will end at the end of May, people will be able to present their purchase vouchers to the shack throughout the summer.

Please RSVP/request an interpreter HERE.

Access the flyer in other languages HERE.

The School Equity Advisory Committee (SEAC) is part of the Amherst Regional School Committee. SEAC has been hard at work. Currently, we are reviewing the Bullying Policy with hopes of maintaining a focus on Restorative Justice Practices as opposed to punitive measures such as expulsions.

We will meet next on Wednesday evening, May 8th, 2024 from 6:45pm to 8:45pm in ARHS Library. Please join us in the good fight for all our children.

Thank you. ~Mary Lou Conca

Carefully review your FAFSA and Cost of Attendance/Award Letters. The FAFSA delays have some colleges extending deadlines for enrollment. It is possible to ask for extensions for enrollment deadlines and to appeal to colleges to have your award letters reconsidered. Check in with the folks in the Future Center for a “Now What?!! Meeting”. If you need support, set a time.

Seniors – The APEA Scholarship has been extended to 5/10 at 3:35 pm. Please check your email for details about the ARHS Scholarship Booklet regarding completing the application properly. Don’t miss this opportunity! You must make a copy of the document HERE

Amy Rose Hamel Scholarship – Deadline Extended

AMY ROSE HAMEL graduated from ARHS in 2000…Her acceptance to Greenfield Community College through the Dual Enrollment program, reignited her love of learning. Up to five $1,000 Awards. Details below! 

Ms. Deidre Cuffee-Gray

I Said What I Said, I Wrote What I Meant. This workshop offers an introduction to poetry and spoken word as a tool and outlet to support emotional well-being. It also offers a chance to deepen emotional intelligence and awareness through the act of writing. This program is funded by The Public Health Institute of Western Massachusetts.

Meeting at Bangs Community Center Glass Room
Cost: Free
Instructor: Elisha DeJesus

Mental Health 101. A comprehensive workshop that focuses on psychoeducation and therapeutic techniques to promote healthy mental and emotional well-being among youth. This workshop will use elements from evidence-based practices such as Narrative therapy, CBT, Bibliotherapy, Mindfulness, DBT, etc. It will also emphasize the importance of lived experience, social justice, and its impact on mental health.

Cost: Free
Instructor: Whitney Dodds, Wellness for the Culture

To sign up for either FREE class and for more information, please visit our Amherst Recreation Registration Page

Becky Demling

Some college-bound seniors have received an email from MassAid. This is a legitimate email and a way to track the aid that you receive. https://www.mass.edu/osfa/massaid.asp.

MASSAid is an information system used by the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education’s Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) to manage state-funded financial aid programs. The MASSAid Student Portal allows students to access and review their financial aid records online, which helps them monitor their eligibility for state financial aid each year. The portal also includes the College Cost and Financial Aid Eligibility Information Tool, which helps new financial aid applicants learn their eligibility.

Ms. DeidreCuffee-Gray

Our sneaker drive fundraiser keeps sneakers out of landfills and reduces toxic chemicals from being released into our air and soil. All reusable sneakers from our sneaker drive fundraiser program are recirculated to secondhand markets so people can access quality, pre-owned footwear at affordable prices. All heavily used and damaged footwear is recycled to reuse materials or to convert waste into new energy.”

Please consider donating used or unwanted athletic shoes to this fundraiser for the ARHS PGO and to help others and our environment! For each pair of athletic shoes donated to gotsneakers? you will not only be making a global impact, but you will also be helping the ARHS PGO earn money for student and teacher grants.

This fundraiser drive started in February and will continue throughout the school year. There are boxes ready to be filled in the high school guidance office. If you have a donation but cannot get to the high school, please get in touch with Nancy Johnson at johnce34@gmail.com to make other arrangements.