Hinde, Arizona State University researcher. As explained on the MMM website, the tournament is an annual combat competit
A RPS U p d at e M ar ch 23, 20 18 A M essage f r om M ich ael M or r is, Su per in t en den t of Sch ools On Monday, I joined Luis Soria, Holyoke Chief Academic Officer, and Jordana Harper, Greenfield Superintendent, at Mount Holyoke College for a panel titled Raise Your Voice: Teacher Advocacy and Leadership.This panel discussion was organized by Dr. Sarah Frenette,Director of Early Childhood and Elementary Licensure Programs| Teacher Licensure Coordinator, for undergraduate and graduate students interested in a career in education. I had the opportunity to share information about our district, particularly ways in which teacher leadership and advocacy are encouraged and supported, and to engage in rich discussion with future educators. ARMS seventh grade students have March Madness fever! Mr. Price?s classes are participating in March Mammal Madness (MMM), a tournament founded in 2013 by Dr. Katie Hinde, Arizona State University researcher. As explained on the MMM website, the tournament is an annual combat competition between mammals in which ?scientific literature is cited to substantiate likely outcomes as a probabilistic function of the two species' attributes within the battle environment.? ARMS students prepared scouting reports for the mammals in their brackets, which have been shared on the MMM website and viewed by MMM participants from around the world. I will share the ultimate winner once the tournament is completed in April. This fall, Performing Arts Department Chair John Bechtold completed a half-year sabbatical in London where he worked in-depth with Punchdrunk, the British theater company most commonly associated with immersive theater. Mr. Bechtold shared information about his experience at the Regional School Committee meeting on Tuesday,
including plans for integrating his sabbatical experiences in his work with students at ARHS. Mr. Bechtold?s full sabbatical report can be found here.
Yesterday, Regional School Committee Chair Eric Nakajima and I had the pleasure of meeting the chaperones and interpreter who accompanied the students who are visiting from Amherst's sister city Kanagasaki, Japan. Eleven host families welcomed the thirteen middle school students and four high school students into their homes. Students met their host families at an opening ceremony at Amherst Town Hall on Wednesday night, and will stay with them until they depart on Sunday morning. Every year, both the host families and the Kanegasaki students report that their visit is a rich and meaningful experience. I want to thank ARMS Counselor Denise Boyd for her incredible work in arranging this visit each year. This morning, I was in Cambridge to tour the Amigos School in order to learn more about their dual language program, and on Monday I will be visiting the dual language program in Princeton, New Jersey. I look forward to sharing information on a regular basis as we explore the potential for such a program in the Amherst elementary schools. Have a great weekend,
Superintendent
ELECTION DAY FOOD DRIVE IN AM HERST TUESDAY, M ARCH 27 7:00 a.m . t o 7:00 p.m . at you r pollin g place
Food Drive Barrels will be located at polling places for your donations of canned goods and personal care items.
Most Wanted Items in the Food Pantry: https://amherstsurvival.org/mostwanted/
Join Us f or t h e 2n d An n u al CivicsFest ! Hosted by the League of Women Voters and Representative Solomon Goldstein-Rose
Fr iday, Apr il 6t h at 7:00 p.m . ARHS au dit or iu m Th em e: Pu blic Edu cat ion Teams of 3-4 are invited to e-mail Cynthia Brubaker at
[email protected] to register for the event. Teams will compete in a fun, low-pressure trivia round, and some teams will advance to a ?creative policy? round in which they will present inventive proposals to address education-related issues assigned to them. Teams can be any combination of ages, but any team that is composed entirely of K-12 students is welcome to participate in a debate section and should e-mail
[email protected] to register. Even if you are not on a team, you?re encouraged to attend the event and celebrate government and education with us! There will be refreshments and performances throughout the event. Judges include area educators, and prizes include a ?Day as Superintendent? with ARPS Superintendent Michael Morris.
Com e t o a Gospel Ch oir Con cer t t o ben ef it Am h er st A Bet t er Ch an ce (ABC) on Tu esday, Apr il 10t h , at Gr ace Episcopal Ch u r ch , Am h er st ! Th e con cer t st ar t s at 7:30 PM an d f eat u r es t h e Am h er st Ar ea Gospel Ch oir , t h e Am h er st Region al High Sch ool Ch or ale, t h e Ham psh ir e You n g People?s Ch or u s, an d t h e Resu r r ect Gospel Ch oir at Am h er st College. Con cer t -goer s ar e also in vit ed t o a w elcom e r ecept ion w it h ligh t r ef r esh m en t s f r om 6:30 t o 7:15 p.m . in t h e r oom adjacen t t o t h e San ct u ar y at Gr ace Ch u r ch . Th e r ecept ion w ill in clu de t h e oppor t u n it y t o m eet t h e Am h er st A Bet t er Ch an ce Sch olar s an d t h e Residen t Dir ect or s. A don at ion of $20 (or m or e!) f r om each con cer t -goer w ill be gr at ef u lly accept ed, bu t all w h o w ish t o celebr at e t h e ABC Pr ogr am t h r ou gh gospel m u sic ar e m ost w elcom e!
