Dear Parents and Guardians:

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1 Dear Parents and Guardians: I have very exciting news to share this week! Based on survey feedback, Greenfield Community College has determined that they will offer four evening courses at Amherst Regional Middle School in spring 2016: Medical Coding: Diagnosis Philosophy: Eastern Religions Elementary Spanish I Principals of Sociology Even more exciting is that these GCC credit courses will be offered FREE to all participants! The first community information session will be held at Amherst Regional High School from 6:008:00 p.m. on November 12 with an enrollment session from 4:008:00 p.m. on November 17. Please visit this link or see my attached newsletter for more details about this exciting opportunity. There are many other important events coming up including the Elementary Building Project Educational Plan vote at the Amherst School Committee meeting on November 3 (the updated FAQ is available here), the Pelham Expanding the Region Community Forum on November 4, the Hurricane Revisioning Summit on November 7, and screenings of three great films. I hope you ll take time to peruse the newsletter for information on these events and much more. Have a great weekend! Maria Estimados padres y encargados: Tengo una noticia muy emocionante que compartir esta semana! Basándose en la retroalimentación de la encuesta, Greenfield Community College(GCC) ha determinado que ofrecerá cuatro cursos nocturnos en la Escuela Intermedia Regional de Amherst para la primavera del 2016: Codificación médica: Diagnóstico Filosofía: Religiones orientales Español Elemental 1 Principios de Sociología Aún más interesante, es que estos cursos de crédito en GCC, se ofrecerán gratis para todos los participantes! La primera sesión de información a la comunidad se llevará a cabo en la Escuela Superior Regional de Amherst el 12 de noviembre de 6: 008: 00 pm, con una sesión para matrícula el 17 de noviembre de 4: 008: 00 pm por favor visite este enlace o vea mi boletín adjunto para más detalles acerca de esta emocionante oportunidad. Hay muchos otros eventos importantes que vienen por ahí, incluyendo la votación del Plan de Proyecto Educativo Edificio de Elemental en la reunión del Comité Escolar de Amherst el 3 de noviembre, el Foro Ampliación Región de la Comunidad de Pelham el 4 de noviembre, la Revisión Cumbre del huracán el 7 de noviembre, y la proyección de tres grandes películas. Espero que usted tome tiempo para leer el boletín de información sobre estos eventos y mucho más. Que tengan un buen fin de semana! Maria

2 Updat es f r om Su per i n t en den t M ar i a Ger yk October 2630, 2015 Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. ~Albert Camus First Juntos We Play Novem ber Event s a Great Success Monday, November 2 RSVP Deadline for Hurricane Revisioning Summit westmorelandd@arps.org by 12:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 3 Amherst School Committee Meeting ARHS 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, November 4 Expanding the Region Pelham Public Forum Pelham School 6:30 p.m. Sat urday, November 7 Hurricane Revisioning Summit ARMS 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 10 Regional School Committee Meeting ARHS 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 17 On Saturday, October 24, the ARPS Family Center staff hosted the first Juntos We Play event of this school year. It was a beautiful day at Colonial Village with over 50 people in attendance. In addition to all of the ARPS Family Center staff, School Climate Coordinator Talib Sadiq represented the Middle School, Maria Geryk helped distribute books to all students, and Ombudsperson Paul Wiley volunteered as well. This was an incredibly fun event that featured soccer with some of our ARHS varsity team members, an estimation drawing, Salvadorian food prepared by some of our parents, and other games and prizes. Thank you to the Colonial Village management for collaborating and facilitating this wonderful event. and to the ARPS Facilities and LSSE staff for their support. Amherst School Committee Meeting ARHS 6:00 p.m. ar ps family cent er inf or mat ion Wednesday, November 18 H ou r s of Op er at i on : 8:00 a.m. to 4:0 0 p.m. Expanding the Region Shutesbury Public Forum Con t act : M il dr ed M ar tin Shutesbury 6:30 p.m. Rem em ber to set your clocks back this w eekend! Dr. Marta Guevara Ser v i ces: Steps to Su ccess pr ogr am, Fam il y Ou tr each of Am h er st, r esiden cy qu estion s, ou tofsch ool tim e pr ogr am s Director of Student & Family Engagement Don't For get! RSVPby Noon Monday t o at t end t hehur r icane Rev isioning Summit on Nov ember 7! west m or elandd@ar ps.org or

3 Revisioning Our Schools When wil l t he resul t s of t he research and anal ysis / f easibil it y st udy be compl et ed and be made avail abl e t o al l? Much of the information related to grade configuration was shared at the October 20th School Committee Meeting. The full Educational Plan will be shared at the November 3rd School Committee meeting. Other aspects of the feasibility study, such as a site analysis, will come in future months. MERGINGARMS& ARHS Ex panding t her egion What woul d t he impact be on Special Educat ion? The impact of the expanded region on Special Education would be: If t he dist rict proceeds wit h consol idat ion, what cost s wil l be incurred t o prepare t he high school t o incl ude middl e school st udent s? It is desirable within a large school setting to create smaller learning environments and have these spaces be identifiable; thus, the district would distinguish, for instance, a Grade 7 corridor with a particular color or theme. The idea is to create neighborhoods within the building to promote a sense of belonging and identity within smaller learning communities. Because it may be desirable for the Grade 7 and 8 students to be housed for their core subjects in a section of the building, a separate entrance could be created with a separate bus dropoff. Modifications can also be made to the cafeteria area in order to make the space more open and inviting. Opening up some classrooms to the interior courtyards creates opportunities for experiential learning. A large, unused auto shop can be repurposed as a Maker Space. Some offices, particularly a large space which currently houses a copy center used for the district, will be moved to the Middle School building to create additional space. In the short term, we are not anticipating any major renovations, but there will be some funds needed for improvements in order to best utilize the space and create, as best we can, high performance classrooms and workspaces. improved coordination of data analysis of special education students that can be used to improve instructional practices and other services; coordination of the PBIS initiative; enhanced promotion of parent collaboration and cooperation, working with SEPAC; development, implementation and benefits of a District Wide Crisis Team; district special education personnel would be able to avail themselves of professional development opportunities under the partnership with Elms College; District wide Wellness Committee that informs regular and special education services; resources to provide schoolbased, after school mental health services; reduction of number of reports required by DESE, thereby freeing up resources for more direct student services; more indistrict options, programs and services for students and families that can be provided with greater flexibility. The number of students who are classified as disabled, the complexity of their needs, and the expense to provide the appropriate education has increased in the last ten years. Whenever possible, schools have developed programs to meet those needs within the school in order to avoid outofschool placements that can be very expensive. Each child is unique and an individual education plan must be developed. At the same time, there are programs and services that may be needed for more than one student. Then it becomes possible to defray some costs over several children and provide the program that is needed at a lower cost per student. A larger district has more opportunity to do that and to use specialized staff more efficiently.

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6 Back by Popul ar Demand: Most Likely t o Succeed Don't miss your chance to see this awardwinning film! See it at 4:00 or 6:00 p.m. on Monday, November 2 in the ARMS library. RSVP required: westmorelandd@arps.org or by calling

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