ARHS Monthly Newsletter-- April 2009

From the Principal

Dear ARHS Parents and Guardians,

Through the winter, on two separate occasions, we have publically described our budget development process for FY 10 as well as our cut recommendations. The first was on February 12 at an evening session for parents and guardians that was organized by our ParentCenter; the second at the regularly scheduled School Committee meeting on March 10.

A version of the power point presentations for both of these sessions is available on the district’s web site: http://www.arps.org/files/MS-HSBudgetPresentationFY10.pdf If you have questions about our process or recommendations, I encourage you to contact me.

In this newsletter, however, my interest is not in budgets present, but those in the foreseeable future.

I need first to acknowledge my own limitations. Municipal finance is not my chosen field. But, like most people these days, I’ve been paying attention to the headlines about the nation’s economy and puzzling its local implications.

To that end, I’ve read the Facilitation of Community Choices Committee [FCC] report, entitled ‘Hard Choices Ahead’, which was submitted in December to the town’s Budget Coordinating Group. I’ve also reached out to the committee to have my follow up questions answered. The entire report, which I encourage you to read, is available on the town’s web site: http://www.amherstma.gov/Search.asp?SearchString=FCC&Action.x=13&Action.y=20

The committee’s conclusions are sobering.

Simply put, for the next five fiscal years, revenues will continue to decline and expenditures will continue to increase. With the economy’s overall decline, it is a fair assumption that the gap between revenues and expenditures will only widen.

As a result of significant cuts in non-instructional areas, I believe our FY 10 budget proposal successfully protects ARHS’s core. While we are offering fewer courses, the menu of opportunities we offer students in both the academic and non-academic areas is still strong. And, importantly, we have thus far been able to forestall any increase in average class size.

My concern, however, is with our ability to continue to do this in the future.

Our tendency in the last few years, when faced with budget cuts, has been to latch onto the belief that next year would be better. More money would be available to schools and we could all collectively exhale. We now have some reliable evidence that the flush times we have been hoping for are not in the offing.

This will have an impact on the high school. I’d like to find a way to begin to talk about this so that we can plan for the future rather than be overrun by it.

I’ll have more to say shortly about what this could look like.

Thank you.

Mark Jackson

Principal

From the ARHS Environmental Action Club

75% off Insulation and Energy Upgrades for Your Home!

ARHS Parents & Guardians- Could your home use more insulation or other energy efficiency improvements? Now is a great time to take advantage of generous incentives! If your home is served by Western Massachusetts Electric Company, National Grid or Berkshire Gas Company, your cost to insulate or seal your home through the MassSAVE program could be reduced by 75% (up to $2000)!

Call 1-866-527-7283 or visit the MassSAVE website http://www.Masssave.com to see about scheduling a free energy audit and getting an insulation proposal. The Center for Ecological Technology (CET) provides most of the MassSAVE energy services in western Massachusetts. Whether energy costs are high or low, buildings are responsible for almost 50% of greenhouse gas emissions, so an energy efficient home saves money and helps the environment.

ARHS Chorale Selected to Perform at All-State Event

The Amherst Regional High School Chorale, under the direction of Anita Cooper, has been selected to perform at the 2009 Massachusetts Music Educator’s Association Conference as part of the Casual Concert All-State Series. They join six other groups who were selected from across the state to perform at this event. Groups were selected on the basis of an audition tape that demonstrated the ensemble’s strength, musicality and ability to sing in different styles; an application form with an ensemble resume and concert credits; and letters of recommendation from the Performing Arts Department Chair and ARHS Administration.

The ARHS Chorale is an auditioned ensemble of 25 students in grades 10-12 and performs over 30 pieces of choral literature of varying styles, languages, and difficulty over the course of a year. At the all-state event, they will perform pieces from this year’s repertoire including the following:

O Vos Omnes by Tomas Luis de Victoria

Super flumina Babylonis by G. Palestrina

Let Their Celestial Concerts Unite by G.F. Handel

Can-Can by Jacques Offenbach

Oseh Shalom by Nurit Hirsch

Estrella E Lua Nova by Heitor Villa-Lobos

Witness by Jack Halloran

The performance will be a half hour, in an informal setting at the BostonConvention Center on March 27th at 1:00 p.m. You can also see the Chorale perform locally at the South Congregational Church in South Amherst on Wednesday, April 29 at 7:30 pm.

Tutors Needed

The Amherst Pelham Schools’ English Language Education Program is urgently seeking bilingual language tutors who speak English and one or more of the following languages: Arabic, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Moldovavian/Romanian, Pashtu, Portuguese, Turkish.

Tutorial positions supporting student access to learning pay $10 an hour. You can apply for a bilingual tutoring position on line at schoolspring.com or email Mildred Martinez at martinezm2@arps.org or call 362-1859. Please contact us immediately to express your interest. We look forward to hearing from you at this time.

Art Department News

The Art Department is still looking for parents who are interested in helping us plan a major exhibit of student art work scheduled to take place late in the 3rd trimester. Specifically, we are looking for people with carpentry, organizational, and culinary skills. But we are open to any and all forms of assistance with this exciting event. If you are interested in offering your help please contact Ben Sears at searsb@arps.org.

The Art Department would like to congratulate the following ARHS students who have received awards in the Boston Globe Scholastic Art Competition. This is a highly competitive, state-wide competition that the school has been participating in for years. Artwork from high school students across the state is sent to Boston where it is judged by a panel of professional artists, educators and museum administrators. Honorable Mentions are awarded to students whose art work demonstrates great creative potential. Silver Keys are awarded to students whose art work demonstrates achievement worthy of regional recognition. And Gold Keys are awarded to students whose art work demonstrates the highest level of achievement in technique, originality and personal vision:

Kyle Boyd---------------Honorable Mention

Wynn Campbell----------Gold Key

Maggie Cardasis----------Silver Key

Changyue Chen-----------Gold Key

Chelsea Dupuis-----------Gold Key

Alisa Holm----------------Silver Key

Allegra MacWilliams------Silver Key

Rebecca Meyers----------Honorable Mention

Julio Neijins---------------Silver Key

Amelia Quinn-------------Silver Key

Kelsey Welborn----------Honorable Mention

Kaia Zimmerman---------Silver Key

Ivy Olcott------------------Honorable Mention

Thank you for your continued support, Ben Sears, Hannah Hartl, Monica Rabinowitz, Jeff Stauder

ARHS & ARMS ELE Potluck Picnic

The English Language Education Departments of the Middle School and High School invite you to our annual end - of year family potluck picnic.

May 29, 2009

Groff Park, South Amherst

3:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Congratulations to seniors

Goodbye to friends who are leaving

Please bring food and drinks to share.

Dance Camp

ARHS dance teacher and graduate Val Heron-Duranti are offering their performing arts camp for children again this summer for children between the ages of 6 and 11. Arts and Bubbles Performing Arts Camp runs from 8:30-3:30 Monday through Friday June 29 to July 17. Val and Tracy teach the campers basics in drumming, dancing, singing, visual art, theater, and crafts. Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Sign up for one, two, or all three weeks. If interested contact Tracy Vernon at vernont@arps.org

Winter Sports Summary 2008-2009

Season Highlights: (as of 2/23/09)

Girls Basketball – Qualified for the MIAA tournament for the third year in a row.

Boy’s Indoor Track – Atticus Brigham (2 mile) qualified for States and came in 3rd. He will compete in the AllState meet.

Girls Indoor Track – Ayodele Bond (long jump), Audrey Gould (mile), Leah Haake (2 mile), Chloe Zimmerman (mile) qualified for States. Leah Haake will compete in the AllState meet.

Alpine Skiing – Stephane Torras, Alex Casey, Sally Marcus, and Anna Swanson qualified for States.

Nordic Skiing – In its first year as a team, 28 students participated. Paul Quackenbush qualified for the Nordic Ski Eastern High School Championships. Nat Jeffries qualified for the J2 championship team.

Boys Swimming – Won league title with a 12-0 team record.

Luke Abdow, Walter Benson, Eric Breen, Dan Ganz, Jacob Leonard, David Nunnelly, Luke Plummer, Leo Wright all qualified for States. Leo Wright finished 3rd in the state with a time of 1:00.66 in the 100 breaststroke. The 400 yard relay team (Dan Ganz, Jacob Leonard, David Nunnelly, and Leo Wright) broke a 32 year old school record with a time of 3:25.77.

Amherst finished 14th overall.

Girls Swimming – Came in second in the league with a 10-2 record.

Laura Aierstuck, Quianna Diaz-Patterson, Mikela Holme-Miller, Emily Johnston, Kirsten LaMotte, Laura Nunnelly, Suyin Taunton, Wanqing Zhao qualified for the states. Quianna Diaz-Patterson finished 3rd in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:10.33. Kirsten LaMotte finished 4th in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:10.80 and 6th in the 50 yard freestyle in 25.51.

Amherst finished 12th overall.

Wrestling – Austin Danielovich and Mike Kane qualified for States.

Parent Guardians Needed for Social Studies and Math Curriculum

We are currently looking for parent/guardians for participation in several curriculum committees:

K-12 Social Studies Program Review – This committee will be meeting during the next two years evaluating the current K-12 Social Studies Program and proposing a detailed action plan for improvement. The commitment will involve full day meetings (potentially monthly) both during the school year and over the summer. We are looking for parent/guardian representatives from elementary, middle and high school.

K-16 Math Curriculum Council – This is an ongoing committee that is designed to provide an opportunity for professional staff to share current work, initiatives and ideas with each other as well as with community members whose interest, experience and/or expertise is mathematics and math education. We currently have several parent/guardian representatives who are also professors (mostly of mathematics). We are looking to add a parent/guardian who is not a professor to broaden the perspective of the committee.

For more information on these committees and how to volunteer, please visit the curriculum page of the district website (http://www.arps.org/node/41). You can also call Sharon Gross (362-1828) for this information. Deadline for the submitting an application is April 10, 2009.

Please direct any other questions to Mike Hayes, K-12 Curriculum Administrator (hayesm@arps.org or 362-1893).