Amherst PTA
March 2023
President's Message
Voting Day is Tuesday, March 14th, at Souhegan High School, from 6:00am-8:00pm. Make a plan, and VOTE! Informational links are provided below.
There is one more opportunity to tour our Clark and Wilkins buildings before the vote. See the flyer below for details!
Thank you to everyone that attended our School and Town Budget Information session, especially Tom Gauthier, Steve Chamberlin, Peter Lyon, and Dean Shankle for presenting.
As always, you can reach out to us at any time at amherstptanh@gmail.com.
Katie Fantasia
PTA President
Our Annual SilverGraphics Fundraiser is Almost Here!
Clark-Wilkins Elementary...
a fundraiser with heART!
We are partnering with SilverGraphics to celebrate creativity and raise needed funds for our school! Your child has been working hard on an art project at school. We're opening a private Online Art Shop for you to view your child's art and order personalized products such as journals, magnets, ceramic mugs, canvas totes, and ornaments. You'll be able to upload additional art and favorite photos from home too!
Art keepsakes make great mementos and unique gifts for family and friends!
Watch for Order Catalogs coming soon..
March PTA General Meeting
Our March General Meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 21st at 7:00pm, in the Wilkins Library. Our Nominating Committee will be nominating members for open board positions for the 2023-2024 school year. The open positions are Secretary and Treasurer. If you'd like to submit your name for consideration, you can contact the PTA at amherstptanh@gmail.com.
Amherst SROs Presentation
School Board Meetings, Budgets and Voting Information - DATES
We will be devoting a good amount of space to this topic in January, February, and March! There is a lot of information to share, and we will do our best to give you the resources that you need to be an informed voter!
Town Elections (Voting Day)
Tuesday, March 14th
This is it - VOTING DAY!
https://www.sau39.org/administration/calendar?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D162064881
School Board Meetings, Budgets and Voting Information - LINKS
Voter Guides
You can find all of the SAU39 Voter Guides here.
Voter Guides
Amherst School District Budget
You can find the entire budget here, along with supporting documentation (embedded in the document).
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wNwIvUwO6DmVyLZxfT7VQiTlwOlqaDXnouemHdlbffs/edit#gid=0
SAU District Budget
You can find the entire budget here. This budget is allocated out amongst the school districts, and is not voted on separately.)
Joint Facilities Advisory Committee
The SAU 39 Joint Facilities Advisory Committee was appointed and tasked by the SAU 39 School Board with conducting an analysis of the state of public education facilities in Amherst and Mont Vernon. Find all of the information here.
New Hampshire Municipal Association
You can find lots of information about the Town Meeting format here.
General Meetings
Our next meeting is Tuesday, February 21nd at 7:00pm at Clark-Wilkins.
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Upcoming meetings:
3/21 Wilkins
4/18 AMS
5/16 Wilkins
6/20 AMS (tentative)
Wilkins Art Volunteers
We are so excited to be able to bring back art classroom volunteers! You will be able to sign up to help out in your student's class! Duties will include some set up, helping Ms. Anderson with the lesson, helping students, and clean up.
Email the PTA at art@amherstnhpta.org if you are interested.
When emailing, please put your student's teacher's name in the subject line. Please also include your availability (every week, once a month, etc.). If you do not know the date and time of your student's art class, we can let you know that. Please note if you have already completed your background check. (We can't schedule you until that is complete.) If you haven't, you can read about how to do that in the VOLUNTEERS NEEDED section of this newsletter.
We have a volunteer working on this for us, so please give us a few days to respond to your emails. There are 27 art classes every week, we're anticipating that it will take a bit of time to get the schedule up and running. Thank you for your understanding and patience.
AMS Library Volunteers
- Hours: Monday - Friday, during the school day (8:30am-3:30pm). Morning hours would be especially helpful, but any time you can give is appreciated. You can do an hour or several hours..once a week, several times a week, or whatever suits your schedule.
- Duties: Assisting students with book checkout, shelving books, organizing shelves, and various other projects.
- Contact: Email the PTA at library@amherstnhpta.org if you are interested. Please note if you have already completed your background check. If you haven't, you can read about how to do that in the VOLUNTEERS NEEDED section of this newsletter.
Volunteers Needed!
If you would like to volunteer, we encourage you to begin the process as soon as possible. The process does take some time. If you have already completed this process though SAU39, you do not have to do it again.
Here's what you need to do:
1. Pick up a packet at the SAU office (the Brick School), and fill out the requested information. Summer hours may change, so please call before you head over (603-673-2690).
2. Stop by the Amherst Police Department to have your fingerprints taken. No appointment is necessary.
3. Get your application notarized. The SAU office does have someone on staff that is a notary, but they are not in the office every day. You can call 603-673-2690 to find out their availability. The Amherst Town Library and some local banks also have notary services.
4. Bring everything back to the SAU office with a check made out to the State of New Hampshire for $21.25. Upon approval, the PTA will be notified, and you will be able to be scheduled for volunteer shifts.
**The PTA does not get notifications when a person is cleared. We regularly check a list to see if people have cleared. In order for us to check for your name, we need to know that you have submitted your paperwork, so please email us when you have done so. You can also call the SAU at 603-673-2690 after 6-8 weeks to ask about your status. If they tell you you have been cleared, email us so we can get you on the schedule faster.**
The direct email to our Volunteer Coordinator, Nathan Greer, is aptavolunteer@gmail.com. If you'd like to be a lunch volunteer, please drop him a line and let him know!
(In July 2020, the Amherst School Board adopted a new Volunteer Policy which requires potential volunteers to have a background check and be fingerprinted before being scheduled for volunteer duties. You can find the full policy here: https://www.sau39.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=4016&dataid=10231&FileName=IJOC_Amherst%20Only.pdf)
Clark-Wilkins Spiritwear!
Our store at Varsitee is open year-round! You can see the cool spiritwear items, and order here:
Wish Lists
https://www.amherstnhpta.org/teacher-wish-lists-2022-23.html
Keep checking back for updates and new lists!
#supportateacher
Recycling Signs
At AMS, you can leave the sign on the porch. At Wilkins, you can leave them in the foyer. Thanks for helping us recycle!
Ways to connect with Amherst PTA
Email: amherstptanh@gmail.com
Website: amherstnhpta.org
Location: Amherst, NH, USA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amherstpta