From the Executive Director’s Desk... The end of our 6th year is fast approaching! Our Seniors have had their last day of classes, Graduation is June 6 at 4 pm in the school courtyard, then quickly following are Passage Portfolio Presentations for 8th grade (June 11 and 12) and 10th grade (June 15 and 16), Field Day for all on June 18, and then our last day for grades 7-11, with the Step-ping Up Ceremony at 10:15 am in the courtyard on Friday, June 19.

As the Seniors ended their last day on Thursday, they had a “shout-out” full of funny, wonderful memories of their years at Four Rivers. Then, as they left, they were cheered by all the other students, lined up on both sides of the walkway from the High School to the Farmhouse. It was a great scene, hard to imagine 6 years ago! They were our first 7th Grade class, entering a building that was still being completed, working with faculty and staff who were still creating the curriculum, the culture, the practices of our new school. A theme in the Seniors’ memories was how much they had grown to appreciate and enjoy each other over the years—vivid individuals who matured from getting on each others’ nerves in middle school to admiring their mutual strengths and feeling a genuine bond as the class of 2009. This class has grown with the school and contributed even more than they may realize to the school Four Riv-ers has become. We are proud of them—and we thank them all!

Remembering back to that opening year, I want to also thank the faculty and staff who have guided and supported this class since the beginning. Mandy Locke and Matt Leaf were their first teachers, and worked tirelessly to create our remarkable 7th grade program. Susan Durkee, as assistant director and co-founder, worked in myriad ways to bring the dreams we had to practical expression in the classrooms and beyond. Anne Haxo was there as our first learning specialist, establishing the quality and care that marks our special education program today. Bill Fogel, our counselor and psychologist was there too, supporting students and families in his deeply thoughtful ways. Terry Plot-kin was our first teacher of physical education and the guiding force in the spectacularly successful Ultimate pro-gram we have now.

And underlying the work of those first-year teachers—and all of us since—is the dedication, inventiveness, and end-less competence of Leslie Taylor and Harlan Smith. They joined Four Rivers in the start-up phase before we opened and have been, in many ways, the unseen foundation on which the Four Rivers of today stands.

Finally, hats off to the parents and guardians of the class of 2009. They have been wonderfully hard-working and effective partners as the school and their children have grown.

Thanks and congratulations to all!

~ Ed Blatchford

June 2009

Four Rivers Currents LOOKING BACK ~ LOOKING AHEAD

As the year winds down, we will ask you to give us feedback on different aspects of Four Rivers this year in our annual school climate survey. If we have a good email address for you, you should expect to receive an invitation to complete the survey electronically. Otherwise we will send you a paper copy by mail. We use the same ques-tions from year to year so that we might observe trends and note progress. As in the past, we take your questions and concerns seriously. We especially like when you have possible good ideas that might make our school stronger. So when you receive your survey this year, don’t delay. Sit down right then and there and fill it out.

We hope to see you at graduation. If not, we hope your children had a good year of learning and that their end of year portfolios reveal important growth. I will be working most of the summer, so don’t hesitate to get in touch. Lastly, make sure to wish Mr. Blatchford well as he begins his retirement when this month ends. He has success-fully led the creation of this wonderful school. It will be up to each and every one of us to carry on with its devel-opment. Thank you, Ed, for laying down such strong foundations. ~ Peter Garbus, Principal

PAGE 2 FOUR RIVERS CURRENTS

Division I News

Left: “On your mark, get set, go!” This May, the seventh graders participated in the first ever Greek Games. Here they are beginning an event called “Campus and a Bit” where they sprinted a loop around the campus.

Below: City-state athletes attempt to wheelbarrow race across the field. In the front, Grace Walker and Ms. Locke are head to head with Clay Derderian and Theo Gabriel.

Below: Representatives of the city-state of Marathon, Sophia Bu-chanan and Jake Wald-smith, hold up a banner over their happy Mara-thon mascot, Chandler Thoma.

Above: In the Greek Games event the “Group Squat,” students in the city-state of Sikyon struggle to stay in the game as their legs burn and backs hurt.

PAGE 3 FOUR RIVERS CURRENTS

Left: Seventh graders Lily Bennett and Courtney Benoni make track plates for their sit-spots. A track plate is a metal slab with soot on it so that when an animal walks on it, clear footprints are created.

Above: Eighth graders displayed their research on wind machines and solar cars at the first annual F. R. E. E. (Four Rivers Environmental Extravaganza).

Left, Morghan Jolly and Alex Thacker generate electricity with a 4-blade machine built of PVC pipe and balsa wood. Right: The students produced some very useful brochures, some of which can be seen in this display.

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DIV II NEWS

APPLICATIONS for GRADES 10 & 11 APPLICATIONS for Openings in Grade 11 and Possible Openings in Grade 10 are now being accepted. The Deadline for applications is June 22. If more ap-plications are received than we have openings for, a lottery will be held for each grade on June 23.

Download an application from our web site: www.fourriverscharter.org

OR come by the school office and pick one up.

English ~ Ms. Ambuter

Ninth grade English students have finished an analysis of a personal journey through Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha and are in the process of wrapping up their I-Search pro-jects. There will be an I-Search fair on June 16th from 8:30-10:30 a.m. in the Common Room, so please come by and see all the fantastic inquiry-based work they've done!

Tenth grade English students have just completed independent literature circle work. Students chose varied texts to discuss that included: Jane Eyre, The Bean Trees, The Things They Carried, Waiting for Godot, No Exit, and Edgar Allen Poe's Great Tales and Poems. Over the past two years, the 10th graders have developed strong analysis, composition and communication skills that they are now displaying through a culminat-ing independent project. Student products include a documentary, novels, collections of poetry and short stories, graphic novels, and research papers.

Ms. Stamas’ 10th graders teach a Biology lesson to Ms. Locke’s 7th graders.

Left:, 7th graders Jackson Reeves-Henning and Genlyne Fiske-White.

Right: 10th graders Emma Johnson, Liz Snide and Zoë McMahon

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DIV III NEWS Environmental On this past Friday, May 22, Div III Environmental Science participated in the first ever Four Rivers Environmental Extravaganza (F.R.E.E.) by presenting their booths which they had been preparing all trimester. As the final project for this course, the students developed an informational booth that in some way supports Greening Greenfield’s 10% challenge. The Greenfield 10% Challenge is a cam-paign to encourage Greenfield residents and businesses to reduce their climate change emissions 10% by 2010. Booth ideas included educating people about composting, gardening strategies, recycling, home energy conservation methods, as well as specifics about Greening Greenfield. A good time was had by all and the participants found it entertaining and informative.

Physics Students are presenting their final projects this week. This trimester they, as both individuals and groups, constructed a device that will, at the very least, produce enough electricity to light a single flashlight bulb bright enough to read twelve point text, three feet away, using renewable energy. Stu-dents were also responsible for explaining in detail how their energy source is converted to light. While some projects were more successful than others, there was no shortage of enthusiasm and crea-tivity in their designs. Students' hard work and perseverance definitely showed in this assignment.

Scenes from the first annual F.R.E.E. (Four Rivers Environmental Extravaganza:

Above left: Caleb Walk gives a grease car demon-stration

Above right: 8th graders Mikayla Goodwin and Kyle Sweeney talk to Ms. Durkee about their wind ma-chine

Left, a lesson on organic gardening from Amasa Fiske-White and Julia Burke

ANNOUNCEMENTS

ULTIMATE ENDINGS The Four Rivers Varsity and JV Boys and the Varsity Girls head for the state tourna-ment on May 31st. The Middle School boys and coed teams finish their season on May 30th with a tournament in Amherst. The JV Girls have finished their season with an 8-8 record. The Varsity Boys won two tournaments this year including our home tournament on May 9th with a thrilling come-from-behind win over Nipmuc in the final. Sam Boyden made a diving catch in the end zone for the game winner. The Varsity Girls, 16-7 on the season, finished 3rd in the Girls Division, beating St. Johnsbury. The JV Boys came in 2nd in the B division, losing in the finals to Newton South. The JV Girls also partici-pated and had some close games including giving NMH varsity a scare. We had 86 players on 6 teams this year. The participation was high and the spirit of the game was honored. A special congratulations and thanks to all of our seniors for their hard work and commitment. Our coaches have also done a great job, Greg Katzen, Zack Fortier, Ben Seguin, Tamara Gorgan, and Amanda Griffith. Our program looks to be strong for years to come.

There is summer pick-up Ultimate at Greenfield High School, behind Friendly’s on Fed-eral Street, on Tuesdays from 5:30-7:30 pm. There are also summer leagues in Amherst and Brattleboro and a summer overnight camp at NMH. Contact me if you need more details.

Terry Plotkin, Athletic Director

FOUR RIVERS CURRENTS

IMPORTANT DATES for the FALL 2009—2010 SCHOOL YEAR

Monday, August 31 & Tuesday, September 1, 2009 ~ Students meet with their Advisors

Wednesday, September 2 ~ First Day of School

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FAMILY COUNCIL SAFE FAMILIES LETTER

Safety First Written by Family Council March 2006, reaffirmed May 2009

The Family Council, with full support of the school administration and in keeping with the tradition of community, trust, and respect at Four Rivers Charter Public School, strongly encourages families to communicate with one another using the published School Phone List. As our sons/daughters grow, it becomes more difficult to monitor all their activities. It is our hope that parents/guardians will feel com-fortable calling each other to support/confirm appropriate supervision is provided while our son/daughters are not under our own supervision. Student plans are often fluid, flexible, and occasionally made without adult input. If your son/daughter is visiting, know that it’s ok to call to be sure that a gathering or party will be actively supervised. Exposure to, and experimentation with alcohol, tobacco, marijuana or other drugs is a difficult, challenging, and real fact of life in our culture. Safety first. The goal is to have a strong community of families that support each other to keep our students (son/daughters) safe and healthy with the following guidelines in mind. 1. When other friends visit, it’s important to let them know that the possession or use of alcohol, to-bacco, marijuana, or other drugs will not be tolerated/allowed, and that parents will be called. Safety first. 2. Four Rivers Public Charter School hopes that parents will call and accept calls from other parents freely, without judgment. Be an open listener. 3. We encourage parents to let their son/daughters know that a call to a parent for a ride will always be responded to positively if they find themselves in a situation that is unsafe or uncomfortable. Safety first, questions later.

4. If your son/daughter is a passenger or driver of a car when there has been alcohol or drugs in use, they should always call a parent or other adult for a ride regardless of the hour of day or night. Safety first, questions later.

While these are just some suggestions about how to keep our son/daughters safe, please have conversa-tions with your son/daughters about what to do before something happens. What are your family’s ex-pectations? Help them by guiding them to be best prepared in any situation. Safety first!

Four Rivers Charter Public School

248 Colrain Rd., Greenfield, MA 01301

Four River Charter Public School is dedicated to educat-ing young people for lives of learning and service. The school offers a rigorous academic program aligned with the Massachusetts cur-riculum frameworks and an emphasis on character develop-ment for moral and social responsibility. Three central themes – nature, technology and community – pervade the teaching and learning at the school. Four Rivers works closely with parents and seeks both to serve and learn from the many resources of Franklin County.

MUSIC GAMES

& FUN FOR ALL

Come One, Come All! FAMILY COUNCIL

ALL SCHOOL PICNIC

The All-School Pot-Luck Picnic is:

Friday, June 12, 5:00—8:00 pm At the School

Family Council Provides paper goods and utensils, families bring a dish to share

“This institution is an equal opportunity provider. To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Washington, DC 20294”