AMHERST — An annual event that marks the beginning of the school year for students in Amherst’s public schools will be held Tuesday on the Town Common.
The “First Day Celebration,” a back-to-school event for children of all ages and the community of teachers, educators and parents who support them, begins at 5 p.m. and will run for about 90 minutes.
“It’s a welcome back, let’s get the year started right,” said Carol Ross, media and climate communications specialist who overseesthe Amherst Together project and is coordinating the event.
The celebration originated in 2004 as a way of ensuring that students and parents from all socioeconomic backgrounds would feel comfortable at the shared space of the Town Common.
The event will feature a performance by the Amherst Regional Middle School 8th-grade chorus, horse-drawn carriage rides by Muddy Brook Farm, kindergarten and school van tours and hula hoop with Hoop Joy.
There will also be appearances by members of the University of Massachusetts hockey team, Amherst College women’s cross country and track and field teams, the Valley Women Drummers and Sam the Minuteman mascot.
The First Day Celebration will be held less than two weeks after former Superintendent Maria Geryk came to an agreement to step down from her position.
Michael Morris, acting superintendent, is among the scheduled speakers at the event. Ross said another of the speakers will be Paul Bockelman, the new Amherst town manager, and that this will be the first opportunity for many parents to meet him.
Other speakers will include high school principal Mark Jackson, Crocker Farm principal Derek Shea, Fort River principal Diane Chamberlain and Wildwood principal Nick Yaffe.
While five restaurants will be supplying pizza, which should be enough for all in attendance, Ross said families can also bring picnic dinners.
A series of booths will be set up providing information about local and town organizations, including Family Outreach of Amherst, Center for New Americans, the Amherst Human Rights Commission and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Hampshire County.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
