There are two proposed calendars for the next school year, one with school starting on Sept. 4 and the other on Aug. 30, which is before the Labor Day weekend.

The teachers' union is considering both proposals. The problem with starting school after Labor Day is that it would push the last day late into June, said Debbie Westmoreland, the superintendent's assistant.

In both calendars, there are no elementary school classes on Election Day, Nov. 6. Fort River and Wildwood schools are polling places, and there has been concern about voters walking through the buildings while children are in class, Westmoreland said.

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REGIONALIZATION: The Regional School Committee will meet Feb. 28. On Feb. 29 there will be a public forum on whether Amherst should join with one or more towns in a regional district from kindergarten to sixth grade. The forum will be at 7 p.m. at Town Hall.

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JUMPERS: Fort River School is holding its annual Jumpathon this Thursday and Friday. Students will jump rope for about 40 minutes to raise awareness of the importance of aerobic exercise and to raise money for the American Heart Association, said Principal Monica Colley.

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BLACK HISTORY: The annual African American History Assembly at the Regional Middle School is Friday in the auditorium. It will be held at 8:15 a.m. for eighth-grade teams and at 9:30 a.m. for seventh-grade teams. The public is welcome.

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LUNCHTIME TALK: ARHS Principal Mark Jackson will meet with parents and guardians for a brown-bag lunch Friday at noon in Room 13. The topic will be "The Emotional Life of Teen Girls."

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TOP MUSICIANS: Ten students will represent ARHS at the All-State Band, Chorus and Orchestra performances at Boston's Symphony Hall March 3. They are Sophia Normark, Thomas Jefferies, Kethrellan Peterson, Sarah Martini, Lula Beresford-Banker, Dorian Elgers-Lo, Kylie Prutisto-Change, Caroline Norton, Anna Perkins and Emelyn Bashour.

Senior Dorian Elgers-Lo won the Springfield Symphony Orchestra's Rhodes Competition and will be performing on the piano with the Springfield Symphony on March 14. Senior Sarah Martini was the principal bass in the American High School Honors Performance Series at New York's Carnegie Hall last Sunday.

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AND: Winter recess is next week. The spring recess April 16-20 could be shortened if any school days are canceled because of snow.