Student & Family Update

As usual, we have had a lot going on this week...

College visits have started. Umass came to speak with Seniors and Counselor Desarro has organized a road show for seniors to visit Springfield College, Umass and MCLA. See the Students Services section below for more info.

Ed Orgill from Westfield State visited our Music classes this past week (See photo below)

Find out more about our new Climate Resiliance course and the opening of our two new outdoor classrooms

We are looking into the possibility of co-hosting Frecnch students with Greenfield and Frontier next year. If you are interested or may be interested, please fill in the survey below.

Student Council is planning a Band and Bonfire event for Friday October 18th from 6:30-9pm. Anyone interested in donating old pallets, please contact StuCo Advisor M: rmastorakis@mtrsd.org

Please read on for information and news related to our busy school. This includes:

• Information on Grade 8-12 Student-Led-Conferences on October 30th
• Athletics Updates
• Host a French student!
• Class of 2025 information
• Teaching and Learning updates: Climate Resiliance & Outdoor Classroom
• AP Brault's Culture Corner
• Booster Week information
• Pep Band and Westfield State Music visit
• Community involvement and outreach opportunities
• District updates

If you are reading this newsletter on a phone or laptop, don't forget to click on "read entire message" in order to see the complete newsletter.

Finally, we do our best to convey information to our community from a variety of sources, lots of them community rather than school based organizations. Unfortunately we are not able to share images and posters with live links through Smore but always ensure there is an email for inquiries. If you would like an e-copy of a poster with live links, please feel free to reach out to the office directly.

Have a great weekend

Best

Chris

Upcoming dates

• October 3rd: Caps and Gown fittings for G12: Cafeteria 8 - 10am
• October 9th: School photos
• Oct 15-18: Booster week (Dance on Sat 19th)
• Oct 24th - PSAT (10th and 11th Grade) Information coming next week
• October 30th: SLC for Grade 8-12 & Mary Lyon Resource Fair
  
• November 14th: Grades 5-8 STEAM Fair
  
• April 2nd: SLC for grades 7,8,9,10,11,12
  
• April/ May:TBD Capstone Community Celebration (The new version of Celebration of Learning)
• May 29th: Senior Awards
  
• May 30th: Class of 2025 Graduation

Bell Schedule

District (Calendar for 24/25)

Student Handbook

Live course catalog 2024/25

Food Services Information

Live Solar Panel Energy Information

Twin Lakes has taken over from Suzor as our IT company. support@twinlakesconsulting.zendesk.com

Quarter 1 45 days

First Day: Wednesday, August 28, 2024

Last Day: Thursday, October 31st, 2024

Q1 progress report grades close on: Friday, September 27, 2024

Q1 progress report grading window: Weds, September 25 - Weds, October 2nd, at 11:59 pm

Q1 progress reports will be distributed on: Thursday, October 3rd, 2024

Q1 grading window: Tuesday October 29 - Wednesday November 6th at 11:59 pm

Q1 report cards will be distributed on: Thursday, November 7, 2024

More news on this, next week.

Photo day is coming! October 9th! Advisors, please collect and distribute photo forms to students to take home and then return with money on October 9th. If families would prefer to do this online, instructions are on the forms that they take home.

All students will have their photo taken (paid or not) so we can provide everyone with an official school ID

We are looking at the possibility of co-hosting a group of French students with Frontier and Greenfield HS in the Spring of next year. The first step is for interested families to complete this survey. Following this, if we have enough interest, we will hold a meeting to outline the next steps.

Completing the survey is not a committment to host!!!!

Edward Orgill, the chair of the music department at Westfield State University, came to Ms.Clough's jazz ensemble class on Thursday to talk to students about the college and its music offerings, as well as to offer a workshop. Orgill taught members of the MTRS Jazz Band "Sonnymoon for Two." Together they worked out the notes and ultimately played the piece, adding their own improvisations. One student said, "I really liked one of the songs he played for us that was followed by a discussion about avant garde music. I also liked the songs he taught us just by ear. He also showed our piano player some cool accompaniment techniques." Thanks to Professor Orgill for sharing his talents with some of our musicians.

In other Music news, Ms Clough is busy rehearsing with the Pep band who will perform during two home games. See the poster above for more information.

Hi everyone,

Hope you and your families are enjoying the start of fall! The leaves are starting to lighten up and shift to yellow and things are in full swing here at MTRS. I wanted to share a few updates for the senior class and make myself available for any questions you might have. So here goes:

CAPS AND GOWNS:

Seniors will be measured for Cap and Gown ordering for graduation on Thursday Oct 3. We'll do it at the start of the school day from 8-10 in the cafeteria here at MTRS. It would be very helpful for students to be here that day to ensure we get properly fitting graduation gear. Students, if you know you are going to be out, please check in with me about that so we can make sure we get your order in.

BOOSTER WEEK:

We are ordering booster week t shirts at the end of this week. Please ask your student if they've responded to our order form and if not, please encourage them to get on it. Students, did you fill out the order form? There is a space to enter if you are NOT getting a t-shirt as well, so please respond either way!

The seniors are otherwise putting their heads together planning out how to decorate our hallway, banner for the gym, and the last of our plywood letters to spell out "MOHAWK," as a fine way to celebrate their last booster week here at MTRS. Ask your student what our theme is, information far too sensitive to put in an email.

YEARBOOK INFO:

The senior class has decided to purchase a yearbook for each students with funds we have in our student account. However, if parents or students want Custom Pages they will have to order their own yearbook to do so. Please note that Custom Pages are different than a Parent Recognition Ads. Custom pages appear only in your purchased yearbook and all purchases are provided one page for free. Recognition ads have a cost, are available in full page or half page sizes, and are printed in all yearbooks for all students. Recognition ads are the traditional "parent message" page in the back of the yearbook. Please follow up with any yearbook questions or if you'd like to order your own by Mon 9/30.

YEARBOOK DEADLINES:

Speaking of the yearbook... The yearbook editorial team is gathering more detailed info to provide to you in the next couple of weeks, but seniors portraits and other yearbook media should be provided by the following dates:

12/13/24:

Senior Portrait

Baby Photo

Senior Quote

2/7/25:

Recognition Ads

All images should be submitted as JPGs either on a flash drive or via email as an attachment. Recognition ads can be created directly on Treering.com (the best option!), our yearbook platform and printing company. Please submit media/quotes to yearbook@mtrsd.org and any questions can be sent to me, Brendan Leowolf bleowolf@mtrsd.org. Some people may have already scheduled photography for later in the winter. Please reach out to me or the yearbook team to follow up if you are in that situation.

Student council has a lot in store!

Each day of the week is a dress up day:

• Tuesday is “Royalty day”
• Wednesday is USA day (red white and blue)
• Thursday is Blue and Gold day
• Friday is class color day.

On Friday there will be class olympics in the afternoon for points towards booster week scores. Attending home sports games also counts for class points.

Friday night there will be a bonfire with entertainment from nightfall to around 8:30.

On Saturday night our homecoming dance will be taking place from 7-10 and our theme is “Light it up”.

Tickets for homecoming will be on sale at lunch every day of booster week for $10.

I'm excited to be teaching American Sign Language at Mohawk Trail!

My name is Lizzy, and I grew up in Albany, NY. I attended RIT and UAlbany for my bachelors and masters degree. I've always loved the green hills of the Berkshires, so I moved to MA in 2020.

I am congenitally Deaf, and my first language is sign language. When I got my cochlear implants when I was 10, I continued practicing my English speaking skills. English is still my second language! I love teaching ASL to students of all ages, from elementary to college and beyond. I strongly believe that anyone can learn ASL, it takes a little time and effort and will reveal a whole new visual world that Deaf people live in every day.

I hope to bring to MTRS a new visual perspective of what language can look like.

Did you know that there are over 300 sign languages around the world?

The Mohawk Trail Regional School Climate Resilience class offers middle school students the opportunity to explore issues related to climate. They learn in a hands-on environment that builds their confidence to affect change.

It’s debatable whether there is another teacher who appreciates Mohawk Trail Regional School’s 54 acres as much as Alia Woofenden, who has returned to an MTRS classroom. “My goal is to get students connected to their surroundings in the natural world so that they can better understand them. If they can feel connected, what I’ve seen is, they are more inclined to take care of and advocate for what we have.”

In Tuesday’s class, at her prompting, the students considered native versus non-native creatures and plants, with one student calling out “us” as a non-native species. The conversation moved into a discussion of invasive species, and the class set out to the fire pond to see an example of “How did that get there?” as we sometimes see with “invasives.”

Students lined the fence as Ms. Woof collected two traps from the pond. The first contained about 30 shiners. With no apparent tributary or distributary, how did they get there? She explains, “we put them there.” She further explained how the mobility of humans and birds has unintended results like shiners showing up in a closed-system pond (likely through transported eggs). The second trap had more shiners, and also an Eastern Newt. From there the class hiked into the forest where they ran and waded, climbed and chatted. They inserted a memory card in the trail camera to get some footage for a future lesson.

Thursday’s class brought visitors Stephanie Straud and Andrew Petit de Mange from the National Park Service and Chris Skelly from the Buckland Trails organization. They are working together to plan and build a stronger system of trails through Buckland to district towns. Stephanie and Andrew gave an overview of the National Park Service and asked the students to consider it as a career path, especially if they enjoy being outside. To further the point, they shared that they work with people who have all kinds of backgrounds such as environmental scientists, landscape architects, botanists, historians, educators, and more.

Chris talked about being inspired by his love of area and hiking, and then described the project more specifically. They are looking to engage with groups to understand the needs of our communities, access existing trails and other resources, and build connections to more trails. He cited the Ashfield Trails organization as being a great local model of success.

Before heading out into the woods, they acknowledged trails in the towns in which MTRS students live, to what they wish trails would connect, the idea of trails meant for motorized use separated from trails meant for quieter use (including horseback riding), and barriers to the effort. As Skelly described the project, he made it clear they were there to get input from youth.

Similar to Tuesday’s class, the students headed out into the forest and broke into 4 groups. In these groups they were asked questions like: What do you like to do outside? What trails do you hike? What is a reasonable length (distance or time) for a hike? What elements do you want to see? What would you like to do on the trail? If you could walk from somewhere, where would you want to connect to? Answers included, “I’d like to walk to my friend’s house.” “Definitely more access to water.”

As the visitors took in the answers, they may have learned more by observing the behavior of the students who climbed on downed trees, jumped from a muddy bank and over stumps, splashed in the stream, and enjoyed crossing the bridges. Back in the classroom, our visitor thanked the students for their input.

Ms. Woof admits that she is appreciative of this class because she is someone who needs to be outside, and she recognizes that in many of her students. Having the space and directive to take students into nature every day is a win in her book, and it seems her students would agree.

As an aside, Ms. Woof had been instrumental in grant writing for the solar array and outdoor classrooms. Fortunately, she has returned at a time to see the fruits of her labor. Wednesday evening a simple ribbon cutting was held for the almost-finished outdoor classrooms that were made possible through funding from the Deerfield River Enhancement Fund. Thanks to MTRS staffer Brett Billings who led the building of the benches, fire pit, and a whiteboard kiosk with the help of the MTRS Key Club. Later this fall we will celebrate a smaller carbon footprint thanks to the generation of solar power on the Mohawk Trail Regional School campus.

Link to video

Mohawk Trail SEPAC Member and Parent

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Do you have a question about your child, their services, or resources specific to your needs? If you or someone you know would like to be added to the private list and receive emails and event notifications, please send an email to: MOHAWKSEPAC@gmail.com Please indicate your email, title (such as parent of a student with IEP/504), District, Interested Party or other)

Disclosure: SEPAC maintains the list of contacts and keeps the information private. This email is maintained by a parent and volunteer. Our goal is to respond in a timely manner. We will get back to you as soon as we can. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.

October 30th will be a busy day...

• Student-Led-Conferences 12 - 3:30pm
• Mary Lyon Resource Fair: 3-7pm in the gym at MTRS
• MTRS Football game under lights with food served at the Kiwanis hut

An important part of our shift to SBTL is to have students reflecting on their progress in their classes.

The SLC allows students to reflect on their learning to date and help map out their next steps for semester 2.

Information about the Student-led-conferences

Advisory teachers will start to reach out to families and care providers to schedule a Student-Led-Conference from September 30th

• S1 Student Led Conferences for 8-12- Early dismissal for all MS and HS Students at 11:30. Buses will run at 11:30 after lunch has been served

• Conferences will take place between 12:00- 3:30pm

• Students are encouraged to remain in school so that they can participate in person in their SLC, however, if they don’t have transportation to get home, they should take the bus at 11:30

• Caregivers are encouraged to attend in person but can participate remotely if that is more convenient. Please communicate this to your child’s advisor when they reach out to schedule a time with you

• Students who stay, must sign up in their advisory block on 10-30 for different supervised activities to do during the time 11:30-2:30 when they are not in an SLC. These activities include: Sports, Academic support, Study hall, Movie in the auditorium. There will not be student supervision from 2:30-3:30 but students will be able to wait in the lobby at MTRS

General information about SLC

What is a Student-led-conference?

• Student-led-conferences (SLC) are at the heart of our shift to standards based teaching and learning. They provide students with more ownership of their learning experiences at MTRS.

• Rather than reviewing letters/ numbers on a report or progress card, SLCs provide students with an opportunity to lead a 15 minute conversation about their progress towards proficiency in habits of learning and content-based skills.

• Students will be using the assessment criterion that we shared earlier in the year.

• They also enable students to reflect on their learning experiences to date and to set goals for the rest of the school year.

Does my student have to do an SLC?

• SLC are based in an advisory class, which is scheduled for each student every day. Advisory is a graduation requirement and student participation in SLC is expected and contributes to the pass/fail (credit/no-credit) for the course at the end of the year.

• SLCs are scheduled 1 x a year for grade 7 and 2 x a year for grades 8-12 Students must participate in SLCs in order to pass the Advisory class, in addition to attendance and participation.

• If a student is absent or unwell when their SLC is scheduled, they will make this up when they return.

Who will be at the Student-led-conference?

• Students will lead their own conference as it is their opportunity to talk about their experiences at MTRS as well as their goals for the rest of the year and beyond high school.

• We would like to invite care providers and families to be an integral part of every student’s journey and to try to be present at the SLC - in-person or virtually.

• Your student’s advisory teacher will be present. As advisory groups meet every day for a year, advisory teachers have the best overall insight into habits of learning and academic progress of each of their students. They can help support students as they lead their conference.

When will the Student-led-conferences take place?

• For grades 8-12, SLC #1 will take place on October 30th. SLC #2 for Grades 7-12 will take place on April 2nd, 2024

Where will the Student-led-conference take place?

• If you are in-person, please arrive at school 10 minutes before your scheduled time and someone will bring you to the advisor’s room.

• If you are meeting virtually, please log in to the google meet 5 minutes before your scheduled time.

What is the difference between SLS #1 and SLC #2?

• SLC#1: A chance for the student to reflect on their strengths, growths and challenges in the first semester, to reflect on their discoveries as a learner during the year so far and to set some habits and academic goals for the second semester. It is also an opportunity for students to talk through current post-high school plans.

• SLC #2: A chance for the student to reflect on challenges and successes of the year, to set goals for the year ahead and to revisit and possibly change post-high school plans.

What is the schedule for the S1 Student-led-conferences?

• Students will be dismissed at 11:30 am after lunch. The schedule for the 11:30 day is here

• Students must sign up in their advisory block on 10-30 for different supervised activities to do during the time 11:30-2:30 when they are not in an SLC. These activities include: Sports, Academic support, Study hall, Movie in the auditorium

• Students will go to their advisor’s class at the time of their scheduled SLC. They will return to their activity afterward.

• Activities will end at 2:30 and students and families are encouraged to attend the Mary Lyon Resource Fair, eat food courtesy of the Kiwanis club, and watch the Middle School Football game on the main field.

How do I schedule my SLC?

• From next week, advisory teachers will reach out to caregivers and families by email to schedule conferences of 15 minutes per student (in-person or virtual) on the above days.

What if I have children in multiple grades?

• We will start to schedule appointments so care providers will be able to arrange times convenient for them during the SLC window.

What if 15 minutes is not enough time?

• Advisors can help care providers/ families set up a subsequent appointment to meet with themselves or specific content teachers at a later date.

What will happen if I am unable to attend in person or virtually?

• We understand that not everyone can be available in-person or virtually during the school day. If you are unable to attend, your student will still conference with their advisory teacher.

• As we continue to develop our Student-led conference process, we will look at ways to have early afternoon/ early evening conferences as a way for all families and care providers to have the opportunity to be a part of the process.

What if I have more questions?

• Please reach out to your students' advisor in the first instance. Your grade-level guidance counselor will also be able to help:

Grades 7 and 8: truggeri@mtrsd.org

Grades 9-12: ldessaro@mtrsd.org

Seniors have already met with representatives from Umass, Suffolk, Westfield, Plymouth and Keene State already this year. Ms. Desarro and the team have even more visits lined up as well as an amazing opportunity to take part in a guided tour of three colleges in Western Mass.

Explore the student services updates for more information!

On Thursday, October 10 at 7 p.m., BERK12 is hosting a virtual progress update on their findings of the sustainability study thus far. Join the Google Meet from the comfort of your own home to hear directly from Jake Eberwein who has been leading the study. Participants may join with a link or by phone:

BERK12 Progress Update on the 2District8Town Sustainability Study, 7p to 8:30p

Thursday, Oct 10, 2024

Google Meet joining info

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/pme-pqjc-qwr

Or dial: ‪(US) +1 505-636-0084‬ PIN: ‪981 448 988‬#

Additionally, Superintendent Stanton, school committee chairs and members will be in attendance at upcoming selectboard meetings in district towns to offer similar progress updates. That schedule is as follows (in date order):

* Charlemont and Hawley, October 7, 2024, 7:00 Hawlemont Regional School Cafeteria

* Buckland, October 8, 2024, 6:15 pm, Buckland Town Hall

* Ashfield and Plainfield, October 15, 2024, 7:00 pm, Sanderson Academy

* Shelburne, October 21, 2024, 6:00 pm via Zoom

* Colrain and Heath, October 22, 2024, 4:35 pm, Colrain Town Hall

As always, reports and other resources are available at www.2districts8towns.org. This month a Facilities Report (76 pages), Early Childhood Brief (23 pages) and a Community Outreach Report (97 pages) have been added.

Have a look at the latest news from the MTRS library, here

Local Education Council (LEC)

This meets virtually every second Wednesday of the month between 3:45 and 4:30pm. More information can be found here. The next meeting will take place on October 9th.

The virtual joining information is as follows:

Meeting ID

meet.google.com/gzo-toke-ibz

Phone Numbers

(‪US‬)‪+1 813-435-9650‬

PIN: ‪741 012 215#‬

Principal Drop-ins

As was the case last year, I will hold regular virtual office hours. You don’t need an appointment to come and talk with me and share your thoughts on what goes on at MTRS. I will try to be available for the whole 60 minutes but can't always guarantee it at our busy school. The next drop in will take place on October 25th - the fourth Friday of each month!

Fourth Friday of each month: 8:00 to 9:00 a.m.

Meeting ID: meet.google.com/jtz-yhet-ipo

Phone Number: (US)+1 (813) 773-5581

PIN: 636 883 303

If your child has any of these symptoms:

Fever (>100.0° Fahrenheit or higher):

• Stay home until 24 hours after symptoms resolve AND are fever free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medication.

• A covid antigen test is highly recommended before returning to school.

Shortness of breath, muscle or body aches, sore throat, new congestion or runny nose, new loss of taste or smell, or new cough

• First 4 days of symptoms:

• If symptoms are mild, recommend a covid antigen prior to sending them to school.

• If negative:

• Can attend school that day, if they have the stamina to participate in the school day and are available to learn.

• Should mask until symptoms resolve.

• Continue careful handwashing.

• If Covid positive

• Contact the school nurse.

• If they have very mild or no symptoms, no fever, and have the stamina to participate in the school day and are available to learn, they may come to school wearing a mask at all times while indoors except while eating, drinking, or napping.

• Students with significant symptoms may return to school on day 6 as long as they are fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications, AND have improvement in symptoms, AND mask while indoors until they test negative on day five or later.

• If Exposed to Covid:

If you have been exposed to someone with a respiratory virus, you do not need to stay home as long as you remain asymptomatic. You may be able to spread a respiratory virus before developing symptoms. To protect others, especially those with risk factors for severe illness, take precautions:

• Wash your hands often

• Consider wearing a mask and avoiding crowded places

• Monitor yourself for symptoms carefully

• Stay home if you start to develop any signs of illness.

• Day 6 and onward (if still symptomatic)

• Can come to school without covid antigen testing if symptoms are improving but will need to mask until day 11.

• Continue careful handwashing.

Sincerely,

Donna Weber, MSN, BSN, RN

MTRS School Nurse

MTRS/HRS District Nurse Leader

dweber@mtrsd.org

413-625-9811 ext. 1318

Fax: 413-825-3050

Email: cbuckland@mtrsd.org
Website: www.mtrs.mohawktrailschools.org
Phone: 413-625-9811
Facebook: facebook.com/mohawktrailregional