In recent weeks, we have felt the absence of Bob Hinds since his passing. Find his obituary here:

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/recorder/name/robert-hinds-obituary?id=57836666

Coach Hinds started as a Junior Varsity boys basketball coach in 1988 before becoming a Special Education teacher at Mohawk Trail Regional High School. Through the years, he coached several sports including middle school girls basketball, varsity and middle school baseball, and when he wasn’t the head coach, you could still find him in the gym or on the sidelines as a supporting coach.

Coach Hinds’ dedication to students led him to volunteer countless hours during the off seasons, opening the gym for informal practice or monitoring the weight room. He was also a class advisor and, in retirement, had been a presence in the school as a substitute teacher in recent days.

Bob and his wife Pat raised their children in the school district, which spearheaded their volunteering in the schools, from assisting in classrooms to contributing to the start of the West County Youth Soccer League in the early 1980s.

To honor their connection with the school, in 2023 the Hinds Family established a scholarship for Mohawk Trail Regional graduating seniors which awards $1,000 scholarships to two graduating seniors each year.

Bob made his “super fan” status of Mohawk Trail Regional well known. Most recently he could still be found subbing in classrooms and greeting MTRS fans at the entrance table outside of the gymnasium. We owe Coach Hinds a debt of gratitude for all the ways he has shown up for our students and this community. May he rest in peace.

District elementary students in grades 4, 5 and 6 were challenged to read five or more books from the 2024-2025 Massachusetts Children’s Book Award list. If they were successful, they would be invited to participate in a celebration of their achievement. The celebration took place on Thursday, April 17 at the Buckland-Shelburne Elementary library hosted by librarians Lillian Whitsett (BSE), Robin Wilson (Sanderson) and Talia Miller (Colrain). The students played energetic rounds of trivia related to books they read. After lunch, the favorite book of the group was revealed. The plot twist was that there was a tie! The books receiving the most votes from our district students were Hoops by Matt Tavares and The Unforgettable Logan Foster by Shawn Peters. It was also wonderful to discover that just about every book on the list got a vote, demonstrating diverse interest and appreciation by our readers.

15 students from Sanderson Academy, 14 from Colrain Central, and almost 60 from Buckland-Shelburne Elementary enjoyed trivia, pizza, cake, and this shared experience! Well done, Readers!

There is a flurry of arts activity happening across the district. First up was Buckland-Shelburne Elementary’s rendition of Willy Wonka KIDS! The show went up Friday, April 4 and again Saturday, April 5 in the BSE cafeteria. On Friday, April 11th, Sanderson students presented Aristocats KIDS! A Mohawk Trail Regional spring concert was be performed on Thursday, April 17.

Next on stage is the Mohawk Trail Regional Performing Arts production of Tick Tick BOOM! on Friday, May 2 and Saturday, May 3 with the curtain going up at 6:30 pm both nights in the MTRS auditorium. Colrain Central and Hawlemont have art and literacy events on the calendar on 5/22 and 5/29, respectively. And don’t forget about the exhibit at the Salmon Falls Gallery up through April featuring student artwork from Buckland-Shelburne Elementary, Colrain Central, Hawlemont, and Sanderson Academy. The exhibit is free and the gallery is open on Thursdays through Sundays from 11 am to 5 pm.

There is much talent to appreciate in our Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont Regional School District learners!

Kenny Lopez-Velez ’24 knew he wanted to enlist in the military when he was in 6th grade. True to his younger self, Kenny enlisted in the US Marine Corps and has completed Basic Training. Though he doesn’t yet know where he’ll be stationed, he’s passing the time by continuing to pick up a guitar! He has said that the combination of having fun and working hard has been a recipe for success and gives credit to Mohawk Trail Regional for cultivating problem solving skills that have served him well.

Best wishes, Kenny, for a fulfilling career in the military. We thank you for your service.

The 2D8T Steering Committee thanks all those who attended either a community or town meeting (a full list can be found HERE). During those meetings, participants learned more about five options that are under consideration for sustainability of the districts.

Over the past several months, our project’s consulting team, BERK12, has completed in-depth financial and educational modeling of each option.

The results of feedback from the outreach sessions and an associated STAKEHOLDER SURVEY were presented at the April 3, 2025 meeting.

If you missed the meeting and want to learn more, several session recordings are available for your review:

* The Community Sessions Slide Deck can be found HERE.

* A recording of the Buckland-Shelburne community session can be found HERE.

*A recording of the All Virtual community session on March 6 can be found HERE. (recording starts about 10 minutes into session)

*A recording of the Hawlemont Regional School community session on March 19 can be found HERE.

*A recording of the Mohawk Trail Regional School community session on March 20 can be found HERE.

A recording of the Colrain Central School community session on March 26 can be found HERE.

Last night the 2D8T steering committee came to a decision about the next steps based on the feedback heard at community meetings and returned surveys. See the document below that outlines those steps.

Please see the source news stories below. However, if you do not have online access to the Greenfield Recorder, you may read the articles on the Mohawk Trail websites. For MTRS news, visit this news archive. For district wide or specific reporting on elementary schools, visit the district news archive. (Please note, sometimes the news shared is included in a "round up" or other compilation article, and it may not be clear that the story includes coverage of district news by the displayed title or photo.)

In September, the District began working with Kat Allen from FRCOG to bring the Enough Abuse program to Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont as part of the Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) Network. Mental health, substance use, social isolation, and chronic disease are critical areas in the plan and priority populations include those with limited incomes, Black and Latino residents of our community, LGBTQIA+ youth, people re-entering the community after incarceration, gender fluid people, children who have experienced trauma, and older adults. Child Sexual Abuse Prevention is a critical component of the plan with the goal of increasing child sexual abuse prevention policies, systems, and environmental changes at youth-serving organizations and schools in our region.

ENOUGH ABUSE® is a Boston-based child advocacy nonprofit that has been working on behalf of vulnerable children for over six decades. Enough Abuse was launched in 2002 under a 5-year grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The purpose of the $1.2 million grant was to develop a comprehensive social change model aimed at building adult and community responsibility for preventing child sexual abuse. With public and private agency collaborators, we launched the Enough Abuse Campaign to mobilize communities, educate citizens, strengthen school and youth organization policies, and advocate for prevention legislation.

ENOUGH ABUSE ™ is the nation’s oldest citizen-based child advocacy organization with a history of successes for vulnerable children that spans over 6 decades. Its works in states, nationally, and with international partners to ensure every child’s right to a childhood free from abuse and exploitation. Innovative and outcome-driven, Enough Abuse empowers individuals and policymakers to address the pressing issues facing children through training, education, and effective legislative and policy advocacy.

The US. Department of Education reports that 4.5 Million or 10% of K-12 students across the country report sexual misconduct by school personnel. As mentioned, students in our district have experienced sexual misconduct by adults in our own schools. I want to say this again…Students in our district have experienced sexual misconduct by school personnel. To all of you, who have emailed me and shared your survivor stories, I am sorry that you have carried the trauma of those experiences with you. I am sorry that we have not created the spaces in our schools, wherever those schools were, where you were safe. But I will also say, enough. I am asking everyone in our communities to say, enough. Our schools will be safe spaces for our students, they will be spaces where adults can bring forward concerns without fear of retaliation or feeling dismissed.

What have we done:

District Leadership Team has participated in the Enough Abuse screening tool and professional development.

We have met with Jetta Bernier from Enough Abuse to prepare professional development for the entire staff.

We are including Enough Abuse in our yearly staff trainings in addition to mandatory 51A trainings

We are working to bring family resources and student curriculum to identify boundary crossing behaviors and ways to keep our children safe.

We are working to update our hiring policies and protocols to ask specific questions about prior DCF findings and former work experience where a resignation was taken in lieu of termination.

We are conducting building walkthroughs and surveying students about unsafe spaces in our schools.

Trust in us is something that will take time. It will take grieving. It will take healing. It will take community and it will take courage.

FY26 Budget Season

Staff in the districts’ central office and members of the school committees’ budget subcommittees have been busy crunching numbers to present for the FY2026 School District Budgets. To review budget materials, please:

1.) visit the Districts’ Business Services page at https://www.mtrsd.org/Business-Services.

2.) scroll to the second header titled "Mohawk Trail Regional School Budget Information for MTRSD or further down the page to "Hawlemont Regional School District Budget Information” for HRSD.

3.) access the resources through the two blue buttons.

You will find the complete line-by-line budget, other related materials of interest, and the slide presentation from the school committees’ public hearing. Town-specific flyers may be found in this folder. See your town website for town meeting dates.

Should you have questions, please contact William Lataille, Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance, at wlataille@mtrsd.org

MTRS seniors are in their final...

A related project was a video that highlights MTRS students who blaze their own trails by taking on an internship. It may be viewed here. If you or the business or organization you work for could host an MTRS student, please contact Carol Foote, Communications and Outreach Coordinator at cfoote@mtrsd.org.

Each spring, students with a cumulative GPA of 3.8 or above are invited to apply for membership in this prestigious national academic club. In order to be selected, students must demonstrate not only excellent scholarship, but also leadership, service, and character in their school and community. Membership offers scholarships, awards, and benefits on college applications. We are pleased to announce the following students were selected this year:

JUNIORS

Kylah Perras-Howard

Anya Read

SOPHOMORES

Valerie Bzomowski

Tanner Biagini

Joey Calhoun

Landon Clark

Virginia Krezmien

Natalie Lanoue

Katherine Osterman

Luke Read

Farris Sharaf

Alaina Shearer

Please join us in congratulating and recognizing our new members!

On Friday, May 2 and Saturday, May 3, the MTRS theater program will present "TickTick... Boom!" It “is a theatrically autobiographical story of writer-composer Jonathan Larson, who would later be known for the hit Broadway production, ‘Rent.’ This musical depicts the trials and tribulations of an aspiring artist on the verge of his 30th birthday trying to make it in New York City, chronicling his struggles with balancing his musical dreams with personal friendships, partners, and the need for financial stability. With a backdrop of 1990s Manhattan, the production's themes of personal and professional growth mixed with aspirations and pursuit prove to stand the test of time.” Visit the MTRS Performing Arts page for more information.

Grace Ahrensdorf has been selected by a committee of the Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont Regional School Districts staff as a 2025 Pioneer Valley Excellence in Teaching Award Winner.

Members of the nomination committee asked districts’ teachers and staff for input about their colleagues. Many names and reasons were put forward, however Grace’s excellence as a kindergarten teacher at Colrain Central was expressed with glowing praise. Colleagues shared that Grace has special strengths including providing direct, clear instructions, making learning genuinely fun, supporting group dynamics, and offering clear, consistent boundaries within which her students are able to engage together as a group as well as with the larger school community. During a professional development day, Grace once remarked "I am always looking for more time to sing with my group" and shared how she has begun using songs to facilitate transitions within the classroom setting. This speaks to her thoughtful nature and why she is perfectly suited for the grade she teaches. Her students are confident members of the school community and were the first group to participate during monthly "All School Meetings" in which the 5- and 6-year-olds sang a song in front of the entire school. This speaks to the confidence Grace is able to instill in her students. She makes it look effortless but, in reality, is the result of a great deal of effort and consideration. Her students know what to expect from her and what is expected of them, which sets them up for success while they are members in her class and as they transition into older grades.

Grace is also an active member of the Colrain Central PTO and is always ready to provide help for various activities, from planning to execution. Her friendliness and ability to meet families where they are builds strong relationships between the parent and school dynamic. The focus with which she is able to speak on any given student's classroom performance is a great asset to her class and to the school as a whole.

Her classroom is one other teachers have been invited to observe as an example of strong curriculum implementation. She's also someone who is always looking to improve her practice.

She has high expectations for her students' learning and she very lovingly pushes them to achieve success.

Grace will be honored alongside other recipients at an in-person banquet at the Log Cabin in Holyoke on Wednesday, April 30 and will receive other expressions of recognition and gratitude.

Thank you, Mrs. Ahrensdorf, for everything you bring to your classroom, your colleagues, this building and community. Congratulations!

Recently, all Colrain Central students were treated to a little extra wonder when a traveling, inflatable planetarium made a stop at the school. Llama Maynard, an educator with strong roots in K-12 science, figured out how to bring her passion for astronomy to students and classrooms. As the Founder of Stars Above (https://www.starsabove.us/), Llama makes access to the science of the skies possible without needing the dark of night or the cost or complexities of transportation. The students enjoyed learning about planets and more!

Thanks to the Colrain Central PTO for the funding that supported this visit. View a short video of the visit on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/15w6rugpqP/

Fourth grade learners have really engaged with a multifaceted project focusing on an animal of their choice. First, students chose and researched an animal. Then, they wrote an essay describing the defense mechanisms of that animal. Finally, students wrote a choose-your-own-adventure narrative about the same animal. Go ahead - ask any fourth grade student what unusual defense mechanisms their animal uses. You’re sure to learn something!

Reading Specialist Mrs. Gajda reports that “a good time was had by all!” during Read Across America Week. Readers in Grade 4 won Book BINGO and each student in the class received a $5.00 gift certificate to order a book of their choice from Scholastic Books. More activities included:

• “Estimate the Bookworms”...the winning student guessed 102 bookworms in the jar and was spot on!

• The daily Book Trivia had many students picking book-related goodies from the prize table.

• Book Jeopardy had some very high scoring teams, some willing to risk it all for the big points!

• And finally, after a nail-biting week of lunch time stories for Battle of the Books, the all-school FAVORITE book was “The Cat in the Hat” which was very fitting, since it was Dr. Seuss’ birthday!

Hawlemont is looking for businesses to buy advertising space on the back of our All School Celebration flyer, which will be mailed out to our community at the end of this month.

$50 for a business name or $100 for a picture of the business card.

Please contact Jenn Sinistore by April 16th, via email to get your spot! jsinistore@mtrsd.org

Kindergarten students shared their first completed books from our literacy program with their fourth grade buddies. They read their book about weather to their buddy and the buddy responded with a series of questions for the younger author to respond to. It was a wonderful exchange of writing, observation, and thought!

Sanderson Academy has been visited by four incognito readers in an activity modeled after The Masked Singer. Reading Specialist Katy Morey and Librarian Robin Wilson wanted to get Sanderson students excited about stories and were inspired by a video that documented another school having fun with the idea.

They recorded four masked Sanderson staff members to read stories on the themes of friendship and kindness. Each day of the week a video of a masked reader was released and slides of the stories were also displayed. With anticipation and excitement, students watched and listened intently to the recorded reader, trying to identify their true identity.

Some students knew instantly the secret identity of the reader. In some classrooms there were debates. Staff would get the side eye from students or knowing looks if they were a suspected masked reader. It has created much interest and brought the community together to solve a fun school-wide mystery.

Mrs. Morey and Mrs. Wilson served as hosts for the big reveal at an all-school assembly on Valentine’s Day, which happened to be the Friday before break. One by one, they went through the books and asked the students who they thought the masked reader was. In each case, the student guessed correctly! Here’s the list of books, authors, and revealed readers:

Be Kind, by Pat Zietlow Miller- Read by Barbara Unaitis, Special Education Coordinator

My Friend Is Sad, by Mo Willems - Read by Melissa Beckwith, Paraprofessional

Making a Friend, by Marc Rosenthal - Read by Kristen Neuf, School Counselor

I Am Stuck, by Julia Mills - Read by Mikaela Whitaker, School Nurse

What a super fun activity that combined literacy with suspense and community connection. It was so well received, it may become an annual event. Well done, all!