Student & Family Update

A lot has been going on at MTRS this week!

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

Mohawk Trail Music Association fundraiser - sign up for a shift at the baked potato booth - see image below!

Can you help? We are looking for caregivers who might be interested in being paid to helping to monitor school lunches between 11:10am & 12:40pm. Please email me for more details: cbuckland@mtrsd.org

MCAS Spring Results

MCAS results from Spring of 2024 were delivered to us from the state this week. Broad data can be seen here. Results will be mailed out to families in the next few days. The student service team will share a draft testing schedule for the rest of 24/25 soon. Passing ELA and Math Macas in G10 and Science MCAS in G9 are graduation requirements in Massachusetts and all students are expected to participate in testing. The following tests take place in the Spring for the following grade levels:

• Grade 7 - ELA, Math
• Grade 8 - ELA, Math, Science, Civics
• Grade 9 - Biology (students taking Biology in S1 will test in February)
• Grade 10 - ELA and Math

More information about MCAS results will be shared in an upcoming LEC and School committee meeting.

Student Led Conferences for grade 8,9,10,11 & 12 are on the horizon! 10-30-24

Please see the Teaching and Learning section below for more information. In the meantime, here are the quicknotes:

Advisory is a graduating requirement for a high school diploma at MTRS.

Students need to complete their SLC in order to pass Advisory.

Grade 7 has 1 per year. Everyone else has 2 per year.

Advisory teachers are reaching out by email to set up 15 minute meetings between 12 - 3:30pm on 10-30-24.

Here are the following options for students and families:

• Students are dismissed at 11:30 and can stay in school, doing supervised activities (12-2:30) until it is time for their SLC. Caregiver comes in and student and caregiver meets with advisor in-person. Please note, buses will run at 11:30 but not 2:30. Please consider this when planning out your SLC.
• Students are dismissed at 11:30 and can stay in school, doing supervised activities until it is time for their SLC. Caregiver joins the SLC virtually while student and advisor meet in person
• Students are dismissed at 11:30 and go home on the bus. They come into school with caregivers at the appointed time for their SLC. Student, caregiver and advisor meet in person
• Students are dismissed at 11:30 and go home on the bus. Student & caregiver join the SLC virtually from home and the advisor joins virtually from school.
• If a caregiver is unable to attend, the student and advisor will complete the SLC either in-person or virtually at the appointed time.

We would love to see as many caregivers and students as possible attend the SLC and then come to the Mary Lyon Resource fair, eat some free food at the Kiwanis hut and then watch our MS football team play a home match!

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

• Hurting or Flirting in Grade 7
• Student-led-conference information for October 30th, Grades 8-12, 12-3:30pm
• Athletics Updates
• ArtTeens applications are now open
• AP Brault's Culture Corner
• Student Voice/ Booster Week information
• Community involvement and outreach opportunities
• District updates
• SEPAC updates
• Suburban Boys Basketball tryouts

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.

Don't forget that Monday is a holiday. See you all on Tuesday!

Best

Chris

Upcoming dates

• 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
  
• Dec 13 & 14th: Winter Play
• Dec 19: Winter Concert
• 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

Will you be able to go to the dance?

We are not going to allow MS students to bring guests to the Homecoming dance. If MS students are able to demonstrate appropriate behavior at the Homecoming dance, we will allow guests at the G8 semi-formal in June.

As a reminder, in order to attend, all students need to be in good academic standing and have fewer than 3 conduct referrals between Monday 7th and Friday 18th. If a student buys a ticket and racks up referrals and can't go, they will receive their money back.

Caregivers, thank you for reminding students that this is a school sanctioned event and the student code of conduct applies to student behavior.

Permission forms for guests

Completed guest permission forms must be given to Christie by Thursday morning at 9:05.

Unexcused Absences

If you are out of school with an unexcused absence on Friday, you will not be allowed to attend the dance. Absences must be excused on Friday. You cannot bring a note on Saturday.

Music Playlist

Students have been asked for their suggestions for appropriate music to be played and to complete this form by Oct 14th.

During the week of October 14th, seventh grade students will participate in a workshop about sexual harassment, called "Flirting or Hurting?" During the workshop, we will be discussing the definition of sexual harassment and what students can do if they witness or experience harassing behavior. The workshop will take place during Social Studies classes Tuesday and Wednesday. The workshop will be facilitated by Ms Ruggeri, School Counselor, and Mr Rabasco, Social Studies Teacher.

The curriculum is introduced in 7th grade because middle school is a time when many students begin experimenting with language and gestures that they do not fully understand. They are faced with the task of developing identities within peer groups and the larger community, and interactions between students can result in confusion and misinterpretation. Often students in middle school do not realize the effect that their behavior has on others, and many are unaware of the definition of sexual harassment and that it can be a form of bullying.

Proactively providing students with information about sexual harassment in middle school is part of our commitment to creating a community of learners who are respectful and accountable, as well as promote a culture of empowerment.

Please feel welcome to be in touch with Taffy Ruggeri, School Counselor, with questions or concerns truggeri@mtrsd.org 413-625-9811 X1304

ARTeens is an afterschool program where teens play, work, make art, and create a supportive creative community! ARTeens is a weekly after school program at The Art Garden in Shelburne Falls open to middle and high school teens (ages 12-19). Our Fall sessions begin the week of October 22nd and run for 7 weeks. For more info and our participant interest form go to theartgarden.org/for-teens! Interest forms are due Oct 15th, but will be accepted until the program is full!

ARTeens is a pay-what-you-can program with no needs qualifier. The program costs $350 per session, but no one is ever turned away due to lack of funds. Families are responsible for deciding how much they can afford with everyone asked to contribute even a little because every contribution helps make the program possible.

Booster week is just around the corner( 0ct. 15-19) and 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 also be a bonfire with entertainment from 6:30 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 and $15 at the door.

We can’t wait to see your outfits and school spirit!

Director Paul met with the cast and crew and plans are afoot for the December 12 & 13th Winter Play.

As a reminder, here is the rehearsal schedule moving forward: https://mtrs.mohawktrailschools.org/Performing-Arts

I have worked in special education within the high school for over 10 years now, in the past as a paraprofessional, and more recently as a special education teacher. This autumn I'll finally be completing the practicum journey that I started nearly 3 years ago.

This year I would like to continue to bring the consistency that I have always strived bring to this school, and by extension to foster the positive relationships with both students and staff that we all aim for each day at MTRSD.

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

The PSAT will be offered to all MRHS grade 10 and 11 students during the school day on October 24th!

• There is no charge for the students to take the PSAT this year!

• The PSAT is a PRACTICE for the SAT. Strong SAT scores can help with college admission and scholarships!

Do you want to practice for the PSAT? Click here!

Career of the Month -Industrial Designers

Industrial Designers

Industrial designers develop the concepts for manufactured products, such as cars, home appliances, and toys. They combine art, business, and engineering to make products that people use every day. Industrial designers consider the function, aesthetics, production costs, and usability of products when developing new product concepts.

Duties

Industrial designers typically do the following:

• Consult with clients to determine requirements for designs
• Research the various ways a particular product might be used, and who will use it
• Sketch ideas or create renderings, which are images on paper or on a computer that provide a visual of design ideas
• Use computer software to develop virtual models of different designs
• Create physical prototypes of their designs
• Examine materials and manufacturing requirements to determine production costs
• Work with other specialists, such as mechanical engineers and manufacturers, to evaluate whether their design concepts will fill needs at a reasonable cost
• Evaluate product safety, appearance, and function to determine if a design is practical
• Present designs and demonstrate prototypes to clients for approval

Some industrial designers focus on a particular product category. For example, they may design medical equipment or work on consumer electronics products, such as computers and smart phones. Other designers develop ideas for products such as new bicycles, furniture, housewares, and snowboards.

Other designers, sometimes called user interface designers or interaction designers, focus on the usability of a product, such as an electronic device, and ensure that the product is both simple and enjoyable to use.

Industrial designers imagine how consumers might use a product and test different designs with consumers to see how each design looks and works. Industrial designers often work with engineers, production experts, and market research analysts to find out if their designs are feasible. They apply the input from their colleagues’ professional expertise to further develop their designs. For example, industrial designers may work with market research analysts to develop plans to market new product designs to consumers.

Computers are a major tool for industrial designers. Industrial designers use two-dimensional computer-aided design and drafting (CADD) software to sketch ideas, because computers make it easy to make changes and show alternatives. Three-dimensional CAD software is increasingly being used by industrial designers as a tool to transform their two-dimensional designs into models with the help of three-dimensional printers. If they work for manufacturers, they also may use computer-aided industrial design (CAID) software to create specific machine-readable instructions that tell other machines exactly how to build the product.

Explore the student services updates for more information!

District Literacy Coach Valerie Vasti won a grant from The Reading Circuit to receive funding for the University of Florida's Literacy Institute (UFLI) proprietary foundational reading training.

The award letter cited our “demonstrated commitment to evidence-based literacy practices and enthusiasm for the strong reading foundation that UFLI offers students.” The UFLI Foundations curriculum is “an explicit and systematic program that teaches students the foundational skills necessary for proficient reading. It follows a carefully developed scope and sequence designed to ensure that students systematically acquire each skill needed and learn to apply each skill with automaticity and confidence. The program is designed to be used for core instruction in the primary grades or for intervention with struggling students in any grade.”

“During SY 2023-2024, Sarah Forbes, one of our extraordinary kindergarten teachers, and the team at Sanderson Academy - notably paraeducators Veronica Smead and Melissa Beckwith, together with Special Education teacher Barbara Unaitis - piloted our vision for structured literacy: EL Education for knowledge building and comprehension; Framing Your Thoughts/Sentence Structure for syntax and writing expression; and, UFLI for foundational reading,” Vasti explained.

Forbes, a Grinspoon Excellence in Teaching award-winning, veteran educator reported she has never before had students reading such advanced level texts at this point in their development.

Trainers from the University of Florida's Literacy Institute (UFLI) traveled to Western Massachusetts and facilitated the training on September 30 for educators in the Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont Regional School Districts. We also hosted educators from around the state who are looking to follow our lead with the implementation of UFLI for Foundational Reading and some with our suite of curricula. Participants were unanimous in their enthusiastic appreciation of this learning opportunity.

Sustainability Study Updates

Last night, October 10, was the virtual progress update spearheaded by Jake Eberwein of BERK12 who presented slides full of information related to what they’ve learned. He made sure to share that there are no predetermined solutions and input from the community is so important to the process. Fifty-six individuals joined the session whose questions ranged from whether the raw survey data is available to AP courses and costs associated with choice students. Jake described next steps as continuing to work toward viable models to present to the community later this winter. He encourages and invites further input from members of the community and they continue through phase three of this process.

Superintendent Stanton and Mohawk Trail School Committee chairs are making scheduled appearances at district town selectboard meetings to share a progress update on the sustainability study. So far they have visited with selectboard members from Charlemont, Hawley, and Buckland. The selectboards appreciated the work that has gone into the study thus far. Some of the discussion centered around advantages and disadvantages of the various modeling options. We are grateful for their help in getting the word out about last night’s virtual progress update.

Upcoming selectboard meeting dates and locations include (in date order):

* 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

Reports and other resources are available at www.2districts8towns.org. You will find a Facilities Report (76 pages), Early Childhood Brief (30 pages), Community Outreach Report (97 pages), Finance and Personnel Report (134 pages), a draft progress report, plus the slides from last night’s presentation.

MTRSD at the Ashfield Fall Festival October 12 and 13

Show your support for school-related groups making the most of the Ashfield Fall Festival this weekend by swinging by the MTRSD booths!

Mohawk Trail Music Association

Baked Potato Fundraiser

Mohawk Trail Athletic Association

Coffee, Whoopie Pies, and Swag Fundraiser

Sanderson 6th grade

the Dime Toss Fundraiser

Sanderson PTO

Walking Taco Fundraiser

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 November 13th

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

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