Just a reminder that updated information can always be found at our website: https://colrain.mohawktrailschools.org/ and our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/colraincentral

• Safety drills: We conduct regular fire and lockdown drills with students over the course of the year. This enables everyone to practice what to do in the event of an emergency. The firefighters and police officers make themselves available to students as well, in case anyone has any questions or needs any clarification about anything. Our first fire drill of the year was on Thursday, August 29th and everyone did an excellent job! Students followed adult directions, were orderly and quiet, just as they were asked to be. Had this been an actual emergency, everyone would have been able to hear and follow the directions issued to keep them safe. Our first lockdown drill is scheduled for Tuesday, September 17th. If you are new to our community, you can be rest assured that we do NOT conduct active shooter drills where there is someone pretending to be armed. Teachers explain the procedures to students in advance and review things once the drill is over. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have.

• Please be sure that you let your child's teacher and the office know what your child's dismissal plans are. If there are any changes to their regular plans, we need to hear that from an adult, not the student. We cannot just take a student's word for it...no matter how responsible they are. 😊

• We are now looking for another family representative for the Local Education Council (LEC). The LEC is an advisory board to the principal, overseeing the school improvement plan, consulting on the budget, and working with school staff and community members to ensure we are providing the best educational experience possible. If you are interested in serving in this capacity, please let me know.

• The 2024-2025 Student/Family Handbook can be found at https://colrain.mohawktrailschools.org/accnt_381003/site_391894/Documents/Colrain-Handbook.pdf. Please read through it and then click on the button below to sign off on the form indicating your receipt and acknowledgement of it. This and all forms are due by Sept. 13th. Failure to return the forms by that time will result in an assumption of approval.

As a way to build community across our school, this year we are launching Fun Fridays. Every student belongs to a multi-grade group with two staff members. Each Friday this group gathers and for 15 minutes engages in a fun activity. Today, most groups played a game which allowed them to get to know a little something about the people in their group. Some groups talked about their favorite animals, their favorite ice cream flavor, and even the superpower they wish they had. Ask you child what they did in their group today.

• Classes come to the library once or a week, or twice a week for short periods

• Topics we cover in library classes: building a love of reading and an appreciation for literature; research skills; library skills; digital literacy and citizenship; coding; technology; building classroom community

• Students will begin checking out books to bring home in a few weeks after they have an orientation

• Students should try to always keep their books in a consistent place to make it easier to find them

• Keep an eye out for our monthly online newsletter to learn more!

Our library is organized by the Metis Library System for Elementary Schools. Take a look at our categories to get a sense of the general topics available in our library.

A Concepts

Amazing Facts; Colors; Counting; Shapes/Patterns; Sizes

B Machines

Architecture; Buildings; Machines

C Science

Computers, Earth Science, Experiment; Inventions; Sound/Light; Space; Weather; Water

D Animals

E Nature

Appreciation; Conservation; Gardening; Habitats; Plants, Seasons

F Pets

Pets/Domestic: Cats; Dogs; Farm Animals

G Art

Magical Arts; Music; Visual Art; Writing

H Making Stuff

Books; Cooking; Crafts; Games

I Ourselves

Bodies; Families; Feelings; Friendship, Values

J Sports

Sports by Category (including hunting, fishing, and biographies); Sports Fiction

K Community

Activism; Citizenship; Food; Jobs; Libraries, School, etc., War

L USA

USA Activism; Civil Rights; Geography; History; Presidents; States

M Countries

Atlas; Countries; Native Nations

N Languages

Dictionaries; Thesaurus; Grammar, etc. (stories about language and reading)

O Traditions

Around the World; Birthday; Holidays; Tooth Traditions, Religion

P Tales

Around the World; Fables; Fairy; Folk; Myth

Q Verse

General Poetry (much of the poetry is on the shelf by genre)

R Humor

Jokes; Funny Poetry

S Mystery/Puzzles

Mysteries (nonfiction); Puzzles; Unexplained Phenomena

T Adventure Exploration

Nonfiction; Adventure; Exploration; Titanic

U Scary Stories/Nonfiction

Scary

V Graphic

Nonfiction; Graphic Novels

Organized by author last name

W Chapter Books

Shorter fiction chapter book

Organized by author last name

X Fiction - Longer

Novels; Maybe trickier to read; Organized by genre, then author’s last name

Y Picture Stories

Organized by genre, then author’s last name

Z Readers

Beginning readers and graphic novels organized by author’s last name

Hello everyone, last year’s 4th grade has been working on a Science Service Learning Project where we wanted to get reusable bags for everyone. During open house night, we invite everyone in Colrain town and the Colrain Central School come to this school and collect bags for themselves and who ever lives in the same house as them. ONE bag per person please. If a student isn't able to get their bags for them and their family, please let Mrs. Shearer know and they can get it later in the year if we still have bags left.

Kind regards,

Xyriel Law

The first PTO fundraiser is our annual fall mum sale. If you'd like to order, please fill out the form below. We will be taking orders through September 18th, pick-up will be at Colrain Central School on September 25th!

The next PTO meeting is Thursday, Sept. 12th at 3:30 at the school. Come help plan some exciting events for the year.

9/12 3:30pm PTO meeting

9/17 3:30pm LEC meeting

9/17 lockdown drill

9/18 PTO Mum orders due, Community Celebration dinner orders due

9/25 Colrain Community Celebration

• 9:00-10:00 Harvest Fair
• 5:00-6:00 Mum pickup
• 5:00-6:00 PTO dinner/CCS Swag available for pickup
• 6:00-7:00 pm Open House
• 7:00-8:00 5th/6th grade family meeting

1:50 dismissals: 9/18, 9/25