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Colrain Central School News
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April 12, 2024
A Note From Mrs. Looman
A huge THANK YOU to the PTO for the awesome Eclipse Watch party. It was great to have so many families join us and to see and hear the excitement on everyone's face as we were able to witness the solar phenomenon!
First Aid & CPR Classes being offered: On Thurs 5/2 and 5/9, community CPR and first aid classes will be offered. If you need to re-certify your CPR credentials, or bolster your confidence on how to respond in an emergency, these classes are for you! Participants will leave each class with a nationally-recognized certification.
The classes will be deeply discounted ($20/class, $30/both classes), thanks to a grant secured by Cooperative Public Health Service, the health district that supports all West County Boards of Health.
Students can receive an additional discount by using the following codes: STUDENT_CPR (for $10 CPR class), STUDENT_FIRSTAID (for $10 first aid class) or STUDENT_COMBINED (to take both classes for $15).
While these classes will take place at Mohawk Trail Regional School, this is NOT a school-sponsored activity.
Are you interested in sustainability in our district, but were unable to attend the forum on Tuesday? Don't worry! You can find out about all the work that BERK12 is doing and ways that you can be involved. Visit https://www.2districts8towns.org/
Are you a registered voter? Are you unsure? With town meeting coming in June and a presidential election coming next fall, now is the time to make sure that you are registered so that your voice can be heard. To help with that, our town clerk, Anna Lavarreda, will be set up at the Student Art Show/Family Reading Night. Anna will be able to confirm whether or not you are already registered, and help register you if you're not. Be sure to stop by the table that night!
APRIL UPDATE ON MOHAWK TRAIL/HAWLEMONTREGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT SUSTAINABILITY STUDY
Contact: H. Jake Eberwein, Project Manager, jakeeberwein@gmail.com
April 10, 2024 -- Berkshire Educational Resources K12 (BERK12), in partnership with the 2districts8towns Steering Committee, is gathering input from community members for an ongoing study and analysis of the operating and organizational structure of the Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont regional school districts. The 2districts8towns Sustainability Study encompasses the towns of Ashfield, Buckland, Charlemont, Colrain, Hawley, Heath, Plainfield, and Shelburne. Upcoming events in April will focus on learning more about the needs of the schools and gathering perspectives and feedback from families and community members.
During February and March, the BERK12 team met with local select boards, town administrators, and legislators to brief them on the project, answer questions, and solicit their thoughts. Community engagement sessions are being held at each of the district’s schools to provide an opportunity for families and community members to engage with the research team. Initial sessions were held at Buckland-Shelburne Elementary School on March 11 and at Colrain Central School on April 9. Sessions coming up include:
● April 11, Sanderson Academy Cafeteria, 6:00 to 7:30 pm, childcare available
● April 24, Mohawk Trail Regional School, superintendents’ conference room, 6:00 to 7:30 pm
● April 25, Hawlemont School Cafeteria, 5:30 – 7:00 pm, dinner served and childcare available
School families as well as any interested community members are invited to attend one of the community engagement sessions and are asked to register in advance HERE. Participants will be asked to comment on the strengths and weaknesses of the Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont Regional School Districts, identify things the districts can’t live without, propose options and solutions for high quality cost-effective education, and state their ultimate vision for the districts in 10 years.
Members of the BERK12 research team are also visiting each of the schools to observe students and teachers in action. These visits include classroom observations and focus groups with teachers to learn more about their views on academics and instructional practices. A comprehensive study of both enrollment and fiscal patterns and trends is in progress, as well as a synthesis of past studies in order to learn and build from the past.
The 2districts8towns steering committee continues to meet monthly to provide ongoing guidance and oversight. The next Steering Committee meeting will be held on April 18, 5:30 – 7:00 pm. Members of the public are welcome to attend either in person at Mohawk Trail Regional School (superintendent’s conference room) or virtually by accessing the meeting agenda posted on the website (2districts8towns.org). The steering committee has assembled advisory teams in the areas of community outreach, educational quality, finance, and facilities to help guide the BERK12 research team in its research and analysis. Community members interested in serving on these topic specific advisories can submit their names and interest through the CONTACT link on the website.
The website also provides past and current presentations and reports, a full schedule of upcoming community engagement meetings, a list of steering committee members, links to the project’s Facebook and Instagram pages, and other relevant project information. A one page project overview is available HERE.
The team is developing community surveys that will be issued later this spring. The surveys will gather input from students, teachers, community members, and families, including those that have chosen to send their students to schools outside of the district.
For more information, contact project manager H. Jake Eberwein, jakeeberwein@gmail.com.
MCAS Schedule
May 9: Math for grade 4
May 10: Math for grades 4 & 5
May 14: Math for grades 3 & 5
May 16: Math for grade 6
May 17: Math for grade 6, Science for grade 5
May 21: Math for grade 6, Science for grade 5
If a student is absent on the day of testing, they will be given a make up test on the day they return.
PTO News
- The next meeting will be on Monday, April 22nd at 3:30 in the staff room. Plans for Teacher Appreciation week will be discussed.
Student Art Show & Family Reading Night
Hello Colrain Families!
On Friday, May 10, we will be hosting a combination Student Art Show/Family Reading Night, from 5:00-7:30. This event will include read-alouds from people in our Colrain community, pizza dinner provided by the PTO, and a FREE book swap to end the night! To make this event a success, we could use some help:
-BOOK DONATIONS: Please clear out your bookshelves and donate gently-used children AND adult books. You child can bring them to me in Room 12 or leave them in the boxes by the front and back doors.
-sign up to VOLUNTEER: Please consider being a guest reader during this event! We will also need help with setting up the book swap and refreshments, as well as breaking everything down at the end of the night.
-REFRESHMENTS: We would gladly welcome donations of snacks, treats, and/or beverages for this event- watch for a sign-up form once we get closer to the date.
Please let Jen Martin know if you can help out, and send in those books!! Jen can be reached at jmartin@mtrsd.org.
Happy Reading!
upcoming events
4/12: grade 6 districtwide field trip to Museum of Fine Arts
4/15-4/19: No school for April break
4/22: 3:30 PTO meeting
4/23: Session 2 ELA MCAS
1:50 dismissals: 4/24