• I'm pleased to welcome Ms. Cherry as our new music teacher. She started with us on Tuesday, so some of your children may have already met her. The rest will meet her on Monday. She will be meeting with all instrumental students next Wednesday and instrumental lessons will resume the following week. I greatly appreciate everyone's patience as we filled this position. Please see a note from her below.
• Pull out your dancing shoes and mark your calendars! The 5th & 6th grade "Winter Wonderland" dance has been rescheduled for Friday, Jan. 20th from 5:30-7:30 in the gym. Admission is $6/person or $20/family. All students must be accompanied by an adult 18 years of age or older.
• Ever dream of being able to go out to eat here in town or order take out? Here's your opportunity! The 1st & 2nd grades are sponsoring a Lasagna Dinner on Friday, Jan. 27th from 5-7 pm. Meals include a choice of meat, cheese, or veggie lasagna along with salad, garlic bread, and a dessert. Don't miss it!
• In keeping with our safety drills, there will be an unannounced lockdown drill at some point next week. Students have reviewed what to do and did a great job during our first one.

• If a student is having a retake please have them turn in their original package of pictures to the photographer and our team will reorder the package with the new image.

• If you have a family that can’t make your school retake day, we will have a retake session at our studio in Enfield that families can attend. It is scheduled on 12/1/22 from 4-8pm at 3 Anngina Dr. Enfield, CT 06082

If you have any further questions you can reach out to your contact at the studio, Jessica Montanez via phone 860-265-1440 ext 3612 or email at jessicam@grynnandbarrett.com and she can offer assistance.

• Please see the flyer below for more information.

COVID tests: Covid tests are available at the Griswold Memorial Library, the town office, and by mail at http://www.covidtests.gov for those who may be looking for them.

Scarborough’s Rope: Part 2

WORD RECOGNITION

Scarborough’s Rope, pictured below, is a model that shows the two main cognitive functions involved in skilled reading, language comprehension and word recognition, and the “strands” (subskills) that children must acquire to become expert readers.

Word Recognition involves three subskills: phonological awareness, decoding, and sight word recognition. These are skills that children usually develop in kindergarten through second grade. Sometimes these skills can take longer to master, and children will require specialized instruction to make progress. This can happen in small groups or one-to-one with a reading or special education teacher.

Phonological awareness is the ability to recognize and manipulate individual sounds and syllables in language. Decoding is using knowledge of letter sounds to decipher words. Sight recognition is the ability to automatically recognize words that appear frequently in text. For ideas about supporting your child’s word recognition skills, check out the following websites:

Sight Word Recognition: https://www.reallygreatreading.com/heart-word-magic

Phonological awareness: https://www.readingrockets.org/reading-101-guide-parents/first-grade/phonological-and-phonemic-awareness-activities-your-first-grader

Decoding: https://www.readingrockets.org/article/practice-practical-ideas-parents

More literacy activities at home: https://www.readingrockets.org/newsletters/extras#familylit

Hello!

My name is Hannah Cherry and I’m the new music teacher here at Colrain Central and at Sanderson Academy. I’m a first-year teacher and a recent graduate of UMass Amherst with degrees in music education and clarinet performance. I’m excited to get to know you all and the school community.

Outside of school, I like to stay active as a music performer and some of my hobbies include reading, being in nature, coloring, and playing games (board games and video games).

If you have any questions for me or just want to say hi, don’t hesitate to send me an email or stop by my room on the days that I’m here. I’ll be here on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, teaching general music and eventually band and instrument lessons as well. Looking forward to meeting everyone!

- Hannah

The next PTO meeting will be a virtual meeting on Wednesday, January 18th. Mark your calendars and look for the link next week.

1/10: 3:30 LEC meeting

1/11: Picture Retake Day

1/11: 6:30 School Committee meeting

1/16: No school: Martin Luther King Jr Day

1/18: Virtual PTO meeting

1/20: Winter Wonderland Dance

1/27: Lasagna Dinner~Dine in or Take out

January early release dates:

1:50 dismissals: 1/11, 1/25