Superintendent Weekly Update
April 9, 2021
Dear Mohawk Trail & Hawlemont Families,
We did it! Our elementary students experienced their first full week of in-person learning and it was amazing! I want to say thank you so much to everyone who worked so hard to make this happen. There were a lot of smiles happening behind those masks and great energy in the buildings. I had the opportunity to visit with our friends at Buckland-Shelburne Elementary on Monday and it was so exciting to see our educators in action; our students engaged in their learning; and feeling a sense of "normalcy" in our school day. Together, we've got this; and we've got YOU. I'm truly grateful for this community and our collaboration to get things accomplished.
And with that... here's what's happening this week!
* Return to Learn Updates & MTRS Virtual Town Hall
* COVID-19 School Planning Task Force Update
* School Committee Meeting, April 14
* Virtual Book Fair to Benefit MTRS Library
* MTRS Athletics Update
* School Spotlights: WELCOME BACK
Return to Learn Updates & MTRS Virtual Town Hall
As I mentioned in my opening, on Monday we welcomed ALL MTRSD and Hawlemont elementary aged students back to our physical classrooms and it was so wonderful to see everyone! We know there are a lot of new routines and procedures in place, but principals reported everyone did a wonderful job of adjusting. Remember, if you have any questions along the way, please don't hesitate to reach out to your building principal.
A great big THANK YOU to the Schuetzen Verien club in Gill (and Randy Crochier for making this connection!) for lending their picnic tables to our district so we could expand our outdoor learning opportunities/seating! We are so fortunate to live in a community FILLED with kind, caring individuals who lend a hand whenever needed. Thank you to SC Chair Martha Thurber and member Toby Bassett (and his sons Cole and Mason) who helped pick-up and deliver the tables right to our schools last Saturday!
Yesterday we presented the Mohawk Trail Regional School's updated Return to Learn plans at our Virtual Town Hall. The virtual town hall was scheduled to simulcast on Facebook Live and Vimeo but we experienced some technical difficulties out of our control. Shortly before going LIVE we were alerted of a Facebook outage, so we shifted to Vimeo as our primary outlet, issued an all-call to families and posted updates on our district and school websites to alert guests of the issue.
Unfortunately, at the same time, some viewers experienced intermittent issues on Vimeo which resolved. Adam Suzor, from SuzorIT (our amazing tech team), was able to troubleshoot and help to get our viewers reconnected. Our video will remain on the Vimeo channel for viewing at your convenience. To view the video, you can watch it here: https://vimeo.com/534638382. You can also find the link on our MTRS Facebook page (@mohawktrailregional), the district and school websites, and the MTRS weekly newsletter.
As a reminder, DESE has not yet released a date for full in-person return for high schools. Guidance was previously released for middle school returns by April 28; however, as a middle/high regional school that serves a 7-12 population, we have not yet received guidance. As a result, we are planning for a possible full in-person return for MTRS students (grades 7-12) on Monday, May 3.
THANK YOU for joining us and hanging in there with us as we navigated these issues! If you have any questions about the Return to Learn plan for MTRS, please don't hesitate to reach out to our team anytime. We're truly looking forward to SEEING you all soon!
COVID-19 School Planning Task Force Update
As always, if you have any health/COVID-19-related questions, please don't hesitate to contact our Nurse Leader Donna Weber (dweber@mtrsd.org) or reach out directly to our partners at FRCOG, (413) 774-3167, ext. 153.
How Do You Keep Our Communities Healthy & Safe? FAB FOUR - Of Course!
Remember to wear your mask; wash your hands; practice physical distancing; and stay home when you are unwell!
DID YOU KNOW . . .
Intern- and externships not only provide students with the skills and experiences they need for success post-high school, but they offer students a glimpse into a potential future career or job opportunity.
Students can participate in a variety of internship opportunities as a stand-alone class or through our senior Capstone program. According to MTRS College and Career Counselor Sara Neuenschwander, MTRS students have worked alongside a first grade teacher at Hawlemont Regional School to experience life as an elementary educator; learned operations management at Berkshire East; and recently had the opportunity to get a glimpse into Hollywood right here in our own backyard as location and production assistants for the filming of Dexter!
To learn more about internship opportunities and how MTRS is helping students to blaze their trail to graduation, visit www.mtrs.mohawktrailschools.org. If you'd like to learn more about internships or would like to host an MTRS student intern, please contact Sara Neuenschwander at sneuenschwander@mtrsd.org.
Virtual Book Fair to Benefit MTRS Library
The MTRS virtual book fair with High Five Books is now LIVE! Be sure to visit tinyurl.com/mtrsbookfair to see the variety of books available from their list shipped RIGHT to your door! Proceeds from this virtual book fair benefit the MTRS library, but ANYONE can order! Take a look at their online catalog to see the variety of titles available for sale and feel free to share the link with your family and friends!
MTRS Athletics Update
Mohawk Trail Regional School spring sports registration is now open! Students interested in signing up for a spring sport must register through the FamilyID portal HERE. Simply sign-in to your account--or create an account--and select your sport.
Spring sports will begin Monday April 26 (pending school committee approval on April 14)
2021 Spring Sports offerings:
Varsity & Middle School Baseball
Varsity & Middle School Softball
Boys & Girls Track Grades 7-12
Girls Varsity Tennis Grades 7-12
Wrestling Grades 7-12 (Pending MIAA Approval)
Want to cheer on our teams?
You can catch our boys soccer team HOME at MTRS vs. Pioneer on Tuesday, April 13 at 4 p.m. And volleyball HOME vs. Franklin County Tech on Wednesday, April 14 at 4 p.m. - live streaming on www.vimeo.com/mtrsd.
Additionally, next week our athletics department will be launching an MTRS athletics weekly newsletter complete with game schedules, important information and updates, photos, and more! Don't forget to FOLLOW the official MTRS Athletics Instagram & Twitter pages @mtrsathletics to catch video clips, pics, updates, and more!
For more information about our spring sports, please contact Athletic Director Vouros at gvouros@mtrsd.org.
#BlazeYourTrailatMTRS
School Spotlights: WELCOME BACK!
Thank you to ALL of our district students, staff, and families for making the first week back to full in-person learning a success! We know there are some new routines and changes in place, but we're all here to help guide and support you along the way!
There was so much wonderful energy and lots of smiling faces (we saw them behind those masks!) back in our classrooms. Here's a little peek at our first week back!
Our District is HIRING!
Thanks for all you do to make Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont School Districts GREAT places to learn and grow!
Sheryl Stanton
Email: sstanton@mtrsd.org
Website: www.mtrsd.org
Location: 24 Ashfield Road, Shelburne Falls, MA, USA
Phone: (413) 625-0192
Twitter: @mtrsdsuper