• The 5th & 6th grade twice rescheduled dance is tonight! Don't miss it.
• It's time to begin thinking about Preschool & Kindergarten Registration for next year. They will be held on Friday, March 17th. If you have, or know, anyone whose child is eligible for either preschool or kindergarten next year, please be sure they know about it. Also, please note that there will be no school for current preschool/kindergarten students on that day.
• Spring Family/Teacher Conferences are scheduled for Thursday and Friday, March 23rd and 24th. Slips with your designated conference times went home this week. Please sign them and return as soon as possible. If you did not receive it or if you need to reschedule your conference, please contact the office after break.

The National Education Association celebrates Read Across America during the first week of March. The focus has shifted to celebrate diverse voices from across the country. In 2022, National Board Certified Educator, Librarian, and literacy consultant, Jillian Heise of Heise Reads and Recommends, created a series of slides with links to read aloud videos or books from across the US Regions. We encourage you to check out some of the links with your family to hear stories from across the country. You may discover some new favorite books!

Here is a link to the Google Slides with links to Youtube videos or Epic Books for each story. Epic Books is free during the school day, but requires a subscription for use outside of the school day. You can also search for a title you’d like to read on Sora, our online catalog of audio and e-books found on the link to our Colrain Central School Library page.

If you do read a book, write a comment or take a photo so we can share what we’re reading with our CCS community. Happy Reading!

The Book Fair is Coming!

Mark your calendars for March 20th - 24th.

The Book Fair will run Monday - Friday and will be open during conferences. Students will have the opportunity to preview the books, write a wish list, and visit the book fair with their class. The Book Fair will also be open during Meet and Greet and recess/lunch times (if we have enough volunteers to staff it).

Like sheep? Like wool? Families are invited to come to Winterberry Farm (340 Wilson Hill Road in Colrain) this coming Sunday afternoon- December 5th- at noon to see some of our 19 sheep being shorn. Gwen Hinman from New Hampshire is our shearer, and she's pretty fast. So she'll likely finish about 2:00. You'll be able to touch animals and various kinds of wool. The walk to the barn is trampled, not shoveled or plowed. So wear boots and warm clothes.

Afterwords you can warm up in the house, watch some spinning and meet some angora rabbits. Questions? Call Jill or Jim at 624-3940.

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Caregivers for students in grades K-8 are invited to share feedback about literacy-related communication. Please let us know how we are doing with sharing information about your student's literacy program and literacy learning.

https://forms.gle/m7hTq1X5cAAyzKrG9

How important is reading at least 15-20 minutes a day for your child’s learning? It’s HUGE! We’re not born knowing how to read, so it must be practiced. The more a child reads, the easier it becomes. Kids who don’t read much at all don’t get the chance to make reading easier through practice. So, they stay frustrated and think reading isn’t for them. Studies have shown that kids who read about 20 minutes a day read around 1,800,000 words per year. Kids who read only 5 minutes a day average around 282,000 words per year. (Nagy and Herman, 1987). More reading practice leads to better outcomes in school and in life. Please consider making a “family reading time” where everyone reads for at least 20 minutes daily, or whenever works for you. Reading aloud to your children is also a great way to build a love of reading. But reading won’t get easier for your children if they don’t practice for themselves! readbrightly.com has great book suggestions, as well as our local library.

Happy Reading!

Jen Martin, Reading Specialist/2nd Grade teacher

The Town of Colrain is seeking an administrative professional to provide support services to the Board of Selectmen and Town Administrator (This is a part-time – 24 hour per week, benefited position).

Applicants should submit a letter of interest, resume and application (available at the Colrain Town Office located at 55 Main Road in Colrain) to Kevin Fox, Town Administrator, 55 Main Road, Colrain, MA 01340, or by e-mail to bos@colrain-ma.gov

A full Job Description is available upon request and is also available on the Towns web-site: https://colrain-ma.gov .

The Town of Colrain is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

3/3: 5th & 6th grade Winter Wonderland Dance

3/6: Virtual PTO meeting 7:30 pm

3/10: Winter Frolic

3/14: LEC meeting

3/17: PK & K Registration Day~no school for current PK & K students

3/23 & 3/24: Family/Teacher Conferences

March early release dates:

1:50 dismissals: 3/8, 3/15, 3/29

12: 30 dismissals: 3/23, 3/24