MTRS Student and Family Update
9/11/2020
Dear MTRS Community,
In just a few short days, we will launch what may be our most unique school year ever. Over the past two weeks, the MTRS staff has spent hours upon hours planning for a year none of us could have predicted. We have shared resources, learned new tools, and have thoughtfully considered the best ways to “do school” this year. I could not be more proud of our staff and the hard work they have been doing.
Below are several updates to help frame the school year and our first few days of school. My apologies for the length, but there is some great information here!
Materials Distribution Day- September 15, from 3PM-6PM
ALL STUDENTS should come to school to collect materials during this time.
“Drive thru” service for students in grades 8-12. Please come in through the main driveway and pull up in front of the main office. Our staff will greet you, ask for the student’s name and retrieve the items. There will be no need to leave your car!
7th grade students will receive Chromebooks on this day. 7th grade students (families) should park in the front lot and send *only the student* to the welcome table out front of the school. A representative from Suzor IT will distribute your Chromebook and an MTRS staff member will provide your materials bag.
Included in your back to school materials are the back to school forms. These forms can be either scanned and emailed back to Christie Niles: cniles@mtrsd.org or dropped off in our return bin outside the front door. This is a secure box. If you would like to scan and email your documents, check out the scan feature in the notes app if you have an iphone or android.
WiFi Access at Home
We have provided a list of families who do not have reliable internet service at home to Suzor IT and they will be reaching out (if they have not already) to troubleshoot this issue. If you have not provided this information to the school, please call the main office.
Food Distribution
GREAT news about school lunches as we kick-off the school year! Lunches will be FREE for all children ages 18-years and younger through Dec. 31, 2020 thanks to an extension of the USDA’s food service programs!
IF you would like your child(ren) to participate in school lunches, you’ll need to register (pre-order). Preorder for all weeks OR be sure to preorder by the Friday before service is needed.
Lunches will be provided at all district schools. If it’s easier for an MTRS family to pick up at your local elementary school, rather than coming to MTRS, please indicate it on the registration form. You can find all the info you need and registration form here: www.mtrsd.org/food-services. School lunch menus can also be found on that page.
First three days of school (September 16-18)
The first three days of school will be “half days.” Students will have a shortened day of classes with some specialized activities for students in middle school (students will hear more directly from their teachers - so stay tuned!)
The schedule allows for an opportunity for students and families to have welcome meetings with their advisor. NEW THIS YEAR: Every student will be assigned to an advisory this year and their advisor will be reaching out to families to schedule a 15-20 minute welcome meeting during the first three days of school. There will be one meeting per student.
High School Recovery Quarter
Students in grades 10-12 will be scheduled into their spring semester courses from September 16-October 16.
Schedule will include A/B days. September 16 and 17 will be “A Days” and Friday, September 18 is a “B Day.
Students will be graded; classwork will count; and students will receive “credit or no credit.” Teachers will determine the grading system for their class in terms of what counts as credit.
9th Grade Academy
During the recovery quarter (September 16-October 16) students in Grade 9 will participate in a 9th Grade Academy. They will participate in classes including an ELA and Math review, introduction to world languages and biology, current events, High School 101, and wellness.
Students will earn 1 credit for this Academy based on participation (there will be no assessments).
The schedule will follow the Recovery Schedule listed above.
Middle School Schedule and High School Trimester Schedule (HS starts this schedule 10/19)
NEW THIS YEAR: Based on feedback, we have decided to run all four middle school courses (Social Studies, STEM, Math and ELA) all year. There will be a waterfall schedule and each class will run three times per week.
HS Students will enter this schedule starting October 19 where they begin Trimester 1 and will have three courses per trimester. We will run 3 trimesters in the high school this year following the recovery quarter.
Wellness Wednesdays
All students in grades 7-12 will participate in two activities every Wednesday.
Teachers will be running 6-week activities.
Students will receive a menu of activities to select from (stay tuned - this will be coming soon!).
First Wellness Wednesday will happen on Wednesday, October 7. Wednesday, September 23 and 30 will be focused on advisory and class activities for students.
Additional clubs and class meetings will happen on FULL day Wednesdays.
NEW THIS YEAR: MTRS will have late start Wednesdays this year vs early release.
MTRS Full Bell Schedule
Click here for one-stop shopping of schedules for the year.
Google Classroom and Teacher Office Hours
Students will receive invites via their school email from their teachers for Google Classroom. This will have the information students need to “log on” to their classes for synchronous learning.
Teachers will host office hours daily. Your teacher will share information with you directly regarding their hours and how to access. Some days will be “community” office hours set up as a drop-in session, where other days they will be scheduled as 1:1 time. Students do not have to attend office hours, unless a teacher has scheduled a 1:1 appointment with them.
Sports
This week, the MTRSD School Committee approved the following fall sports: Golf, Field Hockey and Cross Country.
Soccer, volleyball and football have been moved to the Fall 2 season.
Athletic Director Greg Vouros will be sending a separate email with information and how to sign up to participate.
Update from Student Services
Aspen accounts are being created for 7th graders and new High School and Middle School students and their families. Login information and instructions on accessing Aspen will be sent in an email which should arrive by Monday, September 14. Please email aspenhelp@mtrsd.org if you have questions or don't receive the account information email by Monday.
For Students in Grades 10-12
We are less than a week away from the start of school! We are so excited to reconnect with all of you next week and complete our work from last semester.
The Recovery Quarter will start on Wednesday, September 16th and finish on Friday, October 16th. You will find your Recovery Quarter Schedule in ASPEN.
Please follow these steps to view your schedule:
1. Log into ASPEN if you forgot your login information please fill out this FORM to get some help logging in
2. Look at the Tabs on the top of your screen click on MY INFO
3. Look at the tabs on the left side of your screen and click on the CURRENT SCHEDULE side tab
There you will see your second semester schedule from the 19-20 school year which you will complete during the Recovery Quarter.
REMINDERS ABOUT THE RECOVERY QUARTER
Attendance is required and grades will consist of Credit or No Credit awarded at the end of the Recovery Quarter.
There will be no changes made to these schedules.
If you have a block that is missing from your schedule that will be time you can use for asynchronous learning.
For students in Grade 9
Please follow these steps to view your 9th Grade Academy Schedule:
1. Login to Aspen (click here for the Aspen link)
If you forgot your login information please fill out this FORM
2. Look at the tabs on the top of your screen, and click on MY INFO (second
top tab from left)
3. Look at the tabs on the left side of your screen, and click on CURRENT
SCHEDULE side tab (second down from the top)
After the Recovery Quarter, you will start your 2020-2021 school year schedule. This is the
schedule is based on the form you filled out a couple of weeks ago. This schedule will
be available to view in Aspen in early October. Attendance is required and you will earn one credit based on participation.
For students in Grades 7 & 8
Please follow these steps to view your Schedule:
1. Login to Aspen (click here for the Aspen link)
If you forgot your login information please fill out this FORM
2. Look at the tabs on the top of your screen, and click on MY INFO (second
top tab from left)
3. Look at the tabs on the left side of your screen, and click on CURRENT
SCHEDULE side tab (second down from the top)
You will see that you have 4 classes: ELA, Math, STEM, and Social Studies.
There are 3 class periods in a day, so each day you will have three out of four of your classes. Each week, you will have each class three times. We will help you understand your schedule during the first few days of school.
A hard copy of your schedule will be available at the Materials Distribution Day.
Participation in classes and assignment completion is required, you will be graded and attendance will be taken.
We’re really excited to kick-off the new school year with you!
I will be sending another update on Tuesday with some friendly reminders for the first day of school. And, be sure to stay connected -- you can follow our Facebook and Instagram accounts @mohawktrailregional and find helpful information on our website www.mtrs.mohawktrailschools.org.
Best,
Marisa