North Adams Public Schools -

MCLA Sam Gomez Race See flyer for details.

Upcoming programming from the Family Center

North Adams Mobile Food Bank March 3rd and 17th 10-11 am Brien Center Parking Lot, American Legion Drive All are welcome! The extra pandemic-related SNAP benefits will be ending this month. Additional information can be found in the flyers shared. Updated Food Pantry & Meal Site listing for Berkshire County: https://5il.co/1q2pt

PD opportunity for teachers and community partners.

Greylock Elementary School will be closed on Thursday March 2nd due to a technical issue with the heating system. All other schools in the district will be open. Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

nbCC Youth Lead Forum "What It's Like Growing Up in North Berkshire" March 16th, 4-6 pm Terra Nova Church, 85 Main St., North Adams See flyer for details

Check out Chop Chop's spring magazine! Inside you'll find family-friendly recipes, food tips, and more! https://5il.co/1q0xm

MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board Presents “Working with High School Interns” The MassHire Berkshire Workforce Board will lead sessions for employers/organizations interested in working with high school interns on the following dates from 9-10:30AM: Wednesday March 15, 2023 at the Red Lion Inn, Main St. Stockbridge, MA Wednesday April 26, 2023 at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA), North Adams, MA Friday May 12, 2023 at Berkshire Health Systems Hillcrest Campus, 165 Tor Ct. Pittsfield, MA These identical workshops will provide tips, guidance, and strategies for providing internships to high school students. They are open to professionals interested in starting an internship at their company or looking to enhance their current internship program. To register, email Kat@masshireberkshire.com or call 413-442-7177 x 120.

Coming soon to the NAPS website: Brayton Reads! The fabulous teachers at Brayton Elementary have been scouring the bookshelves for their favorite stories, and will be recording them to share with you! The first of these stories will be posted during Read Across America week, and more will be added weekly. Can you guess who the first teacher will be and what story they are going to read to you?

Free upcoming Girl Scout event! For girls in grades K&1 Held in North Adams but all surrounding towns are welcome. The deadline for registration is 3/4/23.

The next presenter for UMass 4-H CES is: Brian Hand Wall Street Trader & Pilot March 8, 2023 7-8PM (Eastern Time) Via Zoom Link to register: https://bit.ly/CES3-8-23

Brayton students are looking forward to a math-filled March as they kick off ST Math March MATHness after the break!

Upcoming events from Berkshire Community Action Council (BCAC): BCAC is hosting a meeting with Representative John Barrett III on Monday, 2/27/23 from 8:30-9:30 am, 85 Main Street/Terra Nova to discuss how to better support our low-income Berkshire neighbors. To RSVP, please call Aleta or Karen at (413) 663-3014. Please Save the Date for a Community Conversation on Poverty being held on 3/31 from 10-2 at Williams College. More information and registration details to come! BCAC has also launched a community needs survey to get feedback to inform their program planning for the next three years. Your responses will help to design or modify their programs to better meet your needs and the needs of the community. Please take a few minutes to complete the survey. The information you provide will be confidential and you will not/cannot be identified. To take the survey, please go to the link below: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/T6K8G9N

The next North Adams Mobile Food Bank will be on Friday, Feb. 17th, from 10-11 am in the Brien Center parking lot (American Legion Drive). The Mobile Food Bank is open to all!

The Berkshire Youth Leadership Program is a 10-month-long program for High School Juniors that aims to help students build a strong sense of self in the Berkshires, facilitate deepened leadership skill development, provide career exploration options, engage students in collective community service, and offer a space to develop meaningful relationships with peers across the entire region. Students must apply for the program in the winter of their Sophomore year and selected students will then begin their participation with a 2-night retreat June 9-11, 2023. Starting in August 2023, students will then participate in monthly, day-long sessions that will run through April 2024. Any and all Berkshire County high school sophomores, or sophomore aged home-school students in the Berkshires, are urged to apply. The deadline for current Sophomores to apply is February 17th, 2023. For more information, and the link to apply, please go to https://1berkshire.com/1berkshire-programs/youth-leadership-program/

Berkshire Babypalooza Community Baby Shower being held at Greylock Works on 4/15/23 from 11 am to 1 pm. See flyer for details.

Wellness Wednesday 2/15 from 11-1pm Northern Berkshire YMCA at 22 Brickyard Court The event is free and open to anyone in the community! Come visit representatives from Central/North WIC, nbCC, North Adams Public Schools, Northern Berkshire Adult Education Program, Childcare of the Berkshires, ECU Healthcare and more! This Wellness Wednesday will also include a COVID Vaccine Clinic. Pre-registration is encouraged. Walk-ins are welcome. The flyer includes a QR Code or folks can visit mass.gov/getboosted (scroll down, and enter North Adams YMCA into the search bar). MA residents will be able to receive a $75 gift card while supplies last!

Our students celebrated the 100th day of school in a variety of ways! Some counted to 100. Others dressed like they were 100 years old. Some students even brought in 100 pieces of an item (googly eyes, pennies, etc.)! Our teachers got in on the fun, too!

Families with MassHealth Need to Renew Coverage: Families with MassHealth need to renew their coverage this year in order to maintain coverage. Coverage protections put in place during the pandemic will end soon, and MassHealth will return to standard annual eligibility renewal processes. MassHealth families need to take the following steps: 1) Update contact information – make sure MassHealth has their most up-to-date address, phone number, and email so that they do not miss important information and notices about what else is needed. 2) Report household changes to make sure MassHealth knows about any changes in their household, like a new job, address, changes to income, disability status, or pregnancy. More information is available on the MassHealth’s Redetermination website (link below). https://www.mass.gov/masshealth-eligibility-redeterminations?utm_source=Commissioner%27s+Weekly+Update&utm_campaign=8fd7a140fa-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_02_06_01_57&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-8fd7a140fa-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

Dress for the weather! Cold weather is coming! Temperatures are projected to drop during the afternoon on Friday, 2/3. We recommend wearing warm clothes.