October 2024 - Posts
Good afternoon, RJ Grey Families:
I hope we all collectively remember what a beautiful night this will be for Trick or Treating. If you are spending any time outside with your children, I hope you enjoy it, because not too many years ago, we did this in the rain and the snow! Several years ago, after I was allegedly a bit too rushed on the sidewalks, and not very patient, I was assigned the task of handing out candy at home. I do think my rushing and organizing on the sidewalks of our town was directly related to the amount of time spent making sure the RJ Grey hallways are safe and orderly. Tonight, my vampire, witch, and Descendants character will go through our neighborhood with my wife and neighbors. I'm just as happy to hand out candy at home. I hope everyone has a safe night tonight and a Happy Diwali for those who celebrate this weekend.
As you know, we have no school on Tuesday, November 5th, to allow for voting in our Gym. I hope you all take the chance to vote on Tuesday. Our students will vote in our RJ Grey Mock Election on Monday. They will have the chance to vote for the presidential ticket of their choice and they'll be able to vote on the five ballot questions, as well. Every four years, our Social Studies department organizes this mock election where students enter their precinct (the library), check in by giving their name, and are given a ballot to vote privately. If our tallying goes quickly enough, we'll announce the winners before the end of Monday. We study civics in seventh grade Social Studies, so when we get the chance to make those studies feel a bit more real, we do!
Over the next few days, we are going to be a bit more firm with students about the use of our building after 2:36. We have found that some students have been leaving school, heading to Starbucks or other locations, and coming back inside to wait for the late bus or a ride home. The intention of having our building open after school is to support those students who stay for a club, extra help, or for some other school-related reason. Any student who does not have something to do immediately after school needs to go home after school. In this period between sports seasons, we will work with students (and you) to reset expectations on necessary reasons for staying at school. Socializing, unfortunately, is not one of those reasons. Thank you for your help with this.
We had a very successful season of fall athletics. Our soccer, field hockey, and cross country teams had great seasons! We have published our winter season tryouts on our school webpage. If your child is interested in basketball or cheer, please make sure to review the tryout procedures and pay attention to two important things: Sign up on Family ID, and have a recent physical exam on file with our Health Office. Our winter sports tend to bring out a lot of interested players and we usually need to make cuts in order to create appropriately-sized teams. Thank you for helping to set expectations if your child is planning to try out for a team.
Finally, some of our families will receive a request for information from the RJ Grey school nurse in order to update their child’s school health records. This may include proof of vaccination or a copy of a physical exam signed by a doctor. Please send the requested documentation to the school nurse (Amanda Frank, [email protected]) as soon as possible. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to our Health office.
Take care and have a good weekend,
Jim
jmarcotte
Good afternoon, RJ Grey Families:
It was a real pleasure to see so many of you at last week's Back to School Night. One teacher told me that she felt like a Broadway actor who performed both a matinee and an evening performance! I hope you got a sense of how much our teachers care about our students in the short time you were able to spend in their classrooms. At RJ Grey, we do not have "parent conferences" in the traditional understanding. In order to preserve class time without additional early releases, we rely on team meetings during the day for individual families to connect with a team of teachers in place of traditional parent conferences. If you wish to make an appointment with your child's team, please be in touch with your child's counselor. If you ever need to connect with a specific teacher, please reach out to that teacher directly.
In the past 24 hours, I have received two very thoughtful messages from families about some of our staff members. I thanked each sender, validated their positive feedback, and sent the message to the noted staff members. A few times this year, I will likely remind you that this type of thanks goes way further than any Starbucks or Dunkin' card would. As a staff, we are intentional about sending positive messages about your students when we can. It is so appreciated when families do the same. Your thanks do not have to be elaborate or flowery - a simple thank you to a teacher who gets talked about at the dinner table or on the ride home from a sports practice is always well received. I feel lucky to be able to work at RJ Grey with incredible colleagues who bring their best every day. Thank you for your ongoing support as we work to build a joyful, inclusive community of engaged learners.
Some of our families will receive a request for information from the RJ Grey school nurse in order to update their child’s school health records. This may include proof of vaccination or a copy of a physical exam signed by a doctor. Please send the requested documentation to the school nurse (Amanda Frank, [email protected]) as soon as possible. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to our Health office.
No child in Massachusetts should be denied access to immunizations due to an inability to pay. We have compiled a list of Healthcare providers in our area, many of whom provide access to free or reduced-cost care. You can locate that list here. Thank you in advance for your help and cooperation as we all work together to keep our students healthy and in the classroom.
Take care and have a good weekend,
Jim
jmarcotte
Good afternoon, RJ Grey Families:
I look forward to seeing many of you tonight at Back to School Night. As a reminder, schedules were sent via Parent Square last Friday. If you didn't see that message with an attached student schedule, no worries. We will have printed copies of schedules in the lobby tonight. First period starts at 7 pm and you'll spend 10 minutes in each of your child's classes. There will be plenty of printed maps and adults to direct you to room locations. We hope to see you tonight!
Several times this fall, we have had parents or guardians arrive to dismiss their child after receiving a text message from their child stating they did not feel well. If you ever receive a text message like this, please don't get in the car. Instead, please call the RJ Grey Main Office. We train our students to seek out helpful adults in our building, including going to our Health Office when they're not feeling well. Our nurses will try and offer support and will give you a call if a child needs to be dismissed. Please know that your child should not have their cell phone on them during the day, so if you are getting texts from your child, please (1) do not respond and (2) later, mention that they should be checking in with their adults here at school with any issue. You can always call us and if you need to speak with your child, our Main Office can help facilitate that! Students are always welcome to use the phones in the Main Office to call their families. Thank you for your help with this.
I mentioned last week that Minuteman High School visited our 8th graders. Soon, ABRHS will visit as well. Some of you may be considering a private school for the 8th or 9th grade. If that is the case, please visit this link to learn more about how our Counseling Office helps with private school applications. There are deadlines and expectations for what we share on your child's behalf. Please check out our site or reach out to your child's counselor with specific questions.
As we approach the end of the month, I wanted to remind you or make you aware that we do not dress in Halloween costumes during the school day at RJ Grey. If you hear any excited talk about your child’s costume, please make sure they are referring to wearing it to family or community events, where I hope they have some fun!
Take care and have a good weekend,
Jim
jmarcotte
Good afternoon, RJ Grey Families:
I hope you are doing well. There are several important messages below. I thank you in advance for reading this week's message!
Emergency Response Today
If you have a student on 7 Red or 7 Green, they may talk to you about a situation at our fourth lunch today. A student was choking on part of their lunch and needed the assistance of a teacher and our nurses to dislodge the item. The student is now doing well and receiving follow-up care from medical professionals. Students seated in the Cafe Annex were close to the situation and were moved to the larger cafe during the emergency response. If your child has any thoughts or questions, please check in with them and let us know if they'd like to follow up with a trusted adult at school. Witnessing an emergency situation can certainly trigger some nervousness and unease. Today, like all days, I am proud of how our staff and students responded. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Activity Fee
You likely received a message from the Superintendent's Office last week about the new Activity Fee in the Acton-Boxborough Schools. During the FY25 budget process, the School Committee voted to implement a new Activity Fee of $50 for any student who is a member of any club or student activity for the 2024-2025 school year. By implementing this fee, the District (and RJ Grey) continues to be able to offer the variety of clubs we have historically offered while being able to maintain our contractual obligations to the advisors of these clubs. I point this out in case you skimmed over last week's message.
What does this actually mean for your RJ Grey student? If your child participates in one of our after-school clubs or activities, your family will need to pay the $50 activity fee for your child to continue to participate. Our $50 fee will cover your child's participation in at least one club or activity. As an example, if your child is only interested in joining the Chess Club this year, their $50 fee will cover their participation in that club. If another child chooses to participate in the Chess Club, Board Game Club, and Fit Club, the fee remains $50. In this case, participation in three after-school clubs is covered by one $50 fee.
Since this is the first year of charging this fee, we have waited until October to start publicizing the process for payment, which also gave us time to make plans for how to operationalize this process. You may choose to pay this fee through cash or check, made out to ABRSD. We have begun to use eFunds to collect online payments if that is your preference. Please check out this letter from our Director of Finance for additional information, and for the link to setting up an online payment account.
We have a bunch of clubs already up and running: Art Club, Book Club, Chess Club, Common Ground, Creative Writing, Dungeons & Dragons, Fit Club, Games Club, Green Team Club, Jazz Band, Magic Card Club, Marvel Club, MathCounts, Musical: Frozen, Jr, Ski Club, Student Council, Yearbook. Students who participate in a school sport (Cross Country, soccer, etc.) do not need to pay the activity fee if they only do a sport. Those athletes pay an athletic fee to help defray the cost of their participation. If, however, a soccer player joins a club or two after their season is complete, the student will pay a $50 activity fee.
I hope the above info is clear, but I encourage you to let me know if you have any questions. This additional fee is not an exciting one for us, but it will allow us to continue to offer the enjoyable after-school programming that we're accustomed to. Thank you for your support.
Back to School Night - Thursday, October 17
You are invited to RJ Grey's Back to School Night, next Thursday, October 17. The event starts at 7 pm and ends at 8:40. If you are able to come, I encourage you to plan ahead and time your commute well, as our nearby parking lots fill up quickly. You are free to park in any of the spots at RJ Grey, the Parker-Damon Building, and the High School.
BTSN is one of my favorite events at RJ Grey. There is excitement in the air as parents and guardians navigate our halls and bump into their own friends! You will follow your child's Day 1 schedule and you'll be able to spend 10 minutes in each of your child's classes. This adults-only event is a good opportunity to see your child's teachers, put a face to a name, and know more about what your child will learn this year. Our Back to School Night provides general information about your child's courses and does not include time for individual conversations about your own student. You can always feel free to email the teacher or set up a team meeting for a particular conversation if that feels necessary. You will receive a Parent Square message before next Tuesday with your child's schedule. We will also have hard copies of student schedules in the lobby that evening. I hope to see many of you on October 17!
Minuteman High School Visit
Representatives from Minuteman High School spoke to our 8th graders on Wednesday about their school. Minuteman is the technical school option for students who live in Acton and who would like to pursue a high school opportunity different from ABRHS. Please check in with your 8th grader about their interest in Minuteman - there is an application process, interview, and other steps to be completed before students are accepted at Minuteman. In early November, representatives from Acton-Boxborough Regional High School will speak to 8th graders about the high school experience at AB. Please be in touch with your child's counselor if you have particular questions that we can answer.
Happy Long Weekend!
I hope you have the opportunity to enjoy this long weekend. My family is going to spend a bit of time in Salem on Saturday. I expect we will be one of thousands with the same idea. My wife and kids are huge fans of the Hocus Pocus movies, so I envision several selfies at some of the local spots used in the films. However you choose to spend it, I hope you have a nice weekend.
jmarcotte
Good afternoon, RJ Grey Families:
Apologies to you all for my message being delayed by a day. To begin, Shana Tova to all who celebrated the New Year yesterday with Rosh Hashanah. I hope you enjoyed the holiday with your families. I started my day yesterday in the dentist's chair, getting a temporary crown placed on a molar. This was a first for me. It was largely uneventful but has made me extra aware of my kids' teeth-brushing habits. They won't understand that I'm trying to help their 43-year-old selves by saving them some anguish, and cost!
On Wednesday and today, I had the chance to speak with all of our students in team assemblies about how we interrupt hate and bias statements when we hear or see them. I explained the important reasons for creating a community that intervenes on these topics. We practiced some ways to respond when faced with an issue. I was pleased with the overall serious attitude that our students brought to these assemblies. I reminded them that we are still trying to build a joyful, inclusive community of engaged learners, and creating a space where hate and bias reside undermines our attempt to build that community. For anyone interested, here are the slides that I used. The format for students was slightly different. We used a PearDeck presentation which allowed students to interact with the slides and provide some answers to the whole group. Overall, I am pleased that we established the expectations for this type of behavior and we'll continue to build on this work throughout the year.
Health and Wellness update from our Nursing Department:
Back to school brings new friends and new learning opportunities but it can also bring with it common childhood illnesses.
Across the district, we have been seeing an increase in the common cold and upper respiratory illnesses, both of which are spread by droplets (coughing, sneezing, transfer by hands). Students may come to school with minor symptoms as long as they are feeling well enough to engage in their learning. Students should wash their hands frequently, and cover their coughs/sneezes to prevent the spread of infection.
As a reminder, students must stay home when experiencing:
● A fever of 100.0 degrees Fahrenheit or more.
● Vomiting or diarrhea.
● Eye(s) that are red, itchy and/or are draining yellowish fluid.
● Cough that is frequent and disruptive to the child’s learning.
● A medical provider suspects a communicable illness (strep throat, conjunctivitis or pink eye, COVID-19, influenza or the flu, etc) and you are awaiting the test results.
● New /undiagnosed rashes.
Students may return to school when:
● Fever has been within normal limits for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications such as acetaminophen, or ibuprofen (Tylenol/Motrin/Advil for example).
● Vomiting and diarrhea have been resolved for 24 hours and the student feels better and has resumed a normal diet.
● Students prescribed antibiotics for a bacterial infection may return to school after taking their prescribed medication for at least 24 hours, have been fever-free for 24 hours, and feel well enough to be in school.
● Cough has improved and is tolerated by the student.
Please refer to the Massachusetts Guidance regarding respiratory illnesses which can be found here. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact the RJ Grey Health Office.
Please check out the important dates below. I hope you have a great weekend!
Jim
jmarcotte
- December 6, 2024
- November 21, 2024
- November 14, 2024
- November 7, 2024
- October 31, 2024
- October 24, 2024
- October 17, 2024
- October 10, 2024
- October 4, 2024
- September 26, 2024
|