Good afternoon,
I hope you are all doing well. Where this past Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, my Instagram and Twitter were flooded with important and relevant quotes from Dr. King. One quote that stuck out to me was, “The time is always right to do what is right.” This quote will likely fill the bulletin board in our main lobby when I have a few minutes to break out my artsy side soon. I really like that quote and I think it fits with the work we’re doing at RJ Grey. As many times as possible, we work with your kids to make good decisions: we advise them, we coach them, we model for them. And sometimes they make a mistake, and then our focus switches to trying to help them understand the impact and effect of their actions. And while we don’t necessarily use Dr. King’s words above, we should. As we build a joyful, inclusive community of engaged learners, we’ll have some hiccups and we’ll all make some mistakes, but the overall sentiment is that as a community, doing the right thing is the right thing. Thank you for your support as we deliver messages along these lines to our students.
You likely received an email late last week that directed you to a survey about choosing a new mascot for Acton-Boxborough. I’ve mentioned in this column before that five RJ Grey students are part of the student group whose task is to select the next mascot of AB. The student group has put together a survey, asking for ideas for a new mascot. I would encourage you to share any awesome ideas you have, and please share the survey with anyone interested in AB. The survey will close on February 4. I hope some of our creative community members take a few minutes to share their thoughts with our student committee. Please feel free to share this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ABMascot
Today is day 86 of our school year, meaning we’re just about at the halfway point. I’ve always found the second half of the year to go even faster than the first, so buckle up! Teachers will be submitting Trimester 2 Interim Reports early next week, to be emailed mid-week to families. Interim reports are designed to alert families to situations where something could be better. Low assessment grades, lack of homework completion, or classroom behavior all might be reasons for a teacher to issue an interim. Trimester 2 won’t end until March 11, so there is a good amount of time to make adjustments. If, after receiving an Interim Report where questions remain, please reach out directly to your child’s teachers and if necessary, help to make a plan with your child for the next steps for improvement. We’re happy to help with that if you need it, so please let us know.
Here are some upcoming dates to be aware of:
-Monday, Jan 24: Early Release (1pm) for Professional Learning
-Monday, Jan 24: Signs of Suicide Lesson (SOS) for 7 Gold
-Wednesday, Jan 26: SOS Lesson for 7 Red
-Friday, Jan 28: Hawaiian Shirt Day
-Monday, Jan 31: SOS Lesson for 7 Green
-Wednesday, Feb 2: SOS Lesson for 7 Blue
-Monday, Feb 7: RJG School Council, 7pm
-Wednesday, Feb 9: ABRHS Curriculum Night for 8th grade families, 7pm on Zoom
-Thursday, Feb 10: NAEP assessment for selected 8th graders
Take care,
Jim