Good afternoon,
We avoided the significant downpours today at both our morning arrival and afternoon dismissal. I consider that a win! I hope you were as lucky with today’s weather.
Tomorrow is school picture day at RJ Grey. All students and staff have their picture taken, whether or not they choose to order a picture package. We use these pictures in our computer information system to have accurate photos of students. If you would like to order pictures online, please go to mylifetouch.com and enter the Picture Day ID: EVT8B9J9P. Students may also bring in a check with the order form to give directly to the photographer. Picture packages will be distributed to students in a few weeks, before the November 7 retake day. Students who miss the initial picture day or those who would like a retake may have their picture done again at that time.
One note of reminder if you are a person who drops off your child in the morning: as you enter our campus and come to drop off at RJ Grey, please stay on Charter Road until you take a left directly into the drop-off line. Turning in near the tennis courts and driving through our lower lot impacts our ability to keep everyone moving. Thanks for your help with this. And thanks to everyone who does it correctly for your patience when I ask you to wait to bring in another car.
While some of you may have older students, many of you, I imagine are first-time Junior High parents. I have two requests: Please consider helping out at Project Graduation and please join the AB PTSO (info below on both). Both are amazing organizations made up of volunteers who assist the JH and HS in important ways.
Project Graduation: Introducing PG'23!
Every year on graduation night, the whole senior class comes together for an all-night substance-free celebration. The idea was born in Maine in the wake of teen fatalities on graduation night. At AB, we have a decades-long tradition of keeping our community's kids safe on what is one of the most memorable occasions of their lives. But we need parents of all grades to keep it going. And although graduation for the AB Class of 2023 is months away, believe it or not, the planning starts now!
We are looking for a few leadership volunteers. Check out all these opportunities! (Parents of seniors, you get the night off during the main event, but we could definitely use your help getting there!)
• PG Co-Chair: We have one fantastic chair! Now we need one more :)
• Treasurer: Are budgets your bag? This is a behind-the-scenes position.
• Sign Up Genius: We're pretty sure you're a genius. Can you put our volunteer needs in an online sign-up sheet?
• Minute to Win It: Are you a game night guy or gal? Last year's volunteer has all the details and games for this year's June 2 celebration. We just need someone to coordinate!
Let us know via email. And look for our kickoff meeting coming soon!
Meredith Frost
AB Project Graduation 2023 Chair
[email protected]
https://www.abprojectgrad.org
PTSO
My wife just hastily filled out the wrapping paper sales form for our daughters' school PTO. At RJ Grey and ABRHS, our PTSO does not do fundraisers in the form of cookie dough sales or wrapping paper. Our PTSO does ask for financial support from families, as well as interested members to volunteer. The money raised through the PTSO supports work at both the JH and High School. This year, I anticipate the PTSO supporting us with funds to cover the cost of student planbooks that we give to any interested student. We are also purchasing t-shirts for all students with our new Revolution logo. The PTSO and student council will help make that possible. I just met with three leaders of our PTSO this afternoon. They are all very committed to our schools and our students. If you haven’t already contributed this year, I’d invite you to do so. Check out their website to learn more. You’ll also get to connect with them on our Back to School Night on October 13th.
We had another 25-minute advisory meeting yesterday (September 21). In most rooms, teachers led a protocol called a “Community Circle.” This process allows for deliberate and efficient conversations. My group talked about, among other things, their favorite ice cream flavors (4 chose Cookie Dough as their fav...including me). The Community Circle is a practice that we want our students to get used to in case we want to talk about something more serious later in the year. My group found it helpful to get to know more about each member of our group. I started them off with this youtube video to see if they could guess why I was playing it. Two students knew it! Shout out to their families for exposing them to some great music!
That’s it for now - remember that we do not have school on Monday due to the Rosh Hashanah holiday.
Here are some upcoming dates that will be helpful for you to know:
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Friday, 9/23: School Picture Day at RJ Grey
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Monday, 9/26: No School - Rosh Hashanah
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Monday, 10/3: Early Release at 1 pm for Professional Learning
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Monday, 10/3: Helping Your Family’s Emotional Health: Do’s and Don’ts As We Move Forward Webinar with Lynn Lyons
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Wednesday, 10/5: No School - Yom Kippur
Take care and have a great weekend,
Jim