Good afternoon,
I hope you are all doing well this week. You heard from me earlier this week regarding the graffiti that was appearing in some of our bathrooms. Yesterday’s Advisory conversations about the graffiti went well according to many of the teachers I’ve spoken with. I found our students to be engaged with the topic and truly bothered by what we described as happening. It’s when we’ve been faced with challenging situations that it becomes even more apparent to me that the extreme majority of our students are kind, thoughtful, and care about their classmates and their school. I very much appreciate our students’ proactive and engaged response to this situation. If your child has any information to share as to who might be responsible for the graffiti, please encourage them to reach out to me or a trusted adult so that we can put some closure to this issue.
You might be reading this message knowing that your own child missed Advisory yesterday because they were at home sick. Just about 10% of our students were absent each day this week. We have a few cases of Covid, but otherwise, we’ve seen the flu, strep, the common cold, and other viruses that are keeping kids home. We appreciate that kids are home recovering rather than coming to school while sick. We’ve also had a lot of teachers out this week with similar ailments. We’ve all been pitching in to cover classes - which reminds me that if you’re interested in becoming a substitute teacher at RJ Grey, we’re hiring! We’ll provide you with a mask if you want one! I hope your families all remain relatively healthy as we head into the vacation and holiday season.
With the upcoming vacation and holiday season, I know some of you have considered or have even already made plans for giving gifts to teachers. My own wife was just wrapping up small tokens of appreciation for our daughters’ many dance teachers. No RJ Grey teacher expects gifts and no family should ever feel obligated to provide one! A kind email or word of thanks to a teacher goes quite a long way! However, if you’re committed to giving a gift, please know that there are state ethics laws that limit gifts that teachers, coaches, and staff are permitted to receive. School staff cannot accept gifts from a single family that amount to $50 or more in value for the entire school year. Sadly, I had to return a pair of Red Sox tickets many years ago from a father who felt bad watching me direct traffic each morning. The gesture was very kind, but I was not able to accept the tickets. And they were good seats, too.
Here are some upcoming dates that will be helpful for you to know:
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Friday, 12/16: Formal Dress Day at RJ Grey
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Monday, 12/19: Early Release, 1 pm
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Friday, 12/23: Last day before vacation, 2:36 dismissal
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Tuesday, 1/3/23: Schools reopen after vacation
Take care and have a great weekend,
Jim