Good afternoon,
I hope you are doing well today. I wanted to point out that this week is National School Counseling Week! At RJ Grey, we are so grateful for the hard work that our school counselors and psychologists do on a daily basis. As we wrap up our SOS program this week, and counselors gear up for upcoming course registration season, I wanted to publicly thank them for their work. Ms. Bell, Dr. Cowen, Mr. Duclos, Ms. Eagle, Ms. O’Brien, Ms. Stoodt, and Mrs. Van Vleck all serve our students, families, and staff well with the social-emotional support they provide on a daily basis. If you have already connected with your child’s counselor this year, or if you haven’t, please reach out and thank them for their work.
Speaking of social-emotional support, several weeks ago, AB offered a webinar for families, in partnership with Cartwheel Care, called Youth Mental Health in a Digital World. I missed the chance to see it live, so if you’re like me, you might want to check out the recorded version of the 45-minute webinar. You can find the video and description by clicking here, which will bring you to our District’s Mental Health Resources page.
Another partner we rely on regularly is the Acton Food Pantry. Several years ago, we joined forces with them to make sure that we had snacks available for kids who might need something during the day, or at home. The Acton Food Pantry has asked us to share their Amazon Wishlist with our families. If you are able and interested, you can click on the list here and select something you’d be willing to donate to the Food Pantry. Any product you purchase will be shipped directly to the Food Pantry, with our students being the ultimate recipients. We’re grateful for our ongoing connection with the Food Pantry. Thank you, in advance, for your help.
Finally, next month we’ll start to advertise for teaching positions that will be available for the 23-24 school year. That process usually yields lots of applicants for the licensed teaching positions we will have available across our schools. For today, as a more immediate need, we are searching for responsible adults who’d be interested in working in our schools (RJ Grey, specifically) as day-to-day substitutes. As a college student, I spent several winter vacations and days in May subbing in local schools near where I lived. It was a great way for me to work in schools, knowing I’d become a teacher after graduating. We had a good stretch over December and January where we had several college-aged subs working with us. With those individuals now back at school for the spring semester, we have a need for other members of our community to sign up to sub! We pay $100 per day, we provide you a schedule of classes to cover, and we offer as much support as you need. Most days, with the availability of 1:1 devices for our students, you are monitoring students as they work on an assignment left by the classroom teacher. If you have a bit of time on your hands and want to be around some great kids and awesome teachers, please consider working with us. Feel free to reach out to me directly to learn more or to fill out an application.
Here are some dates to be aware of:
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Thursday, 2/9/23: 9th grade curriculum night at ABRHS, 7 pm
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Monday, 2/13/23: Early Release, 1 pm
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Friday, 2/17/23: Blue and Gold Day
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Monday, 2/20 - Friday, 2/24: Schools Closed for February Vacation
Take care and have a great weekend,
Jim