Good afternoon,
On Tuesday morning, I shared an announcement with our students that referenced the horrible terrorist attacks in Israel from this past weekend. To all of you who are affected by the ongoing violence in the Middle East, you have my deepest sympathies. Throughout that day I was able to stop into several Social Studies classes to see how teachers talked about the news with their students. In at least two classes I observed, students talked about worrying about family or friends who live in the area or concern that this current violence would spread to other parts of the world. Your children are feeling the effects of this ongoing violence, and I am sure many of you are, too. Our goal at RJ Grey is to support our students. If your child needs some support that they aren’t already receiving, please be in touch with us and we’ll make sure to connect them with a trusted adult.
Over the past few years, our school has needed to talk to students about events that impact their lives in major ways. In only the past few years, we’ve helped students understand the events from January 6th; we’ve talked with them about the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas; we’ve also talked with them about the war in Ukraine. I feel strongly that our 7th and 8th graders need to hear from their teachers when current events take over the news cycle. When we do so, our goal is to provide them with factual information as currently known. In many cases, there is a historical context or understanding that can be connected to the current events, too. I deeply appreciate the work our social studies teachers did on Monday to be prepared to teach on Tuesday. Setting aside their own personal impact, they were able to talk to students about concrete events from the previous days.
Today, our 8th graders attended an assembly where they learned about Minuteman High School as one of their options for high school next year. Representatives, including students from Minuteman talked about their school and what it offers. The application process has begun for next year and if your child is interested, they can check out more online and potentially apply. Representatives from our own high school, ABRHS, will give their own presentations to our 8th graders next week. We are still quite a distance from ninth grade (today is only day 29 of school!), but with schools that require an application and acceptance, that process begins in the fall.
Tomorrow is Pajama Day at RJ Grey. I will likely wear a pair of sweatpants to fit in with the relaxed nature of the day. Two years ago, a family asked me if their kids had to wear pajamas on this annual day. The answer, of course, is no! Participation in this type of spirit day is completely optional - we usually have about 50% of students participate. I think I’ll skip my typical shirt, tie, and dress shoes for something a bit more relaxed tomorrow…feel free to encourage your child to join me!
Finally, if you have not already done so, please remember to activate your ParentSquare Account! ParentSquare account emails were sent Monday 9/18 to the email address we have on file for you in PowerSchool. Creating your ParentSquare account will allow you to personalize how you get communications from us and use the ParentSquare App. If you did not receive an email to activate your account or need help, please contact [email protected].
The following updates have been approved by our Superintendent’s office for distribution:
Upcoming Dates
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Friday, October 13: Pajama Day
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Sunday, October 15: Walk Against Hate, 2 pm starting at ABRHS
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Tuesday, October 17: School Council Meeting, 7 pm in Library
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Monday, October 23: Early Release at 1 pm
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Monday, October 23: Round 1 of PE/Health classes end
Take care and have a great weekend!
Jim