Good afternoon,
On Monday afternoon, from behind my desk, I heard the phone ring in the Main Office and I heard Christine say, “Let me see if I can find him.” That means that she’s either looking for me or Mr. Zhang, our male assistant principal. She was looking for me, and said I had to go to Pam Reeves’ class and didn’t know why. Not having any more info, I grabbed my phone and walkie talkie, left the office, crossed the lobby, and entered Room 408 quickly, thinking something must be wrong - Mrs. Reeves never needs help! There waiting was her T5 Spanish class…21 8th graders… ready to sing Happy Birthday, in Spanish, to me. My birthday was, in fact, on Monday and watching them sing in Spanish (I was a Spanish teacher) was quite a nice moment. We have really great kids here at RJ Grey who together suggest and agree to sing to their principal on his birthday. I do feel very lucky to be a member of this community.
This week in Advisory, we are talking with students about communication and specifically, understanding the difference between intent and impact. This is a concept we often talk about in response to situations here at school, so I appreciate that we are attempting to be proactive in our efforts. Part of the mini-lessons include a few middle school-type scenarios. Our students’ task in between Tuesday’s advisory and Thursday’s advisory was to watch for situations where someone’s intent was different from the subsequent impact. We continue to use Advisory to talk about skills, in this case, social awareness and communication. 
Our school musical is opening up after Thanksgiving. Rock of Ages: Youth Edition will be a great show if you have a chance to come see it. We’ll have 7 pm shows on November 30, December 1 and 2, and a 2 pm matinee on December 3rd. Our students have been working on this show since September, along with our dedicated staff advisors. We hope you’ll come join us and have a great time!
We will be entering our winter sports season, starting after Thanksgiving. Please find the tryout schedule here. Please make sure you have completed the Family ID page, and make sure your child has an up-to-date physical on file with our Health Office. Please send any questions to our Junior High Athletic Director, Jon Duclos: [email protected].
Since next Thursday is Thanksgiving, I won’t write to you again until November 30. If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you have safe travels and an enjoyable holiday. I am excited to see my family and have a great meal, complete with leftovers, I hope!
Upcoming Dates
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Wednesday, November 22: Early Release for Thanksgiving (11:10 am)
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Thurs/Friday, Nov 23 and 24: No School for Thanksgiving Holiday
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Wed Nov 29: End of Trimester 1
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Thurs, Nov 30 - Sunday Dec 3: Rock of Ages Musical at RJ Grey
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Mon, Dec 4: Coat Drive Begins
Take care and have a great weekend!
Jim