January 2025 - Posts
Good afternoon, RJ Grey Families:
I hope you are doing well. We have a regular schedule of "Poetry Friday" here at RJ Grey. Every other
Friday, Mr. Malloy, our 8 Red English teacher, uses the morning announcements to share a poem with students. He shares the poems with the staff ahead of time so that teachers can project the poem to allow students to read along as they listen to the poem. Just a few minutes ago, he shared tomorrow's poem, "The Same Cold" by Stephen Dunn.
I think our students will certainly recognize that this poem is timely given the frigid temperatures we've had recently. Even today at morning drop-off, I felt a similar emotion as the author when he writes, "zero would feel warm." Today's 12 degrees felt balmy! I think many of our students will recognize a deeper meaning of the poem, too. At RJ Grey, we try to build students' capacity to empathize with others, speak up when something is wrong, or advocate to an adult if they see someone in need of help. We hope that we can establish a community where we are all "Just two people...in the same cold." I hope they will recognize the kindness and community that makes us all "good neighbors."
In support of our neighbors and the Acton Food Pantry, students are invited to bring in items for our Food Drive by next Friday. The Food Pantry has asked us to help collect these items:
- Baking needs: Flour, Sugar, Baking Mixes
- Mac and Cheese
- Pasta and Jarred Pasta Sauce
- Jelly
- Gluten-Free items: Pasta, Crackers, Baking Mixes
- Vegetable Oil
- Dried Fruits: Dates, Prunes, Raisins
- Nuts: Walnuts, Almonds, Trail Mix
- Non-Dairy Milk
- Canned Pasta Items: Chef Boyardee, for example
- Paper Goods: Toilet Paper, Tissues, etc.
The District is sponsoring a workshop for parents and guardians with Dr. Stuart Ablon on Monday evening at 7 pm. His session is titled, "From Compliance to Collaboration: Combining Neuroscience, Common Sense, and Compassion." In this presentation, Dr. Ablon will explore how traditional parenting models focus on compliance, while his groundbreaking approach shows that behavior is shaped by skill, not will.
Dr. Ablon will share insights from his book, Changeable, selected by leaders like Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Dan Pink, and Susan Cain for their Next Big Idea Club. His evidence-based method, Collaborative Problem Solving, offers practical strategies that reduce challenging behavior, build essential life skills, decrease stress, and foster stronger relationships with our children and others.
Date: Monday, January 27, 2025
Time: 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Location: Virtual Presentation -https://abschools.zoom.us/s/96975044232
I hope to see many of your students at our Summer Fun in Winter event tomorrow after school. Thank you to everyone who has donated snacks and drinks for the event. Even if your child tells you they don't know what time the event ends, please know that the event ends at 4:30. I appreciate you helping your child to make sure they know how they'll be getting home so that the adults can make our way home on time, too!
Take care and I hope you have a nice weekend,
Jim
jmarcotte
Good afternoon, RJ Grey Families:
I hope you are doing well. Before the December vacation, our students indulged us by taking the time to respond to two surveys about their experiences at RJ Grey. A few questions that always stand out as important to me are about our students' connections to others. I'll highlight just a few answers here:
- 89.2% of students answered positively when asked, "If I have a problem or concern and I need an adult's help, I have a trusted adult at school whom I feel comfortable going to for help;"
- 94.4% of students report that they have a trusted adult outside of school;
- 96.9% of students report that they have at least one friend/peer from school whom they can ask for help/support;
- 98.5% of students report that they have made a new friendship this year.
I continue to be proud of the work we do to make our students feel connected to others at RJ Grey. These numbers are very much in line with our student responses in December of 2023. I hope you agree with me that students will learn more when they are connected to and comfortable with the people around them. Thank you for continuing to support your own children, their friends, and classmates.
During this morning's announcements, I reminded students about the expectations for staying after school. I share them here again in case you have any questions about who we expect might stay after school on occasion:
Only students who stay for extra help with a teacher, or for a club or activity, are allowed to stay at school after 2:36. Any other student without a school obligation must leave school at dismissal. Any student whose extra help or club has ended will remain in the Library to be picked up. Additionally, students are not allowed to return to school after leaving to be picked up or take the late bus. With limited supervision after school, we need to be mindful of the number of students in the building at that time. Thank you for your help with this.
Starting Tuesday, students are invited to bring in items for our Food Drive (January 21 - 31) to benefit the Acton Food Pantry. Students will bring any Food Drive items to their Advisory groups. The Food Pantry has asked us to help collect these items:
- Baking needs: Flour, Sugar, Baking Mixes
- Mac and Cheese
- Pasta and Jarred Pasta Sauce
- Jelly
- Gluten-Free items: Pasta, Crackers, Baking Mixes
- Vegetable Oil
- Dried Fruits: Dates, Prunes, Raisins
- Nuts: Walnuts, Almonds, Trail Mix
- Non-Dairy Milk
- Canned Pasta Items: Chef Boyardee, for example
- Paper Goods: Toilet Paper, Tissues, etc.
If you are looking for something to watch on TV tonight, tune into the AB School Committee meeting at 7pm to see them recognize the cast and crew of Frozen, Jr. And if you're looking to get out of the house, please come to RJ Grey at 7pm tonight to see our Winter Band Concert!
Take care and I hope you have a nice long weekend,
Jim
jmarcotte
Good afternoon, RJ Grey Families:
I hope you are doing well and keeping warm with these recent cold temperatures and strong winds. On Monday morning, as I was doing my traffic duty post, I realized how unprepared I was for the temperature drop. For the first 10 minutes, the tips of my ears were stinging because they were so cold. And when that sensation went away, I knew it was not a good thing! My trip to the Maynard Outdoor Store that evening for a heavier coat with a hood proved successful and I've been much warmer since. On the opposite end of the spectrum and country, my thoughts are with those suffering from the fires and winds in the Los Angeles region. If you have family and friends in that area, I hope they are safe.
Turning the page to January is always a time to think about our ongoing work, and in some cases, set new goals. One of our school goals this year is to monitor our student attendance with a careful eye. We know that strong attendance allows students to gain confidence in their skills, the content they learn, and the relationships they create with peers and adults. For some families, it might feel typical for children to miss two days of school per month, which when added up, equals 18 days, the equivalent of missing 10% of the year.
I took a look at our attendance at the 75-day mark, which happened on December 20th. At that point, we had 76 students (9.2%) who had missed at least 7 days of school this year. I was able to see that last year at that same marker (75 days), 69 students (8.34%) had missed 7 days or more. It is very hard to draw a correlation at this point in the year about who may end up being considered "chronically absent" by year's end. We know that when combined, the flu or other virus, a bout with the common cold, a funeral, or a long weekend away may easily amount to 7 days of absences, but once past these acute issues, students may return to a more typical pattern of attendance. In your role as the parent or guardian, you will certainly know much more clearly why your child has been absent from school.
Our District practice of informing families about numbers of absences means that we reach out to families even when we know there is not a larger issue to resolve. Some families will hear from us in the form of letter, call, or email. We are sympathetic to the myriad reasons students may need to be absent from school, and we offer our support whenever we can if you need help creating a plan for more regular school attendance. Please be in touch with me, our assistant principals, or your child's counselor, if you have any questions.
Finally, we will be hosting a Food Drive for several weeks (January 21 - 31) to benefit the Acton Food Pantry. Students will bring any Food Drive items to their Advisory groups. If you plan to clean out your cupboards, or if you are doing a weekly grocery trip and wish to pick up a few things, below is the list of non-expired items that the Food Pantry would benefit from:
- Baking needs: Flour, Sugar, Baking Mixes
- Mac and Cheese
- Pasta and Jarred Pasta Sauce
- Jelly
- Gluten-Free items: Pasta, Crackers, Baking Mixes
- Vegetable Oil
- Dried Fruits: Dates, Prunes, Raisins
- Nuts: Walnuts, Almonds, Trail Mix
- Non-Dairy Milk
- Canned Pasta Items: Chef Boyardee, for example
- Paper Goods: Toilet Paper, Tissues, etc.
Take care, and thank you for your ongoing support,
Jim
jmarcotte
Good afternoon, RJ Grey Families:
Happy New Year! Whether you traveled far or stayed close to home, I hope you enjoyed some time with your families and friends over the past eleven days. My family enjoyed hanging out at home, reading some books, watching some movies, and sleeping through when our alarms typically sound in the mornings. While today certainly feels like a Monday, it has been a great reintroduction to the routine of school, and tomorrow is a Friday! However you spent time last week, I hope it was enjoyable and you are getting back into the swing of things.
Families of 8th graders should reserve Wednesday, February 12 at 7 pm for the chance to visit ABRHS and hear from administrators about life at the high school. This evening is reserved for parents and guardians. More info will be sent from the high school in the next week or so. Minuteman High School has asked us to remind you about their Virtual Family Night on January 15th from 6:30 - 8:00. And they also remind you that applications for the Class of 2029 are being accepted through Feburary 15. Please click on the links above for more information.
A short update for a short week! Happy New Year!
Take care,
Jim
jmarcotte
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