R.J. Grey Junior High School

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

• Wednesday, November 22: Early Release for Thanksgiving (11:10 am)

• Thurs/Friday, Nov 23 and 24: No School for Thanksgiving Holiday

• Wed Nov 29: End of Trimester 1

• Thurs, Nov 30 - Sunday Dec 3: Rock of Ages Musical at RJ Grey

• Mon, Dec 4: Coat Drive Begins

Take care and have a great weekend!
Jim

Good afternoon,

For those who notice this type of thing, I missed writing my weekly message last week. I was out of the building on Thursday for some professional learning and then rushed to my second job (being a dad), and putting this column together just didn’t happen. I knew you would forgive me for missing a week!

I’ve written before that we are working with the Anti Defamation League this year on multiple fronts. Over the last two weeks, a group of more than 20 junior high students were trained as peer leaders by the ADL as we begin our A World of Difference Program. By all accounts, from our students, our staff advisors, and the trainers that came to AB, the training was worthwhile and our kids were impressive! As this group continues to work at RJ Grey, they will work together to design and deliver lessons to their peers on certain topics to help to combat hate and bias and promote a strong school community. When we have firm plans about those lessons, I’ll be sure to share those out with you. 

While our students are entering a 4-day weekend, our RJ Grey staff spent today at school. This morning, we worked with trainers from the ADL to better understand forms of bias and how to respond with strategies that foster a safe environment for discussions on race, culture and other aspects of human identity. During the afternoon, we talked about our students and worked to identify which supports might be necessary for some of our students to be successful. We treated ourselves to a lunch that lasted slightly longer than 25 minutes, too. It is a real joy for me to work with our staff at RJ Grey. Professional learning days like these are integral for us to be a strong team who works together for all students. Having the chance to learn together, laugh a bit, and slow down for a few minutes, helps to rejuvenate us all for the work we do every day. 

I referenced above that I had my own professional learning last week - it was a rare day for me to be completely out of the building, but it was well spent. As part of that day, I chatted with an assistant principal from another town in Massachusetts who talked with pride about how she uses Instagram to communicate the awesome work that her students and teachers do on a daily basis. Since then, we have made a concerted effort to resurrect our own RJ Grey Instagram account. Between myself and Mr. Zhang, we’ll be putting more time into using social media to tell our audience about the great things happening at RJ Grey. Please give us a follow at @rjgreyjhs. Mr. Zhang and I appreciate your follow and will love it even more if you like our posts!

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].

If you are interested in joining our School Council, please be in touch. Our council has met twice this year. We currently have only one representative from our 7th grade parent group, so if you are interested in learning more, please be in touch with me.

Finally, I was passing through the Main Office yesterday when I heard Mrs. Hanley tell a student that we have no more Chromebook loaners to lend because a good number of them are loaned out while we repair other devices. If your child has at times forgotten their Chromebook at home, or they forgot to charge it, it is possible we’ll have to disappoint them and they’ll have to proceed through their day without their device. This will impact their ability to view or complete activities that are happening in class. Any help you can provide in making sure your child has a routine at home to always bring a charged device to school is greatly appreciated.

I hope you all have a nice weekend, and to our Veterans: Thank you for your service to our country.

Upcoming Dates

• Friday, November 10: No School: Veterans Day

• Wednesday, November 22: Early Release for Thanksgiving (11:10 am)

• Thurs/Friday, Nov 23 and 24: No School for Thanksgiving Holiday

• Wed Nov 29: End of Trimester 1

• Thurs, Nov 30 - Sunday Dec 3: Rock of Ages Musical at RJ Grey

• Mon, Dec 4: Coat Drive Begins

Take care and have a great long weekend!
Jim