Good afternoon,
I was able to watch the first half of our 7th grade girls’ basketball game yesterday afternoon. Our players did a great job against an older team from Sudbury. The final score wasn’t in our favor, but I saw a really confident group of RJ Grey players playing strong defense and making some great shots, too. Our final games for both 7th grade teams are this Friday. Our 8th grade teams have wrapped up their season. Our 8th grade girls’ team went undefeated this season. To end 10-0 is quite a feat and we are proud of our players. Our boys’ team finished 8-2 and had a really strong season, as well. Congrats to all of our players, coaches, and families who supported this season!
Our RJ Grey 7th grade boys’ team was the recipient of a very generous gift from an anonymous donor. The donor outfitted our team with a new set of uniforms to replace uniforms that were slightly younger than me (!). I am very appreciative of the donor that went out of their way to work with us and offer a gift that will be part of our program for many years.
At school council this week, we talked a bit about school attendance. As you know, we are required to have 180 days of school per year. In a state with compulsory attendance, we are required to track the number of absences and report back to the state about our daily attendance. The state reports back to us how many of our students are deemed “Chronically absent,” which means they’ve been absent at least 10% of the year (18 days). When looking at the data, there is a marked difference in these numbers pre-Pandemic and post-Pandemic. Certainly there needs to be recognition that Covid quarantines and mandates about isolation are at play in our numbers. RJ Grey and the District will be spending more time looking at attendance and trying to get to the root cause of what is causing this dramatic change. In March, the School Committee will likely talk about attendance as part of our Student Opportunity Act Plan.
I wrote about attendance back in October, around the time that our first set attendance letters were sent home. I figured it would be good to write about it again. When students are absent two times per month, each month, they reach at least 18 absences for the year. It is actually quite easy to reach 18 absences without knowing it when you factor in the viruses and other ailments going around! We emphasize good attendance for students so that they are comfortable in their classes, have time learning directly from their teachers, and have time to be social and interact with peers their own age. If you think that your child has too many absences, or if you need some strategies to support better attendance, please be in touch with us as we would like to help.
Upcoming Dates
-
Sat, Feb 10: Budget Saturday, 8:30 - 3:30, Admin Building and on Acton TV
-
Mon, Feb 12: Early Release, 1 pm
-
Tues, Feb 13: Ski Club Session #5
-
Thurs, Feb 15: End of Round 3 for PE/Health classes
-
Fri, Feb 16: Blue and Gold Day
-
Mon, Feb 19 - Fri, Feb 23: Vacation Week - No School
-
Tues, Feb 27: Ski Club Session #6
Take care and have a great weekend!
Jim