Good afternoon, RJ Grey Families:
I hope you are doing well. There are several important messages below. I thank you in advance for reading this week's message!
Emergency Response Today
If you have a student on 7 Red or 7 Green, they may talk to you about a situation at our fourth lunch today. A student was choking on part of their lunch and needed the assistance of a teacher and our nurses to dislodge the item. The student is now doing well and receiving follow-up care from medical professionals. Students seated in the Cafe Annex were close to the situation and were moved to the larger cafe during the emergency response. If your child has any thoughts or questions, please check in with them and let us know if they'd like to follow up with a trusted adult at school. Witnessing an emergency situation can certainly trigger some nervousness and unease. Today, like all days, I am proud of how our staff and students responded. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Activity Fee
You likely received a message from the Superintendent's Office last week about the new Activity Fee in the Acton-Boxborough Schools. During the FY25 budget process, the School Committee voted to implement a new Activity Fee of $50 for any student who is a member of any club or student activity for the 2024-2025 school year. By implementing this fee, the District (and RJ Grey) continues to be able to offer the variety of clubs we have historically offered while being able to maintain our contractual obligations to the advisors of these clubs. I point this out in case you skimmed over last week's message.
What does this actually mean for your RJ Grey student? If your child participates in one of our after-school clubs or activities, your family will need to pay the $50 activity fee for your child to continue to participate. Our $50 fee will cover your child's participation in at least one club or activity. As an example, if your child is only interested in joining the Chess Club this year, their $50 fee will cover their participation in that club. If another child chooses to participate in the Chess Club, Board Game Club, and Fit Club, the fee remains $50. In this case, participation in three after-school clubs is covered by one $50 fee.
Since this is the first year of charging this fee, we have waited until October to start publicizing the process for payment, which also gave us time to make plans for how to operationalize this process. You may choose to pay this fee through cash or check, made out to ABRSD. We have begun to use eFunds to collect online payments if that is your preference. Please check out this letter from our Director of Finance for additional information, and for the link to setting up an online payment account.
We have a bunch of clubs already up and running: Art Club, Book Club, Chess Club, Common Ground, Creative Writing, Dungeons & Dragons, Fit Club, Games Club, Green Team Club, Jazz Band, Magic Card Club, Marvel Club, MathCounts, Musical: Frozen, Jr, Ski Club, Student Council, Yearbook. Students who participate in a school sport (Cross Country, soccer, etc.) do not need to pay the activity fee if they only do a sport. Those athletes pay an athletic fee to help defray the cost of their participation. If, however, a soccer player joins a club or two after their season is complete, the student will pay a $50 activity fee.
I hope the above info is clear, but I encourage you to let me know if you have any questions. This additional fee is not an exciting one for us, but it will allow us to continue to offer the enjoyable after-school programming that we're accustomed to. Thank you for your support.
Back to School Night - Thursday, October 17
You are invited to RJ Grey's Back to School Night, next Thursday, October 17. The event starts at 7 pm and ends at 8:40. If you are able to come, I encourage you to plan ahead and time your commute well, as our nearby parking lots fill up quickly. You are free to park in any of the spots at RJ Grey, the Parker-Damon Building, and the High School.
BTSN is one of my favorite events at RJ Grey. There is excitement in the air as parents and guardians navigate our halls and bump into their own friends! You will follow your child's Day 1 schedule and you'll be able to spend 10 minutes in each of your child's classes. This adults-only event is a good opportunity to see your child's teachers, put a face to a name, and know more about what your child will learn this year. Our Back to School Night provides general information about your child's courses and does not include time for individual conversations about your own student. You can always feel free to email the teacher or set up a team meeting for a particular conversation if that feels necessary. You will receive a Parent Square message before next Tuesday with your child's schedule. We will also have hard copies of student schedules in the lobby that evening. I hope to see many of you on October 17!
Minuteman High School Visit
Representatives from Minuteman High School spoke to our 8th graders on Wednesday about their school. Minuteman is the technical school option for students who live in Acton and who would like to pursue a high school opportunity different from ABRHS. Please check in with your 8th grader about their interest in Minuteman - there is an application process, interview, and other steps to be completed before students are accepted at Minuteman. In early November, representatives from Acton-Boxborough Regional High School will speak to 8th graders about the high school experience at AB. Please be in touch with your child's counselor if you have particular questions that we can answer.
Happy Long Weekend!
I hope you have the opportunity to enjoy this long weekend. My family is going to spend a bit of time in Salem on Saturday. I expect we will be one of thousands with the same idea. My wife and kids are huge fans of the Hocus Pocus movies, so I envision several selfies at some of the local spots used in the films. However you choose to spend it, I hope you have a nice weekend.
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