R.J. Grey Junior High School

Hi Everyone,

I don’t think it would be a stretch on my part to note that the Congressional hearings about, and sexual assault allegations against, the current Supreme Court nominee captured everyone’s attention and completely dominated news headlines, social media, and dinner and water cooler conversations across the country.  I mention this national issue here in Grey Matters not with an interest in exploring varying opinions and views of Mr. Kavanaugh or the state of our political system. This isn’t the forum for that conversation.  Instead, I’m thinking more about our students and how it would be terribly naive of us to believe that they aren’t absorbing a good deal of what they see and hear about the allegations, ideas and definitions of sexual misconduct and harassment in general, and making sense of how those ideas may or may not apply to their understanding of teenage behaviors and relationships.  The spotlight and sustained attention that these topics are receiving can be viewed as an opportunity for parents and guardians to educate their kids, and the idea of initiating those conversations about romance, sex, and relationships with our kids makes a lot of us a bit queasy. Nevertheless, our children will benefit from discussions and direct guidance from parents and guardians about the power and impact of certain words and behaviors, and clear explanations about what ethical, kind, and respectful behavior looks like in different settings, be it one-on-one interactions, group settings, social events, and on social media.  From the harm caused by casual pejoratives to understanding the boundaries they should establish in terms of welcome and unwelcome attention, young people will at certain times, and for certain messy topics, need explicit direction and guidance.  I’ve been thinking about this a lot in relation to my own kids, especially as one of them is in 6th grade (my daughter) and another is in 8th grade (my oldest son).  And as someone who was raised in a home where everyone was more comfortable pretending that my sister and I were both immaculately conceived and didn’t come close to uttering anything about the topics mentioned above, I could personally use all the assistance and accessible language I can get.  

For those of you who are also preparing yourselves and hoping for a bit of support in entering those conversations, I want to introduce you to the organization Making Caring Common, an initiative based at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education that is dedicated to “helping educators, parents and communities raise children who are caring and responsible to their communities.”  When I introduced this organization to families last year I included this brief article by Dr. Richard Weissbourd.  Focusing specifically on sexual harassment and misogyny this piece offers parents strategies for inviting their children into a conversation that can be tricky to initiate.  Making Caring Common now also has a resource page entitled, “Teens and Ethical Romantic Relationships” that includes several resources, handouts and guides for parents and schools who want to help adolescents develop comfort and skill in establishing healthy relationships with peers, romantic or otherwise.  If this is a topic that is at the forefront of your minds and parenting priorities, you might want to explore that site. To be sure, not all of what is included may fully resonate with you, but perhaps it offers you pieces that are useful. Along with the work and efforts that many of you are making on this subject, our school’s Health and Life Skills curriculum will continue to evolve and include opportunities to help students navigate what often feels (or is) an overload of information and imagery on the topics described above.  As those plans emerge, I’ll make a point of sharing some updates and examples for everyone so we can continue the conversation and support each other in this important work.

Some quick reminders for the next two weeks:   

We had plans to conduct our first of two annual ALICE drills last week.  Unfortunately, the rainy weather interfered with those plans, and so we made the decision to postpone that drill to sometime later this week. When the exercise is complete I will be sure to provide families with an update.

A reminder to 8th grade families that Minuteman Technical High School will be visiting RJ Grey this Tuesday and Wednesday to provide students with a brief overview of the school and the application process. Because the town of Boxborough is no longer a member of the Minuteman district, there is a different process for Boxborough students and families interested in a vocational route next year.  Attending the Minuteman presentation still makes sense for Boxborough students given that it could still be the right option for them, and please stay tuned for additional details about the process and options for exploring additional vocational programs.  For any families who want to know more about Minuteman Tech, I would encourage you to email your child's counselors.  

Two calendar reminders for this Thursday and next Monday:   The Junior High and High School have our first Early Release day this Thursday, October 4, and staff will then participate in professional learning for the remainder of the day.  Dismissal for students is at 11:06am at the Junior High and all standard bus routes will be available at that time.  Please note that the Late Bus will not be available that day.  I would encourage families to discuss and confirm with their child plans for this early release and expectations regarding transportation and post-release activities.  Next week there will be no school on Monday, October 8 as part of the Columbus Day long weekend.  

Many of you are already familiar with Household Goods of Acton, an organization that provides a full range of donated furniture and household items, free of charge, to help people in need make a home.  As they head into the fall season, their supplies of bath towels and hand towels are running low and they are hoping that members of our community can help them collect enough towels to give to 2,500 families this year.  RJ Grey is happy to serve as a drop off location for any of you who is able to donate towels.  Between October 9 and October 12, you can bring gently used towels to RJ Grey and drop them off in the collection bins located in our front lobby.  For more information about Household Goods, you can visit them at 530 Main Street in Acton, or view their website at householdgoods.org.

I hope those of you who attended last week’s Back to School Night found the evening to be informative and valuable.  The level of parent and family support that we have in Acton-Boxborough is no secret, and we know that partnering with all of you is central to a successful school year.  Along with connecting with teachers by email or phone, please remember that we have a “team meeting” option that is also available to families.  Teams have, about once a week, a period where parents/guardians can schedule a 20-minute meeting to connect with their child’s team teachers.  This is an opportunity for some families to share information and concerns, and ask questions, and for teachers (and the team counselor) to do the same.  The availability of appointments usually ebbs and flows over the course of the year, so during busy periods the next available appointment is a few weeks out.  If you are interested in scheduling an appointment, you can email our Registrar Lena Jarostchuk ([email protected]) or call her at extension x3330.

I recently highlighted the R.J. Grey Artist of the Month program, an opportunity for 7th and 8th Graders to have an authentic, juried art exhibition experience similar to the process in which professional artists participate.  Congratulations to Ana Maranga (8 Blue) who has been selected as October’s Artist of the Month. When Ana was asked to explain a bit about her artistic endeavors, Ana shared: “I've always been passionate about art, and I know I always will be. I also know I'm really interested in robotics and engineering. Art would definitely be useful for designing robots and other mechanical parts.”  Congratulations to Ana and you can click here to view her work.  

Finally, Poetry Fridays took place at the end of last week.  For those new to RJ Grey, Poetry Fridays is an activity that began six years ago where every other Friday, a staff member or a student recites a poem during morning announcements.  This activity is led by Tim Malloy, English teacher on 8 Red. Last week’s selection was “Harlem” by American poet Langston Hughes.  Click here if you’d like to read the poem.  

Have a great week, everyone.

Cheers,

Hi Everyone,

I had the good fortune of being able to attend last evening’s performance of Hamilton at the Boston Opera House, and then after the performance having the not-so-good fortune of being stuck in the nearby underground parking garage for over an hour.  I am mentioning to all of you my night at Hamilton for two reasons related to RJ Grey.  For those who may be seeing the play in the near future, please rest assured that nothing I write below gives away anything substantial or will spoil the experience.  First, through much of the musical the character James Madison was carrying a large handkerchief, which I’m pretty sure was included to emphasize how he was known to be chronically ill and a Founding Father who often appeared fragile and sickly.  Seeing Madison wipe his nose with that handkerchief at different points in the play reminded me of a conversation I had this past week about needing to make sure that each of our classrooms have enough boxes of tissues for our students before the season of colds and runny noses begins in earnest.  A box of tissues has been an item that many families have generously provided to our classrooms each year, and if providing a box this year is something that you wouldn’t mind doing, we and our desire to contain and manage the inevitable invasion of germs would be most appreciative.  [side note: many 7th grade families have already sent in boxes via the Me Box project, so thank you for that]  At this week’s Back to School Night, we’ll have a table right outside the Main Office where families can drop off a box and we’ll take care of distributing them to classrooms.  Thanks for considering.

The second link between Hamilton and RJ Grey that formed in my head last night was around names and titles.  Similar to the opening song to the musical that includes the main character introducing himself with the refrain, “Alexander Hamilton, my name is Alexander Hamilton…” I typically include each year in an early edition of Grey Matters an introduction to my own name, though for reasons a bit different than Mr. Hamilton’s.

As I noted above, Back to School Night is this Wednesday evening at 7pm (6:35pm if your child takes the Band, Chorus or String Ensemble electives and you want to meet the teachers).  Your children will bring home a schedule for you to follow. Just in case your teenager is the first 13-year old to ever forget to share something with you, we’ll have a copy of each student’s schedule available in the Lobby, but I am sure none of you will have that issue.  If you did provide the PTSO an annual $50 donation this year, you can pick up your copy of the Student Directory at the PTSO table (in the Lobby).  For those who are still interested in contributing to the PTSO this year, you can do so that evening. For families who are not in a position to comfortably donate to the PTSO and would still like to request a copy of the Student Directory, please send me or your child’s counselor an email and we are happy to provide one to you (we would distribute it later that week, not the PTSO).  

Here are some important reminders and notes for the next few weeks:

Picture Day is tomorrow - Monday, September 24 .  Students received an order form last week to bring home to their parent/guardian.  Students who plan to order photos should bring the order form (and payment) tomorrow.  If your child forgets the form (along with their Back to School Night schedule, of course), don’t panic - the forms can always be submitted afterwards. Regardless of whether students order a package of photos, all students will have their photos taken so they can be included in the yearbook.  If you have any questions, please contact David Lawrence at [email protected].  

We had two 7th grade parents offer to serve as School Council representatives, so no election will be necessary at Back to School Night this Wednesday!  Jennifer Beal and Karen Pierce are joining our School Council, and we appreciate their willingness to serve.  This year they join returning 8th grade parents Jack Kline and James Dillon, and teachers Maureen Lin and Liz Walker. An early save the date for Tuesday, November 6 (which is also the date of Fall elections) at 7pm in the Junior High Library.  Peter Light, our new Superintendent, is hosting a number of forums where he can engage with parents and guardians, school staff, and students.  The Forum scheduled for the evening of November 6 is intended for parents and guardians at the Junior High and High School.  If you’re interested in spending a bit of time with Peter to talk about our students and our schools, please consider attending.

I hope all of you had an opportunity to read my email message regarding our plans to hold an ALICE drill this week.  You can review the content of that email message by clicking here.  Once the drill has been completed I will be sure to send a follow-up message to families.  

Hi Everyone,

At my house last week there were plenty of signs that we were shifting from summer vacation to the start of a new school year - backpacks were lined up on the counter, alarm clocks were back in use, and the next day’s lunches were prepared each night.  And then there were other things about last week that were indistinguishable from the previous weeks of summer, the two most prominent being the soaring temperatures and that the number of moments of sibling bickering in our house remained well above three thousand per day.  This year, my children enter 8th grade, 6th grade, and 4th grade. Let’s all pause here for a moment of silence so that you and I can mentally send our best wishes to each other for the range of interesting and colorful moments we will likely experience over the next several months, with mine certainly shaped by that particular combination of teenager/adolescents.  My experiences last year with my oldest son as he traveled through 7th grade (not at RJ Grey) made for both a personal and professional journey given my role as a middle school principal. Plenty of joyful moments along with stretches of time when my son would argue that my status as a middle school principal actually made me even less qualified to be of help and perspective. As for how consistently I practiced the strategies that I encouraged RJ Grey parents and guardians to consider? Probably 75% of the time, and I could also be unconsciously padding my success rate a bit here.  I expect that this collision of personal and professional worlds will continue as he enters 8th grade and my daughter enters 6th grade, and I look forward to another year of comparing notes and strategies with many of you as we all try and do the best we can in what certainly feels like a world that is constantly shifting underneath our feet.  As we begin this school year, I am including a link to an article in the Washington Post that I’ve shared the past two years that offers suggestions for how parents (and guardians) can stay connected and engaged with their teenage sons.  This has been a favorite of mine as it offered me practical suggestions that I’ve found to be effective (use car rides for conversations) and some important reminders about exercising a bit more patience in certain circumstances, and leaving room for silence.  I hope that you and your kids have had a successful start of this school year and that our 7th graders, and students new to AB, are feeling good about their transition to RJ Grey.   

We just completed our first week of school where start times for the Junior High was pushed back by thirty (30) minutes (and 49 minutes later at the High School) to better accommodate the sleep needs of young adolescents, a topic that our community has discussed and prioritized over the past few years.  Something to monitor is the news that the California legislature just passed a bill that would require all public schools in that state to start school no earlier than 8:30am by 2021.  It’s currently awaiting a response/signature from the governor of California (a title, by the way, that I can no longer read or say without hearing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s voice).  More locally, Harvard is requiring all of it’s freshmen to complete an online course about sleep before they arrive on campus as part of a push to educate all students about the importance of healthy sleeping habits.   It may take a bit of time for the full impact and benefits of our start time change here at Acton-Boxborough to be understood, and it’s something for us to review and discuss as the year progresses.  For parents and guardians who had students attend RJ Grey and/or the High School in previous years, I hope that even within the first week of school some of the anticipated benefits have presented themselves within your homes.

This year, the Shen family will have four separate Back to School Night events to attend. Our fourth and final Back to School Night later this month is mine - which is also all of yours. RJ Grey’s Back to School Night will be on Wednesday, September 26th, starting at 7:00pm.  For those of you with children who participate in the Band, String Ensemble or Chorus programs, there is an optional meeting at 6:35pm where you can learn more about those programs. Parents should head straight for their child’s homeroom (schedules for that evening will be coming home before that evening) and I am going to travel with all of you to your kids’ classes throughout the evening, and hopefully we’ll have a few moments here and there to connect.  

On that evening, we also ask parents to vote for two 7th grade parent/guardian representatives who will serve on this year's School Council. The role of the School Council is to review and discuss various aspects of the school's activities and goals, and offer advice and guidance about different topics that may emerge during the year. The Council will meet seven times this year, on Monday evenings at 6:30pm (the first will be October 15). We are looking for 7th grade parents who are interested in serving on the Council.  If you have any interest, please submit a short (4-6 sentence max) paragraph about yourself by noon on Friday, September 21st for the ballot. Write-ups can be sent to me at [email protected].

At Back to School Night, you will see a number of tables hosting a few different school-related organizations, including the PTSO. The PTSO is the parent organization that works with both RJ Grey and the high school to facilitate communication between the schools and the parent community, and supports the schools through various volunteer activities and forums.  The JH/HS PTSO is structured a bit differently in that they make a single financial request for the entire year -- a $50 membership donation, and there are no additional parent/guardian fundraisers that take place. You can download the membership registration form by clicking here.  Along with funding a number of projects, events, and equipment at the Junior High and High School, a membership entitles you to a free student directory (which you pick up that night).  This year, the funds that the PTSO provided to RJ Grey is one reason we are able to continue providing every student with a Student Planbook at no charge, and why we have some great new tables and chairs in the lobby outside of the cafeteria. To learn more about the PTSO, you can visit their site by clicking here.  

Here’s a few other scheduling reminders and notes you might want to keep in mind for the next few weeks:

Our annual school picture day is Monday, Sept. 24. In the next two weeks we will be distributing picture order forms to all students. Regardless of whether families order photos, each child will have his/her photo taken so we can include them in the yearbook. If you would like to order photos but the costs associated with the options would present a financial hardship, I would encourage you to contact David Lawrence at [email protected]. Each year, we have worked with our vendor to find ways for any family who wants a set of photos to receive one.

A friendly reminder that this year our school musical will be “Annie” and audition workshops will be taking place this week.  Audition workshops will be held on Sept. 12 (for Music) and Sept. 13 (for Dance), and attendance at both workshops is mandatory.  The auditions themselves are schedule for Sept. 18 and Sept. 20, and attendance is expected for both days as well. Visit our Theatre Arts page for additional details and information.  

Within the next two weeks, most of our after school clubs and activities will have had their first meetings with interested students.  The updated list of clubs and activities is now ready to share and you can review it by clicking here, and we’ll also post it on our website.  This year we will again be offering Fit Club and we do require students to sign up ahead of time (there’s no cost, just need a head count). To sign up or if you have questions about Fit Club, you can email Katy Frey at [email protected].  

Our Cross Country program will host its informational meeting for all interested students on Tuesday, September 11 at 2:45pm in the auditorium.  The Cross Country team does not have cuts, and all interested students are welcome to join. Practice starts on September 12 and are held Monday through Friday starting at 2:40pm.  The head coach for the team is Elizabeth Muff and she can be reached at [email protected].  

Acton-Boxborough will continue to provide a Late Bus option for students at the Junior High and High School.  Here is a link to the memo that provides details about this service (including a link to the list of planned stops), which will begin starting this Tuesday, September 11.  The Late Bus will pick up students at the Junior High at 4:45pm.  

By now I hope most of you have had an opportunity to visit our school website - rjgrey.abschools.org.  We make every effort to keep the site current, and you can access a number of important school documents and connect to individual teacher websites. Every team also maintains a shared online homework calendar that can also be accessed through our school website (7th grade teams here, 8th grade teams here).  In addition, we have a lively active and useful social media presence on both Twitter and Instagram - please consider signing up for one or both!  It may also be something that your students may want to consider following as well.  These accounts will repeat some information that will always be included in our Daily Announcements, and also gives us a platform to share some fun photos and notes about activities taking place within the school.  

I’m pleased to share that the  R.J. Grey Artist of the Month program is continuing this year.  This program launched last February, and is the brainchild of 8th grade art teacher Mrs. Vlajinac.  The goal of this program is to provide 7th and 8th Graders and opportunities to have an authentic, juried art exhibition experience similar to the process in which professional artists participate.  Since this event is supposed to mimic a real world, professional artist experience, not all students that apply will become RJG Artists of the Month. However, Ms. Vlajinac offers this important reminder to students who may have an interest in participating: “If you are not selected to be RJG AofM, DON’T STOP MAKING ART!!  If you are not selected it only means that there were a handful of people that had work that was just a bit stronger than yours…  Not being selected doesn’t mean that you are terrible at art or that we don’t like you as a person.  Quite the opposite actually!  We appreciate that you took a chance and put yourself/artwork out there. Doing that is SUPER BRAVE and you should be proud for even trying!“  To learn more about the RJG Artist of the Month process click here.

I’m also excited to be sharing with everyone our continued efforts to promote Rise to the Challenge, which is something we started last year as a way of recognizing student involvement in community service.  We know that many students are already participating in service activities outside of school, and we hope to celebrate those efforts along with encouraging more students to become active in service opportunities.  Students who complete 10 hours of service within the school year will be recognized for their efforts. Please visit the community service page on our website that provides all the details for this program. If you have any questions, please email Debbie Brookes at [email protected].  

Finally, a message from our Librarian, Ms. Charpentier: “RJ Grey is holding its first-ever book fair on September 18th, 20th, and 21st. The book fair will feature the newest young adult fiction and non-fiction titles along with a host of award-winning classics. The fair features over 600 titles that are selected to appeal specifically to a junior high audience. The book fair will sell both paperback and hardcover books with the average cost being $10. Students will have an opportunity to purchase a book (if interested) when their English class visits the fair at scheduled times and each day of the fair after school until 3pm.” The book fair will accept cash, checks, and credit/debit cards. As with any program at RJ Grey that may involve a cost to families, we are happy to support any students for whom the cost of these books may present a hardship and will ensure that any interested students can select some books that may interest them.  Students and parents/guardians can address any questions they may have to their English teacher or to Ms. Charpentier in the library.

Have a great week, everyone.

Cheers,

Hi Everyone,

Welcome and welcome back to RJ Grey. I hope this year’s first edition of Grey Matters finds each of you well.  To be sure, not nearly enough time has passed between today and last year’s closing assembly that Student Council President Tycho Dickerson opened with the remark, “It’s June 27, what are we all still doing here?!”  Despite the brevity of this particular summer, the Shen’s were able to to reach another family milestone that came in the form of our first overseas trip that included visits to both London and Paris. Our time in those cities certainly benefited from a healthy amount of advanced planning on our part, allowing us to secure tickets to a few plays in London, a Premier League football match, and a bike tour of Versailles. Along with those and other highlights, our trip also included a few impromptu activities and unscripted moments that made for memorable experiences, including a bit of accidental sightseeing by yours truly.  On our first morning in London, I decided to embark on what I wanted to be a 4-mile run as a way to explore the area where we’d be staying for the week. Despite having spent my entire life with a horrible sense of direction, I convinced myself that I could rely primarily on instinct to guide me on a roundtrip running route through an unfamiliar neighborhood, within a foreign city, of which I had yet to see in daylight. Once the running app on my phone announced that I was nearing four miles, and I arrived at a large park area, I thought to myself, “hmm… maybe I’ve reached Battersea Park?” You’ll notice to the right a screenshot of my eventual running route that reveals a few things: (1) how far away I actually was from Battersea Park (see bottom right corner of map - despite not having crossed the Thames River I somehow still thought I might have ended up at Battersea); and (2) just how disoriented I was - clearly taking lefts when I needed to take a right, and taking rights when I should have taken a left if I wanted to end up back where I started.  Though running willy nilly through the streets of South Kensington and arriving in Hyde Park wasn’t the original plan, it ended up being a delightful (albeit much longer) run that brought me to areas and sites that we wouldn’t be visiting during our time in London. It was an unexpected and helpful reminder that not every meaningful experience is scripted and planned with exact detail, and there are plenty of situations where a bit of spontaneity can offer a path to something memorable and worthwhile. My hope is that like my family’s vacation, your time this summer was satisfying and perhaps benefited from a combination of planned activities, travel, and good company, with at least a few unplanned and random -- but no less memorable -- adventures thrown in for good measure. As I mentioned to the staff at RJ Grey, my sense is that like an enjoyable vacation adventure, the makings of a good school year - for our staff, for students, and for families -- includes a mixture of advanced planning while also allowing for certain things to unfold over time. It also requires giving ourselves permission to take a few detours here and there, and on occasion trying things without a clear destination. Within those important plans, routines and structures that you and we have put into place for this coming year, I would encourage each of us to be available and open during the year to moments when trying something a bit different or permitting something unexpected to play out a bit longer might offer our students and families a valuable experience.

As we all prepare to enter this first week of school I know you share our excitement and hopes for a strong start to the school year.  For those new to RJ Grey, please be assured that we dedicate these first few days to helping every student get acclimated to one’s surroundings, and we know that there’s a lot to take in during these first few days.  We will have opening assemblies for both grades, and the 7th grade assembly includes a short welcome video that we hope offers students a snapshot of what will be part of their school year. I will end that assembly emphasizing that our goal for our opening activities is for each of them to leave knowing  how excited we are to have them at RJ Grey this year.

For those of you who might be visiting RJ Grey during the day, please remember that visitors can only enter through the front door, where they will request entry by ringing a buzzer.  Once the front door has been unlocked for you to enter, you will need to check in at the Main Office window where you’ll be greeted by Ms. Katy Frey, who is our front office receptionist (also known in our office, and various corners of Acton and Boxborough, as the Executive Director of Office Affairs).  

For those who plan to drop off your children in the morning, I look forward to seeing you bright and early in the lower parking lot. While some of the morning traffic can be a bit of a nuisance, I have shared this site with families at the start of the last few school years as a way to offer some perspective on some of the traffic woes that we might experience over the course of the upcoming year.  For those families who are veterans of the drop-off circus process, thank you for your patience as we help new families adjust to our morning traffic routines.  

By now I hope most of you have had an opportunity to visit our school website - rjgrey.abschools.org.  We make every effort to keep the site current, and you can access a number of important school documents and connect to individual teacher websites. Every team also maintains a shared online homework calendar that can also be accessed through our school website.  In addition, we have both an RJ Grey Twitter account and Instagram account - please consider signing up for one or both!  These accounts will repeat some information that will always be included in our Daily Announcements, and also gives us a platform to share some fun photos and notes about activities taking place within the school.  

There’s a few upcoming events and activities that I want to make sure families have on their respective radars:

A friendly reminder that we do not have school next Monday, September 13 as it is Rosh Hashana.  A happy new year to those of you who observe that holiday.  There will be no homework or assessments scheduled to be due for the following day (Tuesday).

Our Fall interscholastic sports programs start this Wednesday, September 6 in terms

of tryouts (except for Cross Country which is a no-cut program, and has an informational meeting at the start of the following week).  For all information on our Athletics programs, visit this page.  Please remember that all students who plan to participate in tryouts must have completed the “Family ID” registration process.  This process is taking the place of the paper “Green Forms” that were required in prior years. Details and instructions are posted on our Athletics website.

This year, our school musical will be Annie and auditions will be taking place later this month. Audition workshops will be held on Sept. 12 (for Music) and Sept. 13 (for Dance), and attendance at both workshops is mandatory.  The auditions themselves are schedule for Sept. 18 and Sept. 20, and attendance is expected for both days as well. Visit our Theatre Arts page for additional details and information.  

Our annual School Picture Day is scheduled for Monday, September 24th.  When we get closer to that date, we will send an order form home with students.  No need to prepare for it now, just wanted you all to know the date.

Within the next week or two, our website will include a list of clubs and afterschool activities that are open for all students to join. We’re hoping to offer many of the same clubs and activities as previous years, along with some new offerings that emerge over the course of the year.  

This coming week will include a few safety-related activities and conversations with the students, and so I want to make mention and provide important reminders about both the technical and relationship-focused strategies that are associated with our efforts to maintain a safe learning environment.  As previously mentioned above, our schools have locked entrances during the school day and a protocol for entering the school. Additionally, there are cameras positioned (only) in the main entrance and hallway areas within the school. These decisions did not come lightly and certainly speak to the increasing complexities and responsibilities that school districts must address regarding student safety and addressing behaviors that might violate community values. What I want to emphasize to families is that those practices don’t replace our more important efforts and dedication to developing relationships with students that focus on a culture of mutual respect.  In the classroom, on teams, and as a whole school, we know how essential it is to emphasize messaging about our individual and shared responsibilities for establishing a positive school climate for everyone. Helping students this age develop skills and strategies to manage peer conflicts, difficult conversations, and decision making during challenging moments are not only “school safety strategies”, but are in and of themselves a part of the learning experience that is central to a successful middle school education.

Along with the first of four fire drills that we hold annually, we’ll also be hosting two all-grade assemblies to re-introduce students to the recently adopted ALICE protocol.   Given that ALICE training is specifically focused on responding to a situation involving an armed intruder, we do plan to approach our conversation with students as thoughtfully as possible.  Students at this age present an interesting dilemma - they are usually savvy enough to quickly see through any use of ambiguous language to describe why we are introducing ALICE. At the same time, we have to be mindful of the fact that 12 to 14-year olds still need help processing what is an inherently messy and upsetting topic. We want students to have an appropriate level of awareness and preparation, and we also want avoid having the experience be anxiety-inducing.  So it’s a delicate balance we work hard to establish and of which we are mindful during our presentations.

Finally, Back to School Night will be on Wednesday, September 26 - save the date!  On that evening, we ask parents to vote for two 7th grade parent/guardian representatives who will serve on this year's School Council.  The School Council is comprised of 4 parents, three RJ Grey staff members, and yours truly. The role of the School Council is to review and discuss various aspects of the school's activities and goals, and offer advice and guidance about different topics that may emerge during the year.  The Council will meet seven times this year, on Monday evenings (October 16 being the first one). We are again looking for two 7th grade parents to serve a two-year term.  If you are a 7th grade parent interested in serving on the Council, please submit a short (4-6 sentences) paragraph about yourself by noon on Friday, September 21st. Write-ups can be sent to me at [email protected].  

Have a great week, everyone.  Welcome back.

Cheers,