Hi Everyone,
Earlier this week, an RJ Grey student reached out to me to make sure I knew that she and a few classmates were planning a student walkout for the following day to demand action on climate change, an issue about which they had passionate feelings. I had a chance to meet with two of the students ahead of time and we had a really healthy and productive discussion about their specific plans and goals, as well as many of the complicating factors in terms of how a school might need to view or respond to these plans. We also talked about student activism in general, and how competing goals might collide with each other in these types of situations. In this case, how does a school community support the development of student voice and activism, while also meeting its obligations around safety and avoiding disruptions to classes and instruction? Because of the relatively short amount of time before the expected walkout, I decided that for this particular moment we were going to have a “hold harmless” approach to any student who participated in this walkout and focused our time and energy on safety and supervision of the situation. When the time for the scheduled walkout arrived, approximately 200 students participated by leaving their classes and gathering on one of our school fields. To be sure, a number of those students participated because of a sincere interest in the issue of climate change, and a few of those students prepared speeches to deliver to others in attendance. I think I can also say with confidence that a number of students who participated did so less for the stated reason, and more for the novelty of walking out of class and engaging in some boundary-testing that would not involve any consequences. With a bit of impromptu adult guidance and supervision, the walkout gathering lasted about 25 minutes and the students were generally respectful of the students who spoke.
I know that the organizers felt really excited about how things turned out, and I would too if I were them. I also appreciate that they know through our discussions why I have mixed feelings about the approach we took with the walkout and that my concerns come from a place of good intentions. They know that I’m in that “I want to support you, but….” place. Specifically, I’m not sure that in general, a “hold harmless” approach to walkouts is the correct response moving forward, for a couple of reasons. First, as a matter of principle, if we want students to fully understand the choices involved with acts of civil disobedience, then it might be appropriate to hold them to the natural consequences that would come with a decision to cut a class and potentially creating a (peaceful) disruption to the school day. Indeed, the power of civil disobedience comes from individuals saying that they care enough about a topic to accept the consequences that they know or anticipate will result from those actions. We want to encourage young people to develop a sense of agency around things they care about, and I think making some of these choices a bit messier for them might need to be a part of that process. I also, as a practical matter, have to always consider issues of safety and appropriate supervision of students given our responsibilities while your kids are with us during the day. Having a response where students get the impression that we will accommodate and work around any plans of this kind would be, I feel, a bit problematic. Separate from these considerations, last week’s conversations did make me think about additional avenues and forums -- beyond the walkout method -- that we can help young people consider and access, where they will be part of a dialogue about those issues and concerns that are most important to them. I share the above thinking partially as a therapeutic exercise for myself (i.e. if I have to think about these questions, I’m bringing you all with me), and to acknowledge and engage with all of you in another area of our work in schools that is inherently grey and requires a bit of thought.
Here’s a couple of updates and reminders for families:
We originally scheduled the annual 8th Grade class photo to be taken last Friday, and then, shockingly, it rained all day. We are going to try and have the photo taken this coming Tuesday, and early forecasts suggest that the skies will cooperate. As a reminder, this is a panoramic photo that we take outside on the hill by the football field, and order forms were distributed to 8th grade students last week. If you have any questions or need any sort of financial assistance, please contact David Lawrence at [email protected].
Next Monday is Memorial Day and there will be no school that day. Enjoy the long weekend!
On Tuesday, June 18 (second to last day of school), both grades will be participating in their respective end-of-year field trips, and permission slips will be distributed to students in the very near future. As in previous years, the 7th grade will be going to Kimball Farm where they have full access to the bumper boats, miniature golf course, driving range, and other activities; the 8th grade will be going to Canobie Lake amusement park in New Hampshire. These field trips have historically been great and memorable parts of our year-end activities. We also appreciate that the RJ Grey community includes families that may find the cost of these trips difficult to absorb. Like all of our other trips and activities, we never want cost to prevent anyone from participating. Please do not hesitate to let us know if some relief from these field trip costs would be helpful to your family.
“What is the quotient of 5040 divided by the product of its unique prime factors?” After answering that question correctly in less than 22.5 seconds, 8 Green student Daniel Mai was named the 2019 Raytheon National MathCounts champion at its annual competition in Orlando, Florida. Daniel was one of 224 competitors from across the United States, all of whom earned a place at the competition after competing with 90,000 other students in local and state competitions. If you’re interested, you can view the final round of the competition on ESPN, which was hosted by Wil Wheaton of Star Trek and The Big Bang Theory fame. When Daniel returned to RJ Grey late last week classmates on his team hosted a small victory celebration, and the photo to the right is with his math teacher, Ms. Kelly. Congratulations to Daniel whose ice-in-the-veins facial expressions and calm and collected demeanor throughout the final round were what I enjoyed most while watching the match unfold.
I’m pleased and excited to be sharing with everyone information about our sixth annual Empty Bowls event. The Empty Bowls event will take place this year on Thursday, June 6 from 5:30pm to 7:00pm. This is an evening of art, singing and ice cream! Students will showcase their art and singing talents and invite families to a charity ice cream social. There will be an art show, Select Choir performance, a silent auction, and of course the charity ice cream social. 7th grade students made handcrafted ceramic bowls in their art classes and families that participate will get to take home a handcrafted bowl as a reminder of the vast number of hungry families around the world and right here in our own community. The money raised from this event will be donated to the Acton Community Supper and Acton Food Pantry. This organization helps to feed many hungry families in the greater Acton area. This event has helped raise $1000 for the charity each year. Families from throughout the District are welcome, not just those with students at the Junior High. The ice cream social is $5 per person with a $20 family maximum. The rest of the event is free and we hope many of you are able to carve out some time to join us. 
A few weeks ago Acton-Boxborough hosted a workshop about the rise of vaping and use of electronic cigarettes by adolescents. This workshop featured Mary Cole, Program Coordinator for the Greater Boston Tobacco-Free Community Partnership. For those who were not able to attend but are still interested in the discussion, the evening’s discussion was recorded and posted to the District’s Youtube page, which you can access by clicking here. In addition to that video, here is a TedMed Talk that a colleague sent my way and features biobehavioral scientist Suchitra Krishan-Sarin who offers a very useful overview of electronic cigarettes and what is actually being inhaled when an individual engages in vaping - including providing the distinction between a vapor and an aerosol.
I’ve recently passed along a “save the date” for our end-of-year 8th grade celebration, which is scheduled for Friday, June 14th. I also provided 7th grade families with their own “save the date” for a 7th grade celebration that we are planning for Friday, May 31st and will be at 7pm. This week, I’d like to pass along some information about the 8th Grade Celebration from Carol Chytil, Deb Verner and Ranjini Reddy, the RJ Grey parents who (thankfully) are again coordinating the planning of this event. Usually at least 350 students attend this event, so we rely heavily on the many volunteers who help make this evening a special way to end the year. Parents or guardians of 7th and 8th graders are needed for the following jobs: set up after school on June 22nd; clean up after the dance; food and drink donations. In past years, 7th grade Parent/Guardian Volunteers "pay it forward" so that parents of 8th graders can focus on their own children's participation in this important event. As a volunteer, you'll also get a preview of what your child will enjoy next year! Coming soon will be a “Sign Up Genius” that invites parents and guardians to sign up to help in various capacities. This will also be sent out via the PTSO weekly newsletter. If you have questions, please free to contact Carol at [email protected].
Have a great week, everyone.
Cheers,
