Hi Everyone,
I think it’s a safe bet that many of you, like me, dusted off your chauffeur's cap this past week as you brought your kids, and likely other kids, to a combination of extracurricular activities, sports practices and games, lessons, or rehearsals. If any of you have a 5th grade son whose soccer team played a game at Cutting Field in Sudbury on Saturday, my 14-year old son was one of the line judges for his game. When my own kids compete against a team from AB, the collision of my worlds is already a bit awkward. Now that Hayden might actually be a referee for a game involving teams from AB, I’m semi-dreading the inevitable when one of his calls during a competitive moment results in some kind of passionate reaction from the players, coaches, or spectators. We’ve talked about the messy situations he’ll encounter as a referee and he’s got an idea of how he will deal with it, so I’ll just sit on my hands and remind myself that practicing how to manage conflicts and disagreements is a good life experience. Along with activities and programs that are available to your kids within and beyond Acton and Boxborough, RJ Grey also offers a menu of school-sponsored extracurricular clubs and activities that our students can join. The list of options for 2019-2020 is finalized and you can view those options by clicking here. There is no fee attached to participating in these programs, except for Ski Club, Speech Team, and MathCounts (due to transportation costs and registration fees). Also, students can join most of these clubs throughout the year, so if interest in a club or activity emerges later this year, don’t hesitate to attend a meeting! We’re excited that all of the clubs offered last year will continue to be an option this year, except for Ping Pong. While Ping Pong isn’t available, we also have two new clubs, The Social Action Club with Ms. Mazonson and Ms. Walker, and Race Matters with Ms. Lin, that have been added to meet growing interest expressed by students last year around social activism, and opportunities to wrestle with issues of racism, racial identity, and discussing stories that frequent our news feeds on a daily basis. We look forward to welcoming students to all of these different options, and hope for some it’s an additional opportunity to make connections with teachers and peers.
Along with the above programs, there are two additional Fall activities I want to mention. First, we again have a tennis program available for students on our tennis courts. This is a “fee for service” option through the Marcus Lewis tennis program, though any family for whom the fee presents a financial hardship should not hesitate to contact us to make arrangements. You can learn more about the program by viewing this flyer. We will also have a girls’ volleyball clinic offered this Fall starting October 1 through November 14. This is separate and different from the Girls Volleyball program that is one of our interscholastic athletic teams offered in the Spring [i.e. doing this clinic is not a precondition for making the Volleyball team in the Spring]. This program is open to players of different abilities, including beginners, but does have a limit for the number of participants - so interested students should review the flyer and register with Mrs. Ropiak ([email protected]) who teaches at the High School. When October 1 does arrive, the volleyball clinic will be one of the many programs that takes place in our newly renovated gymnasium. Your children may or may not have mentioned that their Physical Education classes haven’t been able to be held in the gym yet-- that will change by the end of this week when the final painting
and staining of the new floor is completed. The photo to the right is from this past summer, after we removed the existing hardwood flooring that was original to the building. In next week’s Grey Matters I’ll share pictures of the renovation that not only involves a shiny new floor with lines that reflect the different sports that now use that space, but also the brand new bleachers, a gym curtain that can divide the space into two activity spaces, as well as a new scoreboard. As I noted last June, the gym at RJ Grey is one of the most heavily used spaces in our community in terms of youth and adult sports (travel basketball, volleyball, adult badminton, camps, etc.), so it makes a lot of sense for the gym renovation to be on the earlier side of our District’s multi-year capital improvement plan that Peter Light has been introducing to the community over the course of this past year. I also want to note that along with a funding commitment from our District’s capital budget, the renovation of our gym would not be possible without the financial support of our Community Education program and groups like ABSAF.
Another reminder that RJ Grey’s Back to School Night will be on Thursday, 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. Rest assured that schedules for that evening will be coming home. We will also have a copy of your child’s schedule available at the school in case the copy that your child is supposed to give you somehow gets lost in transit. 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 7). We are still looking for 7th grade parents who are interested in serving on the Council. If you have any interest, please submit a short (4-6 sentences max) paragraph about yourself by Noon on Monday, September 23rd 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. One way they do this is through a weekly newsletter that you can receive by signing up here. 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). Did I also mention no fundraisers? To learn more about the PTSO, you can visit their site by clicking here.
A couple of important scheduling reminders for the next few weeks:
Picture Day is Friday, Sept. 27. Students will be receiving an order form closer to that date, and I’ll send a note when they are expected to go out to families. Students who plan to order photos should bring the order form (and payment) on the 27th. 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].
At the end of this week RJ Grey families will be receiving an email from me about our upcoming plans for students and staff to participate in a practice drill of our ALICE protocol. Given the nature of the protocol I want to make sure families have an understanding of the scope and goal of the exercise. That letter will likely be sent towards the end of this week. When you receive that letter I would appreciate you taking a few moments to review our plans for that drill.
There is no school on Monday, September 30th as it is Rosh Hashanah. There will be no homework or assessments scheduled to be due/taken on the following day (Tuesday).
As many of you know, Massachusetts passed a comprehensive law in 2010 to address incidents of bullying and harassment in schools. Among other aspects of the law, it calls for every school to implement a research-based curriculum that addressed bullying prevention and prosocial behavior. This year, we are continuing our use of a curriculum created by the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC), an organization based at Bridgewater State that has been heavily involved in the state’s recent efforts to address bullying and harassment in school. This curriculum will be delivered through our RJ Grey Discussion Group meetings, the first of which is scheduled for Tuesday, September 24th. These groups are used to introduce our ongoing goals of having conversations with students about healthy communication, problem solving, and conflict resolution.
Similar to previous years, we will also continue to incorporate speakers and presentations that we feel can complement and expand our work in this area. For 7th grade students, we have again scheduled a great presentation by MARC specifically on cyberbullying and internet safety. The presentation by MARC will take place for 7th grade students on December 13th and will again be led by Meghan McCoy (from MARC) who has worked with our school for several years, and is very familiar with our student audience.
Finally, I want to make sure families in Acton and Boxborough are aware of a service that focuses on mental health services, and through a partnership between the school district and several local organizations, is available to everyone in our two communities. William James Interface is a local initiative in Massachusetts intending to maintain an extensive, frequently updated website listing of available mental health resources by geography and type, and provides a free, confidential mental health and wellness referral line Monday through Friday, 9 am-5 pm, at 888-244-6843. Callers are matched with licensed mental health providers that meet the location, insurance, and specialty needs of the caller. Each referral is provided with follow-up assistance. For more information, you can visit the Interface website here.
Have a great week, everyone.
Cheers,
