Hi Everyone,
With Halloween falling on a Thursday this year, it feels like we are finishing up an extended and super-sized weekend. That feeling has only been compounded by what seems to be an endless stream of end-of-fall activities, sports tournaments, and that thing that I hope eventually goes away -- Daylight Savings Time (a topic for a different Grey Matters). Our family’s version of this never ending weekend has made me realize that I’m not as spry as I used to be, though it is also possible that the stream of candy and chocolate that I continue to borrow from my kids’ trick or treating stash has played a role in my not feeling terribly healthy. Amongst all of our activities, I also took our two younger kids to get flu shots at a clinic being hosted by their pediatrician’s office on Saturday morning. When we reached the front of a very long line, the nurse asked me for Parker and Addie’s respective ages. I looked at her, I looked at them, I looked at her again, tilted my head, mumbled some total gibberish and then said, “uh, Addie, why don’t you answer that?” This moment elicited a whole chorus of chuckles from the rest of the patients lined up behind us, and an older gentleman saying, “welcome to the club.” If you and your kids also participated in the Halloween festivities, I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable time - both during the day, and later on that evening. We had many students who came in a variety of playful and clever costumes for our Dress Up Day, and congratulations to 8th grade student Meghan Frye who won our friendly Halloween costume competition (photo above).
Now that Winter is soon approaching, it is time to think about dusting off those skis and snowboards. Ski and Board Club will start Tuesday, January 7, 2020. It will run for 6 weeks on Tuesdays. If your child would like to sign up for the club, you can sign up online and review/download all the necessary documents by going to our school website or clicking here. Please direct any questions to the club advisor, Lana Paone ([email protected]). The deadline for registration is December 6th.
Later this week, I will be sending all families an email about the annual parent-teacher conference sessions that we offer during three dates in December and January. That email will provide families with an overview of the conferences and some things to consider before signing up. Similar to the last two years, one of the three conferences will be scheduled in the evening (January 9 from 5-8pm). Our school recognizes that there are families within our community for whom mid-day conferences can present enough of a hardship and challenge that they would be unable to consider participating. This may include parents/guardians who do not have as much flexibility with their respective work schedules, or have family responsibilities that are not easily adjusted. Our hope is that an evening conference will better accommodate and support the varied schedules that our families have to navigate. While there will not be an early release from school on the day of the evening conferences, there will be an early release for students and staff on the following day (January 10). Shortly after my letter about the conferences families will also receive an email from us that includes a link to the form that you should complete if you wish to schedule conferences with your child’s teachers.
Here’s some reminders that are important for families this week and beyond:
There is no school for all students in the District this Tuesday, November 5. Staff will be participating in professional learning during the day.
There is also no school for all students next Monday, November 11 as it’s Veteran’s Day. Many thanks to those in our community who have served, and continue to serve, in our military.
Last week I included some messaging for families of 8th grade students who may be applying to private schools. If you haven’t already, please take a moment to review that message.
Thanksgiving Break is coming up and I know that many are looking forward to that annual holiday and the opportunity to spend it with family and friends. The end of the Fall Trimester is Wednesday, November 20th - the week before the Thanksgiving Break. I want families to be aware of this timing so they can keep that in mind as they continue to support their students in having a strong finish to this first marking period.
Here’s an initial and exciting Save the Date! announcement regarding our annual Junior High musical. This year’s musical is James and the Giant Peach, and performances will be from December 5th through December 8th. The RJ Grey musical is not only a great annual event for members of our school community, but is always a wonderful event from other members of our larger Acton-Boxborough community. Next week I’ll be sharing additional information about purchasing tickets. 
As we enter November we have another R.J. Grey Artist of the Month. Congratulations to Nina Abroff of 8 Gold who has been selected as this month’s Artist of the Month. When Nina was asked about how she thinks she will make space in her future for art, she replied: "I would like to go to an art college, like Mass Art. Maybe for a career, I would like to do Disney character design, or graphic design, or web design. But I also want to just continue making art and drawing a lot" Congratulations to Nina and you can click here to view her art work (also on display in our school lobby).
Finally, we had our most recent edition of Poetry Fridays at the end of last week, with a reading by Mr. Malloy of Small Kindnesses by Danusha Lameris. This is a poem that was recently highlighted by fellow poet Naomi Shihab Nye in the New York Times with a note about how the poem feels “utterly necessary for our time -- a poem celebrating minor, automatic graciousness within a community, which can shine a penetrating light. It’s a catalog of small encouragements, unfolding as might a child’s palm filled with shiny stones. It almost feels like another hope we remember having.” If you have an extra minute or two, I’d encourage you to read the poem by clicking here.
Have a great week, everyone.
Cheers,
