Hi Everyone,
Last Wednesday was a pretty festive day for the Boston area, given that Halloween and the parade in Boston celebrating the World Series victory by the Red Sox both fell on that day. 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, and congratulations to 8th grade student Will Smith who won our friendly Halloween costume competition (photo to the right). Having Halloween in the middle of the week tends to make for a long and tiring week, something I lamented last year in Grey Matters, where I also hinted at leading a future campaign to have Halloween always fall on the last Saturday of October. Well, this year the Halloween & Costume Association began a petition on Change.org to move Halloween to the last Saturday of the month, an effort on their part that was clearly inspired by someone sending them a copy of the edition of Grey Matters that suggested this switch. It’s more likely that they were motivated by the idea of having a full day (Saturday) devoted to the holiday each year and the financial gains that might accompany that switch, but it’s more fun to pretend that I somehow inspired this campaign which has currently secured over 55,000 signatures. Now that the effort to move Halloween to the weekend is in someone else’s hands, I can now turn my attention to another campaign that will hopefully lead to an important change - specifically, a petition to require all Major League Baseball playoff games to start no later than 7pm Eastern Standard Time. I know a lot of this is about television market shares, and start times on the West Coast, so maybe the fact that ratings for this year’s World Series was down 23 percent from last year might lead to adjustments that offer relief for those of us who need to wake up at a reasonable hour the next day. On a related note, we have noticed a bit of an uptick in the number of students who are arriving to school right at, or shortly after, the 8:00am start to the day. We appreciate that morning drop-offs still involve a good deal of maneuvering through traffic in and around the school campus, and I’d still like to offer some encouragement and a plea to help your students arrive to school before 8:00am so their day doesn’t start so rushed.
For our families who observe Diwali, the festival of lights, I hope any plans you have for later this week proves to be full of joy and celebration with friends and family. Two years ago I came across this article in the Washington Post, written by someone who uses her family’s celebration of Diwali to reflect on the dynamics that often accompany a bicultural upbringing and formation of identity. I share it again knowing that the experience of straddling different worlds and cultures is familiar to many of you. Perhaps this piece also offers a voice and perspective that may resonate with those in the Indian community, as well as an opportunity for a bit learning by the rest of us. Please know that there will be no homework due Thursday, the day after Diwali, nor will there be any assessments scheduled for Thursday.
Here’s some reminders that are important for families this week and beyond:
The Dr. Sharon Maxwell event is this Monday (tomorrow)! She will be presenting “Who's Raising Our Kids? Nurturing Human Values in a Digital World”, focusing on the impact that “digital saturation” is having on how our children think about themselves, and how it’s changing the way children socialize and communicate. This districtwide event will be held in the RJ Grey Auditorium on Monday, November 5 from 7:00 to 9:00pm and is open to all members of the A-B community.
There is no school for all students in the District this Tuesday, November 6. Staff will be participating in professional learning during the day. Tuesday is also Election Day and the RJ Grey gymnasium will continue to serve as a voting station for many Actonresidents.
There is also no school for all students next Monday, November 12 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 the Wednesday after we return from 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.
For families with students who have attended our Open Gym basketball hours after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, there are no more sessions this Fall. With Winter Sports around the corner, we had already scheduled a pause on Open Gym in a few weeks, and we are stopping a bit earlier so we can revisit how we structure that activity. Prior to this year, Open Gym had on average only a handful of students in attendance. So when 50 to 70 plus students began to consistently show up it admittedly caught us a bit flat-footed and without the supervision and set-up to ensure a safe and appropriate setting, and a format that would allow everyone a chance to play. Our hope is to use the time before the Spring season to design an option that meets this increased interest and ensures the right level of supervision given the physical activity involved with Open Gym.
Thank you to the families who continue to drop off a box or ten boxes of Kleenex to the school so we can pass them along to classrooms and fight the good fight against the perpetual runny nose. Keep them coming!
On Monday, 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. Starting last year, one of the three conferences will be scheduled in the evening (January 3 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 4). This Wednesday, families will also receive an email from us that includes the link to the form that you should complete if you wish to schedule conferences with some (or all) of your child’s teachers.
Here’s an initial and exciting Save the Date! announcement regarding our annual Junior High musical. This year’s musical is Annie, and performances will be from December 6 through December 9. Performances will be at 7pm each evening, with an additional 2pm show on Saturday, December 8. 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 Calista Barnett (7 Blue) who has been selected as this month’s Artist of the Month. When Calista was asked about the first work of art that she made that she remembers being proud of, she replied: "The first artwork I remember making that I was really proud of was a collage I made out of leaves when I was in preschool. I decided to create a girl, and even though it wasn’t that good (It was very messy), I loved it!" Congratulations to Calista and you can click here to view her art work (also on display in our school lobby).
Finally, the RJ Grey community's annual Coats For Families Drive will continue through the month of November. This is the 23rd year of the Coat Drive here and it is an annual fall RJ Grey tradition. Thank you to 7 Red for serving this year as the stewards of this program. Good condition, wearable, winter coats and jackets for children and adults are dropped off in the box in the lobby. They will be taken to Anton's Cleaners by 7 Red where they will be cleaned free of charge. They are then delivered to agencies like the Salvation Army and Mass Coalition For The Homeless who get them to those who are in need of a good, warm winter coat. Please be a part of this very worthy cause. The box will be in the lobby during the month of November.
Have a great week, everyone.
Cheers,
