Hi Everyone,
An article popped up in my social media feed this morning entitled, “Recipes to keep you occupied and well-fed on a snow day.” I smiled, and selfishly thought, “don’t need to read that, and hoping I won’t have reason to for the rest of this year.” The lack of snow this year has now become the storyline, and some have even begun to call it a snow drought and wondering if it’s still not a matter of if, but a matter of when, and then how much (in sort of pay now, or pay later, mentality). Not being one who participates much in winter-oriented activities such as skiing or ice skating, my only current reason for lamenting the lack of snow is that I think some well-timed snowfall this afternoon could enhance the home field advantage that one hopes the New England Patriots have over the accustomed-to-warm-and-sunny-weather Los Angeles Chargers. Given that this edition of Grey Matters will land in your respective Inboxes after the conclusion of the game, hopefully the cold temperatures and inspired play by the hometown team was enough for a victory over the Chargers.
Here’s some updates and reminders for the next week or so:
Interim reports for this current Winter Trimester will be emailed to families at the end of this week. Please remember that this includes any email addresses currently listed on your child’s Emergency Card. Not all students will necessarily receive an interim and if your child does receive one or more, please take a moment to review the feedback and information with him/her/them. If you have any questions about those interims, I would encourage you to start a dialogue with your child’s teacher.
The Winter Band Concert is this Tuesday at 7pm in the auditorium.
There is no school on Monday, January 21st for the Martin Luther King, Jr. long weekend. Per our Homework Policy, there will be no homework assigned for that long weekend.
I received this note about an opportunity for students interested in coding and wanted to pass it along: The Girls Who Code club is starting up again this Spring for AB students in 6th through 8th grade. Hosted at the Acton Memorial Library, this free, nationally recognized program is a fun introduction to computer science and technology careers, where girls learn coding skills and create a small group project together using Scratch, JavaScript, or Python. This year's curriculum will focus on beginners, so no experience is necessary. Lessons are co-taught by high-school student volunteers and an adult facilitator. Space is limited to 20 students. Participants must have access to a laptop computer that they can bring to meetings. The club meets at the Acton Memorial Library from 9am to 11am on Saturdays, February through June. Interested students should pre-register here. Questions? AB students can email [email protected]
Here’s an important message about RJ Grey Yearbooks. Families have received notifications earlier this year directly from our Yearbook publisher about options to order a yearbook. Our book this year consists of 70+ colored pages full of 7th and 8th graders participating in school activities, clubs, sports, and special events. The hardcover book will include survey responses, fun photos, student art and poetry, and everything in between. The deadline to purchase yearbooks is coming up - Tuesday, January 22. The cost of the book is $37 and can be ordered one of two ways: The preferred way is to purchase the book online, by going to this link and entering our school ID: 13545. When you get directed to our school’s page, click the “buy a yearbook” option on the left and then (1) put in the quantity and click “buy these items”; (2) click “buy these items for a student” and type in your child's name; you will then be prompted to select the student from our school's database; (3) pay by credit card and then save your email receipt for record purposes. If you prefer not to order online, students may also go the more traditional route and order a yearbook with cash or check made out to RJ Grey. They should complete this form and bring payment to Main Office, to the attention of Mr. Lewis. Important: Please make sure to include a note with the student’s name, grade, and homeroom teacher’s name. We know this is something your child will enjoy receiving in June. We hope also that years from now your child will look back at their RJ Grey experience with fond memories and know this yearbook will be a way for them to do just that!
Now a message from me about yearbooks and other school-related costs. If the cost of the yearbook presents a financial hardship for your family, please do not hesitate to contact us and we can have a discrete and simple conversation, and we always make things work. I’d like to use our discussion about yearbook orders to offer a general but important reminder to all families that we never want the cost of any school-related program or activity to prevent a student from fully accessing important school programs or experiences. It is inevitable that we will need to attach a fee to some programs, trips, or optional things that are “extra” and if there are moments when cost does present a dilemma for your family, I hope you’ll feel comfortable reaching out to your child’s counselor and/or Assistant Principal who will be happy to work with you on a solution.
Thank you to the many 7th grade families who have already submitted their signed consent forms regarding our upcoming plans to present the Signs of Suicide (SOS) lesson and screening tool to our 7th grade teams. We had about 30 parents/guardians attend last Monday’s information session with Riverside Trauma Center and I hope those in attendance found it useful. The signed consent forms were due this past Friday, January 11 and we will continue to accept forms from families this week. Please also remember that students who don’t submit the consent form will be scheduled to participate in the lesson but not the screening tool. We are scheduled to deliver the SOS lesson on January 22, 24, 28, and 30 (one team per day). 7 Red will be scheduled for January 22, 7 Gold will participate on January 24, 7 Blue will be on January 28, and finally 7 Green will participate on January 30. I will send all families a note later this week to remind everyone of this schedule and the resources available to families.
Also, another important reminder that the Eliot Community Human Services (with a location in Concord), with a Healthy Teen Initiative Grant from the AB United Way, will conduct a suicide prevention workshop for members of our adult community on Tuesday, January 29 at 6:00pm, also in our Junior High Library. QPR - Question, Persuade and Refer is a community-wide program that teachers the warning signs of suicide and an effective emergency response. People trained in QPR learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade and refer someone for help. If you are interested in attending, please contact Dr. Deborah Garfield at [email protected].
Have a great week, everyone.
Cheers,
