Hi Everyone,
Our school district just recently submitted our proposed operating budget for the next school year, which includes funding for staffing, programs, and capital planning. I am glad it was well-received by our School Committee and am now wondering if it’s too late to sneak in an additional item that I only came across earlier this week that I am convinced will increase productivity in the Junior High Principal’s office, specifically a newly designed work desk that easily converts to a space for an afternoon nap (see photo to right). I don’t know if it’s the nature of the work, or the stage of life I am in (read: getting older and not on the TB12 diet), but the idea of a quick nap in the early afternoon often feels like just the thing that would make the rest of the day go smoothly. Depending on the outcome of tonight’s Super Bowl, a nap desk may be exactly what I need tomorrow around mid-morning. On a related note, the Junior High and High School are now entering our sixth month with later start times in the morning, having shifted from 7:30am to 8:00am at the Junior High for this current school year. I wanted to make mention of this for two reasons. First, A-B is preparing a series of surveys geared towards students, staff, and families about the change in start times, and hoping to collect feedback and information about the benefits and challenges that they may have observed and experienced this year. When those surveys are sent out I would encourage everyone to take a few minutes to participate - the more data the better. My second reason for bringing up the shift in start times has to do with patterns of tardiness at the Junior High. Last year, I was optimistic that pushing start times to 8:00am would, among other things, reduce the number of students who arrive tardy to school (either occasionally or more chronically). You may or may not be surprised to learn that our tardiness rate this year is approximately double what we had during the same period of time last school year. I don’t bring this up in an effort to shame or finger-wag at anyone, but instead to inform and start a bit of a dialogue about it. To be sure, there will be times throughout the year when morning routines have hiccups - planned and unplanned - where a student might arrive late to school, and that’s life and to be expected. The challenge and concern is when those late arrivals becomes a bit more habitual and casual. A pattern of running into school even at 8:00am or a few minutes right after the bell means that the day is starting a bit frenzied (and if multiplied by many students, waiting in line to check in and get a pass to head to class may take additional time). I will admit that I’m not quite sure what to make of this increase in student tardiness and our School Council recently brainstormed and speculated on a few potential contributing factors without reaching any conclusions we felt certain about. Is the change in traffic patterns to and from school in the morning substantially different? Is the new start time colliding more with parent/guardian work schedules and routines? Do more Junior High students get rides from older high school siblings whose days now start a but after our school day? Are more kids sleeping longer and later? As we work through these questions and speculate on other ones, I would like to ask families to consider helping us make sure that students get to school ahead of the morning bell so they can begin the day more grounded. I deliver this request appreciating that families often need to juggle a lot of things each weekday morning and if there are adjustments that you’re able to make in support of this goal, I hope you’ll consider it. Finally, if in your home there is an increase in tardiness that you see as less about logistics and potentially related to struggles or concerns with/about school, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s counselor to begin a conversation about how we can work together on those issues. (P.S. please let your kids know that if the Patriots are victorious this evening, we are not delaying the start of school, we can celebrate at during the regularly scheduled school day….)
Here’s a couple of updates and reminders for the next few weeks:
We have our next early release scheduled for this Thursday, February 7. This will be a professional learning session for staff, and students will be dismissed at 11:06am. Please plan accordingly.
A reminder to families of 8th grade students that the High School is hosting an information session regarding the upcoming transition to the High School. I know, it felt like yesterday that they were in elementary school. Once you’ve recovered from that time warp, please refer to the email message that was sent to 8th grade families last week from the High School administration about the event that will be this Wednesday, February 6 from 7pm to 8:30pm (at the High School) and is intended for parents/guardians only.
February Vacation starts at the end of the school day on Friday, February 15. Please note that February 15 is a full day and will end with our annual Blue & Gold Assembly (more on that next week). If your family has travel plans that will involve taking your kids out before this date, please take a moment to inform the Main Office ([email protected]) and your child’s teachers.
ABSAF, the community organization that works to raise funds to support student activities and programs at the Junior High and High School is in the process of accepting nominations for their Board for the upcoming 2018-2019 school year. Students who are interested in a 2-year leadership role and want to be considered by the nomination committee can apply by completing the attached questionnaire and returning it to their nomination chair, Casey Eaton. Their deadline for the application is February 11th. The link also includes an FAQ that provides additional information about ABSAF.
We had our latest round of Everyday Leaders take place last week, and what a lively bunch who made our lunch together a highlight of the week for me. Congratulations to this group of Everyday Leaders: Maria Araujo, Abigail Bayer, Matthew Chytil, Siena Kolpin, Connor Nannene, Isabelle Shee, Karen Ssuubi, Henry Tshabalala, Irene Tsitlenko, Mona Yoshiki Franzen, and Charlotte Yourk. 
Finally, I want to wish those in our community who celebrates Chinese New Year a happy and festive new year as we enter the Year of the Pig. For those who may share my delight in the culinary aspects of different cultures and holidays, here’s an article from the the Los Angeles Times in 2017 that profiled foods for a Chinese New Year feast, and here’s a more recent article in the Boston Globe about a few local places to consider eating as part of the upcoming festivities. As many of us prepare to watch the Super Bowl later this evening, you can go here and watch a brief video from two years ago of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady wishing everyone a happy Chinese New Year in Mandarin Chinese, or at least making a sincere effort. I applaud the effort, and I am relieved that he won’t need to be calling offensive plays this evening in Mandarin.
Have a great week, everyone.
Cheers,
