Hi Everyone,
About six years ago a friend of mine started including me in her tradition of attending the Banff Mountain Film Festival, an event that comes to the Somerville Theatre every February. The Banff Mountain Film Festival is an international film competition which involves an annual presentation of short films and documentaries about mountain culture, sports, and the environment and typically involves activities that lead most of us to say, “you’re doing what?!” This year, one of my favorite selections was a 6-minute film that documented 97-year old runner George Etzweiler’s annual participation in the Mount Washington Road Race, a 7.6 mile race up almost 4,700 feet, where he continually breaks his own record each year for oldest finisher. Called, “For the Love of Mary” (click to watch), my favorite line from the film is when George notes, “I don’t keep track of my heart rate, I have a pacemaker that takes care of that.” And then there’s yours truly who yesterday decided to scrap a planned morning 4-mile run because I felt that it was a bit too windy for my liking. With the Boston Marathon taking place a week from tomorrow, I wanted to cheer on any of our members of our community who may be preparing to run that race, and to share Mr. Etzweiler’s story as a bit of inspiration and encouragement.
On the complete other end of things (at least from my perspective), I am highlighting here a series of recently posted articles that offered competing views of the growing world of e-sports and video gaming - a subject that we’ve explored in the past and is likely a topic of interest for a number of our families. Here’s an op-ed piece in the New York Times by a columnist/parent who has bought into the Fortnite phenomenon, and a recent Washington Post piece that provides an update about a competitive esports league, in the Sports section, similar to the kinds of news and notes that many of us read regarding the latest updates on the Red Sox and Celtics. While still a very new phenomenon for many of us, this is a world that is becoming more commonplace and the norm for a growing population. Offering a very different perspective, this piece in the Boston Globe highlights a number of stories that suggest that Fortnite has had a damaging impact on the lives of many young people and their families - socially, physically, and emotionally. Along with therapists and pediatricians in the area who were quoted in the Globe, a new voice that has emerged in this debate belongs to England’s very own Prince Harry who recently declared that the game should be banned. Jus
This year’s MCAS testing begins tomorrow with 8th grade students taking the English/Language Arts portion. We hope you will encourage your kids to get a good night’s sleep before they are scheduled for an MCAS test day. We of course hope you encourage a good night’s sleep every night, but maybe place additional emphasis on it knowing they’ll be taking some assessments that are longer than what they typically experience. A good breakfast always helps! If your child is absent for one of the testing dates, there are a number of make-up dates that we have already scheduled, and we will coordinate those make-ups with students. 
All families in Acton-Boxborough recently received a note from the District about the rise of vaping and use of electronic cigarettes by adolescents, and the efforts both locally and nationally to provide important education to parents and guardians about this trend. One goal of that note was to provide an update about statewide efforts to address this concern, as well as invite families to attend an event in our community featuring Mary Cole, Program Coordinator for the Greater Boston Tobacco-Free Community Partnership. This presentation will be held on Tuesday, April 30th at 7:00pm in the Junior High auditorium. In addition Kimberly Manning, Program Coordinator at Boston Children's Hospital, will be available before the presentation with a variety of helpful vaping resources for families.
We hope that the 8th graders who attended last Friday’s dance had a fun evening together. Many thanks to the PTSO volunteers who made sure that everyone had plenty to eat and drink throughout the event: Tracey Estabrook, Mindy Fox, Fabienne Woolfolk, Donna McEnery, Sheila Bauer, and Mai Nguyen. Each year when we host this school dance in April I use it as an opportunity to encourage parents and guardians to spend ten minutes listening to one of my favorite episodes of the NPR program This American Life. First aired in October of 2011, “Middle School” includes a number of stories about this particular stage of adolescence and schooling, including a hysterical look at middle school dances. This examination was not exactly a scientific study but certainly hit on some themes and concepts that ring true for many who remember those complicated adolescent years, and certainly for those who for some reason decided to make it the setting of their professional careers. For me the best part of the section focusing on middle school dances is when two students were describing the rules and expectations that their school articulated to them in advance of a dance, some of which were shared as written guidelines that included, “No Petting.” To which the students expressed serious confusion wondering out loud, “do people sit at dances and pet other people? That’s weird.” If you are interested in listening to this episode, click here.
Finally, April Vacation is next week. Please note that Friday is a full day of school. If your travel plans involve your child missing some school we would appreciate your letting us know ahead of time so we can manage the attendance process a bit more easily. Secondly, I wanted to continue offering a reminder and encouragement to use the vacation period to prioritize “playtime” and/or downtime for your kids. Remember, there’s no homework assigned over the vacation periods, and that’s so families can comfortably attend to other activities and interests.
Have a great week and a nice April Vacation, everyone.
Cheers,
