Eye on the Junior High: 8/28/25

Posted Date: 8/28/25 (4:09 PM)

Good afternoon, RJ Grey Families:

If you are a first-time parent or guardian at RJ Grey, welcome! If you're a returning parent or guardian, welcome back! I use this weekly message series to share info with all of our families, so I encourage you to take just a few minutes to read through it when it arrives in your inbox each Thursday afternoon or evening.

We have finished our second day of school, and I am happy to report that all is well at RJ Grey! I hope your child reports feeling pretty positive about their first days. Other feelings, such as being slightly overwhelmed, tired, or a bit confused, are all totally normal and will dissipate with time. Our staff is also experiencing those same feelings right now, so they're in good company. The rest of my message highlights a few important topics as we all start the year together.

Cell Phones
RJ Grey has always had procedures that limit student cell phone use in school. Students have always been expected to store their cell phones in their lockers from 8:00 until 2:36. Inevitably, students would forget or choose to keep their phones on them throughout the day. For some recent years, my own thinking was, "as long as they're not a distraction, it's fine." This summer, I spent some more time with the book, The Anxious Generation. The biggest takeaway for me is that, regardless of being in silent mode or with any other workaround, the mere presence of a cell phone near a person's body is causing a distraction. As such, we have started the year firmly by telling students that cell phones need to be turned off and placed in lockers all day. Thank you for your support in this work. And thank you for not texting or calling your children during the day! If you ever need to reach your child in an emergency, you are welcome to call us in the Main Office, and we will deliver any important messages.

Morning Arrival
Our morning arrival has gone very well over the past two days. We hope to keep it up! Our school day officially begins at 8 am each day. Anyone arriving after the 8:00 bell will be marked tardy. This is not as a consequence, but more a matter of accurate record keeping. Over the years, we've seen a rise in tardiness to homeroom, and sometimes it's by students have been in the building for over 10 minutes or more! The allure of friends and walking the halls was making them late. This year, we are requiring any student who's already in the building to be in homeroom at 7:55. The only students remaining in the halls at 7:56, for example, will be students still coming into the building for the first time. We believe that being here early and having all of their necessary materials ready to go will lead to more productive learning and better-engaged students. Thank you for your work on this and for making sure that your kids are on time!

Fall Athletics
Our fall sports seasons kick off on Tuesday (click here for more info). If your child is interested in playing a fall sport, they need to have a current physical exam on file in our Health Office, and you need to complete the Family ID in order to try out.

Daily Announcements
If you haven't already done so, I invite at least one parent/guardian per child to sign up for our Daily Announcements message through Parent Square. The Main Office sends out our daily announcements each morning, and it helps families stay up-to-date with what's happening at RJ Grey. You can join the group by clicking here.

Thanks for sending your kids to us this week. It has been great to see their excitement, and they've made our quiet summer hallways full of life again. I hope you have a great weekend!

Take care,
Jim

Upcoming Dates

Monday, Sept 1: No School for Labor Day
Monday, Sept 8: Library closed to students after school
Tuesday, Sept 9: iReady Reading Diagnostic for all students
Monday, Sept 15: Early Release at 1 pm
Tuesday, Sept 16: iReady Math Diagnostic for all students
Friday, Sept 19: School Picture Day

Transportation

Athletics

Student Resources

Eye on the Junior High: 8/28/25