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Good afternoon, RJ Grey Families:
I hope you are doing well. Please excuse this Friday edition of Eye on the Junior High. Yesterday was a busy day, and I didn't have the time to share the important items below. I've been lucky to be back subbing in three Spanish classes this week. I taught these classes at the beginning of the year for a few weeks. It really is amazing to be with these students in April, where they are able to use so much language. Their growth over the year is pretty amazing, and I know that our teachers experience this phenomenon every year. For me, as a temporary substitute, it's been a great reminder of the important work we do here every day!
In our ongoing efforts to make sure technology is being used appropriately, we've been working with our Ed Tech department to update our protocols about what students are able to access from their school-managed Chromebooks. I've heard from some families over the past month about how their children use technology, including at home. Thank you for continuing to share those experiences - both good and bad - with me. Earlier this year, we learned that while students can only sign into their Chromebooks using their abschools account, they have been able to open a new browser tab and log into a personal Gmail account within Chrome. This has allowed some students to access sites such as YouTube and other content that would otherwise be restricted on the school network. To address this, the EDTech team will be updating settings to prevent students from signing into personal Gmail accounts within the Chrome browser on school-issued devices. This change will happen on Monday and will help close a gap in our filtering system and reduce off-task or unfiltered use during the school day. We know this isn't the only workaround for students to access restricted sites, but I believe it's a helpful step.
We continue to have lots of positive, goodwill projects going on this week. Our Food Pantry collection drive is still going strong through next Wednesday. Specific items that would be helpful are: flavored oatmeal, nut-free granola bars, applesauce squeeze pouches, salty snacks (cheese crackers, pretzels, popcorn), Mac and cheese, boxed rice pilaf, cereal, canned pasta, and paper products like toilet paper and tissues. Students will drop off these items in their homerooms through April 16.
Our Green Team is also hosting a can and bottle drive in homeroom. Students can bring in empty (and clean) cans and bottles to their homeroom. The Green team will then recycle those products and, where possible, claim the 5-cent refund to help bolster their club's finances.
We are inching towards the end of the year, so I want to share a few dates to be aware of!
On Friday, May 8, we'll host our End-of-Year Celebration for 7th graders in the gym. This evening event is complete with music, snacks, and fun! Several hundred students usually attend and have a great time. On Friday, May 29th, we'll host a similar end-of-year celebration for our 8th graders. That event will take place in our cafeteria and will be a fun way for them to celebrate the almost end of the year.
RJ Grey always ends the year with two field trips for students. Our 8th graders will go to Canobie Lake Park on Friday, June 12. Our 7th graders will take a trip to Mel's Funway Park on Thursday, June 11. With such a late end of year this year (June 25th), we pushed the trips up several weeks to take advantage of earlier opening hours at Canobie and for us to potentially avoid being at either location with more of the public whose school year ends earlier than ours. We'll send home permission slips for these two trips after April vacation.
Have a good weekend,
Jim
Monday, April 13: Early Release at 1:00
Thursday, April 16: Spring Showcase Performances at 7 pm
Monday, April 20: - Friday, April 24: April Vacation - No School
Monday, April 27: Student Council Nomination Forms Available
Tuesday, April 28: Acton Town Elections in RJ Grey Gym
Friday, May 1: Janet Applefield (Holocaust survivor) visits 7th graders
Monday, May 4: Early Release (1 pm)
Thursday, May 7: Math MCAS
Friday, May 8: Math MCAS
Friday, May 8: 7th grade Celebration, 7 - 9 pm
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