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Good afternoon, RJ Grey Families:
I spend a good amount of time (too much) scrolling Instagram from home. If you're like me, when you walk in the door, you just need a bit of time to transition from work-mode to home-mode, and a 10-minute scroll often does wonders for me! I will take screenshots of interesting or funny memes, and I share one or two at our monthly staff meetings. I do this so that the staff can have a bit more insight into what I'm thinking about or debating in my own mind. The two images (one serious and one funny) below struck me recently, and I wanted to share:
While I know I may scroll too often, my wife and I have tried to be more intentional about reading in front of our kids. With a 6th, 3rd, and 1st grader at home, we worry that if they don't pick up reading as a regular habit now, it will be harder for them later in life! So when we can, we announce, "Book club!" and we shut off the TVs, and we force everyone (adults included) to pick up a book or an ebook. Similarly, as we've been driving to away soccer games on Saturdays, we tell our kids that they have to bring a book along and read for at least 20 minutes of the ride. Our practice is a desperate attempt by two educator parents to make sure that our kids come to love reading and all that it brings (ability to write, form arguments, communicate thoughtfully, feel empathy, etc.)! I came across an article recently that talks about reading from the perspective of a college instructor: A College Professor Explains What Happens if Your Kid Doesn't Read. The author, Marek Fuchs, lays out the challenges he sees as a college professor in 2026. If you choose to read it, keep going til the last paragraph. The author says, "Too many parents ask me what they can do to get their kids to read. Meanwhile, their homes are bookless, and the last thing they’ve read was The Hardy Boys. Let ’em see you read." I'm passing this message along because as parents, we have a million things to think of. I'm sorry to add one more (really important) thing to your already full plate! If you have strategies that you use to get your kids to read, please send them along to me!
For what it's worth, I'm a few chapters into Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. I'm liking it so far. My most recent reads over the past few months have been Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Theo of Golden by Allen Levi, and Long Island by Colm Toibin. I think the more that we as adults talk about and read books, the better off our kids will be!
Now that I've stepped off my soapbox, we had a great turnout for our 7th grade celebration last Friday night. Our students enjoyed themselves fully. Thanks to the PTSO for helping recruit the snacks and drinks that kept everyone going.
Trimester 3 Interim Reports went home by email this week. If you didn't receive an Interim Report, it means that your child's teachers didn't feel the need to alert you to any change in performance. If you did receive an interim, please talk with your child and reach out to the teacher if you have any specific questions. With about 27 days left of school, students will be finishing up their work with final assessments, projects, and other work. Thank you in advance for encouraging them to remain focused until the end of the year!
I hope you have a nice weekend!
Jim
Tuesday, May 19: Spring Orchestra Concert, 7 pm
Wednesday, May 20: Spring Band Concert, 7 pm
Thursday, May 21: 8th grade Civics MCAS
Thursday, May 21: 7th grade iReady Math assessment
Monday, May 25: No School - Memorial Day
Tuesday, May 26: Spring Chorus Concert, 7 pm
Wednesday, May 27: No School - Eid al-Adha
Friday, May 29: 8th Grade Celebration, 7 - 9 pm
Monday, June 1: Library closed to students after school
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