Hi Everyone,
I had the good fortune of being able to attend last evening’s performance of Hamilton at the Boston Opera House, and then after the performance having the not-so-good fortune of being stuck in the nearby underground parking garage for over an hour. I am mentioning to all of you my night at Hamilton for two reasons related to RJ Grey. For those who may be seeing the play in the near future, please rest assured that nothing I write below gives away anything substantial or will spoil the experience. First, through much of the musical the character James Madison was carrying a large handkerchief, which I’m pretty sure was included to emphasize how he was known to be chronically ill and a Founding Father who often appeared fragile and sickly. Seeing Madison wipe his nose with that handkerchief at different points in the play reminded me of a conversation I had this past week about needing to make sure that each of our classrooms have enough boxes of tissues for our students before the season of colds and runny noses begins in earnest. A box of tissues has been an item that many families have generously provided to our classrooms each year, and if providing a box this year is something that you wouldn’t mind doing, we and our desire to contain and manage the inevitable invasion of germs would be most appreciative. [side note: many 7th grade families have already sent in boxes via the Me Box project, so thank you for that] At this week’s Back to School Night, we’ll have a table right outside the Main Office where families can drop off a box and we’ll take care of distributing them to classrooms. Thanks for considering.
The second link between Hamilton and RJ Grey that formed in my head last night was around names and titles. Similar to the opening song to the musical that includes the main character introducing himself with the refrain, “Alexander Hamilton, my name is Alexander Hamilton…” I typically include each year in an early edition of Grey Matters an introduction to my own name, though for reasons a bit different than Mr. Hamilton’s.
For the past few years, members of our playful Main Office staff have at times intentionally and affectionately addressed me as “Dr. Chen” which combines two very common mistakes that are made about my name and/or how to address me in conversation and emails. While all of you are more than welcome to continue bestowing the title of “Dr.” upon me, please know that it’s not one that I’ve earned through any doctoral or medical program. As for what you might call me instead? I am happy to be addressed by my first name (Andrew), and also perfectly comfortable with Mr. Shen for those who prefer to maintain some formality. Please know that there are only four people on this Earth who are allowed to call me “Andy” because that’s what I went by in middle school and those friends have never been able to shift from what I went by as a teenager - some habits die hard. I would also like to use this moment to provide a gentle note of clarification about my last name -- Shen -- which has throughout my lifetime often been confused for Chen (with a "Ch"), another Chinese-American surname that perhaps is a bit more common and familiar to many in this area. I mention all of this not only as a point of information about my name, but with the intention of bringing up our school’s commitment to pronouncing all of your names correctly. If and when we cross paths and introduce ourselves at this Wednesday’s Back to School Night, I hope that you’ll provide me with some guidance if I don’t pronounce your name correctly and help me get it right. My hope is that those interactions will be similar to the efforts that our teachers make at the start of the school year to learn the preferences, and the correct pronunciation, of your childrens’ names. As a school we want to promote the idea that pronouncing names correctly can be an important part of helping each person feel welcome and seen, be it here at school or anywhere else. To that end we are making it more of a habit to ask for a bit of guidance or confirmation about whether we pronounced a name correctly. Even if I succeed in correctly pronouncing the names of parents and guardians I meet on Wednesday night, I may not remember all of your names after that evening and I ask in advance for a little forgiveness in that regard.
As I noted above, Back to School Night is this Wednesday evening at 7pm (6:35pm if your child takes the Band, Chorus or String Ensemble electives and you want to meet the teachers). Your children will bring home a schedule for you to follow. Just in case your teenager is the first 13-year old to ever forget to share something with you, we’ll have a copy of each student’s schedule available in the Lobby, but I am sure none of you will have that issue. If you did provide the PTSO an annual $50 donation this year, you can pick up your copy of the Student Directory at the PTSO table (in the Lobby). For those who are still interested in contributing to the PTSO this year, you can do so that evening. For families who are not in a position to comfortably donate to the PTSO and would still like to request a copy of the Student Directory, please send me or your child’s counselor an email and we are happy to provide one to you (we would distribute it later that week, not the PTSO).
Here are some important reminders and notes for the next few weeks:
Picture Day is tomorrow - Monday, September 24 . Students received an order form last week to bring home to their parent/guardian. Students who plan to order photos should bring the order form (and payment) tomorrow. If your child forgets the form (along with their Back to School Night schedule, of course), don’t panic - the forms can always be submitted afterwards. Regardless of whether students order a package of photos, all students will have their photos taken so they can be included in the yearbook. If you have any questions, please contact David Lawrence at [email protected].
We had two 7th grade parents offer to serve as School Council representatives, so no election will be necessary at Back to School Night this Wednesday! Jennifer Beal and Karen Pierce are joining our School Council, and we appreciate their willingness to serve. This year they join returning 8th grade parents Jack Kline and James Dillon, and teachers Maureen Lin and Liz Walker.
An early save the date for Tuesday, November 6 (which is also the date of Fall elections) at 7pm in the Junior High Library. Peter Light, our new Superintendent, is hosting a number of forums where he can engage with parents and guardians, school staff, and students. The Forum scheduled for the evening of November 6 is intended for parents and guardians at the Junior High and High School. If you’re interested in spending a bit of time with Peter to talk about our students and our schools, please consider attending.
I hope all of you had an opportunity to read my email message regarding our plans to hold an ALICE drill this week. You can review the content of that email message by clicking here. Once the drill has been completed I will be sure to send a follow-up message to families.
Two calendar notes for the weeks of October 1 and October 8: The Junior High and High School have our first Early Release day on Thursday, October 4, and staff will then participate in professional learning for the remainder of the day. Dismissal for students is at 11:06am at the Junior High and all standard bus routes will be available at that time. Please note that the Late Bus will not be available that day. I would encourage families to discuss and confirm with their child plans for this early release and expectations regarding transportation and post-release activities. On the following week, there will be no school on Monday, October 8 as part of the Columbus Day long weekend.
Finally, a quick note about homework. With a few weeks under our belt all of you are likely well aware that homework is assigned as part of your child’s different team classes. A few years ago our staff began an important and wide-ranging conversation about connections between homework and our curriculum, what makes for quality assignments, and the development of common expectations regarding workload. We know that a balance must be struck between the benefits that quality homework assignments can provide and the necessity to manage a workload that is reasonable for students in these grades. This will always be a work in progress and something that we continue to pursue while keeping a purposeful eye on the many valuable curricular goals and aspirations that are important to
preserve. In June 2017 the School Committee also voted and approved a District Homework Policy that applies to all of our schools and offers specific guidance for different grade levels. You can view the Policy by clicking here. The establishment of a District-wide policy that was voted on by the School Committee is a fairly significant stake in the ground regarding institutional expectations on this topic. As you’ll see within the language, the policy reflects and endorses a view that aligns with much of the Challenge Success work and aspirations that we’ve been exploring. With the above mentioned long weekend coming up, I wanted to highlight for families the portion of the Homework Policy that pertains to homework during long weekends and over school vacation periods. Specifically, that there will be none. Prior to the District’s Homework policy, the Junior High implemented a school policy that homework would not be assigned for any of our extended vacations (Thanksgiving, Winter, February and April Breaks). Two years ago we expanded this expectation to planned long weekends, including this coming Columbus Day weekend, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Memorial Day. And now those practices are embedded in the District’s new Homework Policy. Nothing will be due (nor any tests or quizzes scheduled) on the day students return from a long weekend or vacation, and long-term projects that are assigned prior to a vacation will not be due earlier than the Thursday after a vacation. For me, what lies at the heart of this policy is a belief that these extended periods away from school can and should provide students and families an opportunity to rest and focus on time with each other, free from any school-related obligations. The commitment we (parents and the school) have to academics will be ever-present, and yet we would be remiss if we ignored what Challenge Success identified as the need for "honoring the importance of downtime, playtime, and family time." We hope students and families will see these periods away from school as an additional opportunity to cultivate other parts of their family's life, be it in the form of leisure and social activities, or simply quality time with each other.
Something else that I would like to make sure all families are aware of are the team homework calendars. Starting last year, every team (in both grades) is maintaining a shared online homework calendar that can be viewed by students and their families. For 7th grade teams, you can go here. For 8th grade teams, you can go here. Our hope is that this additional resource can, first and foremost, support students as they develop the organizational and planning skills that will allow them to adjust to additional responsibilities. Secondarily, this resource may also prove helpful to families who may still need to provide a bit of additional structure and guidance to their children as they work towards that level of independence that we all want them to develop. A friendly reminder, though, that helping them get to that independence may require letting them stumble and fumble a bit on their own and to experience the natural consequences that accompanies some missed assignments or rushed work. I know, easier said than done.
Have a great week, everyone. I hope to see you at this Wednesday’s Back to School Night.
Cheers,
