Hi Everyone,
Happy Mother’s Day to any and all of you who plays that role to one (or more) of our students, or to anyone else. If any of you were gifted with extended periods of peace and quiet as part of the day (unfortunately another rainy one) I wanted to re-share a link to a video that I came across four years ago, and have shared every Mother’s Day since, that documents the time when the New York Times Magazine decided to invite a group of 2nd grade students to experience a 7-course tasting menu prepared by chef Daniel Boulud. Normally a dining experience that comes with a $220 per person price tag, probably closer to $300 in current dollars, I am predicting many of you will appreciate the experiences and honest feedback that the 7-year olds offer in this 8-minute video. There’s no direct connection between the video and Mother’s Day, it’s just a fun video to watch during a quiet moment that I thought would be nice to share and has since become a Grey Matters tradition.
Here’s some reminders for this week and beyond:
MCAS testing was completed last week (hallelujah). Students who were absent on a day when they were scheduled to participate in one of the exams will be called down over the course of this week to compete those portions that were missed. We hope each of our students found themselves in a place last week where they were able to demonstrate their knowledge of the questions that were asked. We also hope and will try our best to remind each student that while the scores that come back in Fall tell us how they did on these recent days in May, it will not tell us everything about them, including their growth as thoughtful students and people.
Memorial Day weekend is Monday, May 27th and all schools will be closed for that holiday - there will be no homework assigned for the long weekend, and I hope that families will use that time to relax and enjoy themselves.
On Tuesday, June 18 (second to last day of school), both grades will be participating in their respective end-of-year field trips, and permission slips are being distributed to students this week. As in previous years, the 7th grade will be going to Kimball Farm where they have full access to the bumper boats, miniature golf course, driving range, and other activities; the 8th grade will be going to Canobie Lake amusement park in New Hampshire. These field trips have historically been great and memorable parts of our year-end activities. We also appreciate that the RJ Grey community includes families that may find the cost of these trips difficult to absorb. Like all of our other trips and activities, we never want cost to prevent anyone from participating. Please do not hesitate to let us know if some relief from these field trip costs would be helpful to your family.
A few weeks ago I provided a “save the date” for our end-of-year 8th grade celebration, which is scheduled for Friday, June 14th. I also provided 7th grade families with their own “save the date” for a 7th grade celebration that we are planning for Friday, May 31st and will be at 7pm. In the next few weeks we will include some additional information for how families can offer their assistance for these fun end-of-year events.
Even though the 8th grade Dance/Celebration is about a month away, I also want to re-share some information and messaging that I send out each year at this time about the event - and do my best not to oversell or undersell the atmosphere that exists at this great end-of-year activity. Every year, I mention the below thoughts because sometimes, during some bouts of excitement about the event, a few expectations get generated within our student population that may be a bit on the unrealistic/ambitious/fantasy-ish side-- and then they occasionally get re-articulated to parents as school guidelines. So below is my annual “We’re really excited for this event, but this is not an episode of MTV’s My Super Sweet Sixteen” plea.
We definitely make an effort (and with the help of parent volunteers, are always successful) to make this more than a “typical” or casual dance/celebration in terms of atmosphere -- we’ve got great decorations, props and backdrops for group photos, and an impressive spread of food (and it’s at night). We want students to come excited and eager to spend an evening with their friends and classmates, and somewhat dressed up for the event. We ask students who attend this event to dress a bit more formally than most would for a regular school day -- whatever is your child’s individual version of “taking it up a notch”. I’d try and get into more detail about clothing options, but then you’d discover how out of touch I am with current youth fashion trends.
As we get closer to the end of the year and students typically develop an increasing interest and excitement about the event, which is great. We want to celebrate that enthusiasm and we also want to make sure everyone has a clear understanding that this is not an event that requires “coming with a date.” Quite frankly, it doesn’t even require dancing. It’s a social event where music and the option to dance are a central feature, but certainly not a requirement. Please know that we are not trying to discourage students from attending the dance together, and happy for those who might be at that place. Our students are certainly at an age where for some of them dating, romantic feelings, and matters of the heart are a new area of intense interest. For other kids, this particular aspect of puberty does not currently play as prominent a role, with some being completely oblivious or unphased by it. With that in mind, we are trying to strike a bit of a balance of providing an appropriate space for students to navigate this arena of teenage romance, but not have other students unintentionally develop the impression that dances and social events must involve a romantic angle. I hope this information helps if and when you have a conversation, or eavesdrop on overhear a conversation, about the event.
Have a great week, everyone.
Cheers,
