Hi Everyone,
A happy St. Patrick’s Day to those who celebrate the holiday in some way, shape or form. Although our family has some healthy Irish roots by way of Melisa’s mother’s side of the family, our annual acknowledgment of the holiday tends to be fairly low-key with the occasional helping of corned beef and cabbage. Besides our kids getting St. Patrick’s Day cards from their grandparents, the primary way any of us added a bit of green to this past weekend was when we made our first visit to the new ice cream shop in West Acton Village and I ordered a good-sized serving of pistachio ice cream. In the interest of full disclosure, I didn’t order pistachio ice cream because of St. Patrick’s Day, it’s because it’s one of my favorite flavors. Furthermore, this most recent order of pistachio didn’t have any green food coloring in it (which I prefer) but I had to find something that I could use to show my allegiance to this part of my wife’s family lineage and even if the pistachio part isn’t convincing, all of my in-laws are big fans of ice cream so at the very least that part of my efforts will be applauded. In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, NPR posted this piece that summarized “seven stories of good luck” that ranged from moments of avoiding tragedy, to lottery winnings, to discovering lost treasures. While we don’t count on luck and good fortune to play a prominent role in our scheduling process for students each year, we did find ourselves in a situation this year where the students who participated in the new Grey Block elective rotation were able to be enrolled in their first or second choices for each trimester. While we certainly hope that this will be the case every year, a lot depends on the combination of choices that our students make each year and there may be instances where preferred choices can’t be granted. I make mention of this now because for current 7th grade students we are beginning the scheduling and registration process for the 2019-2020 school year. This year the registration process for 7th grade families will also migrate to an online platform and be completed by families through the Parent Portal. This Wednesday I will be sending 7th grade families an email that will outline this process and include an “RJ Grey JHS Registration Worksheet” that provides instructions and guidance for successfully navigating each step. Paper copies of the Worksheet will also be provided to students. Please note that families must complete the course registration on the Parent Portal by April 3, 2019.
As part of the registration process, students will automatically be enrolled in the standard 8th grade courses (English, Science, Social Studies, Exploratory, etc.). Where individual student choice enters this process is for your child’s aforementioned Grey Block preferences. All students have the Grey Block period every other day and this is when students participate in either a full-year music elective (Band, Chorus, or String Orchestra) or the Grey Block Elective Rotation. Students who select Band, Chorus or String Orchestra are guaranteed a space in the program they select and they will be assigned to this course next year. For students who choose the Grey Block Elective Rotation, they will participate in a rotation where they are enrolled in a different elective during each trimester (approximately 25 class meetings). For each trimester, students who opt for the Elective Rotation will be presented with four (4) possible electives. As part of the registration process, those students are asked to indicate their preferences for the electives listed within each trimester. Similar to last year, our hope is that with three chances in a year, we will have the opportunity to schedule students into at least one of their more preferred choices. That goal notwithstanding, students need to be prepared for the likelihood that at some point in the year they will be enrolled in an elective that was lower on their list of preferences. We view the Grey Block electives as an opportunity for students to experience something different and new in a low-stakes and short-term setting (all classes are Pass/Fail). For this, and other logistical reasons, please know that we cannot accommodate student/family requests for changes to elective assignments. This includes the year-long commitment students make for Band, Chorus and Strings. We ask parents/guardians to join us in reinforcing this important message to our students. A full description of the music electives and the Elective Rotation options will be included with Wednesday’s email letter.
Here’s some updates and reminders for you:
IMPORTANT REMINDER FOR 8th GRADE FAMILIES: The Parent Portal is scheduled to open tomorrow (Monday) for families to review recommendations and submit course selections for 9th grade at the High School. Please refer to the registration materials for additional contact and troubleshooting information.
Report cards for the Winter Trimester were emailed to families last Friday. If you haven’t seen the report card, please let me know and we can produce another copy for you. You can also try and access it through the Parent Portal.
Our tryout and meeting schedule for Spring interscholastic sports - baseball, softball, and girls volleyball has now been set, and can be viewed on the Athletics website. We continue to operate under the assumption outdoor fields won’t be ready in time for the start of Spring sports - and if they are, then great. Please remember that families must register on FamilyID for EVERY SEASON that their student plans to participate in a sport. If your child already participated in a Fall or Winter sport and wishes to participate in a Spring sport, they must still register for their Spring sport on FamilyID. Additionally, all payments for spring athletic fees must be paid by CHECK and submitted to the team coach. The Athletics Department will not be accepting electronic payments during the spring season due to technical difficulties. All information related to Athletics can be found on our school website here.
This year, our Project 351 service representatives - Biz Brooks and Marion Stuntz - will be hosting another clothing drive for Cradles to Crayons, and they’ve asked me to pass along this introduction about the upcoming drive: “Every child should be cared for and have access to clothes and all of their basic needs. Cradles to Crayons is an organization that helps accomplish this goal. You can help the over 180,000 Massachusetts children living in poverty by donating new, like new, or gently used children’s clothing, coats, and footwear. We are collecting donations in the main lobby from Monday, March 25th to Friday, April 5th. Clothing should be youth sizes 0-20 or adult small and medium. Shoes, boots, sandals, and sneakers should be infant/child sizes 0-13 and adult sizes 0-10. Socks and pajamas must be brand new. Thank you for your generosity.”
Many thanks to the World Language Department for organizing World Language week and included a reading of the poem “Bilingual” by Alma Flor Ada on Friday by 8th grade students Mariella Laria and Elisa Rivero as a special edition of Poetry Friday. You can read the original Spanish version of the poem, as well as the English translation, by clicking here.
Finally, I had lunch with our latest round of Everyday Leaders last Thursday and I had great conversations with both the 7th and 8th grade lunch groups. Always grateful for the chance to break bread (in this case, pizza) with them and spending a little time learning about the school through their eyes. Congratulations to the following students who were part of this round’s Everyday Leaders group: Shannon Patrick, Jenna O’Connell, Kaitlyn Vittum, Ben Perkins, Gus Cook, William Liu, Nandini Lal, Ameryllis Porter, Paige Pittorino, and Isha Agarwal.
Have a great week, everyone.
Cheers,
