ABRPTSO Weekly Chatter RJ Grey Junior High School January 30, 2022 View as Webpage

"Creating a community of thinkers, learners, and responsible citizens."

Table of Contents Calendar of Events Always. Moving. Forward. ABRPTSO Open Positions Mascot Re-naming Survey Reminder Upcoming Community Ed Courses Vaccine Booster Opportunity at AB February Food Drive Info Basketball Info RJ Grey Office Email Book Club - New Book Pick Up RJ Grey Clubs Fit Club Signups for February Rise to the Challenge Heart & Soul - A Girl's on the Run Program at Danny's Place Looking for a New Volunteer Opportunity - Join ABSAF Looking for a Mental Health Provider?

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Monday, January 31: SOS Lesson for 7 Green Wednesday, February 2: SOS Lesson for 7 Blue Monday, February 7: RJG School Council, 7pm Thursday, February 10: NAEP assessment for selected 8th graders

Always. Moving. Forward. With the New Year comes reflection on the year past; a year which a lot of us would like to forget. But the PTSO is looking forward: To warmer and longer days and to the scholarships for the class of 2022. With that comes our financial obligation. The PTSO hasn’t really fundraised for the past two years, but we still need your support to help students and their families by giving out these scholarships. Won’t you consider donating today? Please visit https://www.abrptso.org/donate to make your $50 donation. It would mean so much to help many at the ABRHS and R J Grey as we try to give every student and staff something to make this year special. We wish you and yours the Happiest and Healthiest New Year!

ABRPTSO Open Positions We currently have positions available on the PTSO Board. We hope you will consider joining the team. The PTSO strives to provide opportunities for all the students/staff at the HS and JH through grants given to the schools. We support student groups and enjoy bringing cultural and motivational speakers/artists to the school.    Chair of the ABRPTSO Newcomer Welcome for the JH 8th Grade Dance Committee Chair(s)   If you are interested in any of these positions, please email secretary@abrptso.org. You can read more about these positions here.

Mascot Re-Naming Survey Reminder We are sending this reminder to the community about the current opportunity to submit a suggestion for a new mascot for our district. Thank you to the many individuals who have already offered one or more suggestions. Below is the original invitation sent to the community earlier in January. Please note that the deadline for suggestions is February 4, 2022. All entries should be submitted through the online survey - here is the address: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ABMascot

Upcoming Community Ed Courses Community Ed is offering a myriad of teen and college prep courses this winter. Visit our website or sign up for our email list to receive updates regarding new classes. You can reach our office at 978-266-2525 with questions or to register.     Youth Squash (Ages 9-14) - February 3-March 3 Have you ever considered the sport of Squash? It values strategy, quick wits, and practice provides a vigorous workout, and is played by people of all ages and sizes. For more information and to register, follow the Course Code: SQUASHFEB22

Vaccine Booster Opportunity at AB At this time, we are planning one booster clinic at R.J. Grey Junior High School on Saturday, February 12th from 9:00-3:00 for 12–18-year-olds. The Acton Health Department has ordered 300 initial vaccine doses, and sign up is first come, first served. If there is an overwhelming response from our families, we may be able to add additional slots. Please check your email for additional information from last week, and the link to sign up!   Knowing we have limited vaccine availability, we encourage you to visit the MassVax site at https://vaxfinder.mass.gov/, where you can filter vaccines by the Pfizer booster and find available appointments.

Food Drive Info – February Student Council is sponsoring a food drive in February for the Acton Food Pantry. Please watch for future announcements for details. In the meantime, here is a list of critical and suggested items the pantry is in need of:   Critical Need Spam Sardines Corned beef hash Coffee Salt Nuts Trail mix Dried beans Individual, nut-free, bagged snacks for kids Canned tomato paste Gluten-free bread Boxed rice mixes Laundry detergent   Baby Items Diapers - size 6 only Baby wipes Pullups - size 4T-5T   Other Recommended Items for Donation Spaghetti sauce Oatmeal Protein bars - Kind, Luna, Cliff, RxBars or similar Rice (bagged) Baking mixes Canned vegetables Peanut butter & jelly Canned fruit Tissues Women's incontinence briefs, size S and size L

Basketball Info Unfortunately, due to COVID restrictions, there are only 2 fans allowed per student athlete during home basketball games and these spots are reserved for family members. Students should not plan on attending the games at this time. Please send your positive energy and well wishes to your friends playing before and or after the game.

RJ Grey Office Email If you need to email the main office, we’ve created a new email address where you can reach us: rjgrey_main_office@abschools.org. You are welcome to use this email which will reach several of us. As we recently experienced changes in our staffing, we thought this might be a useful tool to know that your message is getting to multiple people.

Book Club - New Book Pick Up The RJ Book Club has chosen its next book. Part thriller and part romance We All Fall Down by Nathalie Richards is the perfect pick for the February book club discussion. We all have things we want to forget. For Paige & Theo, it is the night of a big party held under the old bridge. But strange events keep drawing them back to the bridge. Someone, something is determined to make them remember...and pay for what they each did. The Book Club will meet on Thursday, February 17th at 2:45 in room 608. Come by the library for a copy of the book or look for it on Sora.

RJ Grey Clubs The official RJ Grey Clubs doc is now on the RJ Grey Website. Click here to link to the page. If you have any questions about the clubs, please contact the club advisor.

Fit Club Signup for February Sessions Fit Club will resume in February on Fridays after school. The dates are February 4th, 11th & 18th. Space is limited to 12 students. Please sign up at the Main Office.

Rise to the Challenge Rise to the Challenge is something we started as a way of recognizing student involvement in community service. We know that many students are already participating in service activities outside of school, and we hope to celebrate those efforts along with encouraging more students to become active in service opportunities. Students who complete 10 hours of service within the school year will be recognized for their efforts. Please visit the community service page on our website that provides all the details for this program. If you have any questions, please email Debbie Brookes at dbrookes@abschools.org.

Heart & Sole - A Girls on the Run Program at Danny's Place Registration is now open for Heart & Sole! Girls on the Run creates a safe place for girls to grow in confidence through identifying and processing emotions, goal setting, cooperation, healthy decision-making, and self-respect, while improving their physical health and stamina.   Registration Open for youth who identify as female in grades 6-8 in Acton and Boxborough. Learn more and register here: https://www.dannys-place.org/partners/gotr When: Tuesdays and Thursdays from March 29-June 9. In person at Gardner Field , 3:45-5:15 PM (we will meet virtually if necessary). Program Fee: $225 *Financial Assistance is Available*  For more information on financial assistance, please contact: Katherine Lee, katherine@dannys-place.org

Looking For A New Volunteer Opportunity....Join the ABSAF Board! What is ABSAF? ABSAF (Acton Boxborough Student Activities Fund) is a non-profit organization led by adults and high school students board members. The purpose of ABSAF is to raise money each year through ABSAF pass sales and donations. These funds are then donated to the Acton Boxborough Regional High School and RJ Grey Jr High to support performing arts groups, athletic teams, academic teams and community service efforts.  ABSAF contributions support athletic teams (Junior High to Varsity), academic teams (Math Team, Science Team, Speech and Debate Team, and Academic Decathlon Team), performing arts groups (Band, Chorus, and Theater), and community service at ABRHS and RJ Grey. Some examples of how ABSAF funds have been used include: donations to Proscenium Circus (the High School Theatre group), purchase of band uniforms and instruments, new stage curtains and sound system for the Junior High, supplies and equipment for all athletic teams, study guides and league dues for academic teams, athletic uniforms, and transportation to events for all the groups mentioned above. Come Join Our Board! ABSAF board members meet the second Tuesday of each month at 7pm via Zoom (except June, July, and December). Active participation and ability to attend meetings and fundraisers are required of board members. The deadline for submission of nomination interest is February 27, 2022. If you are a student in grades 8, 9, or 10 are, able to make this two year commitment and are interested in the potential of being a board member, please click on this link: Acton Boxborough Student Activities Fund --Board Member Application (google.com)  We are also looking to add adults to our board. If you are interested in joining, please fill out the application as well. What do we expect from you? Active participation and an ability to attend meetings and fundraisers is a requirement of being a board member. As a selected student board member, you will be asked to: Serve on the ABSAF board for 2 school year terms beginning May 2022 – May 2024 Attend monthly meetings, approximately 1 hour in length, which are currently being held the 2nd Tuesday night of each month at 7:00pm (meetings are NOT held in June, July and December). If we meet in person, meeting are held in the library at RJ Grey Jr. High School. Participate in a two-night phonathon each October, where AB students call Acton and Boxborough families to solicit donations and pass sales. Volunteer at a few events throughout the fall to represent ABSAF and to sell passes (i.e., back to school nights, AB Football games, AB Fall and/or Winter sports meeting/meet the team nights, etc.) Participate in fundraisers Participate in select ABSAF committees to increase awareness for ABSAF The ABSAF Board will review all applications and notify you after we meet in April. Thank you for considering serving the AB community through the ABSAF Board! If you would like to learn more about ABSAF and our membership, please visit us at www.absaf.net.

Looking for a Mental Health Provider? INTERFACE Referral Service is a mental health resource and referral Helpline that helps children, adults and families, in subscribing communities, become connected with mental health and wellness resources. Part of your ABRPTSO Membership Donation goes towards the funding of this service.     INTERFACE Referral Service looks forward to continuing to help residents of Acton & Boxborough find a successful match with an outpatient mental health provider in their area, who is able to see them at a convenient time, takes their insurance or meets their fee requirement, as well as meets their clinical needs.    Please call the William James College INTERFACE Helpline at 617-332-3666 Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM, for resource information and/or provider referrals from a mental health professional. Please also review the very extensive website at interface.williamjames.edu for additional information about the service, as well as resources on mental health and wellness across the lifespan.

The Weekly Chatter is distributed each Sunday. If you have a submission you'd like to include in the Chatter, please email it to chatter@abrptso.org by noon on Friday. The Chatter was created solely for the purpose of communicating school-related events, groups and forums to parents and students.

Acton-Boxborough Regional PTSO | chatter@abrptso.org | Website