R.J. Grey Junior High School

Team Assignments

Team assignments for the 25-26 school year will be released on the Parent Portal on August 14 at 12:00 pm.

Scheduling a school with 830 students is a complex process. We build teams that are balanced by sending school, gender, race, world language choices, special education, multilingual services, and other academic services.

Given all of these variables, it is virtually impossible to build the schedule around individual team requests. When we received information from families about individual student situations, we reviewed them and made our best attempt to accommodate situations when possible and appropriate. We are confident that we have built the teams in a manner that will ensure every student has the opportunity to maintain or develop friendships with their peers. We will not be able to adjust team placements after they have been released for any reason other than our own error.

In order to access your child’s team assignment, you need to log into the Power School parent portal. You will first be required to complete your child’s emergency card information and answer some additional school permission-related questions, including specific PTSO permissions. Please note that the parent portal will be closed until August 14th, so you will not be able to complete these forms in advance. Once you complete the required information, you will be able to access your child’s team placement, which is listed in your student’s account.

On August 11, families of returning students will receive their PowerSchool username and password recovery instructions to use if necessary. Families of new students will receive Access ID and Access passwords for the Parent Portal. These usernames are necessary to access the Parent Portal when it opens on Thursday, August 14 at 12 pm.

Should you be unable to access the internet, please call our main office at 978 264-3350, Press 1. We’ll invite you in to complete these forms at school; calling ahead will confirm that someone is there to meet you. This will allow us to assist you in entering the online emergency card information and permissions forms, after which we will give you your child’s team assignment.

Our model of teaming will feel slightly different this year due to reductions in staffing over the last several years. This year, we will have a total of seven (7) teams of teachers at RJ Grey, down from eight (8) in recent years. 7 Blue, 7 Gold, 7 Red, 8 Blue, 8 Gold, and 8 Red will be full-sized teams where the team teachers teach only students in the assigned grade level. Students on 7 Green and 8 Green will share a set of team teachers. The teachers will teach students in both grades. The students, however, will be in classes with peers only from their grade level. Students on all teams may take a French or Spanish class with a teacher who is not specifically assigned to the student’s team. This practice has been in place over the past few years.

First Days of School

For seventh graders, the first day of school is Wednesday, August 27. Upon entering the school, students will be directed to their Homeroom location. Prior to that day, students will not have (nor need) their individual schedules. Schedules will be shared during the first days of school. The name of your child’s Homeroom teacher will be available on the Parent Portal.

Each team works hard to welcome its students on that first day. They will help students get settled in, take them on a tour of our building, and help them use their lockers. There will not be a focus on academics on that first day of school - getting everyone into our building and making them feel comfortable is our goal. Students may bring their own lunch or receive a lunch from the cafeteria. There is additional info in the right column related to Food Services at RJ Grey. After lunch, we will hold an assembly where we officially welcome everyone to RJ Grey and begin the school year with some words of encouragement and a preview of what will be a part of their RJ Grey experience.

Any 8th grade student new to the Acton-Boxborough District (those who did not attend RJ Grey as 7th graders last year) is invited to participate in an orientation program on Wednesday, August 27, beginning at 1:30 PM and ending at 2:36 PM, so that students may ride home on their regular bus. Students are invited to gather in the lobby where they will be directed to a meeting space. Please click this link to sign up for this mini-orientation.

The first day of school for all other eighth grade students is Thursday, August 28. 8th graders should report to the school by 8:00 AM on Thursday morning where they will be directed to their Homerooms.

Back to School Night

Please reserve Thursday, September 25, from 6:45 - 8:45 pm for our annual Back to School Night!

Attendance

Over the past few years, we have focused on the attendance patterns of our students. When possible, scheduling appointments, family events, and vacations outside of school hours is helpful. We know that being in school every day is important for student learning, of course, but it is also vital to creating and maintaining strong relationships with supportive peers and adults. As such, you will hear from us if your child’s attendance during the year shows a particular pattern or a high number of absences. We hope to partner with you to problem-solve if attendance seems to be a concern. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education classifies students who are absent 10% or more of the year to be considered “chronically absent.” Ten percent of our year is 18 absences: this is an easy number to approach if a student is absent only two days per month! If you need help with promoting strong attendance habits, please be in touch with us.

Please also note that our school day starts promptly at 8:00 am. If you drive your child to school, you will inevitably face challenges with traffic, inclement weather, and other barriers. Please work to make sure your child is in school before 7:55 am every day so that they are on time and ready to learn.

Communicating about Absences and Tardies

If your child will be absent from or late to school, please call the absence line at (978) 264-3350, Press 2 before 8:00AM and state your child’s: 1. name 2. team 3. and, briefly, the reason for the absence or tardy arrival. If you need to call during school hours (8:00-3:30), please call our number and Press 1 to leave a message with a member of our office staff. You may also email the RJ Grey Main Office at rjgrey_main_office@abschools.org to send in information.

Our office staff will compare the messages with our homeroom attendance. Students who are marked absent in homeroom but for whom we did not receive a call will be marked as “unexcused” and will generate a call home. Please assist us in this process, and remember to call the school if your child will be absent.

If you need your child to be dismissed during the school day, please email us at the address above, or send your child in with a note and instruct your child to bring it to the main office when arriving to school. The main office will issue a pass that your child will use when it is time to be picked up. If your child is not feeling well, your student should visit the nurse, and the nurse will work with your child to determine the next course of action. Students should not use their personal cell phones to make arrangements to be picked up.

To maintain student safety and building security, the doors to the front lobby are the only public entrance to school during the school day (visitors are asked to check in at the Main Office upon arrival). All other doors will be locked during the school day.
 

Immunization and Proof of Physical Exam

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has the following requirements for all students entering Grade 7 in the fall of 2025:

1. Physical Exam: A copy of a current Physical Examination (done after August 2024) is required for all students before entering Grade 7. A current Physical Exam will also be required for any participation in sports at the Junior High.

2. Immunization Requirements:

MMR: 2 Doses

Varicella: A physician-certified history of chickenpox disease or 2 doses of varicella vaccine

Hepatitis B: 3 Doses

Meningococcal Conjugate (MenACWY): 1 Dose

Tdap: A single dose of Tetanus, Diphtheria, and acellular Pertussis vaccine

Many of the above vaccines may have been administered while your child was in elementary school. Elementary health records have been transferred to RJ Grey. Please check with your Health Care Provider to be certain that your child’s immunizations are up-to-date and documented in his/her record. Please send any updated records to the RJ Grey school nurse at the Junior High School (16 Charter Road) by August 22, 2025.

Clubs and Activities

Students who wish to participate in a club or activity will pay a $50 user fee in order to participate. Students who choose to participate in more than one club will pay the user fee only once and then will be eligible to participate in as many clubs as they choose. Some clubs will have an additional cost associated with them: Ski Club, for example. Students may bring a check for $50, made out to Acton-Boxborough Regional School District, or families may pay online by clicking here. Fees will be due at the beginning of October, allowing students to try out a club or two before committing.

Athletics at RJ Grey

Information about our Athletics program is found on the RJ Grey website. This includes tryout schedules for our Fall sports programs, none of which begin before the first day of school. Families of interested athletes must review instructions for registering their child and submitting required medical information ahead of tryouts. No student may try out for a fall sport without signing up on Family ID, along with the clearance of our school nurse.

PTSO

We are grateful for the annual support provided to us by the Acton-Boxborough PTSO. Over the years, the PTSO has supported our work with grants to help us with student events, student spirit gear, student planbooks, furniture, and staff appreciation gestures. We invite any interested family to renew their annual membership to the PTSO. We thank you for your support.