News from Dudley Middle School

The division in our country right now is truly staggering. It doesn’t matter which side you support (if any), one thing that seems certain to all reasonable people is that when everybody is divided, progress is very hard to come by.

This concept is equally true of students, schools and education in general. The students who do the best – academically and socially – are almost always the ones whose families have a respectful working relationship with the staff at the school. When we are united, the student does better – just about every single time.

As the school year races on, students often struggle to maintain the motivation they had toward the beginning of the year. This means that we grown-ups have to be thoughtful about working to keep them on track. In my many years as a principal and teacher, I have learned that the following four things (I am phrasing them as polite requests) help build great working relationships between school and home.

These are needed now more than ever.

1. Please contact the staff member closest to the problem (IE: If it’s a classroom concern, reach out to the teacher first).

2. Please reach out with an open mind about the situation. When students complain at home, often they are only sharing part of the story, or they are sharing the story in a way that is favorable to them. Please ask us questions before reaching a conclusion.

3. Please address school staff in a respectful manner. I know the people who work here, and I promise none of us want to harm a child in any way. Of course we are not perfect. We do make mistakes, but our intentions – every day – are to provide the best experience we can for our students. We can disagree about decisions, of course, but we should always believe that the other party's heart is in the right place.

4. This one is difficult, but consider allowing students to learn some lessons the hard way. Sometimes, a student has to receive a consequence…or a lower than usual grade…in order to wake up to his/her true potential. Certainly, we don’t want this to happen, but for some kids (like young me!), this is a necessary part of learning to own their mistakes. And that is a critical life lesson.

The Dudley community remains, in my mind, among the best in the world. You'd be hard pressed to find better people anywhere. But even we are not immune to the tremendous stresses of modern life; Financial…health…family…other. It’s a challenging time to be a citizen. And if we are not careful, those challenges can lead to short tempers, anger and division.

But we must never forget our responsibility of raising and setting the example for the future generations. It is difficult to put into words how important that responsibility is. And it is made exponentially easier if we do it together – respectfully.

We are here to support your child (and you) in just about any way we can. Please reach out if we can help. Contact information is below.

February 11 - Grades 5 and 6 Social (2:30 - 3:40) Late Bus available

February 11 - Basketball vs. Charlton at Shepherd Hill (Girls at 5:00 / Boys at 6:30)

February 12 - Basketball Home vs. Trottier Middle (Southborough)

February 16-20 - Winter Vacation

February 27 - Grades 7 and 8 Dance - (6:00-7:30 PM)

March 4 and 5 - PTO Volleyball Tournament (Both Days 2:30 - 3:40) Late Bus Available

March 6 - Early dismissal for students / Staff Training

March 6 - Bay Path Admissions Lottery / Notification Letters Go Out Shortly After

March 12 - Shepherd Hill Assembly for 8th Graders (8:45 AM)

March 16 and 17 - 8th graders register for classes with Shepherd Hill counselors

March 23-26 - Grade 8 Washington DC Trip

March 26 - Early Dismissal for Students / Parent-Teacher Conferences (More info. forthcoming)

March 27 - No School for Students - Staff Training