Mr. Tobin Went to Florida!

Last week, Mr. Tobin attended the 38th Key West Literary Seminar as a recipient of one of 20 scholarships awarded to teachers and librarians. This year’s theme was “Reading Between the Lines: Sports and Literature,” and the lineup was impressive. It left participants wondering about the intersections of reading and writing, and provided vast inspiration for those who attended.

Learn more >>

Courageous Conversations:
Mark Your Calendar

We hope you will be able to join other members of our triad community (RAUC, Peabody, and Baldwin) as we continue to dive into issues of race and equity and explore how we can be a more inclusive, equitable community for all our members, particularly those who have been historically marginalized. Each conversation will be facilitated by a team deeply grounded in our Cambridge Community, Melody Brazo and Melinda Barbosa. More details will follow as the dates approach.

Session 1: Tues., March 3, 2020 at Peabody/RAUC 5:30PM dinner, 6-8PM conversation
Session 2: Tues., April 7, 2020 at Baldwin, 5:30PM dinner, 6-8PM conversation
Session 3: Tues., May 12, 2020 at RAUC/Peabody, 5:30PM dinner, 6-8PM conversation

Second RAUC CommUNITY Dance is Friday, January 24th from 6-8PM

Theme: “Winter Wonderland.” (Voted on by the 6th graders.) Help the 6th grade by signing up to donate time, money, or items to sell at the dance. You can help that evening, or beforehand! View the sign up sheet here: http://bit.ly/2N2Lozg. Please sign up as soon as possible, before Wednesday Jan 22. Every bit helps!

If you have “Winter Wonderland” decorating ideas, decorations (winter, not holiday-themed) to lend for the dance, or props for a photo booth, tell us in the comments or email us below. After you check a signup box and submit, a comment box will display. Parents do not chaperone the actual dance in the cafeteria, we have staff for that. But you can get a fun view from the edges if you volunteer your time that night! All proceeds go directly to school enrichment funds through FRAUC (Friends of RAUC). Feel free to email us (Tracy Walton: [email protected] and Chris Lim: [email protected], 6th grade parent representatives) with questions.

Things to keep in mind about the dance:
–ALL students are welcome. As a RAUC community event, only RAUC students may attend; no outside guests please.
–Tickets are $5, going on sale during lunch the week of the dance or at the door.
–Refreshments (pizza, snacks, water) will also be sold at the dance.

Social-Emotional Tip of the Week

Setting goals and helping your student to keep track of them can reinforce certain concepts like determination, and help children and adolescents learn to experience and deal with feelings of frustration and also accomplishment.

If you have any stories of how you have used one of our SEL tips with your own child, please share them with Maggie MacLennan, Ms. Boadu’s intern, at [email protected]!

RAUC's Unity Concert in 2 Weeks: January 30th from 5-7PM

Please save the date for January 30th when you can join RAUC at its most popular community event for the year: community dinner and concert. With this year’s theme of “Unity Through Diversity,” we invite all our families to join us as we gather to experience diversity of food and music. We are asking our families to bring a dish to share from your culture. It can be anything that you think represents your family, your culture and your food. Cambridge in incredibly diverse and this is an effort to get to know each other just a little bit better: through our love for food and also for music. Our music teachers, and the students, are working very hard to prepare for the concert and we would love to see all our families show support. The event is open to children and adults and we hope you will leave with your heart singing a little tune as well! You can view the flyer here!

Parent Speaker Series: Friday, January 24th from 6-8PM

Our topic for the evening is: What Middle Schoolers are saying about vaping and other substances. Learn tips on how to talk with your middle schooler about substances like alcohol, marijuana and vaping. This information can also be used to start a conversation about mental health, sex, and other topics that young people deal with at this stage of like. Both speakers, Tracy Rose-Tynes and Mary Kowalczuk, are from the Cambridge Public Health Department. Please view the flyer for more information!

RAUC Students Attended Black Congresswomen's Town Hall

Six RAUC young women of color gave up their Saturday afternoon and evening to attend a town hall sponsored by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, who was joined by a number of other representatives, all historic firsts in their districts (as the first Black woman elected to Congress). Ms. Saillant, Ms. Schlosser (Ms. Saillant’s intern), and Ms. Craven chaperoned. You may have read about the event in the Boston Globe this Sunday. The goal was to hear from girls of color the issues that they face so that the representatives can make Congress more responsive to their often invisible and unheard realities. The girls were inspired, excited, and awesome! Our hope is that they will share a highlight at our upcoming assembly to show how Dr. King’s legacy continues. Shout out to Ms. Saillant, whose connections brought this amazing opportunity to our girls, and to Ms. Gribben, whose organization made it happen.

Reminder to 8th Grade Families: CRLS Information Night January 23

You should have received information from CRLS about this event. It is 6-7:30 at CRLS. Reach out to Shanika Boadu if you have questions. You can also review the 8th-9th grade transition timeline we sent out in December.

MLK Cambridge Day of Service:
January 20th

The 10th Annual Cambridge Day of Service organized by Many Helping Hands 365 to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The event is FREE and open to the public. Doors to all the locations will open at 2PM! Register here. Locations include: City Hall, Senior Center, YWCA, Possible Project, and St. Peter's Church. 

All ages are welcome to help with projects that benefit children, teens and adults in need. Join us for an afternoon of hands-on service projects! Make fleece scarves and blankets for homeless children and adults. Make Valentines for elders and veterans. Sort food, winter clothing, books and toiletries for people in need and more! Come spend an afternoon making a difference in the lives of others. Don’t come empty handed! Please bring a can of food to help stock our city food pantries, gently used winter clothing to donate or a children’s book for someone in need. We need everyone’s helping hands! View the flyer!

7th Grade Learning Previews

Out of School Opportunities

All flyers and registration forms are available at the RAUC Out of School Time (OST) Board or by contacting Mr. McNulty @ [email protected].

See flyers for the opportunities below >>

Robots that Make a Difference (see flyer)
When: Tuesdays, Jan 14 - Apr 14 
Where: Public Library Valente Branch, 826 Cambridge Street
Time: 3:30pm - 5:45pm
Grades: 7 and 8
Register: bit.ly/ifprobotics19-20

Arts, Music, Movies and Making (see flyer)
When: Wednesdays, Jan 22 - Mar 25 Wednesdays
Where: Cambridge Public Library Main Branch, 449 Broadway
Time: 3:30pm - 6:30pm
Grades: 7 and 8
Register: bit.ly/ifpammm19-20

Code It! (see flyer)
When: Saturdays, 2/29-4/25
Where: MIT
Time: 11am-3pm
Grades: Girls or nonbinary students in grades 6-8
Application Deadline: Friday 2/7/20
https://tinyurl.com/s20codeitapp
Contact:[email protected]

Science Club for Girls (see flyer)
When: Saturdays
Where: Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House, 71 Cherry Street, Cambridge
Time: 10:15am - 11:30am
Grades: K-8th
Register: www.scienceclubforgirls.org 617.391.0361  

RAUC Events & Announcements

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