Plaza Towers and the Blue Bridge as seen from across the Grand River /John Rothwell
Two Concerts Left in the 2022 GRAM on the Green Series
This year's GRAM on the Green series, a partnership between the Grand Rapids Art Museum and WYCE, is beginning to draw to a close. With only two concerts left to go, GRAM is urging the community to "make the most of [their] summer evenings" and come out for some amazing (and free) live music.
Thursday, August 11 will see a combination of southern country and rockin' blues brought to Grand Rapids by The Rachel Brooke Band and The Reverend Jesse Ray. On August 18, local artists Serita Black Rose, Sarena Rae, Debra Perry, Avalon Cutts-Jones, and Karisa Wilson will be paying homage to some of the most groundbreaking singers in history through The Music That Raised Us -- a musical revue that celebrates the history and contributions of Black women in the music industry. This event was orginally scheduled for August 4, but was rescheduled earlier this week.
These concerts will take place between 6:00pm and 9:00pm on the Grand Rapids Art Museum's terrace in downtown Grand Rapids. In addition to live music, attendees will be able to order food from food trucks, drinks from a cash bar, and create their own art.
For more information about these concerts, visit the GRAM website here.
Grand Rapids Public Schools Clarifies Dress Code Ahead of 2022-2023 School Year
In 2013, Grand Rapids Public Schools introduced a uniform requirement for all elementary-aged (K-8) students in the GRPS system. A year later, the policy was expanded to cover GRPS's middle schoolers. Finally, in 2015, the uniform requirement went into effect in GRPS’s high schools. In June 2022, nearly ten years after the first students began wearing uniforms to school, GRPS announced that they were eliminating the uniform requirement for students within the district. On Monday, August 1, they released another statement that further clarified the dress code. According to the GRPS Scholar Resource & Responsibility Guide (student handbook) and School Board Policy 8240:
"Students shall not dress, groom themselves, or appear in a manner that: endangers or interferes with the health or welfare of that student or of other students; cause disruption or directly interferes with the educational process; and/or otherwise promotes illegal activities through the use of symbols or language"
This includes avoiding clothing that exposes a student's midriff/cleavage/undergarments and those that "promote drugs, alcohol, tobacco, gang activity/affiliation, racism, sexism, or any other type of prejudice, bias, or discriminatory language/activity." Students are also encouraged to wear appropriate accessories and shoes while at school. Head coverings are allowed exclusively for medical and/or religious reasons.
The 2022-23 GRPS school year begins on August 23, 2022. For more information about the dress code or the upcoming school year, visit the Grand Rapids Public Schools website here.
Also in the News:
- The Grand Rapids Public Museum has announced that the Pterosaurs: Flight in the Age of Dinosaurs exhibit will be offically closing to the public on September 4, 2022.
Sharing Your Stories
The Rapidian encourages local residents to share their own stories related to civic, economic, and public health developments in the Grand Rapids area on The Rapidian’s platform. To get started as a community reporter, visit TheRapidian.org/write.
The Rapidian, a program of the 501(c)3 nonprofit Community Media Center, relies on the community’s support to help cover the cost of training reporters and publishing content.
We need your help.
If each of our readers and content creators who values this community platform help support its creation and maintenance, The Rapidian can continue to educate and facilitate a conversation around issues for years to come.
Please support The Rapidian and make a contribution today.