We have new teachers who joined the O’Maley community this year. One of them is Mrs. Stevens. Mrs. Stevens is the 8th grade science teacher for Anchor house. She lives in Gloucester now, but even before she lived here she would come up during the summer to visit Good Harbor Beach. To this day Mrs. Stevens still enjoys swimming and playing at the beach. She and her husband have one baby, Parker, and they all live underneath her in-laws or her husband's mom and grandmother. She has dyslexia and ADHD and holds that as an important part of her journey to become an educator. 

   Mrs. Stevens' disabilities have impacted her life. In school she felt that she had to be pulled out of class much more than she would have liked just to be at the same level as her peers. This experience drives her to make an environment where students can all feel equal and learn the material in an inclusion educational setting. Mrs. Stevens thought she was going to be an elementary teacher. She felt and feels that science is underrepresented at the elementary level. This thought influenced her choice in majors when she was going to college. She has a degree in Elementary School Education and a degree in Special Education. While in college, Mrs. Stevens’ advisor told her that she would be a great middle school teacher. Mrs. Stevens took this with a grain of salt but decided in the end to take the MTEL-teacher licensure test (middle school teaching license) Mrs. Stevens thought she wanted to teach elementary school, but she found middle school science to be a better fit in the end. 

   Mrs. Stevens' goal was to teach elementary school students. Her first teaching job was in Salem as a 6th grade science teacher. She did this but at the very same time she was a 7th grade stem specialist. Let's just say she was a busy bee. Later on, after 7 years in 6th grade science, at Salem she decided to switch to a position, science coach, where she would teach the teachers how to teach. Mrs. Stevens would help science teachers in her building grade, build lesson plans, teach students, and run their classrooms among other things. She did enjoy this job but she really missed building relationships with and seeing her growing students, which she stated was her favorite part of teaching.  She initially wanted to teach elementary school but ended up educating middle schoolers.

  When coming to O’Maley she wanted to try something new, something other than 6th and 7th grade science. So she came to 8th grade. Although she has only been teaching at O’Maley for a few weeks she revealed that she enjoys the community and just the overall atmosphere of O’Maley. Something she states that adds to the atmosphere of O’Maley is the trust. At Mrs. Stevens' old school she was strongly encouraged to follow the curriculum with fidelity. However, at O’Maley the teachers are allowed to make their own decisions and lessons as long as they are teaching the students the material and they are meeting the 8th grade MA standards as best they can. 

   Mrs. Stevens had a curriculum to follow but sometimes it would not highlight all of the key points that had to be made. With the confidence given to the teachers at O’Maley, Mrs. Stevens feels that she can meet all the standards more easily without needing to follow, what felt like, a script. She is now able to create lessons in collaboration with my coworkers to fit the Massachusetts state standards in a more engaging and hands-on way.

Here are some unexpected things you may not have known about Mrs. Stevens. Mrs. Stevens is the oldest of 5. She has three sisters and one brother. Since her household was always so loud growing up she finds that the quiet can sometimes feel weird and unnatural. If you have ever been in her room you will probably get the not so subtle hint that she loves the TV show “ Friends”. She loves the show so much that she combined her love of Lego’s with it and has built numerous scenes from the iconic show out of building blocks. As she is building we are too. We are building a community of teachers and students at this school. Come back next week to build your knowledge of the new teachers that build part of O’Maley.

  The murmur of voices leave the brick walls behind, as the maroon double doors shut for the day. What is left in this hallway, embedded into the wall, is a library. The colors from the different book covers are vibrant underneath the school's light. The users of this library stand on the square tan tiles that cover the floor as they read the words of an author on the page during the day. This three shelf library rests in the hallway that houses classrooms 222 and 221 and is across from the two maroon bulletin boards that at the time of publication read “The sky is the limit to your success”. Our very own Ms. Interrante started this free school library. 

Over the summer Ms. Interrante was cleaning out a classroom in preparation for a change in space when she found several boxes of books that appeared to be abandoned. She placed them outside in the hallway in June and notified the staff that they could take any book that they needed out of the bins. When Ms. Interrante came back to the school in August and there was a large amount of books left over. This gave her an idea and an opportunity. She reached out to Principle Titus and asked about starting a library using the remaining books. The plan was approved and by the end of the day the bookshelves had been installed by a custodian.This library has been running since the beginning of this school year and has been visited by many staff and students. If you have a minute drop by the library and explore the world of reading.

If you’ve ever seen a tornado, which hopefully you haven’t, you’ll know how scary they are. Even an f0 tornado, the least dangerous type, can take down trees, crush cars, and will look a bit eerie by itself.

Speaking of an f0, what is an f0? The f in the scale stands for Fujita, the last name of the meteorologist who created the scale. The scale starts at an f0. These tornadoes have wind speeds less than 73 miles per hour. The next type of tornado on the scale is a f5, with winds over 200 miles per hour. A strong breeze is 25 - 31 miles per hour, however, the weakest type of tornado has gusts of 75 miles per hour. Even the tornados lower on the scale are powerful. Especially, with all the lightning, and things getting thrown, and impending doom, and all that jazz. But how much scarier would a tornado be if you didn’t know it was coming. This is exactly what a nocturnal tornado is. A tornado at night! You’d likely be asleep while it destroys everything in your town. Terrifying. These tornados are commonly found in the southern region of the United States. 

Could you even see the tornado if you weren’t told it was there? Do you even see it at all? Most people can’t. Most images of nocturnal tornadoes have the tornado visible and out in the open, when in reality, there is very little that you can see. If you’ve lived through a nocturnal tornado, you likely did so thanks to tornado sirens. These devices loudly call out to inform citizens of a tornado. These devices are very helpful however, they can add to the horror of it all. Thanks to how most people are asleep during nocturnal tornadoes and how they are very hard to see, these tornadoes are 2.5 times more dangerous than normal tornadoes. This makes tornado sirens necessary. 

1995 blackwell, oklahoma, F5 tornado

One of the deadliest tornadoes to date occurred in Blackwell, Oklahoma in 1995. On May 25th, a tornado storm would occur. This tornado would lead to 48 separate tornadoes and 2 F5’s, both of which would be nocturnal. This tornado formed in Noble County,OK and went over to Blackwell, slowly gaining strength. It just barely skimmed the edge of Blackwell. This supernatural tornado killed 20 people, and injured 300.These are the facts, however not everything about the tornado is clear. 

Although it has never been proved, some first hand accounts state that they saw blue orbs rotating around the tornado. It could have been air ionization that caused a blue glow, and then the story got exaggerated,it could be just a bunch of lightning, just over and over, reaching no end. The orbiting things could have also been a form of ball lightning. It could be St Elmo's fire, a phenomenon with blue or violet plasma discarges.There is not one direct answer. Others state that the tornado was floating 20 feet off the ground and looked like something out of an alien book. We will never know exactly what the Blackwell Tornado  looked like or what it was since there is no clear evidence. 

May 25th is the 30 year anniversary of this tornado. This was devastatingly scary for all of those who experienced it. Here’s a source from the blackwell journal itself. https://www.blackwelljournaltribune.net/articles/10787/view/remembering-the-1955-tornado

Have you ever wondered about a teacher here in O'Maley? Specifically, Mr Muniz? Well, me too! James Mahoney also thought the same thing! James and I asked him several questions about his school experience and his lifestyle. And we are going to share it with you. 1. Teaching career and school experience. Something he is passionate about helping students feel excited about coming to school. He has been exploring this passion and teaching for 32 years. He wants every kid in school to know that every school day matters! Before he started teaching, he worked at the YMCA, working with kids. He wants every kid in school to know that every school day matters! One of his first memories in middle school was writing his name on a math paper. He hopes to make positive memories like this for his students. When trying to achieve this he works to engage with as many students as possible, ensuring everyone is included. He finds out what a student can do currently and evaluates what they can do with those strengths, and later figures out what is achievable next. After reflecting on his day, Mr. Muniz is always satisfied and proud of the fact that he helped his students to make the right choices. 2. Fun things and facts! When he was younger he played piano. Currently he is learning how to cook! That's awesome since I also like to cook. He's really skilled, too! He averages one strike per session of bowling! I can't even get 3 pins down! Along with that, he scores 100 points or higher! Impressive. Pizza is this guy's super food! He claims that he’s consumed more pizza than any other person! Talking about food, his comfort food meal is his grandmother's homemade lasagna.

Many teenagers use social media whether it's to post, talk to friends, play games, etc. However, there are dangers that come with the youth using social media. The potential of older people prowling online trying to target younger people, users spreading viruses, or hackers trying to acquire personal information. The situation is a very unfortunate thing, but it has become a more common danger as social media begins to expand.

Studies show ⅓ of teenagers have faced security breaches, and 30% of children have been hacked before the age of 13. Hackers typically target younger users since they are more vulnerable. Hacking can occur due to viruses and unsafe websites. Sketchy links can also allow hackers to get into emails and accounts through unprotected pathways. In addition, it is also possible for hackers to contact you personally and threaten you to give up personal information. There’s a chance they can hack you just by having your phone number, account, or email. Luckily, there’s many ways to prevent such a tragedy from happening.

Tech experts have discussed this topic time and time again, and have provided examples of what to do to prevent hackers. First and foremost, you want to take strong foundational security measures. This can include creating a strong password, using finger prints or/and face ID. This step makes it much more difficult for hackers to get into your emails and accounts. Installing material that prevents viruses from taking over technology such as anti-viruses can also be incredibly helpful. Being careful of sketchy links and websites in addition to being cautious of unsolicited emails, text messages, or social media messages even if they are from a familiar contact is important for maintaining digital privacy. Avoiding using public Wi-Fi for sensitive tasks can also prevent these issues, since public Wi-Fi is often unprotected. A tactic used by hackers is pretending to be a friend. Hackers will sometimes hack into a friend's account, and then talk to you pretending to be your friend. This is important to look out for since most users would not think twice about messaging their friends. 

Social media is very sensitive and vulnerable, so it’s easy for people to message you. When you receive a message from an unknown or uncertain user an important first step would be to see if they’re mutual or have any connections with friends or family. But what if they say they’re a friend? They need to show you proof of that. Having strong real proof allows certainty in the decision to message the user as a friend. Some messages for online hackers can get dangerous. To prioritize your safety, get a person of higher authorities involved, like parents or teachers. 

All in all, being safe on the internet is very important. The internet is very unsafe and can be rather unprotected if you’re not careful. Avoid talking to strangers online, and keep all passwords protected to maintain safety and privacy.

As some may know, the United States government shut down for over a month in November. This means that they did not have the funding to run the government. As a result, many of the programs that they fund stopped operating. One of these programs is SNAP. SNAP stands for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps. SNAP provides a way for low income families and individuals to buy groceries. In the United States roughly 41 million people rely on SNAP efforts to keep nutritious food on the table. According to WCVB Boston, SNAP “ helps about 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries”.That is about 12 percent of the countries’ population. In Massachusetts alone, 1.1 million people use the SNAP resources and in Gloucester 4,155 individuals or nearly 13 percent of the town's total population use these opportunities. However, these people don’t solely rely on SNAP for food. There are other organizations in our community that work to help feed others.                      

There are many different organizations that are fighting to help people who struggle with food insecurity. One of these organizations is the Open Door. The Open Door is a local food pantry here in Gloucester, MA. The Open Door works to feed people that are not able to afford food for themselves or their families. The pantry provides breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as groceries. In an effort to make the service more accessible a food pick up program was added. In the previous year, the Open Door provided food and meals to over 11,000 people. For more information about this wonderful cause look on the Open Door website. To help more people the Open Door worked with our very own O’Maley to start a food drive.

The O’Maley Food Drive has been running for over 20 years. During this time there are donation boxes within all of the O’Maley homerooms. There students and staff are able to donate food to help the cause. Over the years, O’Maley has provided the Open Door with thousands of non-perishable goods through the drives. Their website states, “ The mission of the Open Door is to alleviate the impact of hunger on our community. These annual c drives help them to reach their goal. 

 In addition to the food drive, O’Maley Middle School provides free lunches and breakfasts to students. In the future, administration says that they would like to incorporate more efforts that include the backpack project, opening an Open Door mobile market, and partnering with other organizations. Although this is high on the school's radar, there is not much that can be done at the moment. The school is funded by the government so they can only act with the money that they are given. As a result, they can not expand their actions since they are already using the money for other things. As Mr. Titus said, there is not much “ meat left on the bone”. 

There are many different ways that people in need are being helped. However, general citizens can help too. Many people decide to donate food. Whether it is directly to the Open Door, at a food drive, or to other food pantries it helps to make a difference. Additionally, donations are very helpful. These allow the organizations that received the donations to buy the specific supplies that they need. There are many different ways to help others struggling with food insecurity. 

For more information on the Open Door use this website:

https://foodpantry.org/

Eating a cookie, socializing with others, a smile spreading over a child's face. All of this, and the prophets go to the school. This is the ideal environment at a bake sale. Many will remember having a bake sale at school and helping out the community. However, this is not a memory for many students.  Bake sales have been banned in Massachusetts for about 14 years. The bill passed in May 2012 and took effect on August 1st, 2012. However, even though this is a long standing fact, many people are not aware. Bake sales appear quite nice, so what are the issues that led to this ban?

Some of the main concerns for bake sales are child obesity and allergies. Many schools would hold bake sales where they would sell sweets and treats, with all prophets going to the school. Originally bake sales were not banned, however, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health(MDPH) was battling against child obesity. School bake sales weren't helping the fight so the decision to ban it was made. In addition to obesity, children's allergies were an issue. Massachusetts was concerned about children’s health. “ What if one of the ingredients had something that someone was allergic to?”, members of the MDPH wondered. Although precautions could be taken to prevent children coming into contact with their allergens, mistakes do happen and putting a child's health at risk is not safe. When taking all of these aspects into consideration Massachusetts decided to put an end to school bake sales. 

There are efforts that can be taken to prevent these issues. When dealing with child obesity,  limits can be applied to how many pastries one person can have, thus stopping people from taking too much. To combat students being put at risk because of their allergies, the community members who bring in the treats can put out a list of ingredients so everyone can see and avoid them if necessary. Then there is little to no miscommunication that could risk a child’s well being. 

Bake sales have been banned within schools for some time now. The goal was to combat child obesity and prevent issues with allergies. However, this has impacted many memories made by students at these events. There are several strategies that could be used to prevent these issues without taking away the bake sale as a whole. Memories could be made while staying safe.

On Sunday, October 5th 2025 the 5th and 6th grade boys football team, the Gloucester Fishermen, played against the Swampscott Big Blue. The game was at the Swampscott turf field at 11:30 AM. This game resulted in Gloucester losing 46 to 0. As it stands, Gloucester's 5th and 6th grade team has now one win, one tie, and two losses.

  During the Fishermen huddle there were a lot of mixed emotions between mad and sad. Also the team (including me) got down on ourselves. But Swampscott was a good team and sometimes you lose and sometimes you win. It was a good learning experience for us because we watched film at our coaches house and we learned a lot from our experience. Hopefully our Gloucester youth football team can win another game in the future.

Millions of people play the New York Times Games every day. It has become a popular pastime. Some people say that playing these games can help your brain. Is this true? Yes, and no. It has been shown that the games can improve the memory, attention span, and other brain functions of those who play it. However, this is not shown in all people. They also do not stop any diseases that may come like dementia. So they can help brain function but not in any major or notable ways. 

Easter is a national holiday that occurs based of the Gregorian Calendar. Generally Easter always happens on the first Sunday after the full moon.  Easter is a religious holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ or when he came back from the dead. After Easter is a period called Lent, where many Christians fast and is a time of remembrance and repentance. There is an animal also related to Easter. This animal is a rabbit. There is a popular belief that the " Easter Bunny" will come bring you gifts of Easter. This idea first originated the 18th century. Another tradition is dying eggs. The rainbow colors are symbols of Easter and what goes with it. Have a wonderful Easter!

Here at O'Maley there is a drama club that is run through O'Maley Academy. The club puts on plays every year, this year it was Descendants. There were three casts X, Y, and Z. The plays went on throughout the first two weekends of March and each cast was able to perform twice. The newspaper took a poll, asking people what they thought of the play. All of the participants of the poll said that they enjoyed the plays and felt that they actors did a great job portraying the parts. Some details that participants brought up where " the sound effects and music made it come to life" and additionally that " you could tell the actors were working hard. It was seamless". The different aspects made the show become real to the audience. There was also a strong sense of community. After the shows were finished audience members could go up on stage and talk to the actors. All the actors seemed really proud of the work they had done after a job well done. 

On February 2 every year a groundhog emerges from the ground and predict our weather. This annual tradition is called Groundhog day and it broadcasts on TV every year. This groundhog is named Punxsutawney Phil. On this day Punxsutawney Phil comes out of his hole in Pennsylvania and predicts the weather. People say that if he sees his shadow then winter will continue on for 6 more weeks and if he doesn't then spring will come early. The tradition has been going on since 1886 when Punxsutawney first made his way into the paper. The groundhog is said to predict the weather but in reality he only is correct roughly 30 - 35 % of the time. The legend says that there has only been one Punxsutawney Phil who has been predicting the weather since 1886. This would make him roughly 138 years old. Under normal conditions groundhogs live to about 14 years in age but Punxsutawney is said to be fed " The Elixir of Life" which makes him live for much longer. Lets see what he predicts this year!

 O’Maley Academy is a program that is run after school every day of the week except Friday. There is a large amount of different available activities. For example: The Cherry Street Journal( Monday), The Drama Production( Monday, Wednesday, Thursday), D&D club( Wednesday), and Art Haven( Tuesdays, off site). We have asked a variety of different students who participate in these programs how they feel about it. An interviewee who is in 6th grade and participates in Photography says that they find it fun and enjoy learning about how to take better pictures. Another student, Natalie, who is in 8th grade, and does pottery and ceramics club, stated that she enjoys meeting and talking to new people. Lastly, an actor who is in the drama club says that they learn to dance, sing and perform. They also stated that they can just be themselves. In O’Maley Academy students can express themselves and learn about their interests. Come and check out O’Maley Academy! There is something for everyone.

Okay, wait one minute! Why are we talking about liking Unicorn Meat? Worst thing in the world! Nobody likes Unicorn Meat; it looks glittery, and sparkly not in a good way. It smells of grass and leaves, and it tastes bitter with a slight crunch. I hope none of this sounds interesting because it is not. I know people/little unicorn loving babies might like the sound of “unicorn” but no, they’re wrong. It can cause all sorts of horrible diseases including cancer. I’m guessing you don’t want that. When my sister was younger she tried this … you don’t want to know what happened after. It was dreadful! Why else is this bad? Oh I don’t know, what’s even in that stuff? There could be brains, hearts, hooves, horns, hair and flesh. I have to stop. Sooo, I’m guessing you don’t want to be eating that … ICK. You still want to eat it!?! I’m trying so hard not to barf! Who wants to be putting THAT into the body. I have to stop talking about this! I hope I convinced you to NOT eat this product. Remember, if you do eat it the chances you could die are over average. Looks good, tastes awful.  Don’t eat Unicorn Meat!! 

Here at O'Maley one of our many clubs is the Drama Club. There are roughly 85 participating in it from all three of the grade levels. This year the group is putting on the musical version of "Descendants". The plot is about the mischievous children of Disney's most known villains. To prepare for the upcoming show the performers meet after school on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Here they work on choreography, remembering lines. and work with GHS interns to improve. If you are interested in making costumes for the Drama Club there is a costume design club with Mrs. Russ where they work on designing and sewing costumes for the play. The production will be shown to the public in March. Make sure to check it out and support these hard working O'Maley citizens.   

In a week and a couple more days it will be Halloween 2024. Halloween always starts and ends on October 31. Halloween dates back to ancient times. More than 2,000 years ago, the Celts created an ancient festival that happens on the night of October 31 and ends on the 1st of November. The Celts celebrated this because it marked the end of a hot summer and marked the beginning of the cold winter. The Celts also believed on the night of October 31, when they celebrated the tradition they believed the ghost of the dead returned to Earth. Halloween in the early 13 colonies was not very influential. Not many people celebrated Halloween. People then started to carve turnips, believing it would ward off the evil spirits. Then they switched to carving out pumpkins instead of turnips. Today there are many stories and movies about Halloween. People dress up as any character or item they like, for example, a cat. People also go trick or treating in which they bring a bag and knock on people's doors and say “trick or treat” in which they will get some candies. This day is a fun day for many children and adults.

On September 19, 2024 the new fish sculpture was put onto O’Maley Middle School! The Gloucester Education Foundation and Art Teacher, Mr. Dunton worked with students and a local sculptor, Tim Mears, to design it. I interviewed some of the O’Maley community to hear what they think about this new addition to the brick wall. They are Margaret Misuraca, a LightHouse sixth grade student, Adelia Crowell, a Schooner sixth grade student and Mr. Titus, our principal. Let’s see what some of these people said about the sculpture. Mr. Titus said he is thrilled for a few reasons: the students designed it and it is very eye-catching. Adelia says, “It adds an artistic touch to the plain, brick building.” All of these people definitely want more sculptures put up on the wall! Margaret thinks the next sculpture should be a fishing boat and Adelia thinks it should be a lobster. I wonder what it will be? These three people each have come up with some words to describe the sculpture including, unique, stunning and sleek. I asked them if they were to name it, what would it be? Mr. Titus said that it should be decided by students, and Margaret said, A School of Fish representing our school. What do you think about this new sculpture? Whatever your opinion, this school of fish is very welcome at O’Maley.

We have a new season, a new month and a new statue. Outside we have a new statue made of silver metal and it was installed last week. It depicts fish jumping and swimming through the ocean. The statue fits for Gloucester because of all the ocean life we have. You can see it by the basketball courts. Also outside, the leaves are turning yellow, orange, brown, and red. These leaves are falling and that shows the start of a new season. Many love fall for the weather but others are excited for October because of Halloween. This Friday is midterms and progress reports are going to families. Make sure to check out the statue outside and enjoy the new month. 

This year we have some new staff members joining our community. For 6th grade, we have Mr. Thomas and Mr. Kwiatkowski, in Harbor House. Ms. Alves is a new teacher in Phoenix house in 7th grade. Lastly, in 8th grade, we have Mr. Parkhurst and Mr. Gwirtzman in Anchor House. Ms. Leoni is a Special Education teacher for 7th grade. Make sure to give them all a hello in the halls. 

  Out in the commons there is a large poster with many colorful hands attached to it. During an advisory period the ADL peer leaders met with the students from each house and explained what no place for hate is for. Every student cut out a hand and wrote their name on it. Each hand shows a student who promises to show no hate. O'Maley is a safe place with kindhearted students and this banner shows how our community cares for the people within it. 

This week is National Teacher Appreciation Week. In 1953 Congress made it an official day but it was not until 1985 until the first teacher appreciation week took place. This week is to acknowledge educators and all that they do. Everyone, especially people who are impacted by these human beings, are encouraged to say thank you or share some kind words. Now go and give a thank you to your teacher!

Let’s Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month!

                  ¡Celebramos el Mes de Herencia Hispano!

This is the last week of Hispanic Heritage Month. Hispanic Heritage Month started on September 15 and it will end on October 15. What is it? Hispanic Heritage Month is a month when the United States celebrates how Hispanic people have helped our country. Hispanic people are people who have ancestry whose primary language is Spanish. It is celebrated specifically on the 15th of that month since it is the independence of significant Spanish-speaking countries like Costa Rica and El Salvador. 

Former President Ronald Reagan made Hispanic Heritage Month an official month and made it much longer from 1 week. It is to respect the contributions Hispanic people have made to our country.  It was made official on August 17, 1988. 

      One significant Hispanic person was the famous baseball player: Roberto Clemente. Roberto Clemente was born in 1934 in Puerto RIco. He was one of the best baseball players in Major League Baseball history and one of the first Hispanic people to play in the league. Unfortunately he died at the age of 38 in 1972 while  on a plane, delivering supplies to the earthquake survivors in Nicaragua. His legacy lives on though, making paths for new Hispanic people to play baseball. Another famous Hispanic person is Lin-Manuel Miranda, a Puerto Rican artist and activist. He is the author of a famous musical called “Hamilton.” This musical is extremely popular! Lin-Manuel Miranda is still alive and is currently creating music for a book called “The Warriors” which was made in 1979. These people are only some of the many Hispanic people who contributed to make America great!    To wrap things up I have a question for you. Which Hispanic Americans do YOU KNOW?

O'Maley Academy's drama club recently performed "Spongebob Squarepants The Musical". In this musical, it follows Spongebob and the other underwater creatures getting the news that a volcano is going to erupt. Plankton, the main antagonist, tries to get everybody to leave their home town, and move to a new place. However, Spongebob disagrees with this decision. Spongebob and his best friends, Patrick and Sandy, try to stop this volcano from erupting so they can continue living in the beloved Bikini Bottom. Their plan succeeds and they all can continue living in their home. Everything about this musical was incredible, the scenery, props and characters were all great. I truly believe everyone put t home town, and move to a new place. However, Spongebob disagrees with this decision. Spongebob and his best friends, Patrick and Sandy, try to stop this volcano from erupting so they can continue living in the beloved Bikini Bottom. Their plan succeeds and they all can continue living in their home. Everything about this musical was incredible, the scenery, props and characters were all great. I truly believe everyone put their time and effort into making this musical happen.

    This October Señora Wakemen, our Spanish teacher here at O'Maley, sent some butterflies to a group in Gerorga. This is part of the Symbolic Monarch Migration. The Symbolic Monarch Migration is an organization partnered with many others including A Journey North, hoping to connect schools from all over and show the great meaning of the butterfly. The class colored butterflies and wrote a message sharing where the butterflies came from. We got some butterflies back and a message discussing the importance of clean water. The butterfly symbolizes rebirth which can be like the journey through middle school.    Symbolic Monarch Migration      A Journey North      

"Carl's Cones", a local ice cream shop opens back up! 

The shop opened in December of 2020 and was new to Gloucester. They are located at 185 Washington St. Gloucester MA, and they were getting good business. Last summer, a car hit the shop, closing them down for the next 6 months. Luckily, no one was in the building during the accident, and although the driver was brought to the hospital, there were no life threatening injuries. On 2/29 they announced that they would open back up, on 3/1. Although they have only been open for 4 days, the community is glad to have their local ice cream shop back. Now go get yourself a cone! What flavor might you get?

Here at O'Maley Middle School we have a drama club. There are over 100 students who participate through all the grades. These students meet up almost every day of the week to practice their parts. The drama club is putting on SpongeBob the Musical this year. This show includes dancing, singing, and acting with stunning costumes, props, and sets. There are three casts: Cast X, Cast Y, and Cast Z, that all perform on different nights. With 3 different casts you can see the same show but with different performers. Tickets are now for sale at $5 for students and you can buy them at the door. The opening night for this amazing show is this Friday night at 7. The other dates include March 2 '1:00 PM, March 3 ' 1:00 PM, March 8' 7:00 PM, March 9 ' 1:00 PM, and March 10 '1:00 PM. Hope to see you there!

 The Cherry Street Journal Team met up with the Editor in Chief, Sofia Orlando, and News Editor, Finn Wall of the Gillnetter, on Monday Feb. 12, 2024. They are part of the senior staff at the Gillnetter, the newspaper at GHS. The Gillnetter is an online daily newspaper and they intend to, "inform, interpret and entertain through accurate and factual reports"( Mission Statement). The Gillnetter has 10 staff  and articles on everything including national news, local news, art and poetry, and more. The Gillnetter provides something for everyone to enjoy.Link to the Gillnetter: Click Me!