O'Maley Family Focus

Dear O'Maley Families,

As we head into summer, there are a few important items

I hope to see 8th grade families at the 8th grade celebratory car parade on Wednesday 11:00a.m.-12:00 p.m. Details are below.

There are a few items of importance below, so please read on for the following:

• An important survey opportunity
• Pick up of remaining student belongings and return of school items
• Report cards
• Information about next year's DC trip, which has been cancelled.
• O'Maley Academy Summer Program Sign-up

Also, for your pleasure, we have the final version of O'Maley News for 2019-2020, and a lovely compilation of song performed by the O'Maley drama club.

I will most certainly be in touch over the summer, given that you will need information about what school will be like when the next school year begins on September 2nd for students. Supply lists will be posted and House assignments communicated in mid to late August.

Please feel free to email me if you need assistance with anything. If I am unavailable, I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Enjoy a wonderful summer!

Best Regards,

Principal Lynne Beattie

Thank you to those who were able to come by today to pick up students' locker items. For those who were unable to make it, we have scheduled a follow up on Wednesday, June 17, 7:00-9:00 a.m. Please park and come to the front entry wearing a mask and keeping a proper 6-foot distance from others.

Please also bring with you from home any items that belong to O'Maley, for example, textbooks, ELA reading books, library books, calculators. Unless you are leaving Gloucester Public Schools, Chromebooks should stay at home.

Email lbeattie@gloucesterschools.com with any questions.

To access, link to the resources below:

SchoolBrains Community Portal Link

Viewing Report Cards on SchoolBrains

SchoolBrains How-to Guide Including Report Card Viewing Information

While we are excited for their future as high schoolers and beyond, it is with great sadness that we bid farewell to our 8th grade students without the chance to have them in the O'Maley building again. To celebrate their years at O'Maley, staff, with student input, have designed a fun, lighthearted farewell. While we would have loved to hold our traditional ceremony, an online venue filled with speeches and without the opportunity to shake students' hands in congratulations does not hold the same appeal.

We are excited to invite 8th grade families to please join our Hawaiian-themed rolling car parade to celebrate on June 17th from 11:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. DJ Mr. Sousa will be live playing music and shout-outs to students will be made.

Details of the Celebration

Please note that to ensure that all of our 8th grade families can participate, we must set a limit of one car per family, and for only 8th grade families to attend. For those who are unable to attend, a video will be created and posted so that all may partake.

Certificates, photo montages, and t-shirts (gift from O'Maley PTO) will be mailed home along with a congratulatory letter from teachers, awards from specialist teachers, and yearbooks to those who purchased. Bank Gloucester will be sending out their annual awards to our high honors students as well.

Mark your calendars and charge your computers.... O'Maley Academy is going virtual this summer! O'Maley will be running virtual summer camps starting July 13th. Offerings include, Musical Theatre Camp, Drama Boot Camp, Creative Writing, Science Exploration, and Summer Reading Program.

SIGN-UP ARE OPEN! You will receive confirmation by email during the last week of June 29th.

Summer 2020 Registration Form

Link here for program descriptions.

I recently made a difficult decision regarding the D.C. Trip we expected our 8th graders to take in the spring of 2021: Given the unknowns of safe travel and the financial position our families were placed in because of this year's cancellation, I requested and received approval from the school committee to cancel the trip for next year.

Thank you to the many 7th and 8th grade families who responded to surveys I sent to assist me with the decision. While it is disappointing to our students that this beloved 8th grade event will not occur, we look forward to the time when we have clear, safe travel options. If this happens in time to do so, we will seek an alternative trip for 8th grade next year, something closer and less expensive that we can plan in a shorter timeframe.

For current 8th grade families who hold vouchers from Education First, these expire at the end of September 2022. You may choose to request a refund from EF at any time between now and then. Currently you will receive what you paid to EF minus $150. There is legislation pending review in the MA House requiring travel companies to give full refunds for school trips cancelled due to a state of emergency, but I do not know what the timeline is, or the likelihood of its passing. Link to information on Bill# H4696.

This was not a decision made lightly. At this point in time, $150 is a lot of money to a lot of people. I hope you understand that in recommending the cancellation my intent was to protect more Gloucester families from being in a similar situation that could be avoided. If you are interested in the reasoning behind the decision, please see the two documents below that I shared with the school committee:

Letter to the School Committee, May 26, 2020

O'Maley DC Trip 2020-2021 Survey Results

We would like students to be able to access online books from Sawyer Public Library and Overdrive. In order to do so, we will be providing the library with student names and school email addresses.

At the start of the school year, all families were sent information on the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). It included a disclosure of the types of information GPS might share with outside organizations; examples were listed. While the list of examples is not exclusive, the Sawyer Free Public Library is not listed, so I would like to take this opportunity to request that if you do not want your student's name and school email address to be shared with Sawyer Free Library for the purpose of setting up a library e-card, please email me at lbeattie@gloucesterschools.com before Tuesday, May 12th.

In case you want to refresh your memory on the FERPA disclosure, a link to the letter is here:

GPS FERPA Letter 2019-2020

Locations and Times:

• The Heights/Pond View.

  Meals can be picked up at from the bus parked in the lower loop from 2:00 - 2:20.

• Beeman and Veterans' Elementary Schools - Drive-up Grab & Go will be available from 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm.
• Veterans' Way – Meal drop-off will be from 2:30 pm - 3:00 pm
• Willowood Gardens – Meal drop-off will be from 3:15 pm to 3:45 pm.

The Student and Staff Compilation is a collection of creative contributions, a sharing of what we are all doing while we are out of school and an opportunity to connect. If you want to add your own slide, create a Google Slide in your school account, and email it to Ms. Beattie.

Email: lbeattie@gloucesterschools.com
Website: http://omaley.gloucesterschools.com
Location: 32 Cherry Street, Gloucester, MA, USA
Phone: 978-281-9850
Twitter: @omaleyprincipal

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