Hello O'Maley Families!

As always, I hope this message finds you well. O'Maley staff misses all of the students and our daily in-person interactions enormously. We are hearing from many students that they feel the same.

One of the greatest challenges with remote learning is knowing when to disconnect and actually doing it. FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) is even stronger these days, so we all have to push ourselves to get away from screens and enjoy some other parts of life. One of the best ways for kids to do this is to set a clear division between the school (work) week and the weekend. Encourage the use of weekend time to go outside, play or do chores in the yard, or if the weather isn't cooperating, around the house or apartment. It's amazing how rewarding and energizing this can be!

To assist with this, O'Maley is changing the schedule slightly for the Weekly Overview. Starting next week and through the rest of the school year the Weekly Overview will be available Monday morning at 8:00 a.m. instead of Sunday at 4:00 p.m. Enjoy the longer days and beautiful sunshine on Sundays...and hopefully warmer temperatures will be here soon as well.

Please continue reading for information about upcoming events and O'Maley Happenings.

Have a great weekend!

Principal Lynne Beattie

The talent show was an uplifting event and the talent was amazing! Congratulations to all performers who stepped up and participated. Thank you to the 1500+ viewers and those who voted!

1st Place - Jackson Weber, grade 6 - piano performance

2nd Place - Jessica Cote, grade 8 - vocal performance

3rd Place - Christopher Forbes, grade 8 - guitar and vocal performance

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

If you haven't already done so, students and parent/guardians please complete our short survey on remote learning. The information that has come in so far is very helpful and we want to hear from more of you!

STUDENT SURVEY LINK | PARENT/GUARDIAN SURVEY LINK

• Use the Chrome web browser so that you have access to necessary extensions and apps.
• Not sure how to link to Google Meets for your Class? See Ms. Crosby's video how-to.
• Too many emails? Create labels in GMail to keep them organized. Link to Ms. Pinta's Video and Skills Sheet on how to create labels in your GMail inbox.
• OR, if the email overload is from Google Classroom you can turn off those notifications. Just be sure to check Classroom daily for information and assignments. See Ms. Hand's video to learn how to turn off email notifications for Classroom.
• Use Google Keep to organize yourself. See Ms. Beattie's video.
• Use your phone to help you stay on schedule: Set alarms or reminders for the start of each class or a few minutes before so you don't lose track of time.
• Create a customized schedule for yourself! Make a Copy of the student schedule template and fill in your subjects and teachers.

We have officially launched our virtual after school program!

Here is how it will work: No sign-up needed! Students access the enrichment activities through a Google Classroom page, and complete enrichment at their leisure. The goal is to stay connected and engaged with our community and have fun! As we move through the spring we will hold some Zoom or Google Hangouts video sessions, but they are not required.

Students who would like to participate in a Virtual Spring Session should can join the Classroom using the class code below. There will be 3 different virtual options, they can choose one or more to participate in!

Option 1- O'Maley Academy Virtual Drama Club

What to expect: Activities involving acting skills, dancing, and singing. ALL are welcome!

Class Code: xqt3kfl

Teacher: Ms. Lauren Horne

Option 2- O'Maley Academy Virtual Capture, Compose, Create

What to Expect: Activities that involve writing, expressing yourself using creative and visual arts, creativity is welcome!

Class Code: l5hhfq2

Teacher: Ms. Theresa Dannaher

Option 3 - O'Maley Academy Virtual Sports and Recreation

What to Expect: Activities to get you up and moving! Students with all levels of sports experience are welcome!

Class Code: z5xkqnk

Teacher: Ms. Hannah Dupre

Feel free to reach out to Allison Alves at aalves@glouesterschools.com with questions.

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

May 8, 2020 | May 3, 2020 | April 26, 2020 | April 19, 2020 | April 12, 2020 | March 30, 2020