Good Morning Gloucester

Gloucester Police Chief Sworn in as Vice President of Essex County Chiefs of Police Association

Gloucester Police Chief Leonard Campanello was yesterday sworn in as the new Vice President of the Essex County Chiefs of Police Association

The Association, a round-table representing 35 Essex County police departments and about 100 associate members, meets monthly to discuss important policing and community issues. It also brings police departments together from across the county to support worthwhile causes, including the Jimmy Fund and Special Olympics Massachusetts.

“It is an honor to represent my fellow chiefs and members as Vice President of Essex County Chiefs,” Chief Campanello said. “Strong communication is one of our most valuable tools as police officers, and the Essex County Chiefs of Police Association helps ensure a constant flow of dialog among our nearly three dozen member departments.

Chief Campanello was sworn in at the December meeting yesterday with a new slate of officers including:

• President, Chief Robert Picariello (Marblehead)

• Vice President, Chief Campanello

• Treasurer, Chief Robert Barker (Rowley)

• Secretary, Chief Thomas Fowler (Salisbury)

The meeting was held at the Boston Yacht Club in Marblehead. The chiefs were sworn in by Essex District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett.

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UU CHURCH HOSTS NEW HISTORY PLAY

During the Middle Street Walk on December 13, the Gloucester Unitarian Universalist Church, 10 Church Street, will host a dramatic reading of Jay DiPrima’s one-act play “Mingling of Souls from Sorrow to Joy,” based on the lives and writings of Rev. John Murray and Judith Sargent Murray.
The production features DiPrima as John and Kimberlee Cloutier-Blazzard as Judith. Showtime is 1 p.m. and a donation of $5 is suggested. After the half-hour performance, guests can follow the actors to the Sargent House Museum for free music and refreshments.

Set in 1796, the play reveals how the Murrays’ establishment of the Independent Christian Church in Gloucester established Universalism in the United States and secured the legal separation of church and state. Playgoers will learn of the persecutions this minister from England faced during the war of independence and of his increasing struggles with physical debilitation. They will also hear about the difficulties Judith faced in her first marriage to Captain James Stevens, her near-death experience in delivering a stillborn, and her challenges as a writer and mother. Most important, the play celebrates the strong bonds of faith and love that held John and Judith together and the triumph of joy wrought from sorrow.

Playwright Jay DiPrima holds a doctorate in educational theatre from New York University. He has worked as a teacher, actor, director, and playwright for over 30 years. He has written and performed in numerous historical dramas for the Gloucester community including Beauport Anthology, a collection of dramatic monologues from Gloucester’s history. He has portrayed Rev. John White for the Cape Ann Museum, Fitz Henry Lane for O’Maley Middle School, and Henry David Thoreau for the Gloucester Lyceum and Gloucester Writer’s Center. Jay also serves as the director of youth ministry for St. John’s Episcopal Church.

Actor Kimberlee Cloutier-Blazzard appeared as Mrs. Augusta Bloomville in North Shore Folklore Theatre Company’s productions of Judith Sargent Murray’s play Virtue Triumphant. She has portrayed Judith for student teas, candlelight tours, and special events at Sargent House. She is development associate at Sargent House Museum, where she served as site manager. She is also editor of a scholarly e-journal and works as an independent scholar and freelancer. Cloutier-Blazzard holds a doctorate in art history from the University of Virginia and has taught at various colleges in the Boston area for fifteen years.

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Gloucester Local Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency.

For more information, contact the church at 978 283-3410 or visit the church website at gloucesteruu.org.

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Clean Gloucester and The One Hour at a Time Gang will be cleaning Wingaersheek Beach

When:                  Saturday, December 6, 2014

Time:                    8-9

Where:                 Wingaersheek Beach

See you there

Thank you and take care

Donna

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Gloucester Area Astronomy Club Holiday Party, Friday December 12

It’s time for the annual Gloucester Area Astronomy Club holiday party. Come join us for eggnog and cookies and friends and the cosmos. Everyone is invited; there is never any cost.

To help us celebrate this year we’re lucky enough to have Elaine Kolaczkowski with a striking and colorful presentation on Henrietta Swan Leavitt, the astronomer who discovered a reliable way to measure the universe that is still in use a century later. 

Henrietta forever changed the way we look at our place in the order of things, and you probably don’t know anything about her. After December 12 you’ll be telling the story to all your friends. 

Come in for a truly fascinating tale of professional astronomy, fame and ignominy, clouds and galaxies, a peculiar type of star that announces how far away it is with every blink, and the woman who figured it all out.

The festivities begin at 8:00 Friday December 12, at the Lanesville Community Center, 8 Vulcan Street Gloucester. You can look here for directions: http://gaac.us/contact/

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What’s Happening at GHS 12/4/14

Naviance/Family Connection The Guidance Counselors visited all of the Freshman History Classes last week to register all students onto their Family Connection Account where they completed a Welcome Survey and learned to access this web based College and Career planning tool. All parents may register by contacting their students’ Guidance Counselor and obtaining your registration information. Counselors will be returning to the history classes in the spring to introduce the Personality Inventory which will assist all students in learning information about themselves and their learning styles.

The ASVAB test will be offered to all juniors and seniors on Friday December 5 at 7:30. The ASVAB is a multiple-aptitude battery that measures developed abilities and helps predict future academic and occupational success. If you would like to take part in this annual opportunity please stop by and sign up in the Guidance office

UPCOMING DATES OF INTEREST

ASVAB Test, Friday December 5, 7:30, Guidance Office

Students Early Release, Tuesday December 9, for Teacher Professional Development Day

2nd Term Progress Reports sent home with students on Friday December 12.

 

News from the Gloucester Education Foundation: The Gloucester Education Foundation (GEF) is pleased to introduce a new way to recognize our district’s teachers, your student’s teaching team, and any staff member(s) whether it is a cafeteria worker, custodian, or guidance counselor.  This recognition program provides an opportunity for parents and others to honor individuals in the school community who have meaningfully impacted your child’s education. 
Please pick up a yellow flyer at the main office at GHS, which includes a form to get you started in time for the holidays.  Or, hit the link,
http://www.thinkthebest.org and click on “Honor a Teacher” and complete the prompts and process a secure debit/credit card payment or donation via Pay Pal.
All donations go directly to GEF, which drives innovation, encourages creativity, and expands student opportunities at your child’s school.  Your honored staff member receives a letter acknowledging your child’s gift. Donation amounts remain confidential and are tax deductible.  There is also a spot on the form to include a short message to your special teacher or staff member that is included in the body of the acknowledgement letter. 
The GEF Honor a Teacher Task Force is grateful to have so many dedicated staff members at Gloucester High School and this new program is one way of saying thanks for a job well done! 

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The Rockport Christmas Tree Committee, now in its 116th year, is Rockport’s oldest ongoing tradition.
Started in the 1890’s by Rockport grocer Tim Sheehan, the custom of remembrance is carried on today. Members of the Rockport community 80 years of age and older, shut-ins, people with illnesses and others are remembered on Christmas Day with the delivery of a fruit basket and cookies. Residents of area senior housing, nursing homes and local hospitals receive a visit in the days before Christmas. Santa Claus himself visits residents of the Den Mar Nursing Home and presents each with a small basket of fruit and other goodies.
On Christmas morning in Dock Square, Santa arrives at 10:30 and gives all the town’s children a bag of goodies, in the tradition of the 1890’s.
Santa’s volunteer helpers will meet at Spiran Hall on Broadway at 7:00 PM on December 22 to pack the bags and baskets. On Christmas morning volunteers are welcome to meet at Spiran Hall at 9:00 AM to deliver baskets. Generations of Rockporters have participated, all you need is a willingness to help, and a smile.
The Committee needs your help to continue this tradition. We rely solely on volunteers and donations. Donations may be mailed to the Rockport Christmas Tree Committee, %Doreen Carter, 2 Mary Helen Way, Rockport, MA 01966 or dropped off at Institution for Savings in Rockport or Smith Ace Hardware & Lumber. Donations are tax deductible.
If you have a neighbor or friend who you feel should receive a basket, just let any committee member know, or leave a note with name and address at the Lumber desk at Smith Hardware and Lumber.
Committee members include Jay Smith, Dana (Buddy) Woods, Gary and Faye Anderson, Nikole Gale, Lisa Littlefield, Doreen Carter, Judy Harris, Mary Helen MacLeod, Linda Johnson, Janice Ramsden, April Beaton, Sally Frithsen, Ruth George, Andrea Ritchie, Wanda Visnick, Chris Murch, Judy Bogage, Mary-Kathryn and Jeff Gray, Darlene Trumbour, Pat Brown and John Thompson.