Sometimes you just have to take one for the team! Today was the annual tradition of the Ugly Sweater Contest at the Penn Brook School.   It is one of the  best days of the year as the staff and students don their holiday attire and they hold a “friendly yet competitive”  Ugly Sweater Contest.  The coveted trophies are awarded to the top two teams in the individual and team categories.  The winners have bragging rights for a year displaying the trophy in their classroom or office for all to see. I am always so impressed with the creativity of everyone who participates and the audience goes wild when the contestants strut their stuff on the red paper carpet! Imagine over 800 people cheering excitedly for all groups, but most particularly for their favorites. The winners this year were the specialists for dressing up as Toy Story characters and 6th grade teacher Joe Pittella for his eclectic outfit that had a lot going on.  Joe upped his game this year by adding leggings and shiny red shorts to the his holiday t-shirt and Christmas sport coat and ,of course,  a necklace with blinking flashing lights. His halls were definitely decked!

I would be remiss not to highlight and recognize the efforts of Director of Building and Grounds Mike Anderson and his merry crew who for the third year in a row finished in second place.  Many in the audience thought they should have won because they really brought it this year and they wanted that trophy badly. They even recruited me and the women in the central office , Suzanne Sutherland, Nancy Weiss, Trisha MacDonald and Julie Lavacchia to assist them. Further, Mike Walsh joined this performance as Santa Claus.

Have you ever heard the song, “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas”? Well this group of central office and maintenance employees dazzled the crowd with wait for it…

That’s right! I not only got one hippopotamus  but I got FIVE! These hippos in their tutus danced their way into second place and I could not be more proud of them for joining in the fun and showing their creative side. They are all winners in my mind!

Thank you to first grade teacher Heidi Begin for being the champion for this event. She handles all the details and it is a labor of love for her. Thanks also to Barry Belanger who leads an all school sing along while the judges deliberate.  Finally , to all of the participants and the entire school, this is truly a special PB School community event and I am so happy to be how this tradition has grown.

I wish you and yours a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year! See you in 2020.

What an exciting afternoon as we gathered together at GMHS to watch Hunter Lane sign a National Letter of Intent to play football at Holy Cross in Worcester beginning in the fall of 2020! Hunter graduated from Georgetown Middle High School in the Class of 2019. His aspiration was to play Division 1 football and he has the talent to play at that level but he and his family devised to take this year and complete a post-graduate year at Phillips Andover which he did with much success. Hunter also received offers from four other schools but committed to Holy Cross. It was a nice ceremony that was attended by his parents and his sister and many other coaches, current players and alumni teammates, administration and teachers and friends. In my 13 years here, I have seen two athletes sign National Letters of Intent to play Division 1 so this is a big deal for Hunter and his family, the Georgetown Middle High School and the town of Georgetown. It has been a pleasure watching Hunter get to this point. He is an excellent student, outstanding athlete, leader and teammate, and an overall fantastic and humble young man! I know you join me in wishing Hunter all of the success in the world because he has earned it and deserves this opportunity.  Go get em Hunter! Your community and friends are behind you and are so proud of you and your accomplishments.

https://www.newburyportnews.com/sports/local_sports/from-royal-blue-to-big-blue-georgetown-s-lane-thrives/article_a7b8a0be-6e86-56a0-

I could not be more proud of the 2019-2020 cheer team and coaches Tracy Wood and Tracey Zimirowski on their success this fall! They are a very dedicated group of young woman who work so hard and perform at a  very high level. After winning the North Regional Competition in North Reading,  they went on to compete in the State competition in Worcester and finished second.  They brought their A game and made all of us so very proud!They were beat by a very strong Rockland team who won the state title for the second year in a row. While the girls were a little disappointed, they had no reason to be because they gave a great performance and left it all on the mat.  The team will miss the three seniors captains , Emma Sindoni, Olivia Mills and Lindsey Feeks, because they wonderful examples of what it means to be a leader and a mentor.  I know they will all take their experience in this sport and apply what they have learned to other aspects of their lives. They are all talented, strong, hardworking and fabulous young woman! Other members of the fall Cheer Team include Maria Zimirowski, Christina Harvey, Gabriella Duratti, Marley Morrison, Sophia Wing, Alexis Murphy, Laura Woodbury, MaryKate Thompson, Cassandra Spencer, Makailey Gasca, Lindsey D’Entremont,Isabella Nealon and Fiona Flood.

I would be remiss if I did not recognize coaches Tracy Wood and Tracey Zimirowski.  They both bring their expertise, talent and passion to the work they do with these athletes every day. They commit an extensive number of hours beyond what is expected to ensure that the girls are prepared, ready for competition and united as a team! If I had a daughter who wanted to be a cheerleader, I think the best thing I can say  is that I would love to have these ladies coach her. They have my respect and appreciation for what they have done for this program and for the girls on this team. Well done ladies!

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I want to make sure parents know about the event that is happening on 12/13/19 at the GYCC Youth Center at Perley.  The GYCC Board is sponsoring this event which is open to students in grades 6-10 from 7:00 PM-9:00 PM. Check out the link below to learn about the fun events that are planned. As of yesterday there were 50 youth registered and there is room for more.  Please preregister or come to sign in with your child if not preregistered. It should be a great time!

https://www.facebook.com/events/2908867159132838/?acontext=%7B%22ref%22%3A%2222%22%2C%22feed_story_type%22%3A%2222%22%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D