Massachusetts
Massachusetts high school nixes ‘USA Day’ from school spirit week because it’s too ‘politicized’
Faculty at a Massachusetts high school have canceled “USA Day” from its spirit week activities this year because they wanted to “avoid politics,” local outlets reported this week.
In a letter to the school community, Wellesley High School principal Jamie Chisum explained that school staff canceled the patriotic-themed day to avoid a topic that had become “politicized.”
“USA Day” was slated to be held on the last day of the high school’s festive week, allowing kids to dress up in their patriotic gear and celebrate America. The theme was replaced by “Fitness Friday,” though students were still invited to wear their patriotic apparel.
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Student Unification Program member Olivia Spagnuolo spoke to local Boston 25 about the school’s decision, saying it was not open for debate. “The administration was not going to let this happen. It wasn’t a topic for discussion,” she said.
Spagnuolo’s group had been tasked with coming up with the daily themes for this year’s spirit week, which included “Throwback Thursday” as well as “Wild West Wednesday.”
The week of festivities has always been part of building up school spirit leading up to the school’s annual Thanksgiving football game.
Spagnuolo explained the administrators’ decision, saying, “They said it was not allowed because it separated people at the school.” The Student Unification Program also noted that this is not the first year that the idea for a patriotic spirit day has been vetoed.
Chisum’s letter provided more detail on the move, stating, “The high school Administration decided not to go forward with that spirit theme because it felt really different than the other themes kids came up with for the week. We felt that the topic has been politicized beyond our school and we wanted to avoid politics.”
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“We’ve had Mismatch Monday, Tropical Tuesday, Western Wednesday, Team Jersey Thursday and today was Fitness Friday. Monday is Monochrome Monday and Tuesday is Pajama day. Spirit Week is intended to be a light and fun way for our students to get excited about our pep rally and Thanksgiving Day football game,” he added.
The principal also apologized for the decision creating controversy and frustration among the community.
“We acknowledge that the impact for some people has been just the opposite of our intention and that we have inadvertently politicized this activity. I am definitely sorry for any negative effect this has had on kids and families.”
A local parent told local reporters that the decision is “absurd,” adding, “I think it’s sad and depressing we’re at this state that celebrating the United States is political.”
Chisum did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Massachusetts
Person sledding injured in collision with tree in Sherborn
One person was injured while sledding with their family in Sherborn, Massachusetts, on Sunday.
Sherborn Fire and Rescue says they were called to Pine Hill off of Pine Hill Lane for a technical rescue after an adult struck a tree while sledding.
Firefighters were able to rig a hoist system to safely lower the patient down the hill to the field where their UTV was waiting to take them to an ambulance.
The injured person was transported to a local hospital for treatment. There was no immediate update on the extent of their injuries.
Further details were not provided.
Massachusetts
New Hampshire man plays Mass. lottery, wins $25,000 a year for life prize
A New Hampshire man who played the lottery in Massachusetts won $25,000 a year for life.
Joseph DeFeudis, of Pelham, N.H. won $25,000 a year for life during a “Lucky for Life” drawing held on Nov. 16, 2024. The first five numbers on DeFeudis’ ticket matched the drawn numbers.
He bought his winning ticket Ted’s Stateline Mobil at 551 Broadway in Methuen.
DeFeudis claimed his prize on Jan. 2, and chose the cash option to receive a one-time payment of $390,000 before taxes.
The New Hampshire man told the Massachusetts State Lottery officials he plans on retiring with his prize.
Massachusetts
How much snow fell in Massachusetts? Here are the totals for January 11
BOSTON – Parts of Massachusetts saw a coating of snow on Saturday that was above the expected flurries in some areas. Several cities reported well over an inch of snow.
Here are the latest snow totals from the National Weather Service, Rob Macedo, the SKYWARN Coordinator for the National Weather Service in Taunton, and WBZ-TV Weather Watchers.
Fitchburg 4.0
Methuen 3.5
Andover 3.5
Sterling 3.5
Topsfield 3.5
Gardner 3.5
Saugus 3.3
Swampscott 3.2
Grafton 3.1
Haverhill 3.0
Groton 3.0
Wakefield 3.0
Peabody 3.0
Westboro 2.6
Gloucester 2.5
Cambridge 2.4
Billerica 2.4
Worcester 2.1
Shrewsbury 2.0
Milford 2.0
Brockton 1.8
Walpole 1.3
Needham 1.3
North Attleboro .05
How much snow did Boston and Worcester get?
The storm brought in an additional 1.8 inches of snow at Boston’s Logan Airport, bringing the season total to 7.5 inches. That’s still only half of the average snowfall for the season, which begins July 1.
Before today, we only had trace amounts of snow reported at Logan. Saturday’s snow accounts for everything measurable so far in January for Boston.
Worcester added 2.1 inches of snow on Saturday. This brings the season total to 12.4 inches.
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