The students are part of the Schull Community College Sailing Team (College is the equivalent of High School in Ireland). Their names are Fionn, Darragh, Mark, Liam, Gleb and Tomas and they are between the ages of 17 and 18. The team won the Irish Schools Sailing Association (ISSA) National Championship in April. They hosted the 2011 ISAF Team Racing World Championship and placed 2nd in the youth division representing Ireland. They came to the U.S. for a week to race Manchester Essex Regional High School, Duxbury HS, Tabor Academy, the Hotchkiss School, and Portsmouth Abbey.

Different members of their team visited two years ago to prepare for the world championships by racing against the top teams in New England. This year, the teams they raced were in the top 6 of over 70 teams in New England. They stayed at senior Jacob Martz’s house as he is a member of the MERHS sailing team. They raced against MERHS on Monday afternoon and MERHS beat the Irish team 4 races to 3. Afterwards,  they had a big team cookout at the Martz’s house. Tuesday morning they left for Duxbury and then to the rest of the schools. They returned to Ireland on Sunday morning.

  According to Burgess, the biology classroom’s ecosystem, as she calls it, was started when she obtained two anole lizards for the class two years ago.

  “I thought they would be a nice little addition to the classroom, and they would help my biology classes once we started talking about biomes,” she said.

  The lizards, Burgess said, require a tropical rainforest habitat.  To create this within the classroom, there are heaters, lights, humidifiers, water-retaining bedding that allows organisms to decompose, and live tropical plants.  The students are also responsible for spraying the tank with water each day.

  Sophomore Molly Crehan said, “We get to learn about the lives of animals instead of just learning from reading or lecturing, which I like.”

  Burgess also adopted two gecko lizards from a friend, which allowed the classroom to acquire a new biome because the geckos live in the desert. 

  The geckos, according to Burgess, recently laid an egg, which is waiting to hatch.  The female died last year despite the class’s attempt to research and cure her illness, but Burgess obtained another mate for the remaining male.

  “Geckos don’t always take to each other, and they fight, but these two really took to each other right away,” she said.

  Next, Burgess purchased a tarantula named Francisco, because the students thought a spider was an animal they would never think of studying, and “everyone is a little arachnophobia, including me,” she said.

  Another way Burgess connects the curriculum with the animals is by having the students research them and collect information on the animals themselves as well as their habits and habitats.

  “Dr. Burgess always mentions the animals if they relate to what we are learning, and it would be cool for them to play an even bigger role in our class,” Crehan said.

  The animals in the room eat crickets and worms, so this year the biology classes decided to breed crickets to feed to them.  They researched the exact conditions that would allow crickets to be bred and set up a tank for the crickets.

  “We have also just started to make our own cricket food.  We use ground-up cat food and dried milk, so we can feed the crickets nutrients the animals need for when they eventually eat them,” Burgess said.

  Another job of the biology class, according to Burgess, is working what they call a plant hospital.  People within the school bring in their sick plants, and each student is assigned a plant to try and cure.  Burgess said they successfully resurrected math teacher Richard Brown’s orchid.

  Some of the plants are air cleansing plants, and they absorb fumes in the room that come from the preserved animals used by the anatomy class.

  Finally, Burgess said she wants to “find a way to make dechlorinated water” because the water in the room is non-potable.  To do this naturally, a student in the class found out that if they have a fish tank, the waste in the water of the fish tank would provide fertilizer for the plants.  Also, an aerator in the tank would create dechlorinated water.

The 12 students ranged from freshmen to seniors. Chaperones English teachers Mary Buckley-Harmon and Allison Krause accompanied them. They arrived on Saturday, April 13 and departed on Friday, April 19.

“The trip was awesome! It was my first time flying out of the country, and I was with a great group of people as well,” junior Tatum Hosman said.

Upon arrival, the group greeted their tour guide, Rikke, and headed to their hotel in London.  The first full day in London included visits to Westminster Abbey, Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, Piccadilly Circus, and Covent Garden.

Monday consisted of more London sightseeing along with an excursion to Windsor Castle where the queen lives on the weekends. To end the day, the group caught a performance of the Broadway show “Wicked” at the Apollo Victoria Theater in London.

“My favorite part of the trip was when we toured Windsor Castle. It was really fun, and we got to see and take pictures with one of the guards,” senior Jackie Rose said.

Expeditions to see Stonehenge and the town of Bath’s Roman baths filled Tuesday’s agenda while Wednesday included trips to the Tower of London and a boat trip to Greenwich to visit the Royal Observatory and the Maritime Museum. A Jack the Ripper tour concluded the day.

Excursions to Oxford and Stratford to see Shakespeare’s birthplace as well as Anne Hathaway’s cottage filled the last day of the trip.

During the previous trip to London in 2011, the group stayed in Greenwich, but this time they stayed in London, which allowed for more free time.

“One special moment was getting to see Shakespeare’s gravesite. We didn’t have time to see it on the last trip. We also had time to tour the Globe Theater, which we also missed last time.

Krause agreed that the second trip was a success. “The trip was great. We had a fabulous time, and we got to see some things that Ms. Buckley-Harmon and I hadn’t seen two years ago. We had a great group of kids,” Krause said.

  Starting a new club is no easy task, according to junior Kelly Moore, who recently began the Business Speakers’ Bureau.

  “I have spent a lot of time on this… it is definitely a large time dedication,” she said.

  According to her, students can join the club to meet professionals who have careers in business.

  “Ideally people will be able to come to our presentations to gain a firsthand look at what outside companies do and to learn about the business world,” she said.

  According to Moore, she decided to start the club because of her own interest in a future business career and her goal of providing other students with helpful career information.

  In preparation for the club’s first meeting on April 10, Moore and co-founder, junior Mike Leahy, spent time putting up posters and promoting the presentation, Leahy said.

  “We have done a lot of work with Ms. Maguire who sent out an email to the community…and we have also hung up a lot of flyers,” he said.

  According to Leahy, Moore has been heading up their advertising activities and communications with speakers.

  “Kelly has definitely been leading the club…she is the one who is getting in contact and who established the group,” he said.

  The first speaker was Michael Even, the CEO of the investment company Numeric.

  Even said he was impressed by Moore’s dedicated efforts in contacting him for the presentation.

  “She has been very professional… and very consistent in reaching out to me,” he said.

  According to Moore, 12 students attended the club’s first meeting, and she was pleased with Even’s informative presentation and thought the turnout was good for the first meeting.

  “Mr. Even was a great public speaker, and he educated the whole group about the stock market and gave us some very useful advice,” she said.

  The next speaker, according to Moore, is former student Justin Sandler who founded the company Black Earth Compost. She said she hopes to have the presentation in late May.

  Prior to the first game, juniors Kevin Carter, starting varsity left fielder; and Billy Burnham, first and third baseman and JV pitcher, commented on the relative smoothness of tryouts, noting the lack of cuts from both teams.

  The resulting varsity team, led by captains and seniors Max Nesbit, Jake Fitzgerald, and Cory Burnham, is comprised of mostly the same players from last year, except a few who really “shined” at tryouts, according to Carter.

  One such exception is freshman Brandon Bartlett, the only freshman chosen to play on varsity this year.

  To prepare further for the remaining season, both JV and varsity teams attended multiple morning practices and games over April break at their home field of Memorial Park, Essex.

  Varsity tried to reload after Georgetown handed them an 8-0 loss on April 11 to start the season, according to oach Robert Garrett. Georgetown scored five runs in the first inning; Garrett said it was difficult to recover, especially on the road.

  “It was the first game for many [new] varsity players, so there were a lot of first game jitters,” he said.

  However, the Hornets battled back on April 27 when faced with Georgetown for the second time, defeating them 5-4 and giving them their first loss of the season. Bartlett pitched a complete game, and Cory Burnham scored in the bottom of the sixth inning to seal the win.

  “This is the first time Manchester Essex has beaten Georgetown in a while, [though] I don’t know the exact length of time,” Carter said.    

  The team’s remaining victory was on April 16 in a home game against Lynnfield. Prevailing with a 6-4 win, the Hornets hit in five runs to tie and eventually surpassed Lynnfield’s early 4-1 lead.

  According to the MIAA policy, if a student athlete is caught using drugs or alcohol at any point during the school year, he or she is suspended for 25% of the season; a second offense bumps the suspension up to 60%, and a third requires the student to attend a chemical dependency program.

  These rules should only apply to the athlete during the season during which he or she participates in a sport be it one or three seasons.

  Despite the laws in Massachusetts that limit the use of alcohol and drugs, it is naive to think that some high school students don’t drink or do drugs outside of school. Trying to enforce the Zero-Tolerance Policy, a rule that simply reiterates these state laws, throughout the entirety of the school year is both redundant and ineffective.

  Exempting student athletes from the policy during their off season would be significantly more effective because they would be more willing to make a full commitment to their team, meaning not drink or do drugs over the course of the season.

  If a student is not enrolled on a team during a given season, why should MIAA have any involvement in determining the consequences should a student get caught for using drugs or alcohol outside of school? In the case of such an incident, repercussions should be administered solely by the law, not by the state’s athletic association.

  This issue is complex, and there is plenty of “gray” area. Suppose a student is caught using drugs or alcohol at a school function or event during his or her off season. Is it then reasonable to penalize the student’s position and involvement on a team playing, though in some cases, up to six months later? Should there be a separate rule in the occurrence of this type of circumstance?

  According to Paul Murphy, high school assistant principal, the Zero Tolerance policy only occurs in the case of an official police report involving a student athlete violating rules regarding underage drinking or drug usage.

  It is still possible though, for the school to further investigate any photos, videos or overheard conversations referencing or displaying underage drinking or drug usage without a police report, which may or may not lead to a sports suspension, Murphy said.

  Since the policy only applies if the police file a report against a student athlete, the MIAA should not be responsible for implementing any repercussions off season. Law enforcers can take care of this on their own.

  Because of the late winter this year, the team had to have 5:30 am practices at the Manchester Athletic Club to practice before their first match. Although, according to tennis coach Philip Logsdon, the team’s spirit about it was great and there was very little complaining.

  Their first match and win of the season at an away match against Boston Latin Academy. The team won the match 5-0, and the junior varsity team won most of their matches. Returning to the team this year is first singles player senior captain Brittany Collens, who will be playing at New Mexico State University next year.

  “Brittany Collens played Dede, who is another tournament level player from Boston Latin, and traded some wonderful strokes back and forth…some of those strokes were incredible to see,” coach Logsdon said.

  The following day, the tennis team played a home match against Hamilton-Wenham and won 5-0.This was the first time the tennis team played on the new courts in front of the elementary school.

  According to Logsdon, Molly Carlson was very tactical and strategic in how she placed her shots when playing first doubles with junior Rachel Daley.

  “This is one of the first years where we have both strong singles and doubles teams which will create really good results. I can see us winning States this year, especially if we beat Bedford in the North Division,” captain Rachel Daley said.

  The team has a total of 34 girls, 10 as varsity players and 24 junior varsity players. In the Hamilton-Wenham match, 18-20 girls actually got to play, some girls never having played competitively in their lives.

    “With the addition of Brittany Collens and having coach Logsdon step up, our team will be better then ever this year,” captain Michelle Fuca said.

  According to Logsdon, Fuca has a signature spin shot that was spinning better then ever during the Hamilton-Wenham match.

  “The sun was out, we were really happy, and our first week went just as well as we could have imagined it,” Logsdon said.

   After the three first meets in the season, six Gloucester athletes on the girls’ team are qualified for the state meet: Elle Wierbicky in the 200 meters, Bianca Giacalone in the 400 meters, the 4 by 100 meter relay team of Kayla Nasser, Timia Buckley, Elle Wierbicky, Bianca Giacalone, Liz McCormack in the discus and shot put; and Hannah Pastagal in the discus.

  The team has been so strong in the beginning of the season that Destino believed they could have beaten Danvers, their one loss, had all the athletes been present.

  According to Destino, the new method of coaching involving multiple specialized coaches has been very effective in the organization of the team. He added that the athletes have benefitted greatly from their individual coaches’ expertise.

  Freshman distance runner Charlie Davis said the intensive and specialized workouts at practices have helped him improve from the indoor track season.

  He, along with freshman Megan Clark, is looking forward to the upcoming Freshman-Sophomore meet on April 27 where both freshmen will be able to compete with athletes their own age from a wide array of towns.

  Clark is a newcomer to track but has enjoyed the season so far, improving her times and meeting new people. 

  Destino said they are specifically looking to improve in jumping events, which include the long, triple, and high jumps, as injuries have thinned out the number of participants in that field.

The team is looking to continue excelling at a conference level, according to Destino, as six in-league meets remain before the post-season.