Spring Ahead Your Clock One Hour Saturday Night! Vol. 35, No.10 -FREEwww.advocatenews.net Free Every Friday Revere High Track Star Stamatopoulos Shines at State Level By Dom Nicastro A shley Cabrera Rodriguez and Gemma Stamatopoulos represented the Revere High School girls track team at the MSTCA Pentathlon. The highlight of the meet came when junior Stamatopoulos, in her fi fth and fi nal event of the day, broke the school record in the 800-meter race with a time of 2:28.29. This broke the old record — previously set in 2018 by Hannah Fitzpatrick — by.21 seconds. “This incredible race happened after Gemma had already completed four other events (55-meter hurdles, high jump, long jump and shotput) and had been competing for a total of four and a half hours,” Revere coach Racquel MacDonald-Ciambelli said. “Even after this long day, Gemma was determined to break this school record, knowing that she would have to lead the race from the start. The closest competitor in Gemma’s 800-meter heat only ran a 2:40 which put Gemma a full 10 seconds ahead of the pack. I cannot express how diffi cult it is to lead an 800 for the full four laps and only rely on your own pacing. It calls for not only incredible fitness but also a really tough mentality.” This second-place finish in the 800-meter added 714 points to Stamatopoulos’ total pentathlon score, which was 2,131. This was good for 62nd place overall out of 150 competitors. Not bad for her fi rst time, according to her coach. Senior captain Cabrera Rodriguez also competed in the MSTCA pentathlon and scored 1,325 points overall for a 133rd fi nish. Her best event of the day was the 55-meter hurdles, where she ran a 10.4. T 781-286-8500 Friday, March 7, 2025 School Committee votes down safe haven resolution for school district Advocate Staff Report he School Committee was divided at their meeting late last month on Vice Chair Jacqueline Monterroso’s proposed resolution to establish the Revere School District as a safe haven. Prior to the committee’s vote, a group of students spoke in favor of the resolution. “Students are really scared that while they are at school someone could come and take their parents away,” Julia Figueroa told the committee. “It’s hard to focus on school when border patrol comes near a school; it makes students afraid and worried. School should be a safe place. Every student deserves to come to school without fear of immigration enforcement.” Another student named Emily said that some of her peers have families who, like her, are not from here. “They should not have to worry about being taken from their families,” she told committee members. A Revere High student named Endurance said she’s originally from Cameroon, but came to the United States when she was 11. “I found my place at Revere High, a place so diverse and so rich in culture it was my safe haven. Now, I am terrifi ed to walk into school every day,” she said. She struggled to hold back tears as she described not being able to assure her little brother that they would not be deported, despite being in the U.S. legally. Endurance stressed that no one from the school administration has spoken to immigrant students about immigration enforcement. “Not a single person has come to speak with us,” she said, adding, “Students should not be terrifi ed in school.” SCHOOL COMMITTEE | SEE Page 3 RHS track star Gemma Stamatopoulos is shown competing during the recent Mass. State Track Coaches Association Pentathlon. (Courtesy photo) The Patriots, who won their second straight Greater Boston League title this season, finished off the year with some great news. Stamatopoulos was voted GBL Track Athlete of the Year. “An extremely well-deserved honor considering all of her amazing feats this indoor season,” MacDonald-Ciambelli said. Stamatopoulos’ resume for this winter season: • Undefeated GBL champion in the 600-meter • GBL champion in the 2-mile • Third-place finish at GBL championships in the high jump • School record in the 600-meter (1:42.08) • School record in the 800-meter (2:28.29) • School record in the sprint medley relay (4:35.23) • School record in the distance medley r elay (14:10.67) SPORTS | SEE Page 15 Applications open again for Revere First-Time Homebuyer Downpayment Assistance Program Special to Th e Advocate T he City of Revere and the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Board have announced that the application for the City of Revere’s First-Time Homebuyer Downpayment Assistance Program has reopened, following the receipt of a $75,000 earmark in this year’s state budget in support of the program. The application is available via the City of Revere’s website at https://www.revere.org/business-development/programsand-support. Funding is available for eligible City of Revere residents seeking to purchase their fi rst home. Applicants must demonstrate two-plus years of existing Revere residency with APPLICATIONS | SEE Page 2
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