McGlynn String Ensemble Wins Gold Medal

SONG OF THE DAY: "Wakin On A Pretty Day" by Kurt Vile

Good morning, Medford! Here are five things you need to know today, Friday, April 12:

1. CONGRATS TO MCGLYNN STRING ENSEMBLE: The McGlynn Middle School String Ensemble recently received the Gold Medal at the Massachusetts Instrumental and Chorus Conductor’s Association Band and Orchestra Concert Festival.

According to the school district website, they will be performing at Symphony Hall Saturday. Students from the McGlynn Middle School and the Andrews Middle School will perform at 11:30 a.m.

2. GREENUP CLEANUP: Volunteers are sought by the After School Program of Graceworks Childcare as they converge onto Victory Park on Winthrop Street in Medford, near the Medford High School and Temple Shalom next Tuesday. The kids, Graceworks Staff and any other welcomed volunteers will be gardening, cleaning up trash, and performing a general sprucing up of the park. More information available here.

3. GET THE PATCH NEWSLETTER: Have you signed up for the Medford Patch Daily Newsletter yet? Each morning you can get Medford Patch news delivered directly to your e-mail inbox. It's totally free, so if you like what you read here, sign up now!

4. THIS DAY IN HISTORY: The bloodiest four years in American history begin on this day in 1861 when Confederate shore batteries under General P.G.T. Beauregard open fire on Union-held Fort Sumter in South Carolina's Charleston Bay. During the next 34 hours, 50 Confederate guns and mortars launched more than 4,000 rounds at the poorly supplied fort. On April 13, U.S. Major Robert Anderson surrendered the fort. Two days later, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation calling for 75,000 volunteer soldiers to quell the Southern "insurrection." Information courtesy of History.com.

5. TODAY'S FORECAST: Rain with a high near 40. Rain again tonight, low of 35.