School Superintendent John Buckey
Good People of Marblehead:
I recently joined the Rotary Club of Marblehead. I was a member of Rotary in each of my prior districts. It is a wonderful opportunity to be engaged in service to our community and to collaborate in advocacy for our schools.
This past week, fellow Rotarian Jack Attridge reminded the group of the collaboration they launched this year with MPS. I share the following:
“In September 2023, the Rotary Club of Marblehead gave a gift to the Marblehead Public Schools of a mindfulness program called ‘Inner Explorer.’ On Nov. 1, the Marblehead Rotary Club presented the program to the Marblehead School Committee. Since then, Tower School and Epstein Hillel were also given the program. The Marblehead Charter School and Devereux School have also been offered it and are very interested.
“The gift to our students and staff was the brainchild of Marblehead resident and co-president of the Marblehead Rotary, Nancy Archer Gwin.
“Big or small, everyone has challenges, and we should be doing everything we can to help our children and those who support them. Inner Explorer can provide a student with skills to help deal with stress and anxiety. The massive benefits of a healthy school district is immeasurable — but measurable as well.”
Interestingly, this week Brown School Principal Mary Maxfield wrote about Inner Explorer in her Brown School Buzz newsletter. I appreciated Mary’s framing of this collaborative resource for parents:
“What about you? There is no doubt about it, parenting is tough, and it can be incredibly emotionally taxing. Did you know we have a resource in our district for all staff and families to access to help us all be more mindful and healthy?
“Inner Explorer has partnered with the Rotary Club of Marblehead to provide us all with an audio-guided daily mindfulness program specifically designed for schools. This is an ideal countermeasure to the stress and anxiety fueling the current mental health crisis. The 5-10-minute-a-day practices are simple to implement, require no teacher training, are proven effective in reducing stress, and improve emotional regulation and behavior.”
MHS principal search
At next Thursday’s School Committee meeting, I will outline the process and timeline for the search for a new principal at Marblehead High School.
Additionally, next week I will launch a series of surveys. One will be for students, one for parents/community members and one for faculty/staff. The information gleaned from these surveys will help guide the Search Committee in developing the ideal candidate profile and drafting interview questions.
We are finalizing the position description and will be posting that as well so we can begin accepting applications. We will advertise far and wide in order to generate as robust an applicant pool as possible.
As we have done in the past, the Search Committee for a new principal will be inclusive and representative of all of our stakeholders — students, parents/guardians, a METCO/SEPAC rep, faculty/staff, School Committee and administration.
Stay tuned for additional details at next Thursday’s School Committee meeting and in future updates.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Jan. 27 marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Eighty years since the Holocaust began, violent antisemitism remains a threat as sadly the caustic rise in antisemitism continues.
Our district is proud to partner with organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League, StandWithUS and Project 351 to engage our students in learning about the Holocaust, the history of Jewish people, and other important lessons about people of various faiths.
As superintendent, I remain deeply committed to working with our families and staff to instill in our students respect for people of all cultures and to ensure safe, welcoming, inclusive schools for all.
Storm cleanup
With this week’s weather, I would be remiss not to end the update with a HUGE shoutout to Director of Facilities Todd Bloodgood and all of the custodial and maintenance crews at each building and across the district, as well as our partners at Marblehead DPW and Highway Department, who cleared and maintained our lots and walkways to help keep us open, operational and safe.
Great job, and thank you!
Marblehead Superintendent John Buckey sends email updates to the school community on Friday afternoons, which the Current republishes to share with the wider community. In some instances, the update will be lightly edited, primarily to remove items that will be dated by the time the newspaper is delivered.