School Superintendent John Buckey
Good people of Marblehead:
The African proverb “it takes a village” has really been resonating with me this week as I reflect on all the support and collaboration we have with the town of Marblehead.
At a recent cabinet meeting with town colleagues, I outlined a number of examples where various departments support our Marblehead Public Schools. I would like to share them with our families who might not be aware.
Marblehead Fire Department — We have had a recent goose problem at the playground at the Brown Elementary School. Chief Gilliland quickly stepped up and brought some equipment on site to clean the playground. He has since monitored and worked to deter our avian visitors.
Additionally, the chief has offered to support an adult CPR course for parents in the district. After NFL player Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest on the field, some families have reached out to me to see what the district does for CPR training.
We provide it in PE and health classes at both MVMS and MHS and ensure that our coaches are trained. We have provided classes for staff, but we have not recently offered one for families.
The time is right; thank you, chief. Stay tuned for additional details on this.
Marblehead Police Department — Chief King has been an avid supporter of Safe Routes to School and helped to explore grant opportunities to keep our walkers and bike riders safe.
The chief has brought back a full school resource officer to the district — Sean Sweeney Jr. — and is a regular contributor to our District Safety Committee. The collaboration to keep our students and staff safe is invaluable.
Department of Public Works — While we are grateful for our collaboration with DPW all year, at this time of year with snow and ice we are reminded of how important their support is.
Recreation & Parks Department — We have a great working relationship with Rec & Park as they maintain our playing fields and attend to our mowing in the summer months while we provide spaces in various schools for their programming. We are updating our current MOU with them to detail further the specifics of our mutually beneficial work.
Abbot Public Library — We are currently hosting the Abbot Public Library in the Eveleth School as they undergo the renovation project at their 3 Brook Road location. They host a number of programs and events that support our students and staff. We are grateful for their ongoing support and collaboration.
I feel like I could go on and on. After Wednesday’s State of the Town, I felt it is as important as ever to appreciate, understand and value the need for unity and collaboration. Our students and staff deserve that.
Search updates
This week, we issued a series of surveys for students, staff and families at Marblehead High School regarding the search for a new principal. We solicited interest from students and parents who might be interested in being on the Search Committee. The Marblehead Educators Association, by contract, selects four teacher representatives for the search.
Additionally, on Wednesday, Feb. 1, we posted the position and are accepting applications.
We also posted the assistant superintendent for teaching and learning position. We will provide additional details about this position in a future update.
The composition of the Search Committee will be similar, and the timeline should have the successful candidate announced by the first of May.
National School Counselor Week
During the first full week of February (Feb. 6-10), schools throughout the country will celebrate National School Counseling Week. Coming out of the pandemic, school counselors have been invaluable in supporting students and families struggling with academic, social, emotional and mental health challenges.
National School Counseling Week is a great way to promote awareness, appreciate our counseling faculty and staff, and recognize the school counselors across MPS.
Throughout the week, we invite you to let your school’s counselors know that you appreciate their work.
Black History Month
“This month allows us to reflect, remember and acknowledge the achievements of those who went before us. We have placed Black History Month banners throughout each of our school buildings. Students have been celebrating Black influential leaders in many ways. Our high school students have been leading morning announcements, elementary school students have been doing activities, and our middle school students have been reading poems. Thank you to the Marblehead community for celebrating our shared history this month and always.”
— Caja Johnson, METCO director
As I end this week’s update, I noticed today is 2-3-23. A quick search on the Googler found this is a lucky day for numerologists.
“According to numerology, this date has a special energy encouraging us to think more about our goals and go after them.”
Happy 2-3-23, and have a great weekend.
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.