Final preparations are underway for the Marblehead High School Class of 2026 graduation ceremony, set for Friday, June 5, at 6 p.m.
The school will graduate 183 seniors this year. Commencement exercises are scheduled to take place on Piper Field, with the ceremony moving inside the field house in the event of rain.
The MHS concert band and orchestra will perform several pieces, including “Vienna” by Billy Joel and “Rivers and Roads” arranged by 2023 graduate Griffin Collins.
This year’s valedictorian is Joy Meshulam, while Ian Chemel has been named salutatorian.
Class officers are President William Cruikshank, Vice President Owen Dulac, Secretary Abdullah Al Janabi and Treasurer Samara Dosch.
*** Read the Current‘s articles on Cruikshank and Meshulam. ***
For many seniors, graduation marks the end of a school journey shaped by unusual challenges and historic moments.
Members of the Class of 2026 were in sixth and seventh grade when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted schools, forcing students into remote and hybrid learning during formative middle school years.
The class also experienced the Marblehead teachers strike in 2025, one of the most significant disruptions to the local school system in decades.
Over the course of their 12 years in school, the class witnessed major national and global events, including the pandemic, the widespread use of virtual learning technology, growing concerns over student mental health, and rapid advances in artificial intelligence that began reshaping education during their high school years.
Now, after years marked by uncertainty and change, the Class of 2026 is preparing to celebrate a more traditional milestone together at commencement.
Chair Al Williams shared this message from the School Committee:
“Today we celebrate a graduating class defined not by any single moment, but by a long journey of persistence, growth and shared experience.
You arrived here as individuals, each carrying your own strengths, challenges and hopes. Over time, those individual paths formed something larger — a community shaped by effort, resilience and connection.
There were days that tested you, and days that revealed what you were capable of. You learned how to adapt when things changed, how to keep going when things were difficult,and how to support one another along the way.
Now you stand at the edge of something new. Not the end of a story, but the beginning of many different ones.
Wherever you go next — college, work, service, travel, or paths not yet defined — you carry forward what you have already proven here: that you can begin with uncertainty and still move forward with purpose.
This moment belongs to you. Take it with you, and let it remind you of what you are capable of becoming.
NOTE: This message is a result of AI attempting to use all the characters of the graduating seniors’ first names. Therefore, in a sense, you all had a part in creating this message. The School Committee looks forward to all the contributions your class and character will contribute to our society going forward. Congratulations.”
