Education - Marblehead Current

MHS Culture Feast a big hit, students produce video of event

1Jun

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Art, Community resources, Culture, Education, Local News, Marblehead Public Schools, Top Stories

MHS Culture Feast a big hit, students produce video of event

More than 150 students, families and residents came out for Marblehead High School's annual Culture Feast on May 19, organized by the METCO program. The night featured several live performances by students, as well as Kenyan singer, writer and activist Wangari Fahari. There was food from around the world, including food trucks Jamaica Mi Hungry, Bon Me and Cookie Monstah. MHS student Tamia Johnson produced a video piece about the evening. Her sister Tamya provided the voiceover. Students Piper Morgan and Alex Hersey recorded the footage. You can watch the video HERE. MHS students enjoy Culture Feast. COURTESY PHOTO

31May

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Art, Education, Local News, Religion

Tradition: Epstein Hillel students hit all the right notes in ‘Fiddler on the Roof’

Epstein Hillel School’s upper school performed three sold-out shows of “Fiddler on the Roof” recently at Marblehead Little Theatre. Under the direction of EHS teachers Leslie Smith-Rosen and Ori Baruch, every student in fifth through eighth grade participated in the play: as actors on stage, assistant directors or as part of the stage crew. Lily West (left) as Tzeitel, Leah Bruner (middle) as Chava, and Naya Bodner (right) as Hodel in 'Fiddler on the Roof' COURTESY PHOTOS Epstein Hillel students perform ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ at Marblehead Little Theatre. David Magen (right) as Tevye, Bo Pica (middle) as Perchik, and Bella Bacon (left) as Mendel in ‘Fiddler on the Roof’

30May

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Art, Culture, Education, Local News, Marblehead Public Schools, Politics, Top Stories

MHS alum to premiere political thriller at Warwick during reunion

Coming home for your 50th high school reunion can be a little intimidating. Less so for Greg Newberry, who will be premiering a film he wrote, produced and directed at the Warwick Cinema the same weekend as his Marblehead High reunion. A poster for Greg Newberry's movie. It will premiere at the Warwick on June 3. COURTESY PHOTOS The Warwick will screen “Who is Amos Otis?” on Saturday, June 3, at 1 p.m., followed by a Q&A with Newberry. Newberry now lives in Cincinnati where — when he’s not making movies — he works in advertising. “This will be the film’s first screening in a theater,” Newberry said. “It’s fitting that it’s at the Warwick, where I was schooled on film growing up.” Newberry remembers watching classics like “The Godfather” and “Cool Hand Luke” at the Warw...

30May

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Education, Local News, Marblehead Public Schools, Nonprofit corner

MHS student honored for essay on antisemitism

Marblehead High School student Jeremy Sorkin won third place in the Israel Arbeiter Essay Contest from the Jewish Community Relations Council and will be traveling to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum with other winners. MHS student Jeremy Sorkin wrote about antisemitism and how it hits home in Marblehead. COURTESY PHOTO Sorkin wrote about the persecution of Jewish people throughout history — and the antisemitism that still exists today. “Many swastikas have been found at my school and even on some of the sidewalks in my town,” Sorkin wrote. “This continued hatred from the war prevails to this day, and combating it is the next step that teens in my peer group, and even younger children should engage in.”

30May

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Education, Local News, Marblehead Public Schools, Top Stories

‘Don’t beat yourself up,’ Class of 2023’s top grads offer advice

Marblehead High School’s valedictorian and salutatorian will both miss the ocean when they leave for college in Indiana and Colorado at the end of the summer, but they are looking forward to the next chapters in their lives. MHS Valedictorian Yasen Colón, right, and Salutatorian Cate Trautman organized a blood drive at school recently. COURTESY PHOTO Valedictorian Yasen Colón is heading to Purdue University to study aerospace engineering. Salutatorian Cate Trautman is going to University of Colorado Boulder and its engineering honors program. They’re both excited to have been named the students with the highest GPAs (grade point averages) in the MHS class of 2023 and to speak at graduation on June 9. “It’s definitely a great honor,” said Colón. “When you spend most of your Fr...

29May

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Education, Marblehead Public Schools, Top Stories

Local vets share their war stories at MHS

Just a few days before Memorial Day, five Vietnam veterans from Marblehead, some with Purple Heart medals, came to speak to students at the high school about their experiences and how war changed their lives. ‘War is an absurdity’ said veteran Buck Grader. CURRENT PHOTOS / LEIGH BLANDER The MHS juniors had just finished reading “The Things They Carried,” a collection of semi-autobiographical stories by Tim O’Brien about a platoon of American soldiers fighting in Vietnam. The students asked the veterans dozens of questions ranging from: How did you feel when you got your draft notice? Did you have a strong stance on the war? What was your role in the war? What was it like coming back home? Each veteran met with a group of about six students. Boyden Batty shared photos of himsel...

28May

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Education, Environment, Local News, Marblehead Public Schools, Top Stories

Village students return from Bournedale adventure

More than 180 Village School sixth-graders are back from the traditional four-day excursion to Camp Bournedale in Plymouth— the first time since 2019 that students have been able to go. The program is called VillageXperience. “Students missed out on so many social opportunities over the past few years. We hope that this Xperience will be one that they will remember for a lifetime,” said Village teacher Jonathan Heller, who helped lead the trip. Village students have been going to Bournedale for at least three decades. “There are Village staff and chaperones that attended Bournedale when they were students in Marblehead Public Schools,” Heller told the Marblehead Current. Scenes from the Village School students trip to the Bournedale Camp. COURTESY PHO...

27May

By William J. Dowd1 Comment

Education, Local News, Obituaries, Top Stories

Arthur Epstein, beloved Marblehead benefactor, dies at 86

The Marblehead community is lamenting the loss of Arthur Joseph Epstein, a business executive, philanthropist and all-around mensch who leaves behind a legacy of transformative contributions to mental and behavioral health care and Jewish education on the North Shore. Epstein died on May 21. He was 86. Arthur Epstein in front of Epstein Hillel School in 2017 shortly after the school was renamed in his honor. COURTESY PHOTO / EPSTEIN HILLEL SCHOOL Hailing from Malden, Epstein grew up to become a successful entrepreneur and investor, becoming the second-largest franchise owner in the country. He and his late wife, Eunice, were high school sweethearts and raised their three children in Marblehead. They resided in the town for 50 years. Epstein bought his first Midas Muffler tire s...

25May

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Community resources, Culture, Education, Life Style, Local News, Municipal Matters, Nonprofit corner, Top Stories

Marblehead to celebrate Pride Month with art, flag raising, tea dance

To kick off Pride Month in June, Marblehead businesses Creative Spirit and MacRae’s Sustainable Goods will host a public reception on Friday, June 2, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., for the opening of their next non-juried art exhibit, “Love Wins.” The reception will be held at MacRae’s Sustainable Goods,108 Washington St. Learn more and register artwork at creativespiritma.com. Families celebrate at the Pride flag raising in 2022. COURTESY PHOTO On Saturday, June 3, at 3 p.m., the town of Marblehead will celebrate Pride Month with its fifth annual flag raising ceremony on the lawn of Abbot Hall. The ceremony is produced by a small, grass-roots committee of local volunteers and the town. The event is open to the public and will feature speakers including town officials, clergy, youth and...

24May

By William J. DowdNo Comments

Education, Local News, Municipal Matters, Politics

Discord among Select Board aired over COVID relief funds

Members of the Marblehead Select Board recently expressed conflicting views regarding its allocation of the town's remaining $3.3 million in federal COVID relief funds from the American Reinvestment Plan Act (ARPA). During a public meeting on May 10, these contrasting opinions arose as the Select Board considered, and ultimately approved, two ARPA funding requests worth $93,513 for the Marblehead Public Schools. These proposals were the most recent recommendations from an ARPA working group chaired by Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer. Marblehead Select Board members Alexa Singer and Erin Noonan believe the town should revisit criteria established to guide decision making around federal COVID relief funds. CURRENT PHOTO / NICOLE GOODHUE BOYD ‘Circumstances have changed’ The wo...