Education - Marblehead Current

Charter’s Exhibition Night spotlights students’ skills

27Nov

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Education, Local News

Charter’s Exhibition Night spotlights students’ skills

More than 250 people came out for Exhibition Night at the Marblehead Community Charter Public School on Nov. 20, when students showed off the projects they’ve been working on for the last several weeks. The sixth-grade class designed tiny houses, incorporating skills learned in math, science, humanities and art. (You can read more about the tiny house project HERE.) Other students created themed roller coasters using the concepts of velocity and kinetic energy. Sixth-grader Larkin Smith shows off her model of a tiny house at the MCCPS Exhibittion Night. COURTESY PHOTO / LINDSAY SMITH Seventh-grader Adrian Greene built this roller coaster, using his knowledge of veolocy and kinetic energy. COURTESY PHOTO / ANNA LORETAN Charlotte Kuschnir and Callum Salsich stand by their...

20Nov

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Education, Local News, Marblehead Public Schools

Marblehead students join national Ruby Bridges Walk

Students at the Brown, Glover and Village schools joined in the national Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day on Tuesday, Nov. 14. On the same day in 1960, Bridges stepped into history books when she integrated William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans, becoming a national icon for the Civil Rights Movement. She was 6 years old. Marblehead students first read Bridges’ book about her experience and then walked around their schools together. Principal Mary Maxfield speaks to students at the Brown School about Ruby Bridges while holding a copy of the book that teachers read to students, ‘I am Ruby Bridges.’ COURTESY PHOTOS Marblehead students joined the national Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day.

19Nov

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Education, Local News, Marblehead Public Schools

Principals for the Day take over elementary schools

If you happened to walk past the principal’s office at the Brown or Glover schools last week, you might have done a double take. Third-graders Grace Cummings and Georgia Olson were in charge at the Brown and Glover, respectively. The two students won the third annual Principal for the Day raffle organized by the nonprofit Friends of the Marblehead Public Schools. The two girls led morning announcements, visited classrooms and ate lunch with their “real” principals and a buddy of their choosing. Principal for the Day Georgia Olson with Hope Doran at the Glover School. COURTESY PHOTOS Principal for the Day Grace Cummings with Mary Maxfield at the Brown School. "My favorite part of the day was having lunch in the principal's office with my friend,” Cummings said. “I ...

16Nov

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Education, Local History, Marblehead Public Schools, Top Stories

Veterans School ranked among best middle schools in MA

Marblehead's Veterans Middle School ranks 30th among Massachusetts middle schools, with a score of 94.09 out of 100, according to a U.S. News and World Report study out Tuesday. “Overall, even without this recognition/ranking, I believe that the holistic experience our students have here at Vets is truly comparable to the top middle schools in the state. We have an outstanding staff….involved families….and great students!” Principal Matt Fox wrote to the Current. New interim superintendent Theresa McGuinness added, "Vets is a special middle school. I’m very proud of the academic achievement illustrated in the student performance data recognized by this ranking. It’s evidence of student commitment to hard work, talented educators and a standards-aligned curriculum culminating in ...

3Nov

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Education, Local News, Marblehead Public Schools, Top Stories

Students, METCO parents share views on BLM banner

The recent removal, and return several days later, of the Black Lives Matter banner at Marblehead High School prompted another wave of impassioned comments from parents, community leaders and students at a School Committee meeting on Nov. 2. Many referenced a Marblehead mother quoted on a local media website confessing to removing the flag. The Current obstained school surveillance video of the woman removing the banner. https://videopress.com/v/1mRQKz6E?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true “My son is not going to feel safe; he is not going to feel welcome,” said Tinieya Searcy, whose son attends the high school. “That parent [who took down the banner], she should have to pay for that. Someone there needs to say, ‘No, we’...

1Nov

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

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

Artist brings ‘world’s smallest house’ to Charter School

How small is too small for a house? That’s the question sixth-graders at the Marblehead Community Charter Public School pondered last week, as they checked out what has been dubbed the world’s smallest house, created by artist Jeff Smith. Smith’s tiny house, built with reclaimed wood, is 25 square feet with a 3-foot-tall ceiling. Artist Jeff Smith sits in the tiny house he built. It features a sink, ‘toilet,’ table and more. COURTESY PHOTOS It fits in the back of a regular minivan and has wheels so it can be rolled around easily. “Having a house this small creates magical opportunities,” Smith told the Current. “You can roll it out of a parking lot and into the woods. You can sleep on the beach somewhere. Think of all the different places you get to under the radar. Imagin...

1Nov

By The Current Editorial BoardNo Comments

Current Editorials, Education, Opinion

EDITORIAL: A welcome caution flag

The reminder that the creation of new School Committee policies involves a methodical process is a welcome one. The three “readings” still to come regarding a yet-to-be-drafted policy governing what types of flags or banners can be displayed inside and outside Marblehead school buildings will provide an important opportunity to listen to the community and debate the pros and cons of different approaches to an issue that has roiled more than a few communities across the state and beyond. While we take Acting Superintendent Michelle Cresta’s point that the current discussion is not necessarily about whether the Black Lives Matter banner at Marblehead High School gets to stay, the new policy could have the effect of requiring the banner come down, depending on where it lands. At Fri...

28Oct

By Benji BoydNo Comments

Community resources, Education, Local History, Local News, Nonprofit corner

Lee Mansion unveils new plaque commemorating unsung hero

This past Saturday, October 21, the Jeremiah Lee Mansion unveiled a new plaque commemorating Spanish merchant Diego de Gardoqui and the aid that Spain provided to the patriots during the American Revolution. The plaque was sponsored by Iberdrola, a company with a mission to spread the word about the role that Spain played in colonial victory. The ceremony was attended by several members of the company as well as the Consul General of Spain in Boston, Ana Durán de la Colina, and executive director of the Marblehead Museum, Lauren McCormack. The Jeremiah Lee Mansion, one of Marblehead’s prized historic landmarks, holds a special significance in the story of Spain’s aid to America. Jeremiah Lee, a successful colonial merchant, was a good friend of Diego de Gardoqui. At Lee’s request...

25Oct

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

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

Communication boards coming to playgrounds to support kids with speech challenges

Marblehead mom Jen Montenario is excited about a new addition coming to five playgrounds later this month — and it’s not a slide or swing set. The Power of Speech, Marblehead Family Fund and Rec & Parks Department are installing communication boards to support children who may struggle with language skills. “We’re so excited,” said Montenario, whose two-year-old son Lorenzo has a speech delay known as Gestalt language processing. “These communication boards will help so many kids with speech delays, or if they’re not verbal.” Jessica Brown, a speech and language pathologist who owns Power of Speech, is behind the communication boards. She designed them and is working with the Marblehead Family Fund and the Rec & Parks to fund and install them at Hobbs, Stramski’s, Devereux, ...

25Oct

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Education, Local News, Marblehead Public Schools, Top Stories

Meet Marblehead’s new interim super Theresa McGuinness

New interim Superintendent Theresa McGuinness says she’s eager to get to work visiting schools, building relationships and supporting teachers. McGuinness, who served as Village School principal from 2012 to 2016, left an assistant superintendent job in Watertown to come back to Marblehead. She lives in Swampscott. Interim Superintendent Theresa McGuinness will start in Marblehead on Nov. 6. COURTESY PHOTO Just moments after the School Committee approved her contract, McGuinness answered questions from the Current about her role. She called the Marblehead school district “dear to my heart.” Asked what her first steps will be, McGuiness answered, “When I start in early November, my first priorities include: visiting the students and staff members in each school, building an effect...