A week of conflicting emotions

BY JOHN BUCKEY

Good people of Marblehead Public Schools:

What a week of conflicting emotions. We began the week on Monday with news of yet another tragic school shooting, this time at Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. Our deepest sympathies go out to the families and the Covenant School community who are dealing with the loss of three students and three staff members. We also want to reassure our staff, students and families that safety is our top priority. We work closely with the Marblehead Police and Fire Departments, our school resource officer and our District Safety Committee to review our security measures to ensure that we are doing everything we can to protect our students and staff. We end the week with celebrating the promotions of two MPS employees. In the official announcement yesterday, I reported that Michele Carlson, current assistant principal at MHS, has been tapped to be the next principal of MHS, and Julia Ferreira will become the next assistant superintendent for teaching and learning. Congratulations again to both of these outstanding educators!

Finance Committee budget hearing

Speaking of things to celebrate, our presentation of the school budgets was very well received. I am forwarding a two­minute clip a member of the community sent me of some of the comments and feedback from the hearing. We are all proud of the collective hard work we have done to respond to the feedback we received from the community through the development process for the FY24 budget.

We have more work to do as we head toward Town Meeting on May 1 and the town elections on June 20, but it is affirming to hear members of the Finance Committee acknowledge the progress our administration has made in collaboration and transparency. As a reminder, you can find many documents related to our proposed FY24 budgets on our website.

Passover

To our families who will observe Passover, chag Pesach sameach. Passover conveys five concepts: memory, optimism, faith, family and responsibility.

As we acknowledge one of the major Jewish holidays of the year, I hope we can each take a moment to recognize the collective work we have all been doing this year that incorporates these concepts.

Holy Week Pope Francis said, “Holy Week is a good occasion to … take up the right path again.”

As Christians all over the world prepare to observe Holy Week and celebrate Easter, it is a good opportunity for us all to reflect on where we are and to consider our own path.

Music in Our Schools Month and musicals to come

Congratulations to the MPS music students, faculty and families for their performances during the past month.

Numerous students and staff performed each morning at Brown School to celebrate Music in Our Schools month.

It was a joy to see the Brown School students begin their mornings by watching inspiring performances. This past week, hundreds of music students performed at our All ­ Choral, All ­ Bands and All ­ Strings concert at the PAC. Each concert was a fantastic celebration of student learning, dedication and collaboration.

This spring, we look forward to many more inspiring concerts and performances, including “Legally Blonde” (April 28, 29 and 30 at MHS) and “Willy Wonka” (May 4, 5 and 6 at Village).

Transgender Day of Visibility March 31

Friday was the 14th annual International Transgender Day of Visibility. The day is dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments and victories of trans and gendernonconforming people while raising awareness of the work still needed to save trans lives. No update next week

Friday, April 7, is a half­day. We will dismiss at noon. There will not be an update.