Vacation destinations included France, Disney

BY JOHN BUCKEY

Good people of Marblehead Public Schools:

“Oh, the places you’ll go…”

The title of that book from Dr. Seuss always resonates with me when we return from April vacation.

In particular, this week I enjoyed visiting Brown and Glover and seeing our youngest learners writing about and sharing their experiences from the break. The depth and details kindergarteners and first-graders are able to express in writing underscore the value of these experiences — whether here in Marblehead, across the country and, in some cases, around the world.

And, travel is not limited to pre-K to 3. Two of our high school groups — the French Club and Chorus — enjoyed content-based experiences to extend their learning over the vacation.

Mdm. Francois shared the following recap of their trip to France:

“Over April vacation, as a group of 18 MHS students and 3 World Language teachers, we traveled to France to experience the culture and practice the language.

“The group started in Nice to take in the Mediterranean sun and visit local sites like Monaco, the hilltop village of Eze and old Nice. The second half of the week was spent in Paris seeing everything the City of Lights has to offer including a trip to Versailles.

“Throughout the week we got to have unique experiences like playing pétanque with locals in Nice, having dinner in local homes in Paris and a cooking class.

“As chaperones, we were

Todd Eveleth will be Tower’s 12th head of school in its 111year history.

EDUC aTION Tower School names new head of school

BY LEIGH BLANDER

The Tower School on West Shore Drive has announced Todd Eveleth as its new head of school, effective in July.

Eveleth is coming from The Nantucket New School, where he currently serves as head of school.

Eveleth has a 24-year career in education, with jobs including English teacher, English department chair, coach and dean of students.

“Todd’s depth of experience in elementary and middle school education and as a current head of school makes him uniquely well-positioned to lead Tower School at this exciting time in our school’s trajectory,” said Alethea McCormick, chair of Tower’s Board of Trustees.

Eveleth will be Tower’s 12th head of school in its 111-year history.

especially appreciative to have an amazing group of students who were engaged in the language, made it a fun experience for everyone and really made it a special trip. Travel and personal connections with people in other countries is truly the best classroom, and we’re so glad we got to share that with MHS students.”

Mr. Scoglio provided the following overview of the MHS Music Department’s trip to Disney World: “The Marblehead High School Music Department spent 5 days in the most magical place on Earth (besides Marblehead) over April vacation.

“51 students from the MHS Choir, Band & Orchestra performed at The Waterside Stage at Disney Springs and spent time in the four Disney parks. They also participated in a Performing Arts Workshop at Epcot where they worked with professional Disney musicians and recording technicians.”

Extended learning opportunities do not end with spring break. This year, for the first time since COVID, our sixth-grade students will return for the highly acclaimed trip to Bournedale. This was a longstanding tradition in Marblehead, with some of our current parents now having students participate. Look for trip reflections in a future update.

Cultural feast

Please join Marblehead High School for our 2023 Annual Cultural Feast event on Friday, May 19 from 5-8 p.m. at MHS. There will be food, face painting, music, food trucks, performances and so much more fun! Volunteers are needed, and offers to bring food (with all ingredients labeled) are welcome.

Acappellooza XVII: May 5

Marblehead’s annual Acappellooza concert is at Marblehead High School next Friday, May 5 at 7 p.m. Please come support high school acapella groups from Marblehead, Chelmsford and Salem.

The show will also feature the MVMS After-School Chorus and a professional acappella group, Ball in the House. Tickets will be available at the door.

Save the date: May 16

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Nicholas Covino, president of William James College, will present to our families and the community on the mental health challenges facing all of us post-COVID. His program, “Understanding the Student Mental Health Crisis: Causes, Impact and Solutions” will include both prevention and intervention approaches.

MVMS assistant principal

I am pleased to announce that Joan Miller has accepted the position of interim assistant principal for next year. Principal Matt Fox announced the appointment at Wednesday’s faculty meeting.

To say the decision was well received would be an understatement. Cheers, tears of joy and thunderous applause filled the MVMS library as her colleagues heralded the decision.

While Joan had originally planned to retire at the end of the year, I am delighted she will stay and join the leadership team.

Portrait presentation nnn

The Marblehead Racial Justice Team will present their portraits of Harriet Tubman and John Lewis to the students at Glover School next Friday, May 5 at 8:30 a.m.

They initiated this program last year at the Lucretia and Joseph Brown School. This will be the second one in the rotation of the schools. The program will be 30 minutes and with student participation.

As I end this update, I want to acknowledge that annually the last week of April is Administrative Professionals Week, with this year, Wednesday, April 26 being Administrative Professionals Day. It should surprise no one that the week ends on Friday, April 28, which is National Superhero Day.

To all of our valued MPS administrative assistants, we celebrate you and thank you for being our superheroes.

Marblehead Superintendent John Buckey sends these email updates to the school community on Friday afternoons when school is in session. The Current republishes them to share them with the entire town.