Reminders & Headlines:

Electronics Recycling Drive is this Saturday - October 23

Halloween Dance - Wednesday October 27

See details below
Updates from our
Head of School
Hello Marblehead Community Charter Families,

The spectacular fall weather we are experiencing this October is such a treat. We have many updates for you in this late October update. Please read this update and scroll down for information about our new sensory hallway and reminders about upcoming events including:
  • Electronics recycling Events
  • Halloween Dance
  • November SPEC Meeting
  • November Walk to support My Brother's Table

I mentioned in a recent update about our hope to continue to bring back some of the pillars of our community school as we emerge from the impacts of the pandemic. Already the return of community meetings to kick off our day, interscholastic sports, theater, and music programming are all signs that we are able to expand the opportunities for our students.

We also want to spark the spirit of volunteerism that was in place at our school. Our enrichment program is a specific area where we need your help as a community. Now that we have brought back the enrichment program this trimester in a scaled down way, we are looking to return the program to its former glory. To do that we need parents and community members to offer their time and expertise to run enrichment courses.

This trimester our enrichment offerings include calligraphy, crochet, frisbee games, CharterTV production, the Shark Club, the Rainbow Club, camp-style art, mosaics, art journaling, and more. Next trimester we hope to add an art & literature magazine, cheerleading, a chess club, a yearbook staff, among other options. We need your help. We will assign a member of our team to be in the room with you to assist with supervision of students as you facilitate an enrichment course. Come share a passion of yours with our students. Enrichment takes place on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. You would need to commit to being here once a week on your assigned day from 2:30-3:20pm. Help us bring back Enrichment and reinvigorate the spirit of volunteerism in our school community.

We have continued good news on the enrollment front, as we are nearly at full enrollment. We currently have 227 students enrolled in our school. Our maximum enrollment is 230 students, so we have just three spots. Please encourage your friends and neighbors to apply to join us in Grade 4, 6, or 8 this year.

Please note that we are not yet accepting applications for the 2022-2023 school year. That application will go live on our website on November 15. We again need your help to spread the word. Please like and share our Facebook posts about enrollment and Open House events in December & January. If you live on a well traveled, high visibility street and are willing to put a yard sign in your front yard to promote that we are accepting applications, please contact Beth Taranto, our Admissions Coordinator, who will see that you get a yard sign to display starting in mid-November.

Please send a refillable water bottle into school with your child. We have opened the water bubblers (also known as drinking fountains depending on where you are from) up at the school. We also encourage use of the water bottle filling stations at the school for the most sanitary option. Unfortunately we have had too many pranks where students fill the top cup in the dispenser with water which either ruins the cups or gets the unlucky person wet who pulls the cup with water. Due to this, we will no longer fill the cup dispenser. Sending your child to school with a refillable water bottle is the way to go.

There is so much goodness happening all around our school. The vast majority of our students do the right thing and shine on a daily basis. Please support us by reinforcing at home the expected behaviors when you are in public and at school. A handful of students in each grade are unfortunately having an impact on staff morale and the classroom experience for their peers. I connect with many school leaders across the state and this is happening in every school. It is a consequence of the last 18 months with far too much screen time and isolation for kids during the height of the pandemic. We need to work together to minimize these poor behavior choices, the vandalism, and the disrespect that is taking a toll on our educators. We can and must do better. All of us.

Finally, I want to sincerely thank you for your support. We have replenished our Student Success Fund with nearly $25,000. These funds will help us support the enrichment program, upgraded technology, classroom materials and supplies, and so much more. Thank you!

Peter Cohen, Ed.D
Head of School
NEW SENSORY HALLWAY AT MCCPS

Through a generous grant from the Friends of Marblehead Public Schools, Marblehead
Community Charter Public School is excited to announce the completion and implementation of
our new Sensory Hallway. The Sensory Hallway is accessible for all of our students to utilize
anytime through the school day. Our Sensory Hallway is a colorful, playful, purposeful and
creative space for our students to build connections in the brain that are responsible for
facilitating all of their senses, which enable our students to complete complex, multi-step
classroom tasks. Sensory hallways encourage motor planning, balance reactions, core stability,
hand strengthening, visual motor integration, and energy regulation.

Our Sensory Hallway is a safe, designated area in the school that allows our students to move
with purpose, which helps with refocusing, self-soothing and allows extra physical activity
throughout the school day. Research suggests that physical activity improves mental health and
academic outcomes among all of our developing students. Physical activity can facilitate positive
behaviors such as increased time on-task in the classroom and improved levels of attention and
concentration, reduces overall anxiety and prompts self-awareness and self-esteem.
WHEN: Sunday, November 14th at 10am.

WHERE: Marblehead Neck → we  will park at the beach and walk 3 miles together

WHY: My Brother's Table is 100% community based: it is for the community and relies on the community to survive.


Questions?
Please reach out to the three organizers for the school:
Danette Russo: drusso@marbleheadcharter.com
Beth Taranto: btaranto@marbleheadcharter.com
The Marblehead Charter SEPAC would like to invite you to register for our November meeting. 

Being Present: How mindfulness prepares us to focus, connect, and learn.
Please join Kari Pike, Mindfulness Coach; Kate Ventimiglia, Certified Outdoor Mindful Guide and 7th grade Humanities teacher; and Melissa DeLeo, MCCPS School Psychologist, for this interactive presentation.
 
This event is free and open to the public please register at this link: 

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Upcoming Events

Saturday October 23 - Electronics Recycling Drive fundraiser
Wednesday October 27 - Halloween Dance! (rain date October 29)


Upcoming Meetings
(Meetings will take place in person at the school, as COVID-19 protocols allow or if remote, meetings will take place via Zoom w/ links on our website calendar)

Friday October 22 - Academic Excellence Committee Meeting 2:30pm
Tuesday October 26 - Board of Trustees Meeting 7pm


Join the PTO
At Marblehead Community Charter, COMMUNITY is our middle name. Everyone - teachers, parents, students, administrators, and staff need to do their part to support our school.

Please consider joining the PTO and become an ambassador for our school.