Monthly Archives: May 2014

Marblehead High School Art Exhibit

Entertainment

If you love art and want to enjoy a great show, the Marblehead High School’s Senior Art Show is worth a look. Dubbed “Secret Garden” the show opened on Wednesday night, May 14 inside the Abbot Public Library’s Virginia A. Carten Gallery.

The Library’s director, Patti Rogers, and art teacher Pascale Queval have come together for the sixth time to put on the annual show. As Rogers said,

“It’s a win-win opportunity. The students’ achievements and what the faculty brings out in the them gets to be seen by a much larger number of people when the exhibit is in this venue. It also draws people into the library.”

The show will be on display until May 28 and showcases a large array of mixed media.

The many exhibits on display highlight the work that the students have been doing over the years and the growth that they have achieved artistically.

Magic Hat Thrift Shop Gives Half a Million Dollars to Schools

General

magic hatEvery year, the Magic Hat Thrift Shop designates fund, based on their volunteer hours, to fund classroom programs for education at the Marblehead Public Schools. This spring, they are thrilled to announce that they are giving $50,000 in funding, their largest allocation to date, and that the total amount they’ve distributed to the six Marblehead public schools since they opened in 2006 is almost half a million dollars.

As Magic Hat board President Wendy Roworth said, “We are thrilled to be nearing the half-million-dollar mark in allocations to the Marblehead Public Schools and thank the community donors, volunteers and our customers for fueling our success! We look forward to a wonderful spring and summer shopping season as the Farmers Market reopens on Saturday, May 31.”

As Tara Kellner, the longtime volunteer PTO representative for the Bell School said, “The Magic Hat Thrift Shop gives parents a chance to contribute directly to their school but also creates an opportunity for parents of different schools to work side by side at the shop in support of the school community as a whole. We all benefit from the funds raised as the educational programs funded create a spiral effect of student enrichment across the schools and grades.”

Read the whole story here to see the amazing work that the Magic Hat Thrift Shop has done.

La Chic Mentoring Plus Fundraiser

Charity, ,

La Chic Mentoring PlusLa Chic Mentoring Plus Inc. will soon host its third annual fundraiser from 5-9 pm on Saturday, June 7th at the Lynn Museum and Historical Society in Lynn. The evening is expected to include cocktails, food, music, a fashion show with eco-friendly clothing, a silent auction and a 50-50 raffle. In attendance will be former Red Sox players Billy Conigliaro and Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd, Miss Teen Massachusetts USA 2013 Madyson Milordi and Laurie Faria Stolarz, the author of a number of popular young-adult novels.

100% of the proceeds will benefit the La Chic Mentoring Plus program. Founded in 2012 by Keisha Conigliaro, the program helps underprivileged and at-risk girls to have a safe location to interact with other girls under the guidance of caring adults. With the space to enjoy educational activities, La Chic Mentoring Plus hopes to offer the girls strength, self-confidence and self-esteem.

Increased Education Budget for 2015

News, ,

During the fiscal year 2015, the Chapter 70 education funding from the state and the general local aid will increase for Marblehead. The House’s 2015 budget plan calls for $5.38 million in Chapter 70 education funding for Marblehead which is an increase of $110,000 over the budget in 2014.

As state Rep. Lori Ehrlich said, “There is no higher priority for me as a legislator than working to ensure schools in my district get the funding they need. I’m pleased with the progress we have made in recent years toward our goal of properly funding our schools.”

In addition, Ehrlich filed an amendment to the budget to perform a review of the state’s funding formula for education. As Ehrlich explained, “When the state passed the Education Reform Act of 1993, the bill called for a thorough, systematic review of how the foundation budget was calculated at least once every four years. Unfortunately, this review has only been completed twice since then, most recently in 2001. The needs of our schools have changed dramatically in the 21 years since education reform was passed, with the adoption of new curriculum frameworks, increased need for special education and changes in technology in the classroom. This study will examine our funding formula to ensure we are spending our education dollars wisely.”

As State Rep. Alice Peisch, House chairman of the Joint Committee on Education, said, “I am grateful that the House adopted this important amendment, which will ensure a systematic and comprehensive reevaluation of the foundation budget. Such review will provide a critical opportunity to gain insight on whether the current formula meets the needs of all students throughout the Commonwealth and will help us to identify ways to ensure the most effective and efficient use of resources.”

The Commission has a deadline to present their findings in a report on or before June 30, 2015.

Cooking with Fire the Old Fashioned Way

General

booksPerhaps this won’t be your go-to cookbook, but it sure would be a fun one to have. Plymouth food historian and archaeologist Paula Marcoux has created a cookbook called “Cooking with Fire” that shows the many possible ways you can cook with a flame.

As she said, “I’d like people to take a step back and see how much fun it can be cooking with wood and how much better the food tastes,” said Marcoux of Plymouth, .

While it’s a cookbook, it’s also a glimpse into history, as Marcoux offers ways to prepare a vast range of foods using historic techniques and materials. As she explains, “Cooking with wood will interest people with a little sense of adventure, an open mind and a willingness to take the time to enjoy what they’re doing.”

Editor of the magazine Edible South Shore, she subtitled this book “From Roasting on a Spit to Baking in a Tannur, Rediscovered Techniques and Recipes that Capture the Flavors of Wood-Fired Cooking.” The book includes 100 recipes and many gorgeous color photos.

As Marcoux, 53, explains, “There’s nobody who will do every crazy thing in this book, but I’m hoping there is something in the book to engage everybody.”

If this book doesn’t catch your eye, you can wait for the book that she is writing for the Plymouth Antiquarian Society about 19th century cooking.