Vocational School Students From Melrose Helping Repair Fire Damage

Woodshop area damaged in January fire expected to be back in use around the start of the next school year.

Back in January, firefighters from Wakefield and four surrounding communities put out a fire at Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational School that left significant damage to the woodshop area and which at one point had flames showing from the roof. The fire-damaged area is expected to be ready for the start of the next school year - and some current electrical and carpentry students, including Melrosians, will have the distinction of having worked to repair their own school. Students from Malden, North Reading, Reading, Stoneham, Winchester and Woburn that attend the school will also be assisting with the repair work. According to Principal David DiBarri, the roof was repaired shortly after the fire to prevent further damage from the …

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You Ask, Patch Answers

When is Melrose's Last Day of School?

Find out the answer in our latest You Ask, Patch Answers post.

For our latest "You Ask, Patch Answers," column, a reader asked us: When is Melrose's last day of school? We reached out to Superintendent Cyndy Taymore's office to find out what the tentative last day of school is for Melrose Public Schools after having to cancel school a handful of times due to poor weather. "Right now, the last day of school is scheduled for Thursday, June 20," wrote Diane Hogan, who works in the superintendent's office, in an email to Melrose Patch Wednesday. "This is subject to change as we will have to add days should we have to close school for any reason between now and then." Do you think there will be any more snow days in Melrose? Do you think the last day of school will ultimately be June 20? Let us know by …

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Kinnon: Decision to Block MVRCS Expansion 'Arbitrary and Capricious'

The Mystic Valley Regional Charter School will formally appeal a decision barring their requested expansion from 1,500 to 1,900 students. What do you think about the move?

Mystic Valley Regional Charter School officials will appeal a decision denying their request to expand the school's enrollment, a board of trustees vote confirmed Monday night.  Chairman Neil Kinnon, also a Malden City Councillor, said the school received "arbitrary and capricious" treatment from state education officials when they imposed conditions on the school's renewed charter this year.  MVRCS serves children in grades K-12 from Everett, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Stoneham and Wakefield.  He asked trustees for authorization to "resolve these issues with the [Department of Elementary and Secondary Education], up to determining what the next steps are."  Citing a "clear record of insularity and opaque decision making," Massachusetts …

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Horace Mann Students Raise $2,800 to Fight Cancer

Horace Mann Elementary School students raised more than $2,800 for the "Pennies for Patients" drive supporting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Should Stand-Alone Honors Nights Be Scrapped?

One nearby school district thinks so.

Ipswich school officials have decided to fold the district's Middle School Honors Night into a wider school assembly this year, saying it made students who weren't honored feel left out, the Salem News reported this week. The Ipswich Middle School principal reportedly sent parents a letter explaining the decision, saying having an exclusive honors night can be emotionally damaging and can impact a student's academic growth. "The honors night, which can be a great sense of pride for the recipients’ families, can also be devastating to a child who has worked extremely hard in a difficult class but who, despite growth, has not been able to maintain a high grade point average,” the principal's letter read, according to the Salem News. Instead…

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Farrell Tabbed New Melrose High School Principal

Superintendent Cyndy Taymore appoints Marianne Farrell the new Melrose High School principal.

Superintendent Cyndy Taymore announced Thursday that Marianne Farrell will be the new principal at Melrose High School. "I believe Marianne has both the depth and the vision that Melrose High School needs," Taymore said in a press statement. "I appointed her interim principal during the summer in order to have continuity and consistency at the high school. Since then, Marianne has shown true leadership in many ways. She has created positive relationships with staff, parents, and students. I feel that the building has a better culture as a result of her leadership. "Marianne has an incredible depth of knowledge about Melrose High School, its strengths and challenges. Now she is using that experience to build a stronger Melrose High School …

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Dave Gray

1:35 pm on Friday, March 22, 2013

"(Farrell) will bring a renewed commitment to the high standards that we expect from our students and staff." Taymore said in the statement. Oh, okay. And what was one of the first things done after she accepted the position?   more ›

Melrose Firefighters Support 'Operation Thank You'

The latest sponsor of the "Operation Thank You" Washington, D.C. trip is the Melrose Firefighters Local 1617.

[Editor's note: The following information derives from a city of Melrose press statement.] The newest sponsor of the "Operation Thank You" Washington, D.C. trip is the Melrose Firefighters Local 1617, according to a city press statement. Union Vice President Lt. Jay Morneault presented a check to the Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School group earlier this month to help sponsor a Vietnam veterans experience in our nation’s capital. The Local 1617 joins a number of local residents and groups who have supported this year’s trip through private donations and the purchasing of fundraising calendars and bracelets. The group hopes to send Vietnam and veterans of other eras to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. free of charge as …

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Melrose Public Schools, St. Mary's Cancel School Tuesday

Melrose Public Schools and St. Mary of the Annunciation School canceled school Tuesday due to the snowstorm.

Melrose Public Schools and St. Mary of the Annunciation School canceled school Tuesday due to the snowstorm, according to the WHDH website.

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Threat of Winter Storm on Tuesday Postpones MCAS Testing in Melrose

Due to the expected winter storm on Tuesday, the state announced that the MCAS English Language Arts Composition test for students in grades 4, 7 and 10 has been postponed until Monday, March 25.

Since much of Massachusetts is expecting a winter storm on Tuesday, and with it the possibility of numerous school closings or delayed openings, the MCAS English Language Arts Composition test for students in grades 4, 7 and 10 has been postponed until Monday, March 25, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education announced on its website.  Originally this composition test was scheduled for Tuesday, March 19, but in an effort to make sure all schools administer the test on the same day, "all schools must administer the ELA Composition test to students in grades 4, 7, and 10 on Monday, March 25, including schools that are not affected by the weather," according to a memo from Elizabeth Davis, associate commissioner of …

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Governor: Investing in Early Education Important [VIDEO]

Governor Deval Patrick met with educators and children at the Franklin Early Childhood Center Friday afternoon in Melrose.

Governor Deval Patrick paid educators and children at the Franklin Early Education Center a visit Friday afternoon in Melrose. Patrick, who was greeted in the lobby by parents, children as well as local and state officials, took a tour of the center before sitting down to read Dr. Seuss's "Sneetches on Beaches" to a small group of students. The children appeared to be enjoying themselves during the governor's visit, laughing at different points during the reading, engaging with him by answering his questions and also having him answer a couple of theirs. Prior to his trip to the Early Childhood Center, Patrick said he has visited Memorial Hall a couple times, Melrose High School, Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School and other locations …

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