Pentucket Art Department Hosts Virtual Art Exhibit for Middle and High School Students

pentucketporta on June 19, 2020

Superintendent Justin Bartholomew and Fine & Performing Arts Chair Marcia Nadeau are pleased to announce the virtual Pentucket Regional Middle and High School Art Festival is now live.

The virtual art gallery became available for viewing on Tuesday, June 16 and features over 280 pieces created by students in grades seven through 12. The art exhibited includes paintings, digital art, photography and 3D sculptures. To view the online gallery, click here.

Guided and self-guided virtual tours are available for those who wish to explore the student projects. The exhibit is organized by grade and class, and clicking on the art allows you to see which student the project belongs to.

“I started looking for a format to have a virtual exhibit once I realized that we would not be able to host our Annual Arts Festival at school due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Nadeau said. “It’s amazing to see what these students create and we love to be able to share their incredible work with community members.”

This is the second virtual art exhibit held this June by Pentucket students. On Thursday, June 4, the Virtual Senior Art Exhibit was published and continues to remain available online. Students, alumni, faculty, staff, community members and the media can access all of the exhibit through two viewing options: via slideshow or by visiting the Pentucket TV YouTube channel.

Each senior designed their own exhibit and chose meaningful pieces from art classes taken throughout their time at Pentucket Regional High School to display. Some seniors also chose to include a short biography, information on their inspiration and artistic process, and/or their plans for the fall. 

Graduating seniors featured in the virtual art exhibit include: Lydia Baldini, of Groveland; Samantha Bellville, of Groveland, Alexa Berkley, of West Newbury, Samuel Bissitt, of Merrimac, Madeline Conover, of West Newbury, Nathan Conway, of Groveland, Brooke Daniels, of Groveland, Sasha Davis, of Merrimac, Molly Forget, of Groveland, Kayla King, of Merrimac, Grace McIntyre, of Haverhill, Maggie Peterson, of Merrimac, Katherine Rosa, of Groveland, and Mikayla Tilden, of Groveland. 

“I’m blown away by the creativity of our students when looking at the art they’ve made and am grateful all the art teachers, including Marcia, were able to create this opportunity for students to showcase their work,” Superintendent Bartholomew said. “While we unfortunately aren’t able to showcase students’ projects the way we normally do, I’m grateful for the work everyone did to allow this event to be held remotely.”

Pentucket Regional School District Announces Changes to History and Social Studies Curriculum

pentucketporta on June 18, 2020

WEST NEWBURY — Superintendent Justin Bartholomew and Assistant Superintendent Brent Conway are pleased to provide an update on the development of a new, more culturally responsible and inclusive history and social studies curriculum for the entire Pentucket Regional School District.

Over the past year, members of the district have been working to update the curriculum in order to meet the new history and social studies standards set by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). The new standards create an added emphasis on teaching students civic responsibility; focus on including more diverse materials and discussions to create a more accurate representation of different genders, races and cultures; and include more lessons on local history and indigenous groups. These changes by the state were the first revisions since 2003, though much of the content still reflected the original 1997 version even after the revision.

Using the new standards as a foundation, district officials and teachers from all Pentucket schools met to review the current curriculum to find the gaps and needs in order to align with the new guidelines. The group was co-chaired by Assistant Superintendent Conway and John Siegfried, History Department Chair for grades seven through 12. A survey was also completed by staff and families in the district.

“Our goal is to help shape students into ethical and morally responsible community members by focusing on teaching them civic responsibility and important historical periods that haven’t gotten the attention they deserve in the past, including ones that bear particular importance for people of color and women,” said Superintendent Bartholomew. “These updates to the curriculum for all of the district’s students will help us to achieve that goal and ensure they are receiving an in-depth and thorough education in world history.”

 Some of the key changes include:

  • Helping students from kindergarten to second grade develop a sense of self and their role in the local and global community by teaching them civics and promoting a global understanding of different cultures.
  • Updating the curriculum for third through fifth grade students and providing professional development opportunities for those teachers to present content and guidelines on how to discuss topics such as racism and the historical treatment of indigenous people.
  • Purchasing biographies and accessible texts for grades one through three on historical figures and world cultures that represent greater diversity and match content standards.
  • Performing an equity audit of texts and materials for grades three through 12 for content connections and diverse representations of factors such as race, gender and culture and to build broad content knowledge.
  • Ensuring that all high school classes use the practices of Social Studies, such as organizing and using information from primary and secondary sources, so that students have thorough exposure and expectations to those practices throughout their four years.
  • Creating cross-curricular connections to English language arts from kindergarten through grade 12 to help bolster students’ writing and research skills for both subjects, including the adoption of Modern Language Association (MLA) 8 format for all research projects and papers.
  • Training staff in restorative justice practices and circles to facilitate broader conversations around social justice, equity and other challenging topics in current events.

To view a full summary of the committee’s report, click here.

Over the next approximately 16 months, work will be done to implement the curriculum, starting with the purchasing of textbooks and e-editions of textbooks for students.

“These new materials will support a critical step forward for our district, and provide our students with the knowledge and support they will need to become informed and thoughtful citizens,” Assistant Superintendent Conway said. “It is vital for our children to know and understand the history of all people and cultures, and we’re especially proud to include more lessons about the indigenous groups of Massachusetts and the Pentucket region.

Assistant Superintendent Conway gave a presentation about the new curriculum to the Pentucket School Board on Tuesday, June 16. To view the presentation, click here.

Pentucket Names Terry Conant New Middle School Principal

pentucketporta on June 16, 2020

Terrence “Terry” Conant has been selected to become the new Pentucket Regional Middle School Principal beginning July 1. (Courtesy Photo Pentucket Regional School District)

Superintendent Justin Bartholomew is pleased to announce that Terry Conant has been named the new Principal of Pentucket Regional Middle School.

Conant will assume his new role on July 1, and replaces Ken Kelley, who has been selected as the new principal of the Donaghue and Sweetsir Elementary Schools.

“I could not be more excited to be joining the Pentucket family,” Conant said. “I am looking forward to meeting students, families, and staff in the upcoming weeks to learn about the traditions that make PRSD a great place to be. I would like to thank Dr. Bartholomew and the selection committee for allowing me the opportunity to lead the PRMS community as we enter the next phase in teaching and learning. I can’t wait to get work.”

Conant most recently served as the assistant principal at the newly built Beverly Middle School in Beverly. Prior to working in this new building he served as an assistant principal at the Briscoe Middle School, the now closed middle school building in Beverly, since 2011. During his 20 years in Beverly he has facilitated a professional learning community (PLC) focused on social emotional learning and school climate. He also collaborated with the creation of a grade five through eight middle school building and program with the grand opening in September of 2018.

During his tenure in Beverly, he served on multiple teams to bring educational success to the district.  He helped build the school culture, was a member of Beverly Public Schools’ data team, collaborated with content teams to discuss curriculum, facilitated the student support team, organized the sixth grade trip to Nature’s Classroom in Charlton, Mass. and was appointed as the middle school representative on the School Committee’s Curriculum, Instruction and Student Life Sub-Committee.

He was also selected to be the head facilitator of the STEAM and Technology specialists at the elementary level at Beverly Public Schools from September 2014 to June 2015 to transition to the Next Generation Science Standards and to align and develop curriculum. From 2005 until 2020, he served as the Professional Development Instructor at Beverly Public Schools.

“Terry has a truly remarkable resume– he brings with him a wealth of experience and insight, and we’re excited to welcome him to the Pentucket team,” Superintendent Bartholomew said. “His background demonstrates that he’s a well rounded, thoughtful educator, and we’re confident he’ll be a wonderful asset to our district moving forward.”

Conant also worked as a technology instructor at Briscoe Middle School from 2010 to 2011 and as a sixth grade science teacher at Memorial Middle and Briscoe Middle Schools from 2002-2010. He also served as the equity coordinator at Briscoe Middle School from August 2010 to June 2011. 

From 2000 to 2011, Conant worked as the assistant varsity football coach at Beverly High School, and as the head freshman baseball coach from 2002-2011.

He’s also played in the school band, and highly values the skills and knowledge learned from the arts.

From 1996 to 2010, Conant additionally worked as the camp director for the City of Beverly Recreation Department’s Adventure Camp.

Prior to working at Beverly Public Schools Conant was a middle school math and science teacher at St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish from 2000-2002. While there, he also served as the school’s athletic director.

Conant has also volunteered previously for the Beverly Little League, North Shore Flag Football League and Beverly Babe Ruth Baseball. 

Pentucket Music Conservatory to Share Video Performances

pentucketporta on May 8, 2020

WEST NEWBURY — Superintendent Justin Bartholomew is pleased to announce that Pentucket Regional School District will be sharing video performances by students and alumni this month.

“The Pentucket Music Conservatory is thrilled to offer these opportunities to our students, alumni, and community at a time when we could all use some positive entertainment,” said Director of Jazz and Music Conservatory Leader David Schumacher. “These events are a great celebration of the work these musicians have put in. It has been fantastic to reconnect with our jazz alumni over the past few weeks in preparation for this event.You will be amazed at what they have all accomplished since moving on from Pentucket. I couldn’t be more proud.”

Students, alumni, faculty, staff, community members and the media can access all of the video performances on their designated publication dates by visiting the Pentucket Music Conservatory YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/pentucketbands or by searching pentucketmusicconservatory on YouTube.

20th Anniversary of Cafe Jazz 

WHEN:

Friday, May 15 at 7 p.m.

WHAT:

Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak which has forced school facilities statewide to close for the remainder of the school year, Pentucket had planned a series of events to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Cafe Jazz.

During Cafe Jazz, the Pentucket Regional High School cafeteria is decorated to transform into a “jazz club” for a night of student performances. Next year’s in-person performances are tentatively scheduled to be held in May 2021, and this month, alumni have been invited to perform as special guests. Their performances will be shared online for their peers and the community.

The video performances will also offer viewers an opportunity to write in and interact with comments and questions.

West Newbury resident, Pentucket parent and professional video editor, Tim Kane of Indian Hill Productions, has volunteered to produce the Cafe Jazz video this month.

Performers for the virtual Cafe Jazz event include:

  • Collin Tarr, class of 2017, a composer who will perform his original work “A Far Cry From Here: Birds of Another Feather”
  • Duncan Tarr, class of 2012, on bass will perform “SNUSS” with his band normandd and “Hand in Hand” with his band Conspicuous Bystanders
  • Kevin Dacey, class of 2010, on drums will perform “Maximillian,” written and programmed in Abeton by Ramon Castillo
  • Adam Medonca, class of 2006, will sing and play guitar while performing “I Fall In Love Too Easily” by Styne/Cahn and his origional work “Air To Lungs”
  • Alden Slack, class of 2014 on saxophone and Cooper Slack, class of 2015 on piano will perform “Infant Eyes” by Wayne Shorter
  • Bobby Spellman, class of 2006 and a composer, will play the trumpet while performing an original “Ode to Brink” with his Revenge of the Cool Nonet
  • Derek Skala, class of 2019, on vibraphone will perform “Ruby, My Dear” by Thelonious Monk
  • Jake Baynes, class of 2019, on guitar will perform “Big Legged Woman” by Freddie King
  • Josh Torvi, class of 2013, on guitar will perform an original “78” with his band Josh Torvi Trio
  • Steven Ferrara, class of 2015, on trumpet will perform “It Ain’t Necessarily So” by Gershwin
  • Josh Schulz, class of 2015, on bass will perform “Tell Me A Bedtime Story” by Herbie Hancock

Pentucket Music Conservatory Recital

WHEN:

Wednesday, May 27 at 7 p.m.

WHAT:

Pentucket Regional School District students have the opportunity this May to volunteer their own video performances through the first-ever Pentucket Music Conservatory recital, and a video of all the performances will be archived and viewable after May 27 on the conservatory’s YouTube channel as well.

Students in grades seven through 12 will perform in the recital, and faculty will also participate. Students have been given the opportunity to perform using any instrument they wish, and are not limited to the instruments they primarily practice through their academics or after school activities. Performances will include solos, solos with accompaniment or a digital collaboration with peers.

Pentucket Music Conservatory Encore Performance Series

The district will be sharing the Pentucket Music Conservatory Encore Performance Series this month, through which the district will be posting encore “premieres'” online of district performances from spring 2018 and 2019.

WHEN:

Pentucket Regional School District Orchestra performances from spring 2019 will be shared Wednesday, May 13

Pentucket’s spring 2018 Band Jamboree performance will be shared on Tuesday, May 19

Pentucket Regional Middle and High School Choir and Percussion performances from spring 2019 will be shared on Wednesday, May 20

All encore performances will be posted at 7 p.m.

“Our faculty, students and alumni have gone above and beyond to put this series of events together, and its truly remarkable to see what they’ve been able to accomplish,” Superintendent Bartholomew said. “We’re all looking forward to enjoying these performances, and encourage community members to tune in and listen to our talented Pentucket musicians.”

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