UPDATED: Local Schools Get Shout Out

About Town Column Debut

Your MarbleheadPatch page may look a little different this morning. That's because this new feature, "About Town" is now taking up one of the slots on the top of the homepage. Here you can find what people are talking about in town. See something we are missing? Send us your tips, quips or ideas to Katherine@Patch.com 

SEPTEMBER 11 SERVICES TO BE HELD

It's one of those events in history where you remember exactly where you were when you heard. On Saturday, Marblehead Police and Fire will hold a remembrance service for that fateful day terrorists attacked New York City. On Saturday, September 11, a memorial service will be held in Memorial Park at 10 a.m.

WANT TO GET AWAY?

If you're looking to jump ship, then don't head to Abbot Hall with your passport application. Town Hall is no longer the place passports can be processed due to new regulations that state you can't get a passport at the same place your birth certificate is filed. To avoid a conflict, the clerk's office is no longer processing passports at all. Head to the Post Office with those applications if you want to get out of town.

EXTRA! EXTRA!

As school kicks off this week, Marblehead Public Schools have a reason to gloat. Boston Magazine named Marblehead High School one of the top schools in the state.

Sometimes, these lists feature dubious criteria. The magazine chose MHS based on SAT scores, student-to-teacher ratio and course offerings. The magazine also took into account where students go after they graduate.

Great schools are difficult to gauge on test scores and numbers on a Web site, but MHS should be proud for being named to such a high-profile list. 

THE HYPED-UP HURRICANE THAT NEVER CAME

Wow, wasn't Hurricane Earl a disappointment? For days, state officials and meteorologists warned the Bay State of the storm churning off the east coast. Ultimately, the hurricane was a bust as it decided the North Shore wasn't a great place to visit and steered into the Atlantic Ocean. 

Not that Marbleheaders were that concerned anyways. Most of them told Patch that the storm was just a byproduct of living on the coast. After all, New Englanders dig many feet of snow from their properties all winter. "At least we won't have to shovel it," one man said.

IT TAKES A VILLAGE

Public school students will be going back to school Tuesday. And sixth-graders will be going back to Village.

The sixth-grade moved to the middle school during the renovation project. The Village School project was budgeted for $21.7 million and came in  $1.518 million under budget, according to the Village Building Oversight Committee.

Village Principal Mike Hanna is organizing an open house at the Village School on September 27, at 7 p.m.

Attend the open house this month to see what you paid for -- and whether it was worth it.