Education

Malden High School students reflect on a year of remote learning

By Saliha Bayrak Having a conversation over the lunch table, waving to your friends between classes, sharing excitement over college admission letters — these are some of the things that Malden High School teenagers yearned for as they attended their classes virtually.  As Malden High School (MHS) transitions to hybrid learning with a phased process that started the week of March 15, nearly one year after schools switched to fully remote, students look back on all the ways that online learning has impacted their life. Remote learning uprooted the life of teens around the city and forced them to reimagine what their high school experience will look like. Now they ponder on how they will move forward.  Sheilly Patel, a senior at MHS, worries that she may miss some of the big milestones of high school such as senior prom and graduation. But she also misses the small activities that accompanied going to school in-person.  Patel says that she often finds herself “missing that kind of little social things that happen in between classes,” and […]

Featured

Boda Borg’s Closure Creates Repercussions for Malden’s Economy and Morale

“A lot of them (Boda Borg’s customers) are going into Malden restaurants and buying stuff in Malden Square.” Senator Ed markey By Anne Bennett Soon after COVID-19 began to spread, the “questing” center Boda Borg, one of Malden’s premiere destinations, was forced to shut down. Boda Borg, where almost 200,000 annual visitors use their wits to solve puzzles and escape routes, has been out of service since March 2020, with the exception of three weeks in October. Chad Ellis, one of the owners of Malden’s branch of Boda Borg, said the operation “is just totally dependent on the physical space we are in.” The staff has no choice but to “hunker down” until the next stage of reopening in Massachusetts, Ellis said. Boda Borg is an international franchise; the only U.S. location is in Malden. While the closure has been hard on Ellis and his staff, it has also created ripples in other local businesses by reducing their customers. Kevin Duffy, the Strategy and Business Development Officer for the City of Malden, believes that fewer people coming into […]

Education

From lock down to work out to city discovery tour

By Sandra G. Ndengue The effects of being home all day during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic began to weigh on me, with boredom and stress as my sole companions. My daily routine had become monotonous except the few times I escaped to the grocery store.  The idea of stepping out even to get food instilled anxiety in me. “ I need to get out of here,” I exclaimed. “I can’t stay in anymore!”  Craving fresh air, I slowly walked up to an empty MBTA parking lot near Oak Grove station. Five minutes of walking was all it took to feel free again. I felt relieved and relaxed, sensing the gentle breeze caress my body. Even the noises of birds chirping and trains departing and arriving the station gave me a sensation of normality as I sat there for 30 minutes.  I don’t normally exert myself or do any sports related activity – unless I have a partner or a coach. I don’t go to a gym. But during the pandemic, I have discovered something that many […]