Real Estate

See All This Weekend’s Open Houses Around Watertown

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Watertown homebuyers have plenty of options of properties to visit this weekend. $629,000 – 688 Belmont St. Unit 688, 6 room, 3 bed, 2.5 bath townhouse, Open Houses: Saturday 12-1:30 Sunday 12-1:30

$514,900 – 26 Dewey St. Unit 26, 6 room, 2 bed, 1 bath 2/3 family, Open Houses: Friday 5-6 Saturday 1-2:30 Sunday 1-2:30

$375,000 – 71 Jensen Road Unit 71, 4 room, 2 bed, 1 bath 2/3 family, Open Houses: Saturday 12-1:30 Sunday 12-1:30

$799,000 – 199 Coolidge Ave. Unit 106, 5 room, 2 bed, 2 bath mid-rise, Open House: Sunday 1-2:30

$849,000 – 303 A & B Mt.

Government

Watertown Watertown Teen Joins Attorney General for Announcement of Vaping Investigation

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Watertown High School student Shariel Joseph spoke during Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey’s announcement of the investigation into vaping and e-cigarette companies on Tuesday. Joseph, who will be senior in the fall, has been involved in anti-tobacco efforts as a Watertown Youth Coalition Peer Leader. At the announcement she represented The 84 Movement, a group of youth from Massachusetts fighting against tobacco. During her address, Joseph talked about how “JUULing” (named after the leading vaping equipment company JUUL) became a big thing at Watertown High School, and she saw students using them in school bathrooms, the hallways and even classrooms.

“From the beginning of my junior year to the end there was a huge increase of people JUUL-ing,” Joseph said. “Before there were a few people who JUUL-ed but now it seems like everyone is JUUL-ing, especially since it is summer, now.

Schools

School Building Committee Meeting Three Times in August

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School may be out for summer, but the planning for the reconstruction of Watertown’s three elementary schools will still be in session. The School Building Committee, which oversees the design and construction of Hosmer, Lowell and Cunniff elementary schools, has three meetings scheduled in August. The group is scheduled to meet on Aug. 1, 15 and 29, but the meeting on the 15th may conflict with a School Committee meeting. The School Building Committee meets at 6 p.m. in the Council Chamber in Town Hall.

Schools

Watertown Weighing Whether to Join Minuteman Vocational District, Parent Says More Urgency Needed

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Watertown Public School officials must decide whether it makes more sense for the town to join the Minuteman Vocational Technical High School District, continue to send children as a non-member, or find some other option for vocational education. At Monday’s School Committee meeting, Superintendent Dede Galdston said the district continues to research what will be best for the students of Watertown, but one parent advocate for joining Minuteman said the district is not moving fast enough. Watertown currently sends dozens of students to the vocational high school in Lexington. Last year, there were so many students that they more than filled a 53-student school bus. The Watertown Public Schools pay the tuition for the students to attend Minuteman.

Schools

As Kindergarten Changes, Superintendent Assures That Children Will Have Recess, Unstructured Time

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With Watertown Public Schools officials’ efforts to add programs such as Spanish lessons and social and emotional learning to the day of kindergartners, many parents in town worried that their children will not have enough unstructured time or recess. 

More than 360 parents signed a letter written by a Lowell School parent who was concerned that kindergartners in Watertown would only have one recess each day and no free-choice, unstructured time. Rachel Danford, who wrote the letter, spoke at Monday’s School Committee meeting, saying that research shows that kindergartners do better when they have two recesses each day. Superintendent Dede Galdston responded in a letter she sent to parents and posted on the Watertown Public Schools website, and spoke at Monday’s meeting. She said a misconception about the schedule for Watertown kindergartners changing may have arisen due to a sample schedule shared with parents in the spring. She added that the district has not done a good job explaining how the new curriculum initiatives will fit into the kindergarten day.

Around Town

Mall Hosts Events featuring Aquarium, Peter Rabbit and Museum of Science

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The Watertown Mall has plenty of activities for children coming up. See details here. The Watertown Mall sent out the following announcements:
Whale Day
The Watertown Mall, located at 550 Arsenal Street, Watertown, will be hosting the New England Aquarium for their “Whale Day” event on Tuesday, July 31, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Visit the Watertown Mall for their “Whale Day” event, sponsored by the New England Aquarium. The event will be taking place on July 31, 2018 from 11:00 to 2:00. A great program for families, Whale Day allows children to learn about whales and other ocean life and participate in fun activities, such as a whale feeding simulation and a whale species matching game.

Real Estate

Half a Dozen Watertown Homes Sold This Week

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Here are the six homes that sold this week in Watertown. $430,000 – 10 Williams St. Unit 25, 4 room, 2 bedroom, 1 full bathroom, Mid-Rise condo/townhouse

$670,000 – 40 Commonwealth Road Unit 1, 7 room, 3 bedroom, 1 full bathroom, 2/3 Family condo/townhouse

$870,000 – 129 Arsenal St., 3 unit, 13 total room, 5 total bedroom, 3 Family multi-family home

Sponsored by:

$650,080 – 64 Union St., 6 room, 3 bedroom, 1 full & 1 half bathroom, Gambrel /Dutch single-family home

$391,000 – 20 Riverside St. Unit 3-8, 4 room, 2 bedroom, 1 full bathroom, condo/townhouse

$475,000 – 10 Williams St. Unit 89, 5 room, 2 bedroom, 1 full bathroom, High-Rise condo/townhouse