PARCC

Watertown Gets PARCC Test Results, Officials Critical of Lack of Details

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Watertown students who took the PARCC test for the first time last year fared better than the state average, but school officials say they have little information to work with to analyze where students can improve or even what they were tested on. The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers test is proposed as a national standardized test and was taken by Watertown students in grades 3-8 last spring. Overall, 66 percent of Watertown students scored in level 4 or 5, which would be meeting or exceeding expectations, for English Language Arts (ELA), and 52 percent of students reached level 4 or 5 on the math tests, said Barbara Gortych, the district’s director of Assessment, Guidance, and Mental Health. Statewide the figures were 60 percent for ELA and 52 percent for math. In MCAS, a level 4 would be “Proficient” and level 5 would be “Advanced.”

Development

Public Can Discuss RMUD at Informal Council Subcommittee Session

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After a hearing comments from dozens of Watertown residents about the proposed changes to the area of the malls in East Watertown last week, the Town Council voted to have another hearing in a more informal setting to hash out the proposal. The zoning changes in the proposed Regional Mixed Use District would allow larger buildings, and for master plans for projects on properties of 2 acres or more. It would also allow housing, commercial, retail and office buildings in the area. At the Town Council meeting about the RMUD on Dec. 1, many residents wanted more details about what the projects would, or could, look like.

Sports

See the Watertown High School Winter Sports Schedules

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The winter sports season is about to kick off, and Watertown High School will look to have another successful year. Last year, the boys hockey team won the state championship and the girls basketball team got to the EMass final at the Garden. Boys Basketball
(Home Games at WHS Gym, 50 Columbia St.)
Tuesday, Dec. 15, 5 p.m. Away @ Arlington
Friday, Dec. 18, 5 p.m. Home vs Winchester
Monday, Dec.

Charity

Watertown Resident Helped Create Party to Fight Hunger

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More than 400 foodies came together at MIT’s Morss Hall, Walker Memorial Building to “Party Under the Harvest Moon,” an annual benefit for Food For Free, including a Watertown resident. The event raised more than $69,000 to support the nonprofit’s food rescue and transportation programs which feed more than 25,000 families in Greater Boston and beyond. Car Talk’s Ray Magliozzi, WBUR’s Here and Now host Robin Young and Executive Director of Food For Free, Sasha Purpura lead the evening as the night’s emcees. The local faces in the crowd included Watertown resident, Patrick Mertens, Party Under the Harvest Moon planning committee member and Founder/Senior Recruiter at Pure Placements of New England. Since 1981, Cambridge based Food For Free has responded to local hunger by rescuing food that would otherwise go to waste, and distributing it to local emergency food programs including food pantries, youth programs, and shelters.

Entertainment

See All the Holiday Fun Coming to the Arsenal Project

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There are plenty of Holiday Happenings at the Arsenal Project coming up the next two weekends. The Arsenal Project sent out the following events:

Saturday, Dec. 12 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Santa Dance Party – Santa hosts a family-friendly party with Suzy Snowflake, music, face painting and more. Bring your camera & dancing shoes! LOCATION: The Bridge near Old Navy

Unleash your Creativity – Workshop for kids from 1-2 p.m.; Holiday arts for adults from 2-4 p.m. with Watertown Art Association.

Government

Town Council Give the Town Manager a Big Raise, His First One in Years

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Watertown Town Manager Michael Driscoll got a big vote of confidence from the Town Council Tuesday night by getting a salary increase of nearly $25,ooo. Councilors and residents said they believed Driscoll deserved a raise because of his good management of the town – particularly financially – and his hard work. “You are not going to find a person who works harder for the citizens or the community,” said Council President Mark Sideris. “Come here [Town Hall] on a Sunday and the lights are on. He’s here working.”

Moxley Field

New Fitness Equipment at Moxley Field Has Kids Sliding to Fitness

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A new set of stairs now stands on Moxley Field that appear to go no where, but Watertown School and Recreation officials hope they will lead to fun and fitness for the town’s children and adults, alike. The multi-fitness apparatus made by Colliseum is much more than a set of stairs. It also has a slide to shoot down after running a set of steps, and on other sides users can do pull ups, dips and push ups. The stairs appeared the week of Thanksgiving, and on Monday, creator Collis Brown came out for a grand opening celebration with some students from Watertown Middle School and the Watertown Boys and Girls Club. The equipment was purchased by the town with funds from the Carol White Physical Education Program Grant, or PEP Grant. Brown taught physical education teacher at Norwell High School, and coached high school football teams there and at Brookline High School first created the stairs with a slide when he was looking for a way to improve his players’ speed.

Entertainment

Watertown Cultural Council Hands Out $10,000 in Grants

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Twenty groups in and around Watertown received grants from the Watertown Cultural Council to support a variety of programs in the arts and beyond. The WCC sent out the following announcement:

The Watertown Cultural Council is pleased to announce its grant recipients for fiscal year 2016, awarding over $10,000 in grants to 20 organizations to support music, art, and science programs serving audiences from families, preschoolers and K-12 students to adults and seniors. FY2016 Grant Recipients:

Davis Bates & Roger Tincknell, Across the Americas: Song & Story Celebration

Belmont World Film Festival, 13th Family Festival

Patti Cassidy, Playwrights Reading Room

Cunniff Elementary School, Author in Residence program

Mark Chester, The Bay State: A Multicultural Landscape

Delvena Theatre Company, Laugh with the Ladies

Ethnic Arts Center, Armenian Village Childlife Pantomime

Flat Earth Theatre, Tales of a Fourth Grade Lesbo

Friends of Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Walking Tour – A Glimpse Beyond

Gore Place, The Story Trail

Lowell Elementary School, Hands-on Science Night

New Rep Theatre, performances at the Perkins School and WHS

Powers Music School, A Musical Story Program at the WFPL

Pavoh Guitar, guitar lesson program at Watertown Boys & Girls Club

Revels, Inc., Twelfth Night

St. Stephen’s Armenian Elementary School field trip to Wheelock Family Theatre

Watertown Art Association, Artists Unleashed

Watertown Family Network, Awesome Authors

Watertown Free Public Library, Researching History of Your House

Watertown Middle School, Museum of Science traveling program to visit 8th grade

The Watertown Cultural Council (WCC) is one of 355 Local Cultural Council Programs statewide, funded in large part by the state through the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), and part of the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation, annually supporting thousands of community-based projects in the arts, humanities, and sciences.