Schools

LETTER: The Right Place for Solar Panels at Schools

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We as a city are moving forward in many ways. However, the use of our land is not one of them. There is a place for everything. But do we put solar panels on the ground using up valuable acreage in our four-square mile city? Apparently, we did so at the new Cunniff School, installing an array adjacent to the parking lot on the north side of the hill. 

Solar panels belong on roof tops and on parking lot canopies; using valuable ground space is not a favorable location.

Lt. Paul J. Sullivan

Record Amount of Money Awarded by Lt. Paul J. Sullivan Scholarship Committee

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Eleanor DonatoThe 2022 Lt. Paul J. Sullivan Scholarship winners. Back Row – Claire Fabian, Eoin Morrissey, Aidan Flanigan, Catherine Fabian, Paul Leonelli, Martin Mont, Keefer Glenshaw. Front Row -Maeve Walsh, Isabella Mecuri Hanna, Delanie Lombard, Kristen Coleman, Meredith Greene. Not Pictured-Elyanna Bell and Warren Stevens II

The following announcement was provided by the Lt. Paul J. Sullivan Scholarship Committee:

Congratulations to the 54th Lt. Paul J. Sullivan Scholarship recipients. A total of $34,500 was presented to these fifteen wonderful young men and women. Awards were presented on Sunday, May 22nd. 

The Lt. Paul Sullivan Scholarship Committee is pleased to announce the winners of the 54th Scholarship Awards.

Around Town

Residents Can Shape Decisions in Watertown by Taking Vision & Needs Survey

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The City of Watertown sent out the following announcement:

Watertown is beginning the process of updating our Comprehensive Plan to guide policy and decision-making over the next 10+ years. Citizen engagement and community input will be important throughout the planning process. Please participate in the Vision and Needs Survey to share your thoughts about life in Watertown today and its future by June 3, 2022. 

Click here to find the survey. Find out more about the Comprehensive Plan process by clicking below:

City Wants Input on Comprehensive Plan, Providing Multiple Opporunties

High Stakes Standardized Tests

OP-ED: The Hidden Cost of MCAS – Why We Shouldn’t Let the Test Dictate the Future

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By Brendan Bean, a Watertown resident who has taught in the Boston Public Schools for nearly 10 years. 

Standing outside my school in the morning, the brightly shining sun and chirping birds signal the start of that anxiously anticipated season here in Massachusetts. No, not spring; MCAS season. For many across the state, it feels like we have been building towards this for several months, if not all year. For teachers, this is understandable, as standardized tests like the MCAS have a direct impact on federal funds for schools. For students, however, the MCAS seems to loom over everything like Heartbreak Hill for marathoners.

Around Town

40 Watertown Residents Join Walk for Peace, Double Fundraising Goal

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Watertown Walks for PeaceWatertown Walks for Peace joined the Mother’s Day Walk for Peace in Dorchester. Here, Bevin Croft, Jessica Middlebrook, and kids carried the WW4P banner, walking here with Councilor Tony Palomba. The following piece was provided by Watertown Walks for Peace:

For the eighth year in a row, Watertown Walks for Peace (WW4P) joined other teams from Dorchester, Boston, and surrounding Boston communities to participate in the Mother’s Day Walk for Peace. This annual fundraising event supports the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute in its critical advocacy and support work for individuals and communities that are victims of gun violence.      

This year’s Mother’s Day Walk for Peace was the first in-person walk since 2019. And for the WW4P team it was the most successful effort to date.  

Donations. The WW4P organizers set a 2022 fundraising goal of $3,000, but 62 donors generously gave $6,582 – more than double the target amount and significantly more than we’ve ever raised before.

Entertainment

Small Saves Has a Present for Mom in This Week’s Cartoon

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James DeMarco grew up in Watertown and became a goaltender at age 5. It’s his life’s passion to stand between the pipes and keep the puck out of the net. Combining this with the love of cartooning Small Saves emerged in 1991 and took on a life of his own. “To play goal–then come home and draw Small Saves — is my ideal definition of a good day.”

Entertainment

New Rep’s New Voices Theatre Festival Features 3 Original Plays

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The following information was provided by New Rep Theatre:

The first New Rep, New Voices Theatre Festival features three 20-minute plays that were selected out of over 150 plays during our March call for submissions. New Repertory Theatre presents the first New Rep, New Voices Theatre Festival, from May 21 through May 28 in the Black Box Theatre at the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown. Tickets are $25 for Adults, $10 for Students and can be purchased at: https://secure.newrep.org/events

The Plays

AURORA by Ramón Esquivel

Featuring: Aliyah Harris & Lonnie Miller

The play takes place on an Autumn Night on the The Aurora Bridge in Seattle in 2010. Kai has come here to end their life, and Halen tries to stop the attempt. We learn that Halen committed suicide in the same spot two years earlier, and has reappeared to support Kai in this time of crisis. This play employs magical realism in an ultimately uplifting story about depression, grief, metaphysics, and the transcendent nature of love.