Around Town

Watertown Scouts Collect Tons of Donations for Food Pantry

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Some of the donations collected by Watertown Troop 30 and Pack 30 for the Watertown Food Pantry. The following announcement was provided by Watertown Scout Troop 30:

Scouts from Troop 30 and Pack 30 combined forces Saturday to collect two-and-half tons of food for the Watertown Food Pantry. In normal times, the Troop (BSA scouts age 10-17) and the Pack (Cub Scouts age 5-10) would solicit donations from customers at Stop & Shop as part of an initiative called Scouting for Food. This year, to keep contact at a minimum and taking Coronavirus precautions, Cub Scouts held a contest to see who could collect the greatest number of donations from neighbors. Cubs flyered their neighborhoods asking for help, and Watertown responded: Cubs collected carloads of groceries totaling 4,941 pounds.

Charity

Minuteman Students Cook Meals for 200 in Need for Thanksgiving

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The following announcement was provided by Food Link:

This Thanksgiving, 200 food insecure residents of eastern Massachusetts will receive a traditional Thanksgiving meal with ingredients rescued by Food Link, cooked by students from Minuteman High School, and delivered by Food Link volunteers. Food Link, a food rescue organization serving eastern Massachusetts, has partnered for the 2020-21 school year with Minuteman High School, a regional career technical education high school in Lexington, to create nutritious meals for neighboring communities that are grappling with food insecurity. Through this collaboration, Food Link is rescuing food from grocery stores, produce markets, farms, and distributors and delivering it to Minuteman High School where culinary arts students create meals based on the ingredients they receive. These meals will then be shared with organizations feeding those in need. 

“Food Link has rescued 820,000 pounds of food since the pandemic began to address the growing need in our communities,” said DeAnne Dupont, Executive Director of Food Link. “This partnership allows us to take fresh, nutritious food and create meals to share with organizations such as after, low-income housing facilities and food pantries.”

Minuteman’s culinary arts students operate a restaurant at the school, which is typically open to the public but is only open to staff temporarily due to COVID-19 protocols. The partnership with Food Link provides culinary arts students a different population base for which to cook and bake meals.

Arsenal Yards

New Mediterranean Restaurant Opening in Arsenal Yards

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Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh has opened at Watertown’s Arsenal Yards. The following information was provided by Arsenal Yards:

Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh, the leading fast casual Mediterranean franchise concept best known for its preservative-free, nutrient-rich menu, today officially opened the doors of its newest location at Arsenal Yards in Watertown. The new eatery is now welcoming guests at its location at 41 Bond Street, offering a modern twist to Old World cuisine, breaking down the traditional paradigm of the Mediterranean diet. “Bostonians are loving the delicious, healthy food that Garbanzo offers, and we are very excited to officially open our doors in Watertown today,” said Derek St. George, co-owner of Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh in Watertown and Boston.

Entertainment

Watertown Children’s Theater Building on Success of Online Plays

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Children’s Theatre:

Building on the successes of our fall online productions, Watertown Children’s Theatre/Mosesian Center for the Arts will be producing three more online productions this winter for Grades 3-12.  Registration is open now at mosesianarts.org for all winter productions, which begin in early December. For Grades 3-5, The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by John Glore is a fun, irreverent look at fairy tales that includes comedy, music and a lot of fun. Based on the beloved book by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith, this play includes fresh takes on stories like Chicken Little, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, and more. Favorite fairy tales are hilariously remixed with comical music and quick-paced scenes to challenge actors and delight audiences. Orientation begins December 9.

Around Town

Recreation Department Announces Victory Field, Courts Are Open

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Victory Field will not be hosting football games this fall, but it is open for public use. Watertown’s athletic and recreation facilities are open to the public, announced Recreation Director Peter Centola. Centola sent out the following information:

Our Victory Field Artificial Turf will be open from 8:00am to 8:00pm everyday,  weather permitting.The Casey Park Courts, Victory Courts and Moxley Courts will be open the same times as well.Face covering and other COVID19 protocals for these amenities and other recreational facilities are required. Please feel free to contact the office at 617-972-6494 or 617-312-9007 for questions, concerns or comments. SAVE THE DATE: RECREATION OPEN FORUM, TUESDAY DECEMBER 1 AT 7 PM.

Schools

Minuteman Superintendent Wins Award for Commitment to Safety

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Minuteman High School Superintendent Dr. Edward Bouquillon accepts the Schettini Award during the virtual ceremony on November 17, 2020. The following announcement was provided by Minuteman High School:

Edward A. Bouquillon, Superintendent-Director for the Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District, received the eleventh-annual Dr. Patrick A. Schettini Jr. Memorial Award from the Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth (MPY), Inc., for his longstanding commitment to safety of the students and staff at Minuteman. 

More than 120 school superintendents, police chiefs and fire chiefs joined Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and members of MPY to honor Dr. Bouquillon in a virtual ceremony. The annual event brings together staff from the district attorney’s office, law enforcement, educators, and community leaders to collaborate on student safety, juvenile justice, and crime prevention strategies. 

“It’s a tremendous honor to be recognized for our commitment to the safety and health of our students and staff,” Bouquillon said. 

In selecting Dr. Bouquillon for the 2020 award, MPY cited the integration of security cameras, tap-card systems, information technology infrastructure, and other innovative and cost-effective security features in the new Minuteman High School building that opened in September 2019. 

“Security and safety were foremost in our minds as we worked with students, staff and our architects, from Kaestle Boos Associates, to create a welcoming, yet secure, learning environment,” Bouquillon said. “It’s the work of my committed team, and our shared dedication to fostering a safe environment, which has allowed Minuteman to become a leader in school safety design and implementation. We thank our partners in the law enforcement, first responders, and firefighting communities for their collaboration in this important effort.” 

The Schettini Award, named after the late Reading schools superintendent, is presented annually to a school superintendent, fire chief or police chief for their commitment to the health and safety of students in their communities. 

“We are continually impressed with Minuteman’s commitment to proactively address safety and social-emotional support for students,” said Margie Daniels, executive director of MPY.

Around Town

Plenty Going on at the Watertown Senior Center This Week

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Watertown Senior Center

The following information was provided by the Watertown Senior Center:

The Watertown Council on Aging/Senior Center has been offering fitness, art and discussion programs via ZOOM! Please call the Senior Center at 617-972-6490 for program information and ZOOM access. Mondays

10:00 AM, Art Class with Dawn Scaltreto

12:30 PM, Chair Yoga with Diane

Mondays, 12/14 and 12/28 at 2:00 PM, Secrets of Armenian Cuisine with Naire

Tuesdays

12:30 PM, Tai Chi and Meditation with Marie

2:00 PM, Line Dancing with Bradley

Tuesday, 12/8 at 10:00 AM, Discovery Corps Engagement in Retirement

Tuesday, 12/15 at 9:30 AM, Director Coffee “Looking Ahead”

Tuesday, 12/22 at 10:00 AM, Public Safety Coffee

Wednesdays

11:00 AM, Exercise with Joanna

Wednesday, 12/2 at 2:00 PM, Armenian Music Concert

Wednesday, 12/9 at 2:00 PM, LGBTQ Coffee

Wednesday, 12/30 at 2:00 PM, Holiday Music Hour with John Clark

Thursdays

9:00 AM, Pilates

10:30 AM, Conversation with Tom; Senior Center member Tom Lewis leads this informal discussion group. Current events and issues pertaining to aging well are discussed. Thursday, 12/10 at 2:00 PM, Protect Yourself from Medicare Fraud

Thursday, 12/17 at 2:00 PM, Ask the Pharmacist

Fridays

10:00 AM, Exercise with Shannon

12:00 PM, Seated Strength and Balance with Pearl.

Cartoon

Small Saves Makes a Sacrifice in This Week’s Cartoon

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Cartoon by James DeMarco

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.”