Schools

Watertown Schools Start Planning to Keep Learning Going During Coronavirus Closure

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Watertown School officials sent out the following letter about how they are responding to the closing of the schools due to the Coronavirus outbreak, including finding ways to continue the learning while students are at home. The following statement was sent out by the Watertown Public Schools on Thursday evening:

Good Evening, WPS Families, and Staff:

Tomorrow as we welcome our incredible staff to join together in virtual spaces and begin to transition to providing continuous learning opportunities for students and families, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the entire community for understanding that shifting from face-to-face live instruction to this new virtual learning paradigm is challenging.  The next few weeks will be a time that we all learn and grow together.  Our teachers and staff are learning how best to keep continuity in learning for our students, and our families are learning how best to guide and support their children at home.  

Keeping Learning Moving

The Office of Teaching, Learning, & Assessment is continuing to develop excellent resources to support our families while schools are closed. On our new Extended Learning Opportunities webpage, we have posted educational resources for students from early childhood through grade 12. We hope you will find these resources to be helpful to stay engaged and provide opportunities for learning during the school closure. Please note that these activities are not intended to replace or substitute classroom instruction, but instead to keep our students engaged and thinking as much as possible while school is not in session. You may want to bookmark this site as we will be utilizing it and updating it throughout the period of closure.  As our teachers are preparing for course and/or grade level specific learning opportunities, please refer to this website as it provides deeply engaging resources for you to use with your children.

Coronavirus

Council President Discusses Watertown’s Response to the Coronavirus, Steps You Can Take

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Town Council President Mark Siders at the inauguration in 2018. To the Watertown community:

I want to take this opportunity to give you a brief update with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic and how Watertown is managing our response to it. The Town Manager and Administration along with myself and the Town Council are staying on top of all measures being put in place at the state level, in addition to those regulations we have put in place locally. The Town Manager is meeting daily with the Director of Public Health, the Police and Fire Chiefs, and other Department heads to assess the effectiveness of recent state and local regulations, and to determine if other actions may be needed to best protect our community. Communications from the Town Manager are available on the Town’s website and are updated frequently.

Around Town

Volunteers Needed to Deliver Meals to Seniors

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Springwell seeks to continue to provide services to older residents during the Coronavirus outbreak, and they are looking for volunteers to deliver meals to seniors. Springwell sent out the following information:

Due to the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Springwell is working diligently to continue to provide services to our senior community.  At this time, Springwell is seeking volunteers who are willing to provide home delivery of meals.* 

Springwell is an essential part of the social safety net for thousands of older adults each year, and we are continuing to provide the services that are helping them stay safe and in their homes during this challenging time. We especially need volunteers who can work in the towns of Belmont, Watertown, and Waltham. If you are:

interested in receiving training and support to help us reach vulnerable seniors with critical in-home meals;have a reliable car, a current driver’s license, and a clean driving record;are available between 10 am – 1 pm;are able to provide these services, consistent with guidance we receive from the CDC, WHO and other governmental agencies, recognizing you may come into contact with high-risk members of our community and others; andand are successfully able to meet the regulatory pre-requisites for the position. 

 Please contact us! Email volunteer@springwell.com to start the process; or go online and apply to volunteer at www.springwell.com/volunteer Thank you

Business

Watertown Biotech Company Seeks to Create Coronavirus Treatment

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The following announcement was sent out by Watertown-based Enanta Pharmaceuticals:

Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTA), a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to creating small molecule drugs for viral infections and liver diseases, today announced that it has initiated a program to discover direct-acting antiviral drug candidates for the treatment of patients infected with the novel coronavirus COVID-19, also known as SARS-CoV-2. The company is leveraging its years of expertise in virology, including its discovery work on two approved protease inhibitors – paritaprevir and glecaprevir – for use against hepatitis C virus (HCV), its development of a candidate for hepatitis B virus (HBV), and most importantly, its development of candidates for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human metapneumovirus (hMPV), to explore approaches against this pandemic health threat. Enanta is taking a two-pronged approach to its COVID-19 discovery efforts. It is testing compounds from its antiviral compound library for potential activity against COVID-19. It is also initiating a drug discovery program using its expertise in direct-acting antiviral mechanisms to discover new candidates to treat COVID-19.

Around Town

State Announces Resources to Help Small Businesses During the Coronavirus Outbreak

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State and federal officials sent out the following information about assistance for small businesses during the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), including information on loans, layoff prevention and emergency contacts. Massachusetts state officials sent out the following information:

1 – Resources for the Business Community: COVID-1 MEMA’s Emergency Operations Center’s Private Sector Hotline

The hotline will be staffed Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.The number for the hotline is 508-820-2094. 2 – Small Business Recovery Loan Fund – https://www.empoweringsmallbusiness.org/what-we-offer/emergency-loan-funds/covid-19-loan-fund

$10 million Small Business Recovery Loan Fund, administered by Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC), to provide emergency capital up to $75,000 to Massachusetts-based businesses impacted by COVID-19 with under 50 full- and part-time employees, including nonprofits.This fund is being offered with no payments due for the first 6 months, then 30-months of principal and interest payments and no prepayment penalties (annual interest rate of 3.0%). 3 – Small Business Administration’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program – https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-resources-and-guidance-for-businesses

EIDL offers Massachusetts businesses who are experiencing hardships resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak access up to $2M in emergency loan capital with rates capped at 3.75%.We are currently working with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to activate the EIDL program. We will update this group when the program formally opens.Businesses can learn more about the SBA’s response to COVID-19 here: https://www.sba.gov/page/guidance-businesses-employers-plan-respond-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19

3 – Governor Baker’s Emergency Order (3/15) limiting gatherings to 25 individuals and prohibiting on-premises consumption of food or drink at bars and restaurants, beginning on March 17 and effective until April 6.

Police/Fire

Watertown Fire Department Closing Public Access to Fire Stations

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The Watertown Fire Department has closed the town’s three fire stations in response to the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). People can still contact the Fire Department with questions. The department added that it will temporarily stop accepting donations, such as food. The Watertown Fire Department sent out the following announcement:

Due to growing concerns over the spreading of the Coronavirus all Watertown fire stations will be closed to the public effective immediately. If you have a question about permits, inspections or other fire prevention functions please call the Fire Prevention Bureau at (617) 972-6510.

Arts

NewRep Theatre Announces 2020-21 Season Featuring Five Plays

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The 2020-21 season at New Repertory Theatre features five shows, including four Tony-Award-winning plays and two musicals. New Repertory Theatre proudly announces their 2020-2021 season. Featuring five productions in the MainStage Theater at the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown, the company’s 36th season includes ANGELS IN AMERICA: MILLENNIUM APPROACHES, the groundbreaking drama by Tony Kushner; THE 25 TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, the uproarious family-friendly musical comedy; STUPID F##KING BIRD, Aaron Posner’s modern-day adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull; the Tony Award-winning great jazz musical JELLY’S LAST JAM; and John Patrick Shanley’s resonant drama DOUBT, A PARABLE. The season includes 4 Tony Award-winning plays and musicals and one of the most produced titles in American Theatre over the last few years. “I am so thrilled to announce this season” shares New Rep Artistic Director Michael J. Bobbitt.

Around Town

CatholicTV Broadcasting St. Patrick’s Mass from Boston on Tuesday

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The following announcement was provided by Watertown-based CatholicTV Network:

On Tuesday, March 17, the CatholicTV Network will air Mass for the Feast of Saint Patrick, the principal patron of the Archdiocese of Boston, celebrated by Cardinal Seán O’Malley, O.F.M., from the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston. 

During Mass, Cardinal O’Malley will offer prayers for all those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Reverend Monsignor Liam Bergin will be the homilist. Ciarán Nagle, world-renowned Irish tenor, will provide music. There will be no congregants present at the Mass. The Mass will air live on CatholicTV at 12pm ET and will be rebroadcast at 8pm ET.