Government

Members of Congress Get a Look Inside Watertown’s School Lunch Program, School Farming Class

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Congresswoman Katherine Clark and Congressman Jim McGovern have lunch with Hosmer School second-graders Maya and Daphne. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

A pair of enthusiastic Hosmer Elementary School ambassadors showed two members of Congress around their school Wednesday, ending with a meal cooked up by the school cafeteria staff that featured produce grown in Watertown High School’s hydroponic farm. Congressman Jim McGovern and Congresswoman Katherine Clark visited Watertown as part of McGovern’s End Hunger Now Tour of Massachusetts, in support of the bill he filed on Capitol Hill to increase the amount of federal funding for school breakfasts and lunches. Hosmer second-graders Maya and Daphne guided the two members of Congress through the hallways, into classrooms, through the media center, up and down stairs, and finally through the lunch line in the cafeteria. Watertown City Council President Mark Sideris, left, speaks with Congresswoman Katherine Clark and Congressman Jim McGovern during their tour of Hosmer Elementary School, led by Maya and Daphne.

Schools

Watertown Students Make Dean’s List at Several Colleges During Fall Semester

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Students hailing from Watertown made the dean’s list at UMass Amherst, Holy Cross, Georgia Tech, St. Lawrence, Tufts, Simmons, St. Michael’s, and Emmanuel. See the announcements provided by the colleges and universities, below. Holy Cross

College of the Holy Cross congratulates the students named to the Fall 2025 Dean’s List for outstanding academic achievement during the spring semester of the 2025-26 academic year.

Entertainment

Watertown High School Presenting “Mamma Mia!” at Mosesian Center

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This year’s Watertown High School musical, “Mamma Mia!” will be performed at the Mosesian Center for the Arts on March 27-29. See more information from WHS, below. Get ready for our highly anticipated spring musical production of Mamma Mia! Please join us on Friday, March 27 or Saturday, March 28, at 7:00 PM or on Sunday, March 29, at 2:00 PM at the Dorothy and Charles Mosesian Center for the Arts!

Schools

New Watertown High School Nearly Done, Remains on Budget

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The new Watertown High School is approaching completion, with teachers expected to move in after school ends in June. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Wednesday afternoon, School Committee members, City Councilors and others got to see the new classrooms, theater, gym, and media center that will be enjoyed by Watertown High School students starting in September. The school is taking shape, with the walls and floor covering completed on the upper floors of the four-story structure, and a fresh coat of varnish still drying on the floor of the gymnasium at the new Watertown High School. A view of the gym floor at the new Watertown High School. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Construction should be completed in the next few months, said Christy Murphy of owner project management firm Vertex.

Schools

WHS Medical Assistant Students Practiced What They Learned in Class in the Real World

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A Watertown High School student conducts medical tests during a community health clinic run by the school’s Medical Assisting Program. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

City employees had the opportunity to get free checkups from some aspiring medical professionals during a clinic run by the Watertown High School Medical Assisting Program. The students learned to take vitals, take a blood test, and other procedures as part of the program that was added a few years ago, said teacher Melissa Burke. “So these are our students who have committed to doing full three years on top of their regular high school curriculum, doing medical assisting training,” Burke said, adding that after they have completing the course the students can take the exam for national medical assisting certification. Workers for the Watertown Public Schools, as well as the Police and Fire, Public departments received invitations to get a free checkup.

Schools

LEGAL NOTICE: Watertown Public Schools to Hold Public Hearing on Fiscal Year 2027 Budget

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The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Public Schools:

Legal Notice

WATERTOWN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, 30 COMMON STREET, WATERTOWN, MA 02472 – In accordance with provisions of Chapter 71, Section 38N, the Watertown School Committee will hold a Public Hearing on its proposed Fiscal Year 2027 Budget, on Monday, March 23, 2026, at 7:00 PM in the Learning Commons, Lowell Elementary School, 123 Lowell Avenue, Watertown, MA 02472, or via Zoom at https://watertown-k12-ma-us.zoom.us/j/86275618951

A copy of the FY27 Proposed Budget will be available to the public in the Office of the Superintendent of Schools and on the Watertown Public Schools Website, www.watertown.k12.ma.us, forty-eight hours before the date of the public meeting.

Around Town

Hear High Schoolers’ Perspectives & Experiences at Community Forum

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The following announcement was provided by Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment:

Come engage with students from Watertown High School in a community forum focusing on student perspectives and experiences. Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment will be featuring student voices at our next quarterly meeting scheduled for Wednesday, April 8th from 7-8:30 p.m. in the Watertown Savings Bank room at the Watertown Free Public Library.  

The forum’s focus is to promote dialogue between high school students and community members. Students will highlight what is working for them in Watertown as well as what can be improved. The key question is “How can adults in Watertown support our youth?” Other questions that will be addressed include: What challenges/issues/concerns are young people facing in Watertown? How does Watertown provide support for young people? What do you want community members to know about youth today?  

Participants will be able to engage with students in small discussion groups. Community members are encouraged to register in advance and to include any questions for the students with your registration. Registration is encouraged, not required. The evening is free and open to all interested community members. Refreshments will be served. Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment (WCPJE) is a non-profit, community-based organization that works to protect the environment, promote sound environmental practices, oppose war and aggression, cultivate peace and security, and advocate for social and economic justice. For more information about WCPJE visit our website: https://watertowncitizens.org/.

Government

Detailed Designs of Middle School Being Created to See if City Can Afford a New School

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A vision of what a new Watertown Middle School could look like created by Ai3 Architects and presented to the School Committee in June 2025. Architects have started creating detailed designs for a new Watertown Middle School to determine how much a new school would cost, and that information will be used by the City to see whether Watertown’s budget can handle a project expected to cost significantly more than $100 million. On Feb. 18, the School Building Committee voted to approve the contract to hire a designer to come up with plans on which a detailed budget can be based upon. When the designs are completed and priced out the City will determine if it is feasible for the City to afford the project, Superintendent Dede Galdston told the School Committee on March 2.