Schools

Watertown Schools Piloting New System for School Visitors, Student Pickups

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The Watertown Public Schools are going high tech to keep track of visitors, and to make sure student are being picked up by those who are allowed to do so. This week, Watertown Middle School started using the Raptor Visitor Management System, which enters visitors into a computer system and can also check criminal and custody databases. Jason DelPotro, Watertown Middle School assistant principal and chair of the district’s Critical Incident Team, gave the School Committee an overview of the new program Monday night. Prior to the use of the computer system, the Watertown schools used the old fashion clipboard sheet to have people sign in and out when visiting campuses. Now, people will have to show a driver’s license and have it scanned into the system. The computer will then create a paper visitor ID, DelPotro said.

Cunniff School

Elementary, High School Projects Take Steps Forward at School Building Committee

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Two votes by the School Building Committee on Wednesday night moved the projects at Watertown’s three elementary schools and at the high school a step closer to being a reality. The projects to renovate and make additions to Hosmer, Lowell and Cunniff elementary schools, which have schematic designs, are ahead of the Watertown High School project, for which designs have yet to be drawn up. High School Project
Wednesday night, the School Building Committee, which oversees the projects, gave its approval to spend $1.6 million on the preliminary design and hiring an owner’s project manager for the WHS project. The Town Council will be asked to give final approval for the money at its Nov. 13 meeting, said Superintendent Dede Galdston.

Schools

School Officials Pleased with Watertown’s Results in First Year of New State Test

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The scores for the new MCAS exam are out, and the results pleased Watertown Public School officials. 

The Massachusetts Accountability System uses a different test, has different scores and different measures for how a school or district fared, said Watertown Superintendent Dede Galdston. She said, however, that the district fared well on the first year of the new test. “We are very pleased with our results,” Galdston said at Monday’s School Committee meeting. “Three (of five) schools met or exceeded the goals set by the state and one met it in some areas.” Cunniff and Lowell elementary schools and Watertown High School fell into the “not requiring assistance or intervention,” while Hosmer Elementary and Watertown Middle School fell into the “requiring assistance or intervention category, according to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Eduction (DESE) report.

Cunniff School

Architects Reveal New Design for Hosmer School, Parking Plan for Lowell School

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The designs for Watertown’s three elementary schools have started to become more solid, and in the near future school officials will present them to the communities in and around the schools. Architect Scott Dunlap from Ai3 presented the most recent designs at last week’s School Building Committee meeting. The biggest change comes at Hosmer Elementary School, where the latest design shows a large glassed in area on the northeast corner of the school. “It is an element we are introducing into the front of the building,” Dunlap said. “We are not saying that the glass will go all the way across.

Business

Nominate Middle, High School Entrepreneurs for Chamber’s Awards

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The Newton-Needham Regional Chamber provided the following announcement:
Each fall the Newton-Needham Regional Chamber recognizes two high or middle school students who demonstrate exceptional qualities around leadership, entrepreneurship and business. Past recipients have included students who’ve started their own business, created a unique app or product, or somehow demonstrated unique entrepreneurial skills.  
To qualify, students must currently reside in and/or attend a middle or high school in Newton, Needham, Watertown or Belmont and have not yet completed high school. Honorees will be recognized at the chamber’s annual Fall Business Breakfast on Tuesday, Nov. 13 at the Newton Marriott Hotel. We are now seeking your nominations for our 2018 Young Entrepreneur.

Schools

Grades at Some Watertown Schools Full; Students Face Heat in First Week

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The school year has begun in Watertown, and preliminary enrollment figures put classes at the town’s elementary schools at or under the class size guidelines, but some are right at the limit. Superintendent Dede Galdston gave the enrollment figures to the School Committee last week, just days into the school year. The Watertown Public School’s class size guideline calls for classes of no more than 20 for kindergarten and first grade, 22 for second and third grades and 24 for fourth and fifth. As the opening of school approached, there were some grades which worried Galdston. “One area of concern, originally, was kindergarten numbers,” Galdston said.

Government

Sidewalk, Street Construction Around Hosmer School to Continue Through Fall

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The Watertown Department of Public Works provided this update on the construction on the sidewalks and streets around Hosmer School. 

Work has progressed on the MassDOT Hosmer School Safe Routes to School Project. The majority of work on the west side of School Street and in front of the Hosmer School has been completed. A section of the intersection at Chauncey Street has been left in a temporary condition as we continue to await Verizon and Eversource wire transfer. The focus of construction will now shift to the east side of Boylston Street, towards Fairfield/Dartmouth Street. Construction will continue during the fall.

Schools

New Hosmer School Proposal Would Use Less Green Space, Cost More

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The architects designing Watertown’s elementary schools presented a new alternative for the new classroom building at Hosmer Elementary School which would use less open space on the site, but would increase the cost of the project. Two weeks ago, another option was proposed where the school would stick farther out into the playing fields in front of the school. Neighbors objected to the loss of the green space and for obstructing their view. The new proposal would push the school closer to the existing building which has the cafeteria, auditorium and gym. The drawings presented by architect Scott Dunlap of Ai3 show the buildings linking in two areas, with a courtyard in the middle to allow natural light for the classrooms in the middle.