Government

State Funding for Local Schools to be Discussed at Meeting Co-Hosted by Sen. Brownsberger

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State Sen. Will Brownsberger

The following information was provided by State Sen. Brownsberger’s Office:

State Sen. Will Brownsberger will co-host a listening session on state funding for local schools with State Senator Jason Lewis, Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Education, to learn more about the needs of schools in Watertown, Belmont and Boston in advance of the senate’s FY20 budget debate, which will begin May 20. The first segment of the event will provide local education leaders the opportunity to share their schools’ experiences and concerns with state funding. After community presentations, the remaining time will be spent providing attendees the opportunity to make comments and ask questions. The hearing will be limited to two hours and is open to the public. All are encouraged to attend.

Dancing With the Stars

Watertown’s Dancing With the Stars Coming Up Soon, Tickets Available

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The Watertown Rotary Club will host Dancing With the Stars charity event featuring local celebrities teaming with professional dancers on May 10, 2019. This year’s competitors are Town Councilor Lisa Feltner, Watertown Savings Bank’s Bill Burgess, Rhode Moise from the Watertown Boys & Girls Club, Watertown Firefighter Mary Piotrowski, Watertown Police Officer Kerilyn Amedio, Jae Smith from the Watertown Public Schools, Watertown Realtor Ari Koufos, Watertown Firefighter Andrew Vega, and Chad Foster from Watertown Middle School. The event will be emceed by Watertown Town Council President Mark Sideris. Judges are dance teacher Lynda Messina, dance teacher Nicole Keuchkarian, Officer Tony Physic (last year’s winner) and Rotarian John Airasian. Doors open at the Hellenic Cultural Center, 25 Bigelow Ave., Watertown, at 6 p.m. and the competition begins at 7:15 p.m.

Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be available.

Perkins School for the Blind

Perkins, Spaulding Rehabilitation Team to Make Info More Accessible

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Perkins School for the Blind provided the following information:

While the landmark 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act has made great strides specific to physical access, there is still a significant gap around accessible digital information. Assistive technology tools exist, such as audible screen readers, but the success of those tools hinges on the thoughtful and inclusive design of digital information. Spaulding Rehabilitation Network has taken a major step to close that gap by teaming with Perkins Access, the commercial consulting group at Perkins School for the Blind, to design a patient-first website (spauldingrehab.org) which sets a new standard for usability and accessibility. Spaulding patient Chris Hoeh tested the new site and commented, “I use my phone for most of my online needs and navigate using my thumb, which doesn’t work on most sites. It would be incredible if all organizations followed Spaulding’s lead and considered users of every ability when designing their sites.”

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) specify how to make content accessible and usable by audiences of varying needs and abilities.

Foreign Exchange Students

School Committee Debates Whether Foreign Exchange Students Will be Allowed

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While students from another country attending local schools can add to the experience of both students from Watertown and the one from abroad, legal liabilities may stand in the way of the Watertown Public Schools accepting foreign exchange students. On April 22, the School Committee discussed the issue of how to accept foreign exchange students, but continue to be stymied by the legal issues. The problem arose when the School Committee looked at updating the policy for foreign exchange students to require them to be living with a legal guardian. School Committee member Eileen Hsu-Balzer, who chairs the Policy Subcommittee, said that poses a problem with the companies running the exchanges. “Under these programs what we found out — many times — the program does not designate the host family as legal guardians, and they (the programs) are not the legal guardian,” Hsu-Balzer said.

Schools

Find Out About Vaping at Event Hosted by Watertown Public Schools

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Find out about vaping at an event hosted by the Watertown Public Schools with help from the Watertown Youth Coalition (WYC). WYC sent out the following information:

The Watertown Public Schools will be hosting a community event at the middle school on Monday, May 13 (6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.). Our speaker will be Traci Wojceichowski, who is the Regional Director of Education at Caron Treatment Centers. Traci has recently presented on this topic at a Middlesex Partnership for Youth event. She has also spoken at numerous schools and community events.

Schools

Watertown Teens Attend Tobacco Prevention Event at State House

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Members of the Watertown Youth Coalition, from left, Eva Henry, Esther Mendez, Shama Joseph, Shariel Joseph, and Adult Advisor Samantha Chan. The following information was provided by Metro Boston Tobacco Free Community Partnership:

Members of the Watertown Youth Coalition joined teens from around the state at the State House for a tobacco prevention event. Young people from Watertown Youth Coalition Peer Leaders, from Wayside Multi-Service Center, celebrated Kick Butts Day, an annual youth tobacco prevention event, at the Massachusetts State House on April 3, 2019. 

As part of The 84 Movement, Massachusetts youth attended a youth-led rally, marched across the Boston Common to the State House and talked with their lawmakers to express their concerns about the influence of the tobacco and vaping industries in their communities.  They emphasized the dangers of vaping and how sweet flavors like menthol and mint attract youth to vaping. 

Watertown Teens Tackle the Tough Issues at Recent Town Hall Meeting

Building for the Future

Lowell School Plans Please School Building Committee; Updated on Hosmer & Cunniff

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An image of the latest plans for what Lowell Elementary School will look like after it is renovated. The latest images of what Lowell Elementary School will look like after renovation wowed members of the School Building Committee, last week. The group also got updates on the new buildings being built at the Hosmer and Cunniff elementary school sites. Scott Dunlap, project designer from Ai3 Architects, presented the plans to the School Building Committee at a meeting on April 25. Lowell will be extensively renovated inside the current building, but it will also have a significant addition on the west end of the school.

MassBay Community College

MassBay College Hosting Spring STEM Expo

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MassBay Community College will host a STEM Expo. MassBay Community College provided the following information:

MassBay Community College will hold its bi-annual Spring STEM Expo on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 from 1 p.m.–2 p.m. Students in the Engineering, Math, Computer Science, Life Sciences, and Biotechnology fields will be presenting their work to the MassBay college community as well as external partners. The Spring STEM Expo is an opportunity for MassBay students to showcase their creativity and innovation through the projects they have completed during the course of the semester. Guests learn about the students’ research as well as the processes that went into the creation of their work. At a time when businesses are clamoring for employees who have skills in the high-demand STEM fields, MassBay is providing a much needed source of “middle-skills” workers who have the education and training to fill these critically important positions.