Hosmer School

Hosmer School Community Worried About Loss of Field Space, Length of Construction Project

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Major renovations are planned for all three of Watertown’s elementary schools, but Hosmer School will go through the most significant changes, and endure the longest construction period. Wednesday night, the School Building Committee visited Hosmer to share the latest plans and hear from parents and neighbors. Concerns included loss of green space and play area, as well as the impact of construction on the students. The school is first up on the schedule of renovations, and current plans call for demolishing the current classroom wing and building a new building on the Mt. Auburn Street side of the current cafeteria/gymnasium building.

Schools

Construction Costs for Watertown’s School Building Projects Up Several Million Dollars

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The latest cost estimates for the renovation/rebuilding of Watertown’s three elementary schools are up several million since the last estimate presented to the School Building Committee. On Wednesday night, the project manager and architect presented their latest, best estimate of how much it will cost to renovate and rebuild Hosmer, Lowell and Cunniff elementary schools. The cost of the construction would be $122 million ($56.5 million for Hosmer, $31.67 million for Cunniff and $33.8 million for Lowell) and the additional costs would bring the total up to an estimated $153 million, said Project Manager Shane Nolan of Daedalus Projects. This is an increase of about $5.8 million from the estimate presented in August. About $1 million of the cost increase in the construction budget comes from a change to the project scope to include replacement of all existing windows and doors at Lowell and Cunniff, said architect Scott Dunlap of Ai3 Architects.

Schools

Perkins School Earns Special Status with United Nations Economic and Social Council

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The following information was provided by Perkins School for the Blind:
Perkins School for the Blind, the first school for the blind in the U.S. and the international leader in blindness education, has earned United Nations Economic and Social Council Special Consultative Status (ECOSOC).  
This enables Perkins executives to attend meetings at the UN, submit written statements and oral presentations, consult with ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies, and use UN facilities for conferences or meetings in New York, Geneva, and Vienna. The United Nations Economic and Social Council is at the heart of the United Nations system to advance the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental. It is the central platform for fostering debate and innovative thinking, forging consensus on ways forward, and coordinating efforts to achieve internationally agreed goals. It is also responsible for the follow-up to major UN conferences and summits.

Cunniff School

Parents, Neighbors Have Concerns About Proposal for Cunniff School Renovation

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Parents and neighbors of Cunniff Elementary School got a look at what the school might look like after the renovation project is done, and they had some big questions and concerns about the loss of play area, drop off areas and more. 

Wednesday night the School Building Committee visited the school on the Westside of Watertown to discuss the upcoming renovation and addition of the campus. The board has upcoming meetings planned for Hosmer and Lowell schools. The current favored plan calls for keeping the front classroom wing at Cunniff, tearing down the one-story wing in back and replacing it with a two story wing. Along with classrooms, the project will add a full-size gym, expand the library, and create a music/blackbox theater space, said architect Scott Dunlap of Ai3 Architects. The classrooms in the existing wings will undergo major renovations.

Perkins School for the Blind

Perkins School for the Blind Hosts Harry Potter Weekend

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Perkins School for the Blind got a taste of Hogwarts over the weekend, when children with visual impairments got to participate in Harry Potter Weekend. 

The outreach program opened the campus to students throughout the community with visual impairment for some fun and games inspired by the young wizard. “This was a terrific weekend not only for volunteers and staff, but for the students. The kids were so immersed in the activities,” said Mike Cataruzolo, manager of Volunteer Services at Perkins School for the Blind. “They really felt like they were at having a magical time at Hogwarts. We hope to have this weekend again next year.”

Schools

Watertown Students Get a Taste of Science, Technology & More During STEM Week

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In an effort to boost interest by students in STEM education — science, technology, engineering and math — the Baker-Polito Administration declared Oct. 22-26, 2018 STEM Week. The Watertown Public Schools organized a range of events for students in elementary, middle and high school, including field trips to local companies, panels of professionals, and design challenges. Some of the students and classes attending the events are from STEM subjects, but there are others from classes like civics and economics. Laura Alderson Rotondo, the district’s Career Technical Education (CTE) coordinator, said she would have liked to have gotten every student in the district involved in the STEM Week activities, but having started planning in September it was not possible.

Cunniff School

School Committee Excited by Improvement on MCAS Shown by Watertown Elementary Students

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The elementary school results on the 2018 MCAS test pleased the School Committee, particularly the improvement by students over the last year. Watertown’s principals and administrators presented the results at Monday night’s School Committee meeting. Efforts were made after last year’s MCAS results, said Assistant Superintendent of Teaching, Learning and Assessment Theresa McGuinness. “Last year, when we met to discuss the scores we realized we had a curriculum alignment problem,” McGuinness said.  “We met to see how we could make changes.” The growth in the scores particularly stood out, she said.

Schools

See When Renovation Projects to be Presented to Watertown’s Elementary Schools

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Parents and neighbors of Watertown’s three elementary schools will get to see what is in store for their buildings during the upcoming renovation projects, and they will have a chance to give their feedback. 

The district’s architect and the School Building Committee will present the current plans at meetings held at the individual schools. The first meeting will be at Cunniff Elementary School on Wednesday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. Next will be Hosmer Elementary School on Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. Lowell Elemenatary School’s meeting will be on Wednesday, Nov. 28 at 6 p.m.

Parents will be notified through announcements sent out by their children’s schools, while nearby residents will be sent a notice of the meeting, said Town Council President Mark Sideris, who is also chair of the School Building Committee.