Schools

Hosmer Proposed as Swing Space During School Construction Projects

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The architects for the renovation or rebuilding of Watertown’s three elementary schools presented refined conceptual drawings of the schools, and proposed to the School Building Committee that students from other schools go to school at Hosmer School while their school is being renovated. The conceptual plans for Lowell, Cunniff and Hosmer elementary schools includes some new construction and some renovation at each school. Architects from Ai3 shared a schedule that would stagger the start of construction at the three schools so that the new construction at Hosmer would be finished first, freeing up the old section of the school for other schools to use for a few months. Saving money on the project has been a focus since it was discovered that the construction cost estimates in the School Facilities Masterplan done by SMMA in 2016 were much lower than is realistic. Town Manager Michael Driscoll has pledged $120 million for the three elementary schools that would come out of the Town’s budget, and not require a tax increase, but Ai3 estimated the cost of the project would be as much as $180 million.

Rotary Club

Rotary Club of Watertown Awards $10,000 in Scholarships

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The Rotary Club of Watertown recently awarded $10,000 in scholarships to local students. The recipients received the awards at the Watertown High School Senior Awards Night. 2018 Rotary Club of Watertown Scholarship Winners

H. Nish Boyajian Memorial Scholarship – Kaitlin Tracy, Watertown High School

Stephen Everett Memorial Scholarship – Elizabteth Powderly, Watertown High School

Domenic “Dick” Trabucco Memorial Scholarship – Timothy F. Connors, Jr., Matignon

Domenic “Dick” Trabucco Memorial Scholarship – Lauren Petrillo, Watertown High School

Student Speaker Award, Ioannis Papadopoulos, Watertown High School

Rotary Merit Scholarship – Liz Cam, Watertown High School

Rotary Merit Scholarship – Caroline Costa, Watertown High School

Rotary Merit Scholarship – Alexander J. Feltner-Harrison, Watertown High School

Rotary Merit Scholarship – Claire Gabel, Watertown High School

Rotary Merit Scholarship – Mariam Roda, Watertown High School

Around Town

Legacy of Watertown Soldier Killed in Vietnam Lives 50 Years Later in Annual Scholarship

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Fifty years after his death, Paul Sullivan continues to inspire the youth of Watertown and surrounding communities, and his legacy lives on in the recipients of the scholarship that bears his name. On June 23, 2018, a banquet will be held to honor the winners of the 50th Annual Lt. Paul J. Sullivan Scholarship and several other scholarships that have grown out of the effort to commemorate the 24-year-old from Watertown, who was killed in Vietnam on Aug. 9, 1968. The day after the banquet, a plaque will be unveiled at the playground named after Sullivan on the corner of Mt. Auburn Street and Arlington Street. Sullivan joined the U.S. Army in 1968 and trained to become a Ranger.

Schools

Watertown Resident Honored at MassBay Graduation for Academic Performance

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MassBay Community College honored students at the College’s 56th Commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 17th at the Wellesley Hills campus. The following information was provided by MassBay Community College:

Nearly 300 students participated in this year’s Commencement ceremony, representing students from 35 countries from around the world. This diverse and talented group also recognized five students who earned a 4.0 GPA, seven students who earned the highest GPA in their academic divisions, and the Foster Furcolo Scholarship awardee. This year’s Student Commencement Speaker and Commencement Singer of the National Anthem, were both student veterans graduating. Student veteran Derek Jordan of Hudson, MA began the ceremony with the singing of the National Anthem.

Schools

Watertown’s New Elementary Report Cards Will Contain More Information

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The report cards for Watertown elementary school students will look at lot different next year as the district brings in standards-based report cards. Not only will they have different grades, but will have a lot more subsections within a subject where children will be assessed, said Allison Donovan, the district’s K-8 Literacy/Title I Coordinator. The new report cards will be a welcomed change, said Olivia Cifrino, a second grade teacher at Cunniff Elementary School who served on the Standards Based Report Card Team. “I was very excited to be part of this Report Card Team because as a teacher I was frustrated with the report card before,” Cifrino said. Donovan said parents had a similar response when they heard about the new report cards.

Schools

Watertown Youth Coalition Wins Award for Anti-Tobacco Efforts

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The following information was provided by The 84 Movement:

Five youth and their advisor from the Watertown Youth Coalition joined other youth from across the Commonwealth last week for a Kick Butts Day event to celebrate their role in reducing the influence of the tobacco industry in their communities. The 19 participating chapters are all members of The 84 Movement. Youth leaders of The 84 Movement educate and mobilize young people to take action and protect their communities from the tobacco and vaping industries. During a ceremony in the Great Hall at the State House, awards were presented to individuals and chapters of The 84 Movement for their dedication to reducing the impact of tobacco and nicotine. The Watertown Youth Coalition Peer Leaders were recognized with The 84 Movement’s Local Community Change Award and their advisor, Dawn Graham, received the Adult Advisor Award.

School Buses

Watertown Schools Looking at 3 Busing Options, One Could Raise Fees $100

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Depending on which school busing option the School Committee adopts, transportation fees could remain the same as this year or increase by as much as $100, and not all students wanting to be transported is guaranteed a spot. The decision will be made with the help of college students participating in a “hack-a-thon.” The School Committee received an update on planning for busing during the 2018-19 school year on Monday night. Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Mary DeLai said the district will enter a five year bus contract if the Town Council gives its approval Tuesday night, but the schedule will change from the current year because the high school and middle school are starting later next fall. Three options will be considered, DeLai said, with different numbers of buses and possibly requiring students to wait after school for the bus to arrive after school.

Around Town

Watertown High Grad Chosen to Conduct Research in Italy as a Fulbright Scholar

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Watertown’s Francesca Korte will use her knowledge of biology and Italian, learned while studying at Wellesley College, and her experience working in medical labs to do research during her Fulbright Scholar year in Palermo, Italy. 

The 2014 Watertown High School graduate was one more than 1,900 Americans selected to be a Fulbright Scholar in the 2018-19 academic year. The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government. It is designed to build lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. In Sicily, Korte will work on a project to evaluate the bioethics of the practices used to autopsy and identify migrants who die while crossing the Mediterranean from Africa to Italy. She will conduct her research at Università degli Studi di Palermo from October 2018 to July 2019. Her work will be supervised by Antonella Argo, MD, PhD. When Korte received word that her project had been chosen she had a mix of emotions.