Schools

WHS Students Team Building Robot from Scratch for Annual FIRST Robotics Competition

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Four nights a week and on weekends, a group of Watertown High School students work intensely bolting pieces of metal frame together, wiring electrical circuits and even sewing fabric. These members of the WHS Robotics Team have been working on their entry to the 2018 FIRST Robotics Competition for the past month and only have a few weeks left to finish their creation. During the build season the Robotics Team, also known as the KwarQs, has six and a half weeks to build a robot from scratch to take part in the competition. Each year the goal of the game is different, so the robot must be able to perform different tasks. This year’s competition, called FIRST Power Up!, is designed to be like a video game, with robots from three schools teaming up to compete against a trio of other robots.

Government

OP-ED: School Funding Formula Not Fair to Communities Like Watertown

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Submitted by State Sen. Will Brownsberger, whose district includes Watertown, Belmont and parts of Boston. Overall, state aid to schools is inadequate and, although the current distribution formula works out well for Belmont and Boston, it is unfair to many communities, including Watertown. I hope we can pass the “millionaire’s tax” this November and use the proceeds to increase school aid under a simpler, more rational formula. The state distributes approximately $5 billion annually in unrestricted aid for local schools, known as “Chapter 70” aid, covering on average roughly 1/3 of total local school costs. Aside from MassHealth, unrestricted local school aid is the single largest item in the state budget — roughly 20% of state tax revenue.

Schools

School Committee Weighing Whether to Have Centralized PreK, Preschool Program

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On a recent winter morning, parents of 3 and 4 year olds line up before dawn in hopes of getting one of the spots in the Watertown Public Schools’ Pre-Kindergarten program. This PreK program is one of half of the district’s programs being considered to go into a new early childhood education center as part of the elementary school building projects. On Monday night, the School Committee discussed whether Watertown should have a centralized location for Watertown’s preschool and PreK programs.

Today, the district runs one PreK class at each of the three elementary schools, along with seven classes of preschool – five at Hosmer Elementary School and two at the former Phillips School (which is also the location of the school administration offices). If an early childhood center is built, the plan is to put it next to the Hosmer after some of the buildings on the west side of campus are torn down, said Scott Dunlap of Ai3 – the architect designing the three elementary schools. The proposed center would be able to handle more children, with five PreK classes and eight preschool classes.

Business

Belmont Savings Donates to Watertown Education Foundation at Spelling Bee

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Belmont Savings Bank recently presented the Watertown Education Foundation (WEF) with a contribution of $2,250, which was provided by the Watertown Education Rewards Checking accounts opened with BSB in 2017, the bank announced. The check was presented during the foundation’s annual Elementary School Spelling Bee. For every new Watertown Education Rewards Checking account opened through Belmont Savings, the bank gives both the WEF and the account owner $50, and .25% annual interest on the average monthly balance in the account is put toward school programs.
Founded in 1990 by engaged citizens of Watertown, the WEF is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting improvements in the town’s education system by assisting school programs and encouraging support from citizens and businesses of Watertown.

Schools

Lowell School Site Will Not Be Used for High School, Future Enrollments Discussed

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The Lowell Elementary School site will be removed from the table as a possible location for a new high school with a vote taken by the School Committee on Monday during a special meeting to discuss issues impacting upcoming school building projects. The School Committee also looked at the enrollment which the new schools will be able to accommodate after the three elementary schools are rebuilt or renovated. Examining the Lowell site was necessary as the Watertown Public Schools officials start a parallel construction project to rebuild or renovate Watertown High School with the help of the state’s Massachusetts School Building Authority, said School Committee Chairman John Portz. “The question (Monday) is not whether to site the high school there, but is it a viable site for the high school,” Portz said. School officials will have to present the state with all the potential sites in town for a high school, including the current one.

Business

Perkins Partners with Company to Provides High Tech Assistance for the Blind

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Some employees at Perkins School for the Blind have been testing some high tech glasses that give the blind and visually impaired new independence. They don’t let users see better, per se, but instead they have a camera that allows someone to watch a live stream video and give the wearer instant descriptions and directions. The technology was developed by San Diego-based startup Aira, which this week announced a partnership with the school in Watertown – the first of its kind in the country. One of those who piloted Aira was Kim Charlson, executive director of the Perkins Library. Charlson is visually impaired and uses her seeing-eye dog Dolly to help her get around.

Schools

Watertown Student Named to First Semester Dean’s List at Holy Cross

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Olivia Venezia, a first year student at the College of the Holy Cross, has been named to the Dean’s List for the first semester of 2017-18 academic year, the college announced. 

She is the daughter of Michael and Rosanna Venezia of Watertown. She has not declared a major. The Watertown High School graduate also plays on the Holy Cross varsity field hockey team. The College of the Holy Cross (www.holycross.edu), located in Worcester, Mass., is among the nation’s leading liberal arts institutions. A highly selective, four-year, exclusively undergraduate college of 2,900 students, Holy Cross is renowned for offering a rigorous, personalized education in the Jesuit, Catholic tradition.

Around Town

BC Scientist from Watertown Helps Discover Oldest Known Butterfly

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While searching for the remains of plants and pollen in 200 million year old sediment, Boston College scientist and Watertown resident Paul Strother and a Dutch colleague discovered the remains of an ancient butterfly much older than ever found – a discovery that may change the understanding of prehistoric plants. While spending time in Germany in 2012, Strother examined some cores from Northern Germany with Bas van de Schootbrugge, a Dutch microfossil paleontologist who at the time had a lab in Germany. It took a few years, and collaboration with a number of other scientists, to find out just what they had found. “It sort of shows how sciences works, sometimes,” said Stother, a research professor in paleobotany in BC’s Department of Earth & Environmental Science. He lives in Watertown with his wife Ceclia Lenk, a former Town Councilor.