Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/category/schools/page/113/)
With the new term starting for the Town Council and School Committee, both boards elected their officers and announced committee assignments during their first meeting in January. The Town Council unanimously approved District C Councilor Vincent Piccirilli to another term as Vice President at the Jan. 9 meeting. On Jan. 8, the School Committee voted to appoint John Portz to another two years as Chairman.
For the 18th year in a row Watertown celebrated the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., and his legacy during the Unity Breakfast. During the event the keynote speaker talked about his work to make the conversation about race in America a positive and productive one through friendship and love, and the head of the Watertown Boys & Girls Club received the Unity Award. The morning also featured moving readings from the winner of the Watertown Middle School and High School MLK Essay Contest, and performances from singers and rappers. The event took place at the Hellenic Cultural Center on Monday and was sponsored by The World in Watertown. William “Smitty” Smith has some credentials in working to improve race relations in the United States.
The Massachusetts Bay Community College is pleased to announce its 2017 Fall Semester Dean’s List. Full-time students who have earned a 3.50 or higher grade point average (GPA) are included and acknowledged on the Dean’s List. This semester list includes 252 students.
The students from Watertown who made MassBay’s Dean’s List for the Fall of 2017 are:
Lara AlMassih, Shaun Cosenza, Elias Fabrikarakis, Michelle Gallego, Kareem Halwani-Plaza, Haider Khan and Rory Mather
During her first six months as Superintendent, Dede Galdston dove deep into the workings Watertown Schools and came up with recommendations to improve the schools in areas ranging from student success, aligning the curriculum, improving communication, staff diversity, and, of course, improving the school buildings. Monday night, Galdston introduced her Superintendent’s Entry Plan to the School Committee. The report came from Galston’s conversations with more than 75 individuals and groups over the last half year, plus examining district test results, curriculum and other material. Participants welcomed the opportunity to speak with the superintendent, Galdston noted. “Time and again, I heard that this was one of the first times that people had the opportunity to have an open conversation with the superintendent and that they hoped this type of communication forum would continue into the future,” Galdston wrote.
Shariel Joseph and Marcus Moore of the Watertown Youth Coalition, sponsored by the Wayside Multi-Service Center, were recently accepted as members of The 84 Movement’s Statewide Leadership Team, WYC announced. To begin in that role, they attended The 84 Movement’s Statewide Leadership Conference in Boston from December 1-3 with other youth leaders from across the Commonwealth. The 84 Movement is a statewide youth tobacco prevention program that fights the tobacco industry’s tactics of making their products sweet, cheap, and easy to get. Joseph and Moore, both juniors at Watertown High School, join 15 other youth to help lead the movement. As members of the Statewide Leadership Team, they will have the opportunity to attend and facilitate workshops, gain skills in public speaking, educate members of their community, and fortify their leadership skills.
As the Watertown Public Schools move full speed ahead on rebuilding or renovating the town’s schools, school officials must soon make some decisions which would impact the designs of both the elementary schools and Watertown High School. There are three key questions that must be answered in the next month, or so, in order for schematic designs of the school projects to continue, School Committee Chairman John Portz said at Monday’s School Committee meeting. A meeting has been scheduled for Monday, Jan. 29, 2018 at 7 p.m. at a site to be determined. The first question, Portz said, is whether the Lowell Elementary School site off Orchard Street should be considered as possible site for a new Watertown High School building.
The Watertown Public Schools will be closed Friday, Jan. 5, 2018, due to the cold temperatures and windy weather in the forecast.
The Watertown Public Schools put the following announcement on Facebook at about 5:07 p.m. on Thursday:
Due to the challenges of the storm today and the bitter cold and wind in the forecast for tomorrow, all Watertown Public Schools will be CLOSED tomorrow, Friday, January 5. While the storm is predicted to let up a bit later on this evening, it has been challenging to keep up with the snow removal due to the forceful winds and the rapid rate of snowfall. The bitter cold and wind tomorrow along with the snow-filled streets and sidewalks will create challenges for our students and staff to get to school and therefore out of great concern for the safety of our students and staff, the decision to close school tomorrow was made. Be safe and stay warm!
As the new Town Council term begins, Watertown Council President Mark Sideris looked toward the next two years and said that some of the major focus will be on traffic, development and communication with the public, as well as the upcoming school building projects. Newly elected Town Councilors, School Committee members and Library Trustees were sworn in by Town Clerk John Flynn on Tuesday night at the Mosesian Center for the Arts. After his swearing in, Sideris addressed the audience in the theater at the Arts Center. Development has been a big issue for several years, and Sideris said he would like to take a new approach at looking at new projects in town, from those completed, to those under construction and projects just getting started. “I will be working with the Community Development and Planning Department to coordinate a field trip to visit the sites that have been developed,” Sideris said.