Entertainment

Musicians Wanted for Annual Friends of Watertown Music’s MusicFest

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The Friends of Watertown Music will host its annual fundraiser, MusicFest, in early April and the group seeks performers to take part. The event will be from 5:30-9:30 p.m. on April 6, 2018, at Watertown Middle School, 68 Waverley Ave., Watertown. Suggested donations are $8 per person or $25 for a family. There will also be pizza, refreshments and a bake sale. The event has raised more than $20,000 to support the music program in the Watertown Public Schools.for more information go to Watertownmusic.org.

Schools

School Committee Weighing Busing Options Under New School Start Times

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The School Committee is considering options for school busing for next Fall when the start time of the high school and middle school move later. They seek to serve as many students without increasing school bus fees or adding greatly to the budget. The state requires students in grades K-6 living more than 2 miles from school to be bused for free by districts. Currently, Watertown buses students who live 1.5 miles or more from Hosmer School and sixth-graders living more than 2 miles from the Middle School for free. For students living closer, or seventh or eighth graders, the district offers busing for a fee of $300 (and a $475 family cap), with students living south of the Charles River going to Hosmer paying a discount rate of $200 (family cap of $320).

Around Town

Youth Coalition Hosting Forum on the Well-Being of Watertown Youth

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The Watertown Youth Coalition will host its 2018 Town Hall Meeting on “The Well-Being of Watertown Youth” on April 11, 2018 from 6-8 p.m. at the Watertown Free Public Library. 

The WYC provided the following information. How well are Watertown youth doing with regard to their health and well-being? COME JOIN US for a presentation and discussion of the most recent Watertown Youth Risk Behavior Survey results. Hear the perspectives of youth and other experts in the field, and contribute to the discussion about how to sustain and increase what’s positive for youth and families in Watertown. Light refreshments will be served.

Athletics

School Committee Votes to Increase Fees for Extended Day, Alter Them for Sports & Activities

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Parents will be paying more to send their children to the Extended Day program at the Watertown Public Schools, but the School Committee hopes its decision will improve the program. The board also changed how fees are assessed for high school athletics and for extracurricular activities. Extended Day Program
The Extended Day Program, which has before and after school programs and ones over February and April vacations, will increase its fees by 20 percent across the board beginning in the fall of 2018. The last time the fees were increased was in the 2011-12 school year, said Director of Community Education Deb Cornelius. The proposal also asked for a 2 percent increase every year beginning in the fall of 2019.

Gun Control

Watertown Students Pour Out to Join National Walk Out for Gun Control

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First about 20 students gathered outside Watertown High School, then the number doubled and soon people were pouring out of the front door until hundreds of students filled the area in front of the school as part of the National Walk Out calling for safer campuses and gun control in the wake of the shootings in Parkland, Fla. The walk out had been scheduled for last March 14, to coincide with rallies across the nation, but a nor’easter put those plans on ice for a week. The event was organized by students and they were not required to come out for the Walk Out. A few hundred students left school for the 17 minute event. They were joined by about a dozen members of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment, who stood across the street from the school.

Business

Watertown Savings Seeks Entries for High School Photography Contest

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Watertown Savings Bank (WSB) is seeking submissions for their Annual High School Photography contest, bank officials announced. If you are a high school student who lives or attends school in Arlington, Belmont, Lexington, Newton, Waltham, and Watertown you are eligible to participate. The 12 winning photographs will be published in the bank’s 2019 calendar, which is distributed free to thousands of WSB customers and community members annually. WSB is looking for photos that depict scenes from the local community. Entries must be submitted by Sunday, April 15 at midnight.

Schools

Minuteman High School Students Win Medals at SkillsUSA Competition

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Students from Minuteman High School captured medals in a host of technical categories in a regional skills competition against their peers last month, including one from Watertown, the school announced. Minuteman students earned gold, silver and bronze medals in the SkillsUSA District III Competition held at Joseph P. Keefe Regional Technical School in Framingham on February 28. SkillsUSA is a national organization that allows students in career and technical education to compete in rigorous technical and leadership competitions. The advisor of the Minuteman chapter of SkillsUSA is Engineering instructor Malcolm Paradise. The medalists from Minuteman were as follows:
Culinary Arts: Gold, Sam Zurlo ‘19, Lexington
Cosmetology Over 500 hours: Bronze, Madelyn Hedges ‘18, Arlington
Additive Manufacturing: Gold, Ben Tangora ‘20, Lexington and Brandon Bain ‘20, Lexington
Electrical Construction Wiring: Silver, Luke Scannell ‘20, Lexington
Mechatronics: Gold, Benjamin Leone ‘18, Lancaster and Dan Seriy ‘18, Needham, Silver, Alex Northup ‘19, Needham and Ethan Moore ‘19, Arlington
Web Design & Programming: Gold, Adam Powell ‘18, Arlington and Ethan Francis-Wright ‘18, Arlington
Mobile Robotics: Gold, Gaetano Taranto ‘19, Waltham and Jake Dionne ‘19, Concord, Bronze, Emmanuel Adey ‘20, Lexington
Robotics Automation Technology: Gold, Sam Harris ‘19, Lancaster and Sophia Li ‘19, Acton
Telecommunication Cabling: Gold, Sean O’Connor ‘18, Winchester
Industrial Baking, Silver, Thomas Merida ‘18, Watertown
Many of these students will compete at the SkillsUSA State Leadership and Skills Conference held from April 26-28 in Marlborough. Minuteman is an award-winning regional high school that integrates robust academic and career & technical learning to deliver a revolutionary competitive advantage to its students, expanding their opportunities for college and career success.

Adaptive Track

Watertown Track Team Offering Program for Students with Disabilities

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The Watertown Boys & Girls Track Team and it’s Booster Club are offering an Adaptive Track program this spring for students with disabilities. Students will participate in stretching, running and racing activities on the Victory Field track. WHS athletes will be mentoring/coaching under the supervision of parent volunteers. This is a four week program to be held from 4:30-5:30 p.m. on the following dates (no transportation provided):
Monday, April 23
Monday, April 30
Monday, May 7
Monday, May 14 (awards ceremony)
Registration is open now and is available to students in Watertown, Belmont, Waltham & Newton in grades 1-12. Mail the attached application with a $40.00 check made payable to Nancy Alberico to: 
Nancy Alberico
C/O WHS Track & Field Boosters
25 Duff Street, Watertown, MA.