Asbestos

School Officials Hire Firm to Remove Asbestos from Watertown High School

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A firm has been hired to remove the asbestos found at Watertown High School for more than a quarter million dollars. 

The asbestos was discovered during an inspection by EFI Global, the district’s asbestos consultant. There were a few locations, but the most prominent one was in the skim coat plaster on the walls and ceilings of classrooms in the high school. The district will hire Northstar, a licensed asbestos abatement firm, to work on the high school, said Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Mary DeLai. “The estimated time for the work will be 60 work days,” DeLai said. “It will probably take until March 1 to complete the abatement.”

Charity

Watertown Woman to be Honored for Work Spreading Education in Africa and Boston

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Born and raised in Watertown, Jane O’Connor has spread her work as an educator across the globe, and will receive an honor previously bestowed to Boston Police Commissioner William Evans and actor and peace and justice activist Martin Sheen. After being principal in the Watertown Public Schools for 24 years – at Cunniff Elementary School and Watertown Middle School – O’Connor worked to help at risk students in Boston, and took part in starting a school for girls in rural Africa. Her work will be recognized by the Paulist Center Community, which will present her with the Isaac Hecker Award for Social Justice at a ceremony in Boston on Saturday, Nov. 18. A group from Boston was interested in setting up a school for girls in an area of Rwanda that was hard hit by the 1996 genocide, and invited O’Connor to be a part of the effort.

Schools

See What Mascot the School Committee Chose to Represent Watertown High School

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The School Committee selected Watertown High School’s new mascot, or logo: a shield with a large W and Raiders written across it. The Committee unanimously chose the shield from the four concepts brought forward by the Watertown High School Mascot Screening Committee in October. Other ideas were a knight on a horse, a knight behind a shield and a knight’s helmet. Town Council President Mark Sideris proposed that the shield be the choice. “We’re not going to make everybody happy tonight, so we have to make the decision that is best for the Watertown Schools,” Sideris said.

Schools

Open House at Watertown High School, Superintendent Coffees

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Watertown’s Superintendent of Schools Dede Galdston announced that parents are invited to an open house at Watertown High School to meet teachers and find out programs offered by the school. Also, she will be hosting a pair of Superintendent’s Coffees where parents and residents can speak with her in an informal setting. Galdston sent out the following information:

Watertown High School is hosting an Open House on Monday, November 20, 2017 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. This is an excellent opportunity for Watertown families with students in grades 7 and 8 to visit with High School teachers and students in a variety of content areas. Families will learn about the variety of exciting programs and opportunities available at Watertown High School. I will be holding two superintendent’s coffees, one on Wednesday, November 15 at 9:00 a.m. and again on Thursday, November 16 at 7:00 p.m. Both of the coffees will be held in the Innovation Lab, 3rd Floor, Phillips Administration Building.

Schools

Watertown Special Education Parent Group Meeting at Hosmer School

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The Watertown SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council) invites the public to its November meeting where the focus will be: “What are your basic
rights in the IEPprocess?” Watertown SEPAC sent out the following announcement:

Come hear speaker Cheryl Caira talk about those rights and answer some
questions about the process

Child Care available

Watertown SEPAC meeting

WHEN: Tuesday November 14 at 6 p.m.

WHERE: Hosmer Elementary School Library, 1 Concord Road

Election 2017

See How the Watertown Candidates Did in Precinct by Precinct Results

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Anthony Donato won the race for Watertown Town Councilor At-Large by nearly 400 votes, but he did not win every precinct in Tuesday’s Watertown Town Election. See how the candidates for Council and School Committee fared in the precinct-by-precinct results. In the race for the four Town Councilor At-Large seats, Donato got the most votes in seven of 12 precincts – 1, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12 – while second place Caroline Bays won three precincts – 2, 4, 9. Third place candidate and incumbent Tony Palomba won Precincts 3 and 5. Donato’s best showings were on the west side of town – precincts 10-12 – where he won each by at least 85 votes, and precinct 10 by 134 votes.

Election 2017

Watertown Voters Elect 2 New School Committee, See Who Won the Library Trustee Race

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Only one incumbent will return to the Watertown School Committee, as two newcomers won seats on the board in Tuesday’s election. First time candidate Amy Donohue took the most votes, with 2,549, which was 24.20 percent of the ballots. Incumbent John Portz took second with 2,101 votes (19.94 percent). In a narrow race for the third and final seat on the School Committee, newcomer Lily Rayman-Read received 1,691 votes (16.05 percent), just 26 more than incumbent Liz Yusem’s 1,665 (15.81 percent). Incumbent Guido Guidotti got 1,532 votes, or 14.54 percent, followed by Michael Shepard, who was on the School Committee for four years, but lost his re-election bid two years ago.

Schools

Minuteman Student from Watertown Creating on Mural at Lexington Library

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The Cary Memorial Library’s Teen Space will soon have a new mural adorning the wall, thanks to two industrious students from Minuteman High School, school officials announced. Seniors Lucy Couet, of Arlington and Mariana Torres-Roman, of Watertown, are both in the Design and Visual Communications program at Minuteman. They are interning at the Library this fall to complete the mural which they designed, said their teacher, Maria Galante. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Minuteman High School students on this project,” said Jennifer Forgit, the Library’s Teen Services Manager. “From the outset of the Teen Room design project, we knew that it would be important to pay attention to the design and decor so that teens would feel at home.