Schools

Two Watertown Students Accepted as State Leaders in Fight Against Tobacco

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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.

Schools

Schools Seek Input on Decisions on High School Site, PreK/Preschool Programs

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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.

Schools

Watertown Public Schools Closed Again Friday Due to Foul Weather

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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!

Government

Town Council President Sees Development, Communication & Schools as Priorities for New Term

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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.

Schools

Architects Present First Visions for What Watertown’s Elementary Schools Could Look Like

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It will be a busy several years, but by 2023 Watertown will have built or newly renovated three elementary schools and the high school. Monday night the architect hired to do the schematic designs laid out the timeline to get there. The elementary schools and the high school are on different schedules, with the Hosmer, the Cunniff and the Lowell planned to be worked on simultaneously, and after those projects are complete it will be about time for construction to begin on Watertown High School, said Scott Dunlap, principal of Ai3, the district’s architects. Watertown school officials got a lot of good news last week. “Last week the most exciting time for a Superintendent occurred over a 24 hour period,” said Superintendent Dede Galdston.

Schools

Scholarship Available for Students Going to College, Trade School

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A-1 Auto Transport is a leader in the moving industry that is currently looking to extend their scholarship program to eligible students in Watertown, Massachusetts, the company announced. These scholarships may consist of $250, $500 or $1,000 a year. Any students with a GPA of 3.0 and enrolled at a trade school, college or accredited university may enter for a chance at the A-1 scholarship program. Students who would like to take advantage of this opportunity must write an essay about the auto transport industry in 1,000 or more words. The essay can explain or give information on any of A-1’s shipping services.

Ai3

Architect Hired to Design Renovation/Rebuilding of Watertown Elementary Schools

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The Town Council approved $1.378 million to hire an architect to do the schematic designs for rebuilding, renovating and/or adding on to Watertown’s three elementary schools. 

A committee of school and town officials put out a request for proposals and received two bids. The firm they chose was Ai3 of Wayland, the same group that was hired over the summer to advise the Town and Schools about how to proceed with modernizing the town’s schools. The Town Council voted unanimously to fund the architect’s contract on Tuesday night. School Committee Chairman John Portz thanked the Town Council for approving the funding. “It is an incredibly exciting project,” Portz said.

Around Town

Watertown High Renovation Project Accepted Into State School Building Program

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The proposal to renovate or rebuild Watertown High School was accepted by the Massachusetts School Building Authority on Wednesday morning, meaning approximately half the cost of the project will be reimbursed by the state assuming Watertown clears the remaining hurdles. 

Watertown Superintendent Dede Galdston sent out a Tweet at 11:20 a.m. announcing that the project was accepted in the the MSBA. The MSBA Board just unanimously voted to invite Watertown into the Eligibility Period for a core program project for Watertown High school! — Deanne Galdston (@WatertownSupt) December 13, 2017
This was the fourth time that Watertown School officials had applied to get funding to renovate the aging high school, and it had already made it farther than previous efforts by being considered for being admitted into the program. Galdston said simply in an email, “We are thrilled!!!” when asked about the invitation into the MSBA program.