Colleges

Watertown Student Makes Dean’s List at University of Maine

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The University of Maine recognized 2,303 students for achieving Dean’s List honors in the spring 2017 semester, including one from Watertown. Of the students who made the Dean’s List, 1,727 are from Maine, 533 are from 29 other states and 43 are from 22 countries other than the U.S., the university announced. Listed below are students who received Dean’s List honors for spring 2017, completing 12 or more credit hours in the semester and earning a grade point average of 3.5 or higher. Watertown: Cody Orvik

Please note that some students have requested that their information not be released; therefore, their names are not included. About the University of Maine:
The University of Maine, founded in Orono in 1865, is the state’s land grant university, with research and community engagement classifications awarded by the Carnegie Foundation.

Charity

Watertown-Belmont Chamber Awards Four Scholarships to High School Seniors

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The Watertown-Belmont Chamber of Commerce awards scholarships annually to Belmont and Watertown high school seniors planning to attend college. The WBCC announced the winners. This year the Chamber received multiple applications from Watertown and Belmont seniors. A volunteer scholarship committee comprising members of the Chamber’s board of directors, Katherine Rafferty, Mount Auburn Hospital; Pamela Giannatsis, Tufts Health Plan; and Sandy Penchansky, of Watertown Savings Bank read each application and selected the award recipients. Here are this year’s award recipients:

WBCC Scholarship

o   $1,000 to a Watertown High School (WHS) senior and Watertown Resident: Bailey Herrera Samayoa

o   $1,000 to a Belmont High School (BHS) senior and Belmont Resident: Colleen Murphy

The Barclay Good Citizen Scholarship

o   $500 to a High School senior boy and Watertown Resident: Sam Carton

o   $500 to a High School senior girl and Watertown Resident: Stella Varnum

Congratulations to our recipients!

Interim Superintendent

Here Less Than a Year, Interim Superintendent Has Had a Profound Impact

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When John Brackett was appointed Watertown’s interim superintendent the town’s schools faces many issues – a leadership vacuum, schools needing modernizing and expanding and someone to oversee the finances. Last week, the School Committee said goodbye to Brackett, and lauded him for not just keeping the Watertown Public Schools in the same shape he found them but leaving them in a position to take the next step forward. Brackett was hired in late October 2016 following the sudden retirement of Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald in September and he will end his tenure on June 30, 2017. The Watertown Schools needed to hire not only a permanent superintendent but also a school business manager, prepare the district to renovate or rebuild all of its schools along with the business of running the schools each day. All of those have been accomplished or in the case of the school renovations, have made significant progress.

Schools

Watertown Students Make Dean’s List, Graduate from UConn

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The University of Connecticut recently announced its dean’s list and graduates for the spring of 2017 and students from Watertown were part of both groups. Dean’s List

Melanie Kahn Chollette, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Liana Sandell, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Graduate

Ryan Philip DelRose, Bachelor of Arts, Applied Mathematical Sciences and Economics

Schools

Watertown Schools Moving Toward Starting High School, Middle School Later

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Students at Watertown High School and Watertown Middle School will likely have more time to sleep in beginning the fall of 2018, and that’s a good thing, school officials say. This week, the School Committee heard a presentation from a committee asked to look at the mechanisms for starting school early and what problems could arise from changing the start time at Watertown’s secondary schools. Last year the school’s Wellness Committee recommended that the district move to an 8:30 a.m. start time for middle and high school based on research about teens sleep habits and circadian rhythms, also known as the body clock. “Teen circadian rhythms shift later with the onset of puberty and causes them to stay alert until about 10:30 to 10:45 (at night),” said Watertown MiddleWatertown Middle School Principal Kimo Carter, who chaired the School Start Time Implementation Task Force. “The change happens as the get older, it just happens – they can’t control it.”

Schools

Watertown Middle School Classroom Kitchen Gets An Overhaul

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A kitchen used by students in the special education program at Watertown Middle School got a partial upgrade and improvement recently, bringing it into the current century. The kitchen is left over from a now defunct program at the Middle School, said Principal Kimo Carter. “Fifteen years ago we had a home economics program that got discontinued,” Carter said. “This room and the one beside it were the home ec rooms.” The room has counters, cabinets, a stove, refrigerator and microwave.

Government

School Subcommittee Recommends Adding Another Artificial Turf Field

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The demand for artificial turf field space has grown for Watertown High School’s athletic squads, and a School Committee subcommittee has recommended that the town install a second artificial turf field with lights somewhere in town. 

With football/baseball area of Victory Field covered in artificial turf it has allowed the area to be used for more hours and in more inclement weather, said WHS Athletic Director Michael Lahiff. However, there is a lot of demand for that space. In the fall, for instance, it is used by the football, field hockey, and boys soccer teams. However, the football team has priority because they cannot practice or play on the nearby Victory Field Track Oval because players would tear up the grass, Lahiff said. They are not the only team that wants to use the turf. “Field hockey wants to be on the turf, it’s a different game now (on artificial turf), and boys soccer prefers it,” Lahiff said.

Mascot

Committee Narrows Down Possible Mascots/Logos for Watertown High School

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Knights, Colonists, American Indians, foxes, bobcats, and many more – these are some of the choices that the Watertown High School Mascot Screening Committee has to choose from for the school’s new logo. 

The group of students, alumni, parents and school staff met Tuesday night to review the 17 submissions for the new WHS mascot/logo, and shortened the list for the graphic designer working with the group to have some ideas. The submissions came from students and others in town, said School Committee Vice Chair Kendra Foley, who is chairing the Mascot Screening Committee. One even came from a fifth grader. The group was asked what characteristics they wanted the mascot to have. One of the students on the committee, Abbie Peterson, said she wanted to show that Watertown is “a strong community, we don’t let anything hold us back and we strive to be the best.”