Schools

Watertown Student Graduates from Worcester Academy, Achieves Honors

By |

Worcester Academy held its 183rd Commencement Exercises June 2 with 135 seniors graduating, the school announced. Among the graduates was Roman Davis of Watertown. He was recognized on the First Semester Honor Roll and Headmaster’s list for 2016-2017. Davis also played on Worcester Academy’s Varsity Boys Soccer Team which enjoyed a successful Fall 2016 season finishing with 19 wins and two losses. The team made it to the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) Class A Finals and won the Academy’s first regular season WNEPSSA title in a prep league that includes Choate, Loomis, Phillips Andover, Phillips Exeter, Hotchkiss, Northfield Mount Hermon, among others.

Elections

Candidate for 2-Year School Committee Seat is a Parent and Teacher

By |

The first candidate for the two-year School Committee seat has been certified to be on the ballot, and the first-time challenger has experience as a Watertown parent and as a teacher in another school system. Lindsay Mosca will run for the School Committee seat being vacated by Candace Miller, who announced she will step down because she is leaving town. The two-year seat will be on the Town Election ballot in November, but will be separate from the four-year School Committee seats. Mosca sent out the following information:
I have lived in Watertown with my husband, Justin, since 2005. Our two young children, Jennie and Jacob (5 and 7 years old), attend the Lowell Elementary School. I teach mathematics at Lexington High School, and my husband is an engineer at VHB in Watertown.

Building for the Future

School Renovation Projects to be Discussed When School, Town Officials Meet

By |

All five Watertown public schools will be renovated over the next several years during the Building for the Future project but before the work can begin projects must be approved not only by the School Committee, but also the Town Council. Ultimately Watertown voters will have to approve funding. On Thursday, July 27, a joint meeting of the School Committee and Town Council will be held to start discussions of the school renovation projects. Consultants Ai3 will present their recommendations at the meeting, which will be at 6 p.m. in the Council Chamber in Town Hall, 149 Main St., Watertown. According to the timeline created by Ai3 (see the timeline here), the three elementary would be worked on first.

Schools

Watertown Schools Get Bomb Threat by Email, Police Find No Devices

By |

Watertown Public School officials said they received an email with a bomb threat directed toward all the Watertown schools Friday morning, but police found nothing when they searched the campuses. Most of the schools are not being used this summer, but Watertown Police searched each of the schools, said Watertown Police Lt. James O’Connor. “We checked all the schools and nothing was found,” O’Connor said. The Hosmer School is hosting the Watertown Recreation Department’s Pequossette Summer Program, so the school will be monitored through the day, said Watertown Superintendent Dede Galdston in her letter to parents. Similar threats have been made in recent days to schools in nearby communities, O’Connor said, including Newton, Waltham and Belmont.

Colleges

Watertown Student Makes Dean’s List at University of Maine

By |

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

By |

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

By |

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

By |

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