Cunniff School

Cunniff School Taking Drastic Measures to Relieve Crowded Classrooms

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Facing classes as large as 28 students, the teachers and staff at Cunniff Elementary School have turned the school’s art and music rooms into classrooms to split off a set of students and relieve crowding at the Westside school. Principal Mena Ciarlone told the School Committee Monday that the Cunniff has experienced unusual mid-year growth, and mostly in the upper grades – third through fifth. “The past two weeks we have noticed an increased enrollment, two stories each week in the upper grades.,” Ciarlone said. “Enrollment became a worry and class sizes were extremely high.” One of the fourth grade classes has 28 students and the other had 26.

Art

Local Gallery Exhibiting the Work of Watertown High Art Students

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A Watertown High School art class and a local art gallery will team up to give the students an unusual experience for artists their age – their very own art exhibition. Starting on Feb. 4, ROOM 83 Spring will host the exhibit of works created by the advanced art class at the high school. WHS art teacher Donna Calleja and her class has visited the gallery run by Ellen Wineberg and Cathleen Daley on Spring Street, and they decided to take it a step further. “I’ve been taking the class over there the last year-and-a-half, and last spring (Ellen and Cathleen) said why don’t we see how we can host a high school exhibit,” Calleja said.

Schools

Hosmer School Raffling off Ride on a Watertown Fire Truck

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The PTO at Hosmer School will be holding a raffle for a chance to ride on a Watertown Fire truck. 

The raffle will raise money for the fifth grade class at Hosmer School. Tickets cost $5 per entry. The drawing will be held in March, and you do not need to be present to win. A waiver must be signed before the date of the ride. Pickups will only be made from Watertown addresses. Checks should be made to the Hosmer School PTO.

Schools

Public Invited to Screening of Movie, Discussion on Schools of the Future

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Watertown Community Foundation and the Watertown Public Schools are pleased to present a screening of “Most Likely to Succeed.” Come see this ground breaking movie about education, and be a part of the discussion about the future of education in Watertown – with parents, other residents, students and faculty. Schools systems around the nations are using the ideas from the movie to drive discussions about re-imagining education and what our students are capable of. Sal Khan of the Khan Academy says of this movie: “The 21st century is going to be all about building, creating, and innovating. This remarkable film shows a path of how we can empower all of our children to do that.” Two show times will be held at Watertown High School’s auditorium on Feb.

Schools

Perkins School Hosting Workshop on Assistive Technology

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Perkins School for the Blind is hosting a workshop on Assistive Technology for Disability Services Staff on Feb. 1. This workshop training provides:

An overview of low vision, blindness, deaf/hard of hearing, and literacy related hardware and software
Hands-on sessions with a variety of assistive technology software and devices, including innovative products new to the market within the last 12 months
Presentation and discussion of case studies involving students with visual, hearing and multiple disabilities
Introduction/discussion of accessibility features for iPhones, iPads  and other Apple devices
Website and course content accessibility including review and preparation for WCAG 2.0 guidelines
An opportunity to meet and network with other professionals from local colleges and universities who are involved in disability services

There is a $75 fee for this workshop, which includes lunch. For more information contact Ellen Hall, Business Development Manager, Perkins Solutions, 617-972-7748, ellen.hall@perkins.org

Schools

Psychologist and Therapist to Speak at Next Watertown SEPAC Meeting

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Watertown SEPAC (Special Education Parents Advisory Council) will host a clinical psychologist and a therapist who works with children with developmental and medical differences at the next meeting. The meeting will be held Jan. 27, at 7 p.m. at the Cunniff School Library, 246 Warren St. in Watertown. The meeting is free and open to the public.

Schools

Sign Up for the Annual Watertown Education Foundation Spelling Bee

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It’s time to sign up for the annual Watertown Education Foundation Spelling Bee! The WEF sent out the following information:

The Watertown Education Foundation in conjunction with the three Elementary PTO’s, is hosting the 6th annual Spelling Bee on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016 for grades 1-5. All of the funds generated will go directly back to the respective PTOs. The format for this Bee is different than the popular notion of a “traditional” spelling bee – one child standing alone on a stage in front an auditorium full of people.

Schools

Watertown School Enrollment Projected to Grow Faster in the Next 10 Years

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Watertown’s schools could grow twice as fast in the next decade as it did the previous 10 years, with new enrollment projections anticipating more than 200 coming to town schools by 2025. On Tuesday night the School Committee heard from John M. Kennedy from the New England School Development Council (NESDEC), who provided some historical data and looked to the future. Over the last 10 years, enrollment has risen quite steadily, Kennedy said, from 2,377 for grades K-12 in 2005-06 to 2,474 in 2015-16, or an average of nearly 10 a year. He noted there have been some blips along the way, including dropping by 138 students in 2014-15 and adding back 43 in 2015-16. Kennedy looked at future enrollment, and used births, the number of building permits issued for housing and the demand for housing to make his projections.