Schools

See the ‘Unofficial’ Minutes from the Last School Committee Meeting

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Watertown Strong Schools puts together a detailed summary of School Committee meetings, and adds its own commentary at the end. The parent group wrote these minutes for the May 2 School Committee meeting. Unofficial Minutes: School Committee Meeting 5/2/16 – Key Points and Commentary

Note: These are NOT official minutes. Commentary can be found at the end of the minutes. Committee members: Marc Sideris, Craig Hardimon, Candace Miller, Guido Guidotti, John Portz, Elizabeth Yusem, Kendra Foley, Eileen Hsu-Balzer, Charles Kellner, Dr. Jean Fitzgerald

Remembrance

A moment of silence was observed in memory of Robert Galante, site coordinator for the Lowell School Extended Day program and director for Camp Pequossette – RIP Bob!

Schools

Two Watertown Students at Minuteman High School Earn Book Awards

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Twenty-five juniors from Minuteman High School in Lexington have were recently honored with book awards from various colleges and universities for demonstrating outstanding scholarship, leadership, community service and achievement in specific academic areas. The honorees and their awards are as follows:

The Air Force awards the Math and Science Award to a student who excels in math and science. Michael Whitmore (Arlington)

The Sage Colleges recognize two students who embody the Sage College motto: “To Be, To Know, To Do.” The recipients will receive a scholarship of at least $5000 per year to attend the Sage Colleges. Mitchell Cupp (Concord) and Rustam Ragin (Needham)

The Regis College Book Award goes to a student who demonstrates excellent written and oral communication skills, displays outstanding academic promise and exhibits exceptional leadership quality. Dominic DeCampo (Arlington)

In recognition of the value that the St. Lawrence community places on service to others, the St.

School Start Time

School Committee Looking at Starting Day Later at the High School & Middle School

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Watertown High School and Middle School students may get to sleep in later as the School Committee considers moving the start of school later in the morning. 

Teens have different body clocks that younger students (or their parents) and research into sleep patterns find that they do not start functioning at full capacity until later in the morning, said Donna Ruseckas, the schools’ Director of Wellness and Extended Services, at Monday’s School Committee meeting. High school students need nine hours sleep and their typical sleep cycle is from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m., Ruseckas said. Studies found about 2/3 of high school students get get less than 8 hours of sleep. Ruseckas was part of the Wellness Committee that looked at the issue, and surveyed students and parents. The high school starts at 7:55 a.m. and the middle school begins the day at 7:40 a.m.
Students and Parents Surveyed
The survey found a majority of high school students (61 percent) and parents (53 percent) responded positively pushing the school start time back by 15 minutes.

Schools

Watertown Junior Chosen as a Winner in National Essay Contest

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The international nonprofit organization Facing History and Ourselves today announced the seven student winners of The 2016 Facing History Together Student Essay Contest. The winning students – including a Watertown junior –and their classrooms and teachers will receive over $9,000 in scholarships and prizes. This year’s contest, “Student Voices: To Kill a Mockingbird in Today’s World,” invited students to reflect on the themes, characters, and settings from Harper Lee’s classic American novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, in order to make connections to their own experiences. Nearly 4,000 seventh-12th grade students from across the U.S. submitted an essay. Meet the Winners:
Cicada Scott, Senior
Manitou Springs High School, Manitou Springs, Colorado
“Congratulations!

Charity

Woman Biking 200 Miles to Put a Salad Bar in the Watertown Public Schools

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Jenn LaVardera of Dole will cycle approximately 200 miles from Napa Valley to Monterey, Calif. on behalf of Watertown Public Schools to raise funds to donate a salad bar to the district. They will both ride as part of the third-annual Tour de Fresh Cycling Event benefitting the Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools campaign, which has provided more than 100 salad bars to schools across the country in the last two years – providing tens of thousands of students with fresh produce options on a daily basis. The event, a collaborative effort by fresh produce industry professionals and presented by The California Giant Foundation, will begin in Napa Valley on July 26 and conclude in Monterey, Calif. on July 28 just before the industry’s annual PMA Foodservice Conference.

Letters

LETTER: Parent Pushes for Later Start Times at High School, Middle School

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I am very happy to see that Watertown is considering moving start times later for both the Middle and High School. Thank you to the Wellness Committee and to everyone that worked on this initiative. While any movement towards later start times is a positive development, I would like to show my support for moving start times to 8:30 a.m. If we are going to make a change, why not go for the best solution possible? According to the survey data, 50 percent or more of students and parents are either neutral or in favor of moving start times as much as 45 minutes later, and that was with little to no district-wide education on the benefits. The survey cited that one of the major stumbling blocks was perceived to be conflicts with after school sports.

Schools

MassBay Community College Hosting Spring Open House

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Massachusetts Bay Community College will hold its annual Spring Open House on Saturday, May 7, 2016 at 9:45 a.m. Interim President Yves Salomon-Fernandez along faculty, staff and students will be on hand to greet and welcome prospective students, newly admitted students, and their families to the Wellesley Hills campus. The Spring Open House is an opportunity for prospective students to meet and talk with current students, faculty, and staff to learn about the 80 degree and certificate programs offered at MassBay. Newly admitted students are encouraged to attend to learn more about student clubs and organizations, sign up for placement testing and orientation sessions, and talk with academic divisions. The Open House will include a self-guided tour of campus, mock classes, information sessions, student and alumni panel discussions, information for veterans, financial aid session, on-the-spot admissions, and more. WHAT: MassBay Community College Spring Open House

WHERE: MassBay Community College, 50 Oakland St., Wellesley Hills, MA

WHEN: Saturday, May 7, 2016

TIME: 9:45 a.m. (registration starts at 9AM)

Prospective students can learn more about the event and RSVP at www.MassBay.edu/OpenHouse or call the Office of Admissions at 781-239-2500.

Minuteman High School

Minuteman Draws Dozens of Watertown Students, but Access May Become Limited

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Minuteman High School has 16 towns that are members of its regional school district, but the town that sends the second most students to the vocational technical school is a non-member: Watertown. While Watertown High School remains the school of choice for those from town going to public school, about a 10th go to Lexington to attend Minuteman. The school currently has about 70 students from Watertown this year. The students choose to attend the public school for a variety of reasons, but the primary reason is to take advantage of the 15 career programs.
Traditional and Modern Career Paths
These include the ones many are familiar with, such as plumbing, electrical, culinary and cosmetology. Other programs have been added to meet current needs and interests.