Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/category/schools/page/153/)
Enjoy a meal at The Chateau restaurant and help the Lowell School PTO. The fundraiser will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 18 from 11:15 a.m. to close for dine in or take out. When you dine at Chateau Restaurant, 195 School St. in Waltham, give the waitperson your ticket when you pay the check (click here to get the ticket).
It was a good night for challengers in the Watertown School Committee and the Library Trustees races. In the School Committee race, the two challengers topped the list in Tuesday’s Watertown Election. Kendra Foley had the biggest share of the vote with nearly 26 percent, followed by Candace Miller who had almost 23 percent. The third spot went to 20-year-School Committee veteran Eileen Hsu-Balzer, who got 18.66 percent. Foley said she believes her hard work during the campaign paid off.
Wednesday, Oct. 28, will be Watertown Walks Day, an effort to encourage people to walk and to promote awareness of safe routes to school. Community Safe Routes to School sent out the following announcement:
The event is Watertown’s 5th Annual Watertown Walks Day, and all members of the Watertown community have a unique opportunity to participate in a town-wide Walk/Ride celebration in the 5th annual Walk & Ride Day event. The goals of the Safe Routes to School program are:
To get children and adults more physically active by walking to and from school
To make it safer for children and adults to walk in neighborhoods
To educate children on pedestrian and bicycle safety
To reduce traffic in our Watertown neighborhoods and around the school
To help prevent crime by getting more people outside keeping an eye on the neighborhood
To encourage neighbors to get to know one another
To improve the environment by reducing the number of trips in cars
Walking Wednesdays will continue on Wednesdays until the end of the year, but if you can’t walk on Wednesdays, we also encourage Marching Mondays, Trekking Tuesdays, Thundering Thursdays, and Footloose Fridays, so you won’t miss out on the fun! We encourage all Watertown families to participate in the Community Safe Routes to School program.
The School Committee candidates displayed some of their differences during the Candidate Forum hosted by the Watertown Education Foundation on Thursday night. For the second week running the School Committee members answered questions about serving on the School Committee, and the challengers and incumbents had differing views. (See highlights from the first forum here.)
The candidates did not share the same view of using test scores and making goals to measure the district’s progress. School Committee member Julie McMahon said she has participated in the Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald’s evaluation every year and she thinks the goals and evaluation are good ones for Watertown. “Some people say other towns have these goals,” McMahon said.
Watertown’s schools grew slightly over the past year, according to the district’s enrollment report, and were significantly higher than projected.
The Watertown Public Schools had 35 more students on Oct. 1, 2015 than a year before, with a total of 2,640. The district still is 68 students smaller than two years ago – the highest enrollment over the past five years. Not all the schools grew, however. Watertown High School has 700 students, seven more than 2014.
The five people running for School Committee reacted to several questions during the first School Committee Candidate Forum hosted by Watertown News on Thursday night. Among the questions sent in by parents and residents were what they would do about school building/capacity problems, and setting goals for the district. A second candidate forum will be hosted by the Watertown Education Foundation on Thursday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. at Watertown Middle School. The election is Tuesday, Nov.
The Watertown High School KwarQs formed to compete in FIRST Robotics competitions, but they have also established a legacy for community service. Their volunteerism was honored by the American Cancer Society for their work at the Watertown Newton Waltham Relay for Life.
The club start in 2011, and every year 10-20 KwarQs have taken part, said Jennifer Braun, community manager for the Relay for Life. “They have been great. They help set up and take down after the event,” Braun said. “If we need help, we say, ‘Go grab some KwarQs, they will help us.'”
KwarQs coach Nic Smits said that Relay for Life is just one of the charitable events which the team joins.
One of the most competitive races on the Watertown Town Election ballot is for School Committee, with five people competing for three seat. Watertown News reached out to the five candidates to find out why they are running, their qualifications and their opinions on some issues facing the Watertown Public Schools. To see the Q&A click on the name of each candidate (in random order):
Michael Shepard
Kendra Foley
Julie McMahon
Eileen Hsu-Balzer
Candace Miller
The election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 3. You can also find out more about the School Committee candidates at two upcoming candidate forums. See details by clicking here.