Letters

LETTER: Heathy Technology Series Educating Parents & Kids

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{This is the first in a series of three articles about the Watertown Lecture Series focusing on children and technology.}

In today’s hyperconnected world, the way adolescents “learn, play, and interact has changed more in the past 15 years than in the previous 570 years. In 2010 U.S. adolescents spent an average of 8.5 hours per day interacting with digital devices, up from 6.5 hours in just 2006. Thirty percent of the time they are simultaneously using more than one device, bringing daily total media exposure time to 11.5 hours.”

This past Wednesday, we launched the Healthy Technology Speaker Series thanks to a generous grant from The Watertown Community Foundation. The series is a collaborative effort between local parents, Watertown Public Schools, the Watertown Special Education Parent Advisory Committee (SEPAC), the Watertown Boys and Girls Club, Wayside Youth and Family Services, the Watertown Youth Coalition, Live Well Watertown, the Watertown Education Foundation and Families for Depression Awareness. The first event featured Laura Indigo, who led us through mindfulness activities for adults and children, and Jon Mattleman, who framed the problem of the hidden and emotional consequences of the internet and digital space. Mindfulness activities help us—whether we are 5 or 95—reconnect to our feelings, thoughts, and bodies.

Schools

Watertown Students May Get More Access to Technology

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Some Watertown students may have access to computers the entire school day next year if the school budget is approved. 

The $532,867 technology request includes $78,750 for 210 new Chromebooks, said Toni Carlson, career and technical education coordinator. “We have a pilot (program) where eighth-graders will have a computer in their hands from the beginning of the day until the end of the day,” Carlson told the School Committee’s Budget and Finance Subcommittee. The students will pick them up at the beginning of the day and return them to the carts to charge at the end of the day, Carlson said. When students must pick up and put away computers during each class period cuts into the teaching time, she added. Small pilots have already been successful in single classrooms at Watertown Middle School and now officials want to expand it, Carlson said.

Schools

Marathon Legend Dick Hoyt Speaking at Watertown Special Ed Awards Event

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Boston Marathon fixture Dick Hoyt will be the key note speaker at an event that honors those who have contributed to the education of special education students in Watertown. Dick and his son Rick joined to form Team Hoyt. Dick pushes Rick in his wheel chair and the pair has run more than 1,000 races since 1977, including many Boston Marathons. Hoyt will speak at the 2015 Watertown SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council) Awards on April 9 at 6:15 p.m. at the Hosmer Elementary School Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public. PDP’s available.

Charity

Win a Tesla Test Drive at the Pennies for Patients Basketball Game Tonight!

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On Thursday, March 27, at 6 p.m. Watertown Middle School hosts a charity basketball game to raise money for Pennies for Patients – which provides funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The game between students and staff is a rematch of a contest earlier in the year which went to three overtimes and ended in a tie! Tesla of Watertown has donated a 24 hour Tesla test drive which will be awarded to the winners of a silent auction at the game. Tesla will have a car on display in our parking lot. The lobby and auditorium at the middle school are dedicated to Peter Clough who died at 32 of Lymphoma 20 years ago. Several members of the Clough family will be attending the event.

Schools

Recommended Watertown School Budget Includes 21 More Staff Members

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The School Committee’s Budget and Finance Subcommittee will submit a budget that would be $2.695 million more than the current school year and would include more than 20 additional teachers and other staff. 

The total budget for Fiscal 2016 (the 2015-16 school year) will be $41.9 million. The Public Hearing on the FY 16 budget will be held at the next School Committee meeting on April 6 at 7 p.m. in Town Hall. Among the new staff requests are one teach each for Cunniff and Hosmer elementary schools. These teachers will help avoid large class sizes, said Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald.  

Librarians will also be added to Hosmer, Cunniff, and Watertown Middle School.

Schools

Parents Invited to Series on the Healthy Use of Technology by Children

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The first presentation in a three-part series for parents about healthy use of technology by children will be held Wednesday, March 25. During the presentations  you can learn about how our children use technology and the REAL dangers of being so connected. All presentations will be held at Watertown Middle School. The series is made possible by a grant from the Watertown Community Foundation. The first presentation, The Emotional & Hidden Consequences of the Internet (Parent only presentation) will be held Wednesday, March 25 at 7 p.m. It features Jon Mattleman, Director of Needham Youth Services.

Schools

Watertown High School Students Get a Lesson in Self Defense

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With a swift upward thrust of their knees accompanied by a loud “No!” a group of girls at Watertown High School practiced how to fight off an attacker. 

On a recent Friday, a group of more than 30 female students spent several hours learning a variety ways to fend off someone who threatened them. The self-defense class was taught by IMPACT Boston, and paid for with funds the Watertown Public Schools received through the Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) grant. The opportunity to learn about self defense was offered to the girls in the senior class, said PE teacher Tina Taylor, and when some spots remained juniors were invited to participate. “The hope is we get money to fund this in the future and we can teach all the students self-defense before they leave (WHS),” Taylor said.

Charity

See Photos from This Year’s Watertown MusicFest

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Dozens of musicians, young and old, performed at the fourth-annual MusicFest, which benefited the Friends of Watertown Music. The event was held on March 6 at Watertown Middle School and featured multiple stages. MusicFest is organized by the Friends of Watertown Music. All donations go directly to the Music Department of the WPS. Donations are tax-deductible and gratefully accepted year-round.