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.

Bilingual

Bilingualism is a Gift Campaign Resonates in Watertown and Beyond

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The Watertown schools started an effort to not only include students learning English as their second tongue in school, but to celebrate their first language and their culture. And the Bilingualism is a Gift campaign has been a hit. Two instructors have spearheaded the effort: Hosmer English Language Learner teacher Lauren Harrison and Maryann MacDougall, team leader of the Speech and Language program the Watertown Public Schools preschool program. The pair told the School Committee Tuesday nigh that they have received high marks not just from people in Watertown, but from educators across the United States and around the globe. In the fall, the Bilingualism is a Gift (or BiG) campaign started with a poster put up around the Watertown Schools.

Government

Schools, Development, Transportation Priorities for Town in Next Two Years

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Among the key areas of focus for the Town Council in the new term will be improving Watertown’s schools, deal with the development boom and seek to improve transportation, Town Council President Mark Sideris announced at Monday’s inauguration ceremony. Sideris, the Town Council (Michael Dattoli, Aaron Dushku, Susan Falkoff, Lisa Feltner, Angeline Kounelis, Anthony Palomba, Vincent Piccirilli and Kenneth Woodland) and the elected or re-elected School Committee members (Eileen Hsu-Balzer, Kendra Medville Foley and Candace Miller) and Library Trustees (Sheppard Ferguson, Penelope Peoples and Timothy Tracy) were sworn in at the event held at the Arsenal Center for the Arts’ Charles Mosesian Theater. Development has been the top issue in town, particularly in the areas east of Watertown Square along Arsenal Street. Two major apartment projects have been approved along Arsenal Street and a new hotel is going up near the malls. Zoning for two areas that could change the town significantly continue to subjects of hot discussion: the Regional Mixed Use District (RMUD) in the area of the two malls in town, and the redevelopment of the Arsenal on the Charles.

Schools

French Immersion School Hosting Open House on Saturday

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Les P’tit Bouts will host an open house this weekend for families to find out more about their French immersion school program in Watertown. Education French Greater Boston Preschool (EFGB) was created by Francophone and Francophile parents in 2008 to share their love for French culture and language with local families by providing affordable and high quality educational options. Les P’tits Bouts serves children Pre-K to second grade, and an open house will be held on Saturday, Jan. 9 from 10 a.m. to noon at the school, located at 2 Rosary Dr. in Watertown. For more information call 339-970-9596, email info@efgboston.org or go to www.efgboston.org.

Schools

Stories by Two Watertown High Journalists Featured on National Site

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Raider Times reporters have produced two recent stories that have been featured on a site that highlights the best high school journalism from across the country. In November, Watertown High School’s Rebecca Grossman chronicled the efforts of WHS science teacher Jennifer MacDonald to cut back on the number of one-use cups from places like Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks. MacDonald, who teaches AP environmental science and is the mentor for the high school’s Environmental Club, banned single-use cups from her class. At the same time, the school has put in water fountain that has a spigot to fill water bottles. Grossman reports that the new fountain had saved about 7,000 bottles by early November.

Schools

WHS Girls Basketball Highly Ranked, Boys Hockey Skates to First Win

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The Watertown High School girls basketball team lost only once last year, and the Raiders may have even more expectations according to the polls. The Boston Herald ranked Watertown third in Eastern Massachusetts Pre-Season Poll, ESPN Boston ranks the Raiders third in their MIAA Girls Basketball Poll and the Boston Globe has Watertown fifth in its Top 20. Among MIAA Div. 2 North squads, the Raiders are at the top, according to the Herald. Other squads in the North to contend with are Arlington Catholic and Belmont, the team the Raiders beat in the Section Semifinal last year, according to the Heralds’ Girls Div.

Fab Lab

Fab Lab Inspiring Watertown High School Students to Learn, Explore

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A once quiet corner of the Watertown High School Library is now filled with enthusiastic students making their visions come to life in the school’s new Fab Lab. The library staff removed 12 large bookcases with out-of-date books on them and the area now has two 3-D printers, a vinyl cutter and a laser cutter, with a computer station to send their designs to the machines. In addition there is a wood router in the Career and Technical Education room and some old school machines in the library – two sewing machines. While the books are gone, the Fab Lab is another way for students to approach things, said WHS Library Media Specialist Erin Piazza. “The library is a place students use to find information, prepare projects or reflect what they learn,” Piazza said.