Schools

Watertown Schools Announce Kindergarten Information Night

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The Watertown Public Schools will host Kindergarten Information nights at each of the three elementary schools. The information sessions will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016

Cunniff School: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Hosmer School: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Lowell School: 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Parents/Guardians of children entering Kindergarten and/or Pre-Kindergarten in the fall of 2016 are invited to attend this information meeting. You will….. learn about early education in Watertown
find out when to register your child
learn how to register your child for school
ask questions about early education and registration
pick up registration packets (also available on the Watertown Public Schools website –  www.watertown.k12.ma.us)

Parents should attend the session held at their neighborhood school.

Friends of Watertown Music

Friends of Watertown Music Seeks Donations to Help the Town Schools

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The Friends of Watertown Music sent out the following announcement:

Dear Friends,

As you know, Friends of Watertown Music was formed in the summer of 2011 in response to severe budget cuts in the Watertown Public Schools music program.  Since then, through the generosity of our donors, we have awarded three major grants and several small grants totaling over $18,000 to the Watertown Public Schools in order to expand and enhance music instruction. 

As this year comes to a close, won’t you please consider joining us in our efforts to continue to enrich, sustain, and develop the music program in the Watertown Public Schools. We have five donor levels:  Soprano (up to $25), Alto ($50), Tenor ($75), Bass ($100) or Conductor ($250 or more) and your generous contribution will be acknowledged in our fifth Annual MusicFest program book. (Save the date:  April 8, 2016!) You can donate with PayPal or any credit card on our website:  http://watertownmusic.org/, or checks may be sent to Friends of Watertown Music, 43 Paul St., Watertown, MA 02472

Thank you all for your support,

Friends of Watertown Music

 

Highlights from 2015:

In September, Friends of Watertown Music presented a grant of $5830 to the Watertown Public Schools to fund a 0.1 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) increase in music instruction, allowing the Cunniff School to offer adaptive music at the elementary level, providing a more accessible experience and connection to music for all students. The district restored the Fine, Applied, and Performing Arts (FAPA) curriculum coordinator position for FY16.   With our 2015 grant, the department now has an additional 1.2 FTE positions for the 2015-16 school year. Friends of Watertown Music was awarded a grant of $2250 from the Watertown Community Foundation and purchased a new hanging cymbal, violin, viola, and elementary-sized string bass for students to play!

Schools

Watertown School Committee Says Goodbye to Two Members

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The two School Committee members who served their last meeting on Monday may have only served one term, but their colleagues made it clear they will be greatly missed. Julie McMahon and Michael Shepard have made some major contributions over their four years on the board, said School Committee Chairwoman Eileen Hsu-Balzer. “Julie is enthusiastic, insightful and empathetic. She does the difficult work behind the scene and lets others have the face time,” Hsu-Balzer said. “Mike is a relentless worker on the Building and Grounds and Budget and Finance subcommittees.

PARCC

Watertown Gets PARCC Test Results, Officials Critical of Lack of Details

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Watertown students who took the PARCC test for the first time last year fared better than the state average, but school officials say they have little information to work with to analyze where students can improve or even what they were tested on. The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers test is proposed as a national standardized test and was taken by Watertown students in grades 3-8 last spring. Overall, 66 percent of Watertown students scored in level 4 or 5, which would be meeting or exceeding expectations, for English Language Arts (ELA), and 52 percent of students reached level 4 or 5 on the math tests, said Barbara Gortych, the district’s director of Assessment, Guidance, and Mental Health. Statewide the figures were 60 percent for ELA and 52 percent for math. In MCAS, a level 4 would be “Proficient” and level 5 would be “Advanced.”

Moxley Field

New Fitness Equipment at Moxley Field Has Kids Sliding to Fitness

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A new set of stairs now stands on Moxley Field that appear to go no where, but Watertown School and Recreation officials hope they will lead to fun and fitness for the town’s children and adults, alike. The multi-fitness apparatus made by Colliseum is much more than a set of stairs. It also has a slide to shoot down after running a set of steps, and on other sides users can do pull ups, dips and push ups. The stairs appeared the week of Thanksgiving, and on Monday, creator Collis Brown came out for a grand opening celebration with some students from Watertown Middle School and the Watertown Boys and Girls Club. The equipment was purchased by the town with funds from the Carol White Physical Education Program Grant, or PEP Grant. Brown taught physical education teacher at Norwell High School, and coached high school football teams there and at Brookline High School first created the stairs with a slide when he was looking for a way to improve his players’ speed.

Police/Fire

Schools, Police Respond to Threat at Middle School via Social Media

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School official removed a Watertown Middle School student from the school who reportedly sent a threat on social media last week. 

The threat occurred on Instagram on Nov. 30, but school officials did not hear about it right away. When they did, they contacted the Watertown Police, Watertown Police Lt. Dan Unsworth said at Monday’s School Committee meeting. “Early on it was determined it was a 13 year old student at the middle school,” Unsworth said. “We don’t believe it was directed at anyone.”

Schools

Watertown SEPAC Event Features Lawyer Who Works on Special Education Cases

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Watertown’s Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) welcomes Attorney Daniel T.S. Heffernan who will present “Special Education Law – Recent Developments and Future Trends.” The free event will be on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 6:30 p.m. at the library at Cunniff, 246 Warren St. A SEPAC business meeting will begin at 6 p.m.

Heffernan, of Kotin Crabtree & Strong, has extensive trial experience and since 1995 he has served on the board of directors of the Federation of Children with Special Needs, and served as president from 1995-2007. In 2002 he and his wife, Julie, received the Dr. Allen C. Crocker Award for Excellence from the Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress.

Around Town

Come Try Out the New Fun Fitness Equipment at Moxley Field

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The new Multi Fitness Stair Trainer will be unveiled at Moxley Field on Monday, Dec. 7 at 2:30 p.m.

As part of the Wellness the Watertown Way campaign, the schools purchased the equipment using money from the federal Carol White Physical Education Program Grant, or PEP Grant. Director of Wellness & Extended Services Donna Ruseckas said the equipment has a stair climbing element along with a slide. This was put in by the designers at Colliseum so instead of having to go back down on the stairs, which puts strain on knees and other joints, they slide and have some fun too! The equipment also includes other work out stations where students can do pull ups, dips and bounce a medicine ball off a wall off.