Charity

Cunniff Hosting Event at Boston Basketball Raising Money for 5th Grade Class

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A fundraiser will be held at Boston Basketball on Saturday, Nov. 14 to raise money for the fifth-grade class at the Cunniff School . Come out to have some fun playing corn hole at Boston Basketball, Boston Basketball, 411 Waverley Oaks Road in Waltham, while raising money for the Cunniff School fifth grade class. Doors open at 6 p.m. and games begin at 7 p.m.

This is a 21+ only event with a cash bar, DJ and raffles. First place winner receives a prize!

Schools

Watertown Teaming with Boston College to Encourage Parent Participation

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In an effort to encourage more participation among families in their children’s schools, Watertown Public Schools is forming a pilot-program partnership with faculty at the Boston College Lynch School of Education to identify how to attract more diversity among families who actively participate in school programs and events, according to an announcement from BC. The first research collaboration of its kind between the town and the Lynch School is made possible through a grant by the Collaborative Fellows Program of the Lynch School. “I’m delighted to be partnering with the Boston College Lynch School on this important initiative,” said Dr. Jean Fitzgerald, Superintendent of Watertown Public Schools. “I believe that a strong school community is built through the positive connections we make with the families of our students.  The collaboration between the Lynch School and the Watertown Public Schools will shine a light on the strengths and opportunities for increasing those connections and expanding family engagement here in Watertown.”

“Administrators in the school district have noticed that some families, often those more established in the community, are very engaged in schools – they come to all the parent-teacher conferences and are active members in parent-teacher organizations, the school-site council, that kind of thing,” said Lynch School Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership Rebecca Lowenhaupt, Ph.D., lead researcher in this project. “But other community members are much less likely to become involved.”

Dr. Lowenhaupt said her team, which includes middle school assistant principal Jason Del Porto, school district administrators, and researchers from the Lynch School, will undertake a system-wide needs assessment of family engagement using focus groups, data analysis, and conversations.

Lowell School

Lowell School Hosting Fundraiser at The Chateau

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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).

Election 2015

See Who Won in the School Committee and Library Trustee Races

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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.

Schools

Watertown Walks Day Promotes Safe Routes to School

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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.

Election 2015

School Committee Candidates Show Differing Philosophies at Forum

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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.

Schools

Watertown Public Schools Growing Faster Than Projected

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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.

Elections

School Committee Candidates Discuss School Buildings, Setting Goals

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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.