Schools

Governor, Sports Stars & Celebrities Taking Part in Televised Class of 2020 Celebration

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The following piece was provided by WGBH:

In partnership with WGBH, Governor Charlie Baker will deliver a commencement address to the Class of 2020 as part of a celebration for graduating seniors from 668 public and private schools across the Commonwealth, to be aired in a special broadcast at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9. 

Massachusetts Commencement 2020 will feature congratulatory remarks from Jason and Devin McCourty of the New England Patriots, members of the Red Sox and the Boston Celtics, and a number of celebrities with Massachusetts ties, including singer Rachel Platten, actor Steve Carell and more. In a special premiere performance, members of the legendary Boston Pops Orchestra, with Keith Lockhart conducting, will provide the traditional graduation march ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ for the ceremony. Students from around the Commonwealth will give valedictorian-type speeches to their classmates. WGBH will broadcast the program, Massachusetts Commencement 2020, across the Commonwealth, on WGBH 2 in Greater Boston, and on its partner station WGBY/New England Public Media in western Massachusetts. Both stations will stream the program on their website and social media platforms. WGBH also will make the program available to other television stations in Massachusetts, including community access channels.

Government

Town Manager Presenting Budget Monday, Council Voting on School Project Funding Tuesday

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The Town Council will consider approving the funds to build the new Hosmer and Cunniff elementary schools Tuesday night. Here is a rendering of what the new Hosmer will look like. The Watertown Town Council will have back-to-back meetings this week, beginning with the presentation of next year’s Town Budget on Monday, and then councilors will hear a presentation about and are expected to vote on the funding for the construction of the new Hosmer and Cunniff elementary schools. Budget Presentation

Town Manager Michael Driscoll will present the Fiscal Year 2021 Town Budget Monday at a special Town Council meeting that will begin at 6 p.m.

The budget had been scheduled to be presented in April, but was delayed due to the uncertainty of some of the Town’s revenue due to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The budget meeting will be conducted online, and the public watch and participate in a number of ways:

Join the virtual meeting online at: https://watertown-ma.zoom.us/j/91777824276Join in audio-only mode on the phone — 877 853 5257 (TollFree) or 888 475 4499 (Toll Free) and enter Webinar ID: 917 7782 4276#Watch the meeting on WCATV (Watertown Cable AccessTelevision) on the air at Comcast Channel 99 or RCN Channel 13, and online at https://wcatv.org/government-channel/

Council Discusses School Projects

The $103.45 million in funding for to construct new schools at Cunniff and Hosmer elementary schools will be the main agenda item at Tuesday’s Town Council meeting.

Schools

Minuteman Seniors Get Diplomas at Drive-In Graduation, Watertown Student is Valedictorian

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A Minuteman High School students attends the drive-in graduation, Friday, held due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The following piece came from Minuteman High School:

On Friday, June 5, 121 students in the Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School’s graduating Class of 2020 received their diplomas in a historic drive-in graduation ceremony. The first-ever drive-in ceremony was held to honor seniors in a timely fashion while also ensuring social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

Each student was permitted to attend in one vehicle with family or loved ones. They each parked in assigned parking spaces that were grouped by their career majors. One by one, as their names were announced over a live stream on YouTube, students drove to the front of the building where they exited their vehicles to receive their diplomas and posed for photographs. 

In his remarks during the ceremony, Superintendent-Director Edward A. Bouquillon addressed the ongoing pandemic, economic turmoil, and racial unrest that the nation – and our families and communities – are grappling with. 

“I have confidence that you, the class of 2020, who have lost so much this senior year… you have gained an appreciation for the relationship and connection that only this crisis can teach,” Bouquillon said.

Around Town

See What was in the Gift Bags Given to Watertown High School Seniors

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The gift bags put together by the PTSO for the Watertown High School seniors. The Watertown High School Class of 2020’s big celebrations have been muted by the COVID-19 outbreak, but the PTSO tried to lift their spirits by giving each senior a bag full of gifts. The grads received the gift bags this week when they picked up their caps and gowns. Graduation was originally scheduled for Friday, June 5, but the pandemic prevented that from taking place. Instead, the school will hold a drive-up graduation ceremony on June 20.

Schools

Architects Show Design Ideas for New Watertown High School

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A rendering of what a new high school could look like if it’s built on the current site and the Phillips School site. In this option, a bridge would link the buildings on the third floor. The current site, on the right, would be the location of the auditorium, gym, school administrative offices and Senior Center. The School Building Committee saw what a new Watertown High School could look like, including 3-D renderings of buildings that could be built on the two proposed locations for the school. On Wednesday night, Scott Dunlap from Ai3 Architects presented the latest renderings for the high school project during an online meeting.

School Budget

School Officials Cut Back Budget Request, But Maintain Staff

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With the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on the economy, Watertown School officials reduced their request to the Town for Fiscal Year 2021 by more than $1 million. In March, when administrators of Watertown Public Schools first proposed a budget they built it on receiving a 5 percent increase, as was planned by the Town Manager in the fall. The Town budget is uncertain after the pandemic hit, but it is expected to be negatively impacted by both lower state aid and local option taxes on restaurants and hotels. On Monday, Superintendent Dede Galdston presented the School Committee some reductions from the $52.96 million budget presented in March — a 5 percent increase. The new proposed budget is $51.93 million, up 2.9 percent from the last budget.

Arsenal Park

Meetings Wednesday on High School Project, Renovation of Arsenal Park

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An illustration presented in February of how Watertown High School could be built on both sides of Common Street. Two meetings will be held via Zoom on Wednesday, June 3. The Watertown School Building Committee (starting at 6 p.m) will hear a presentation about the latest design possibilities for the new Watertown High School, while the Conservation Commission (beginning at 7 p.m.) will hear about the second phase of the Arsenal Park renovation. High School Meeting

The School Building Committee will hear from architects from Ai3 about the progress of designs for the project, which could either go on the current site or on part of the Victory Field complex. They will also discuss upcoming forums about the project.

Around Town

Watertown School Committee, School Administration Release Statements on George Floyd

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Members of the School Committee and Watertown school officials separately put out statements about the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and racial inequity. John Portz, chair of the Watertown School Committee, read the following statement on behalf of the School Committee at Monday night’s meeting:

The tragic death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the demonstrations that have followed across the country are witness to the racial injustices that continue in our society. As Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote many years ago, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” 

As a school committee, we share the outrage over Mr. Floyd’s death and the frustrations felt by many in failures to address long-standing injustices and inequities in American society. 

As a school district, we continue our commitment to equity and respect for differences, through the Responsive Classroom curriculum, Kingian Non-Violence work, the Anti-Bias Coalition, and other district activities in the classroom, in the curriculum, and in all ways that we conduct ourselves as a district. 

We stand together denouncing these continued acts of racism and violence against people of color across our country. The following letter was provided by the administration of the Watertown Public Schools:

Dear Watertown Public Schools Community,

We are profoundly disturbed by the tragic and unnecessary death of George Floyd as well as Ahmaud Arbery’s killing in Georgia and Breonna Taylor’s in Kentucky. We are all negatively impacted by such acts, whether as victims, perpetrators, or bystanders. The families, friends, and community members of these individuals, and the countless others who have been lost to violence, are forever impacted. To our Black Families, Students, and Community Members, although we recognize and empathize with the hurt and the fear you live with on a daily basis, we know we need to and can do more. Please know, we will work every single day with others throughout our strong Watertown community to make our schools and community places for all of us to thrive and prosper, regardless of race or any other aspect of human diversity.