Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/prominence/homepage-featured/page/262/)
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The following information was provided by the Watertown Police Department. Arrests
None
Incidents
Watertown Police received 2 reports of unemployment fraud from Dec. 14-20.
Dec. 14, 10:47 a.m.: Two men were caught on video at the Santander Bank damaging the ATM inside the bank. The pair was seen at about 2:13 a.m. on Dec.
Watertown’s COVID-19 cases rose again in the most recent report from the Mass. Department of Public Health, adding more than 100 new cases to the total and moving the Town past the 1,000 mark. According to the Dec. 17 report, which the DPH released on Dec. 27, Watertown has had a total of 1,023 COVID-19 cases during the pandemic, up 134 from the previous week.
Watertown’s Maggie Driscoll plays Tewksbury in the 2019 State Tournament as a freshman. This season she was named to the Boston Globe’s All-Scholastic Team
The Boston Globe named Watertown High School’s Maggie Driscoll to the 2020 All-Scholastic Field Hockey team. The sophomore midfielder helped the Raiders finish a perfect 8-0 in the COVID-19 shortened season. She scored 12 goals this season. Driscoll also was named a Middlesex League All-Star and the co-Most Valuable Player for the Middlesex Freedom Division.
The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Public Schools:
Superintendent Deanne Galdston is pleased to share that Watertown High School has been awarded a $150,000 Skills Capital Grant by the Baker-Polito administration. The grant will support Watertown High’s Engineering Technology Program, the school’s first vocational/technical pathway, which is completed over three years beginning in students’ sophomore year. There are nine courses that students complete as part of the engineering program — engineering design, principles of engineering, digital electronics, civil engineering and architecture, computer integrated manufacturing, environmental sustainability, introduction to robotics, engineering design and development, and all aspects of the engineering industry. The Skills Capital Grant will allow Watertown High School to purchase and install state-of-the-art equipment that students will use to gain hands-on experience with real-world tools used in the engineering field. The equipment includes:
CNC milling equipment3D printersRobotic arm kitsMicroscopesDigital shaking waterbathElectrophoresis kitsBand saw, drill press and laser engraverVEX kits for computer integrated manufacturingNikon AX2S auto level, and more
“The Engineering Technology Program is an exciting way for students to gain practical experience in a growing and ever-changing field, and the Skills Capital Grant will be a tremendous help as we work to make the program more immersive and engaging,” Career Technical Education Coordinator Laura Alderson Rotondo said.
The Watertown School Committee passed a resolution opposing the graduation requirement of passing the MCAS for the Class of 2022 because the students were adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The subject came up when the School Committee considered a resolution from the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) that opposed requiring the Class of 2022 who missed the MCAS having to make up the test and pass it in order to graduate. It also called for a moratorium on high-stakes testing during the 2020-21 school year as well as the following three years. While School Committee members agreed that the pandemic adversely impacted students learning, not all agreed that the testing should be suspended for three years. The resolution was brought to the attention of the School Committee by Lily Rayman-Read, who is one of Watertown’s representatives to the MASC.
Watertown’s winter parking ban will be temporarily lifted for the holiday season, which allows residents to park on the street overnight unless weather requires plowing. The Watertown Police Department sent out the following announcement:
With the Holidays fast approaching, the Watertown Police Department recognizes the need for additional overnight parking. Chief of Police Michael P. Lawn has announced that effective December 24, 2020 officers will temporarily stop enforcing the All Night Parking Ban – barring any snowfall that would require plowing or sanding. Should there be a snow event please refer to the town website for available off-street parking locations.
Chief Lawn still encourages all homeowners to use available off-street parking during the overnight hours. Enforcement of the All Night Parking Ban will resume on January 4, 2021.
The School Committee approved the creation of a new Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion position in the Watertown Public School administration on Monday night. The person will lead the district’s effort to ensure equity for students in the Watertown schools, but Superintendent Dede Galdston said he or she will not be the only one working on the issue. “It is about having somebody there in a full-time position that can keep us moving, hold us accountable, make sure the plans that we create — not that they create — are actualized,” Galdston said. “And really pinpoint and targeting the support that we need in terms of professional development, in terms of family engagement, in terms of hiring and recruitment and retainment (of staff members of color). They are going to be able to keep us going and keep us in the right direction.”
School Committee members spoke in support of creating the new position.
Perkins School for the Blind
Students at Perkins School for the Blind kept the tradition of the annual Holiday Concert going in 2020. This year they performed it virtually. Perkins sent out the following message, and video of the concert:
We want to wish you and your loved ones a happy and healthy holiday season from the entire Perkins community. In that spirit, we’re excited to invite you to enjoy a video of this year’s virtual holiday concert! We had to do things a bit differently this year but music education at Perkins has continued and the students love it.