Schools

Full Middle School Renovation is Off the Table, City Could Turn Focus to a New Senior Center

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Watertown Middle School (Courtesy of Watertown Public Schools)

Watertown cannot afford to totally renovate or rebuild Watertown Middle School, City Manager George Proakis told the City Council this week. At the Sept. 9 Council meeting, Proakis outlined the results of the feasibility study of renovating/rebuilding the middle school. The City budgeted $84.7 million for the middle school project, but the cost estimates for a project that would create a modern school that could accommodate 630 students came in well over $100 million. “I wanted to come here and share with you tonight that after spending a significant time and looking at this from every imaginable perspective, building a $112 million Middle School is not something I feel comfortable recommending that the Council do,” Proakis said.

Sports

JIM’S VIEW: Watertown Field Hockey Beats Belmont to Win 100th Straight Game

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The Watertown High School field hockey team celebrated its 100th straight win on Sept. 9, 2025. (Photo by Teagan Parker / WCA-TV)

Success is the sum of small efforts – repeated day in and day out. ~ Robert Collier

Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan. John F. Kennedy

Watertown began defense of their State D3 Title – make that the past four years in a row and 22 in the past 39 years, all under the guidance and leadership of Coach Eileen Donahue – last week. Wins at Lexington and Burlington (6-1 and 6-0 respectively) provided Watertown with their 98th and 99th consecutive contests without defeat. Their home opener against cross-town rival Belmont would provide a major early-season test, or at least that’s how Belmont surely thought of it. 

Considered a top 10 team in the Boston Globe pre-season rankings, the Marauders won their first two games as well. They played Watertown close last season in a 3-0 loss at Belmont, and they sported two seniors already committed to college programs next year, including Coach Donahue’s niece, who’s heading to UNC. So, the stage was set – the champs with the pedigree, but with a roster in transition, versus the challengers, eager to be the team to end Watertown’s epic undefeated streak.

Entertainment

See What’s Coming to the 2025 Faire on the Square on Saturday

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Watertown’s biggest celebration, the 2025 Faire on the Square, will be at Saltonstall Park on Saturday, Sept. 13 from noon to 5 p.m. See the highlights below. Over 120 local non-profit and business booths plus “Meet Your City” (see full list of participants at https://www.faireonthesquare.com/)

Free guest experiences: 

live DJ

face painting with Watertown’s Public Arts and Culture Committee

 photo booth

airbrush tattoo applications

WHS Robotics Team demonstrations

balloon artist

popcorn sponsored by Watertown Savings Bank

Animal Adventures show at 1pm

Enjoy lunch and dessert at the Food Court and check out this year’s new Cooking Competitions! Battle of the Bowls: Restaurant Chili Cook-Off presented by Roche Bros. at Arsenal Yards – free chili samples provided by Roche Bros while supplies last!

Development

Two Multistory Residential Projects Proposed in New Watertown Square Zoning

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An illustration of the proposed residential building at 108 Water St. (WSQ Development LLC)

Two residential projects have been proposed in Watertown, south of the Charles River and another in a vacant site on Mt. Auburn Street. The projects are among the first that would be built the new Watertown Square Zoning districts created so the City would comply with the MBTA Communities Law. The first project in the new zones was a five-unit residential building at 75 Spring St., which is located in the WSQ1 zoning, which allows 3+ story (four stories with a stepped back fourth story) projects.

Schools

Student from Watertown Takes Part in Robotics Program That Solves Problems Facing Appalachia

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Watertown’s Camndon Reed joined the robotics program at West Virginia University after completing a summer program. (Contributed Photo)

A Watertown High School graduate took part in a robotics program to use robotics to solve real-world problems in Appalachia. Camndon Reed got involved in the summer program run by West Virginia University in 2024, and he was featured in a piece in The State Journal. At the time he was attending James Madison University, but after taking part in the program he transferred to WVU. “It was a great experience.

Sports

JIM’S VIEW: Watertown Opens Football Season by Hosting Tricky Whittier Team

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We can never know about the days to comeBut we think about them anywayAnd I wonder if I’m really with you nowOr just chasin’ after some finer day…… Anticipation, anticipation

Well, of course, Carly Simon’s song Anticipation is a love song, not a football anthem.  Then again, the song isn’t about ketchup, but it had a good run helping to advertise the condiment years ago. Anyhow, the point is, after a tough 2024 season, a winter, spring and summer to prepare, and weeks of training camp this August, the Watertown Football program anxiously anticipated Friday night’s Sept. 5th game versus Whittier Regional Vocational Tech High School. It was a first chance to put last season behind them while at the same time building on a two-game winning streak at the end of last season (a non-league game and a Thanksgiving win over Belmont). The Raiders came into this game feeling stronger thanks to a commitment to off-season lifting.  They felt deeper with an additional twelve new football players. And they felt even more comfortable with a head coach in his second year and having their back, and having them prepared to play. The Senior/Junior-heavy lineup included the following on offense: junior Coleman Keuchkarian-McKeen at QB, senior running backs Patrick McHugh, Gabe Oliveira and Mike Ramirez and Junior Jayden Pineda, senior Wide Receivers Joe Wilson and Lucas Bray, Junior Shane Garey and Sophomore Mason Lamacchia, at Tight End Juniors Joe Connors and Cash Bailey, and on the line Seniors Caleb Hardy, Pedro Tancredo, Jayden Ortiz and Zac Wolfe, and Juniors Peter Pavlidis, Flavio Valenzuela and Billy Werra.

Around Town

Fundraising Effort for Baby Madeline, After Losing Her Parents in Recent Tragedy

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Baby Madeline and her late-mother Karine Asatryan. A GoFundMe campaign has started to raise money for baby Madeline, and in memory of her mother Karine Asatryan who died in the apparent murder-suicide on Boyd Street on Aug. 31. Madeline’s aunt is seeking to get legal custody. The campaign, called “Support Baby Madeline in Loving Memory of Karine,” seeks to raise $50,000.

Around Town

Watertown’s Risk for West Nile Virus Has Been Raised to High 

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The following information was provided by the City of Watertown:

West Nile Virus (WNV) is most commonly transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. The mosquitoes that carry this virus are common throughout the state and are found in urban as well as more rural areas. While WNV can infect people of all ages, people over the age of 50 are at higher risk for severe infection. 

By taking a few, common sense precautions, people can help to protect themselves and their loved ones:

Avoid Mosquito Bites

Apply Insect Repellent when you go outdoors. Use a repellent with DEET (N, N-diethyl-m-toluamide), permethrin, picaridin (KBR 3023), IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus [p-methane 3, 8-diol (PMD)] according to the instructions on the product label. DEET products should not be used on infants under two months of age and should be used in concentrations of 30% or less on older children.