Around Town

See How Labor Day Impacts Watertown City Facilities & Services

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Watertown LibraryThe Watertown Free Public Library. Multiple City-run facilities in Watertown will be closed on Monday for Labor Day, and the holiday will impact trash and recycling pick-up. The City of Watertown announced:

Watertown City Hall and Senior Center are closed in observance Labor Day, on Monday, September 4, 2023. Please note: Trash and recycling pickup is delayed one day. The schedule is Tuesday, September 5 – Saturday, September 9, 2023.

Around Town

Watertown Resident Hopes to Get A Second Wish to Visit Disney

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Watertown’s Brian Manning hopes to get A Second Wish. When Watertown resident Brian Manning first went to Disney World he faced a seizure that left him hospitalized. Years later he is hoping to make his return with help from the organization A Second Wish By Demetrius. A Second Wish By Demetrius is dedicated to impacting the lives of children ages 6 to 18 with life threatening illnesses by helping them grant a wish of their choices. Previous wishes granted have ranged from traveling to Disney World to meeting various professional athletes and celebrities.

Schools

Enrollment Up at All Levels in Watertown Schools, Especially at the High School

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Enrollment is up at Watertown High School, despite moving into the temporary location at PFC Ricard Moxley Field. (Courtesy by City of Watertown)

Watertown’s schools are growing at all levels, and some classes at two elementary schools are near or at capacity, Superintendent Dede Galdston told the School Committee. The biggest growth, however, is at the secondary level. Typically, School officials wait until September to provide the first enrollment report to the School Committee, Galdston said, but she wanted to inform members before school started incase they receive questions about it. “Our enrollment is up,” Galdston said.

Around Town

LETTER: Grassroots Housing Group Hosting Launch Event

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It’s becoming harder and harder to remain a member of this community. 

Every year, rising rents force more working families out while middle class and even affluent neighbors can’t afford to purchase a home, nevermind expand their families. Those looking to downsize after retirement, or hoping to age with dignity in the city they love, can’t find homes that work for them. Young people driven away, families in financial distress, longtime residents exiled from their hometown: this is the face of the housing crisis in Watertown. It is a dilemma that threatens our well-being, economic futures, and our community. It is also a challenge that we can rise to overcome, together.

Schools

Changes to Watertown Schools Attendance Policies, Other Policies at Middle and High Schools

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The new school year brings new policies for the Watertown Public Schools, including families being asked to report student absences with an online form, new rules for tardies at the high school, and actions for middle school students failing math and English Language Arts. The School Committee heard about changes to the student handbooks at Watertown Public Schools starting this fall at the Aug. 21 meeting. Absences

Superintendent Dede Galdston said that the big change for the procedures when a student is absent is filling out and sending in a Google form online. “If you have an excused absence, any absence, you have to fill out a form, a Google form, instead of an email or phone call,” Galdston said.

Schools

Watertown Schools Appoint New Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

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Superintendent Dede Galdston announced the hiring of Dr. Ceronne Daly as the Watertown Public School’s Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. Galdston announced the hiring to staff on Monday. Daly has worked in the Boston Public Schools for more than 10 years, most recently as the Managing Director of the Office of Recruitment, Cultivation, and Diversity Programs.

Daly will officially start working in October, but will be attending events starting this week, Galdston said in her statement. Daly succeeds Kimberlee Henry, who was the first Director of DEIB. The School Committee approved the creation of the position in 2020.

Police/Fire

Watertown Police Receive Stuffed Animals from Freemasons Lodge to Comfort Children

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The stuffed animals inside one of the bags provided by the Bethesda Lodge Masons to the Watertown Police to give out to children. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Watertown Police officers will have a new tool in their cruisers, a bag full of stuffed animals to comfort youngster who have experienced a difficult situation. The six bags full of plush toys come via a donation from the Bethesda Freemasons Lodge, which represents Watertown. The program is known as Project Delta. Officer Michael Stewart said he knows that they will be a useful tool.

Around Town

Watertown Community Foundation to Celebrate 20 Years of Community Giving

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The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Community Foundation:

Since 2003 The Watertown Community Foundation has put funds to work in Watertown to address local needs to make positive change. Started with funds from the sale of the Arsenal property and grown by local giving and grants, a small group of Founders envisioned a community fund dedicated to sustaining a vibrant community. Twenty years later, the Foundation has given more than $3,000,000 in grants to improve the lives of the people who live and work in Watertown. “During 20 years of grant giving, the Foundation has built on a practice of giving to meet need at the street level. We started with Block Party grants to bring neighbors and neighborhoodstogether.