Schools

WHS Class of 2024 Overcame Many Obstacles to Become a Group of ‘Great Human Beings’

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Watertown High School’s Class of 2024 celebrates graduating on Friday at Victory Field. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

The journey to graduation day for the Class of 2024 was filled with obstacles and hardships, but Watertown High School’s senior class navigated through the challenges and emerged as seasoned scholars, athletes, performers, and “great human beings.” The seniors celebrated the end of their career in the Watertown Public Schools during the graduation ceremony at Victory Field on Friday evening. High school started not in the halls of WHS, but in their bedrooms sitting in front of computers during COVID. Sophomore year they returned to school, but did behind N95 masks.

Schools

Congrats to the Watertown High Graduates! See the Class of 2024

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Members of the Watertown High School Class of 2024 embrace after receiving their degree Friday. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Congratulations to the 156 members of the Watertown High School Class of 2024, who celebrated their graduation Friday evening at Victory Field. (+ Cum Laude Society/National Honor Society, ^ National Honor Society, * Seal of Biliteracy, % Seal of Biliteracy with Distinction, # Pre-Engineering Pathway)

Noah Amin Affany

^ Susan Allakhverdov

Armani Antonio Alves

Desiree Tshiela Ambila

Jenna Mohammad Atiyyat

+ Halle Gilda Aufiero

Katherine Theresa Aufiero

Nushik Avetisian

Iseoluwatobi Olubiyi Banjo

Alec Vasilis Banosian

^ Erin Mary Beggan

+* Lana Bekdash

+* Maximilian Ferrante Bennett

Kayla Marie Bernier

Julia Marie Biagiotti

^# Laura Rae Biagiotti

# Alistair Joseph Burke

Katey Maureen Cabral

Sean Patrick Calleva

Watertown High School seniors look into the stands as the enter the field for the graduation ceremony. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Dilara Merve Canca

Ricardo de Oliveiro Candido

* Noah Joseph Capello

Leanne Elizabeth Centola

^ Aidan William Chapron

John Dylan Clark

^ Tracy Cledomin

* Angel Manuel Colon Castillo

Timothy Philip Connelly

+ Mairead Alexandra Connolly

Jordan Michelle Cornier

Kaio Henrique Lima Da Silva

+* Randy William Delgado

Aislin Elizabeth Devaney

Christopher Andrew Devaney

+* Noor Abbas Dia

* Gustavo Lucas Alves Dias

Thomas James Dicker

Jamal Ud Din

* Leandro Gabriel Do Lago

* Nayara Lopes dos Reis

Dylan William Caggiano Driscoll

^ Molly Grady Driscoll

* Fabiana Yarisa Duarte

Devon Christopher Dyer

# Panayioti George Eliopoulos

James Barrett Erickson

+ Naomi Rei Fandetti

Alex Servare Faria

^ Vivian Jackson Flan

# Robert Charles Fuller-Jimenez

* Maya Maria Gabriel

Emma Lucia Garapetian

+ Celia Xianlu Gilbert-Sartori

Danial Goljamali

Members of the Watertown High School Class of 2024 listen to a speech during graduation (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

* Cesar Gonzalez Jimenez

Kendal Aldahir Gonzalez Rodas

Giuseppe James Guarino

Isabela Cardoso Guimaraes

Edward Gukasyan

* Isthar Guzman Torres

+ Sidney Somersault Hackett

% Lyubka Mehmedova Hadzhieva

Robert Hynds Haggerty

Edward Lee Hammonds

^* Ava Grace Hayward

Abigail Lucinda Hendrick

Jeffrey Scott Herbin

* Kimberlyn Dayana Hernandez Jimenez

Aiden Ryan Hernandez

Reagan Elise Hoffer

* Viktoriia Hryhorchuk

^ Rebecca Eileen Hughes

Ava Yvonne Husson

+% Krikor Iskenderian

+ Rosha Jalalian Saeb

^ Mishma-Theresa Victory Janvier

+ Chloe Rita Johnson

Michael Petar Jokic

+ Connor Julian Jones

Dairy Yamileth Juarez Lopez

The Class of 2024 graduated at Victory Field on Friday. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

^ Marwa Kabir

+ Nikolas Anargiros Karalis

Abbas Khan

+ Cyrus Zane Kiani

+ Elena Mae Kiani

* Nick-Ary Lafortune

+ Lily Grace Lambo

^ Lindsay Marie Leitner

Lucas Alexander Li Vargas

+ Anna Lee Runyan Lonergan

^Emma Jane Macomber

Phrog Linette MacVeigh

+ Malac Hasan Mahmoud

+* Nadeen Makhzomi

Logan James Marifiote

Denise Cassandra Martinez

%^* Ima Simone Massey

+ Colin James McClellan

* Mario Jose Mejia Gavarrete

* Kevin Misael Mendez

Nikolaos Michael Michaelidis

+ Luka Misic

Stephanie Ann Mixco

Andre Avedis Monteiro

Sarah Elizabeth Morrissey

* Felipe dos Santos Mota

Landon Brian Murphy

Grace Nanziri

Owen James Newlon

^ Roy Nicolas Nicolas

Lucas Ryan Nitschke

Matthew Aiden O’Grady

Darragh James O’Mahony

* Ani Ohannessian

Valentina Ortiz

* Aidalyss Ninette Ortiz-Vasquez

+ Ryan Carter Pacis

+* Nina Michelle Paquette

^ John Nickolaos Pavlidis

A graduating senior holds up his diploma at the Watertown High School Class of 2024 graduation.

Schools

Milestone Celebrated in Creation of a New, Net Zero Watertown High School

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The final beam is bolted into place at the new Watertown High School. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

A steel beam, with a small tree on top and an American flag flying from it, was lifted hundreds of feet into the air by a crane and bolted into place marking the topping off of the new Watertown High School project. The ceremony marked the finish of the construction of the frame for the new school, said Superintendent Dede Galdston, which is going up on the site of the old high school. “As I stand here before this impressive structure, it is essential to reflect on the journey that brought us to this moment,” Galdston said. “The vision for this new school building was born out of a shared commitment to fostering an environment where our children can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.”

Schools

Sign a Part of the New Watertown High School, Ceremony Will Celebrate Construction Milestone

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An overhead view of what the new Watertown High School will look like. (Courtesy of Watertown Public Schools)

A major milestone will be reached this week in the Watertown High School project when the last beam for the steel structure will be put into place. A topping off ceremony will be held on Wednesday, and the public is invited to come before hand and sign the beam, and to attend the ceremony. The Watertown Public Schools sent out the following information:

Major WHS construction news! A topping off ceremony will be held at 4 pm on Wednesday (6/5/24). 

The public is also invited to sign the ceremonial beam. 

Monday/Tuesday : 2-5 pm (Broadway construction gate)

Wednesday: 3-3:45 pm (Common Street gate). 

Sharpies will be provided

Schools

WHS Students, Local Life Science Professionals CoLAB-orate in After School Club

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Photo by Charlie BreitroseStudents at Watertown High School got to run hands-on lab analyses during the CoLAB Club. One of volunteers from life science companies, Bridget Kreger of C4 Therapeutics, second from left, and WHS chemistry teacher Liz Mundy look on as the students fill vials with samples. While most of the school was dark and quiet, students were busy in one science classroom at Watertown High School well after the final bell working on a science experiment. The students worked with volunteers from local life science companies as part of the CoLAB Club. The group meets once a month, and conducts simulations of real-world lab work using equipment similar to what the professionals use.

Schools

Watertown Student Wins Several Awards for Her Poetry in National Competition

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Watertown High School sophomore Montserrat Llacuna won five Silver Keys from the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. (Courtesy Photo)

A Watertown High School student’s poetry earned her several awards in a national scholastic writing and arts competition. WHS sophomore Montserrat Llacuna won five Silver Keys and two honorable mentions in the 2024 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Llacuna, who is also an Advisory Council Member of the statewide student leadership program Project 351 submitted several of her social justice poems.

She was encouraged to submit her writing to the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and got help editing her work from ELA teacher William MacLaughlin and Casey Andrews, the head of the English Department. Llacuna was not the only Watertown student to earn recognition.

Schools

A Couple of Late Evenings of Construction at Watertown High School

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The following announcement was provided by project management firm Vertex:

Progress continues at the site of the new Watertown High School Project with work ongoing both inside the new building structure and around the site. In the coming days please be aware that the site may require work to extend beyond 7 p.m. due to ongoing concrete slab placements. The construction team has several slab placements on the schedule for this week and potentially long shifts on the following dates:

Wednesday April 10th

Friday April 12th

These slab placements are beginning at 7 a.m. on each of the above dates. The duration required for the slabs to be finished is dependent on the outside air temperature and weather conditions on the day of placement. Therefore, it is likely that the effort to finish the slabs once placed will continue into the evening on each of the above listed dates and have the potential to extend past 7 p.m. into the evening.

Schools

Two Years of Foreign Language Added to WHS Graduation Requirements

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The School Committee approved the addition of taking a world language to the graduation requirements for Watertown High School students. The world language requirement was added to the Watertown High School Program of Studies. Beginning with Class of 2028 (current eigth graders), students will have to pass two years of the same world language (also known as foreign language). WHS Principal Joel Giacobozzi said that the change brings Watertown in line with MassCore, the state’s recommended program of study intended to align high school coursework with college and workforce expectations. “There are reasons for this, the least of which is Massachusetts has set the floor for graduation.