Schools

Two Locations to be Considered for New Watertown High School

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An illustration of how Watertown High School could be built on both sides of Common Street. In this scenario, the main academic building replaces the former Phillips School, while the gym, auditorium and Senior Center go on the current WHS site. The current site and the Victory Field complex will be the two sites considered for the location of the new Watertown High School, but not Moxley Field or other properties in town. Last week, the School Building Committee voted unanimously to send the preliminary design program to the Massachusetts School Building Authority. In prior meetings, the architects have presented mock ups of what a new school could look like on various sites, but Dunlap said that was just for demonstration.

Chicago

WHS Bringing the Song, Dance and Fun of the Musical “Chicago” to the Stage

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Watertown High School seniors Toni Carton, left, and Yeraz Kaligian play the leads in school’s production of “Chicago.” When Watertown High School Drama teacher Kacie Kirkpatrick picked Chicago as the spring musical, she hoped to generate excitement. Judging by the reception she got from her leads, she succeeded. Chicago, the High School Edition, will hit the WHS stage on Feb. 28, 29 and March 1.

Schools

Building Committee Narrowing Sites for New Watertown High School Soon

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An illustration of how Watertown High School could be built on both sides of Common Street. In this scenario, the main academic building replaces the former Phillips School, while the gym, auditorium and Senior Center go on the current WHS site. The black white triangle is the historic cemetery next to WHS. The final decision on the site of the new Watertown High School is still months away, but the final list of places to be considered will be decided by the end of February. Architects and school officials have been looking at possible places where the new WHS could be built. They considered Town owned properties large enough to build a high school.

Schools

See the Watertown High Principal Finalists’ Interviews

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The three people vying to be Watertown High School’s new principal were interviewed by Superintendent Dede Galdston last week, and Watertown Cable was there. Galdston said she hopes to make an appointment before the beginning of February Vacation. Each of the finalists came in a different day late last week. You can see the videos by clicking the the link below their name. Jennifer Hamilton, a dean at Cambridge Rindge & Latin

https://watertown.vod.castus.tv/vod/?video=cc525103-c18c-4536-8af7-4f6264dacc78

Joel Giacobozzi, assistant headmaster at Boston Latin

https://watertown.vod.castus.tv/vod/?video=49fbfe6b-280d-421a-879d-6faf0899c799

Matthew Poska, principal of Beverly Middle School

https://watertown.vod.castus.tv/vod/?video=6a0be5c0-3404-4b9a-a4eb-d359b16d401f

Read more about the finalists and the process by clicking below:

Three High School Principal Finalists Coming to Watertown This Week

Schools

Three High School Principal Finalists Coming to Watertown This Week

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The three finalists to fill the Watertown High School principal position will be visiting the school this week, and the public can meet them and attend the interviews. The three finalists are Jennifer Hamilton, a dean at Cambridge Rindge & Latin; Joel Giacobozzi, assistant headmaster at Boston Latin, and Matthew Poska, principal of Beverly Middle School, said Watertown Superintendent Dede Galdston. Longer bios of each candidate can be seen below. The finalists were chosen from 16 candidates that were interviewed by the WHS Principal Screening Committee last week, Galdston said. The 17-member committee was led by Assistant Superintendent Theresa McGuinness and included parents, teachers, two School Committee members and a pair of students.

Schools

Residents Disagree Over Spot for New Watertown High School

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An illustration of how a new high school building with a four story academic wing could fit on the current WHS site. Architect Scott Dunlap stressed this is just a mock up to see if it would fit, not a design. Residents attending Tuesday’s Community Forum about the new Watertown High School project could not agree on which of the locations they would like to see the new school built.

The two most likely spots are the current WHS location on Columbia Street or building a school on part of the Victory Field complex on Orchard Street. Designers have eliminated the possibility of building on the Moxley Field site because it is too small, and said renovating the current building would be more costly than erecting a new school. Also, the design of the school, which dates back to the 1920s, would not work for modern teaching techniques.

Around Town

Watertown’s Effort to Bring MLK’s Teachings to Schools Honored at Unity Breakfast

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The Watertown High six students who received the Unity Award for their work spreading Kingian Non-violence teachings to WHS. Pictured from left, Fred Laboissiere, Tino Themelis, Eva Henry, Claire abian, Catherine Fabian and Shivani Sharma. The people who brought the teachings of Martin Luther King Jr. to the Watertown schools and the community came together, and were honored during the the 20th annual Watertown Unity Breakfast on Monday. The annual celebration on Martin Luther King Jr. Day has been put on by the World in Watertown for two decades, and at the 2020 breakfast the local efforts to teach the principles of Kingian Non-violence in town were at the forefront. The keynote speaker was one of those who trained Watertown teachers, students and police about applying King’s non-violence teachings today, and the Unity Award went to six students who spread MLK’s teachings to Watertown High School.

Building for the Future

Several Options for New High School, All Have Some Headaches

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An illustration of how a new high school building with a four story academic wing could fit on the current WHS site. Architect Scott Dunlap stressed this is just a mock up to see if it would fit, not a design. Designers of the new Watertown High School presented several options for how and where new building could be built, but none of the options were simple and all have challenges. Last week, Scott Dunlap, the lead architect from Ai3 Architects, showed the School Building Committee some of the options for how a new high school could be built. With no obvious piece of unoccupied land, all the scenarios require tearing down existing buildings or displacing facilities, such as fields or the Senior Center. At a meeting in December, Dunlap presented some locations, including the existing high school site (both with or without the nearby former-Phillips School), the Victory Field site (both with or without the DPW facility), and Moxley Field.