Gun Control

Watertown Students Pour Out to Join National Walk Out for Gun Control

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First about 20 students gathered outside Watertown High School, then the number doubled and soon people were pouring out of the front door until hundreds of students filled the area in front of the school as part of the National Walk Out calling for safer campuses and gun control in the wake of the shootings in Parkland, Fla. The walk out had been scheduled for last March 14, to coincide with rallies across the nation, but a nor’easter put those plans on ice for a week. The event was organized by students and they were not required to come out for the Walk Out. A few hundred students left school for the 17 minute event. They were joined by about a dozen members of Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment, who stood across the street from the school.

Drama

Watertown High School Students Putting on the Musical “Pippin” This Week

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While the elements have not cooperated, Watertown High School’s production of the musical “Pippin” will go on this week as scheduled. Monday afternoon the 30 plus members of the cast fine tuned their numbers while the crew worked on the scenery and lighting at the WHS Auditorium. Showtimes are 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 15; Friday, March 16; and Saturday, March 17. The show is a bit of a mind bender for the actor who are putting on show within a show, said WHS junior Daniel Vanryn. “It is really cool, it is almost a show within a show.

Schools

School Committee Looks to Change Policies on Sports Banners; Non-WHS Students Attending Dances, Events

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{Updated Feb. 14, 2018 at 5:04 p.m.}

Changes to the policies for how Watertown High School athletics banners are awarded, and for allowing non-WHS students to attend events – such as dances – are being examined by the School Committee. 

At last week’s School Committee meeting the board had first readings for the policy changes. The final votes are expected to be made at the School Committee’s March 5 meeting. Athletic Banners
The policy about when a banner goes up the gymnasium at Watertown High School is being examined because there are all several types of banners, some for teams, some for individual athletes and they are not all the same. “There is a confusion because there are inconsistencies,” said School Committee member Eileen Hsu-Balzer, who chairs the Policy Subcommittee.

Schools

School Committee Takes Lowell Site Out of Play for High School Spot, Approves Early Childhood Center

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The Lowell Elementary School site will not be considered as a possible location for a new Watertown High School, and the School Committee endorsed the idea of building a central location for the district’s preschool and pre-kindergarten programs.

The vote came Monday night, a week after the board discussed those two items during a public meeting. The decisions needed to be made so architects hired by the district can begin planning the renovation or rebuilding of Watertown’s three elementary schools. Also Monday night, the School Committee approved a peak capacity for the elementary schools when the building project is complete. Lowell Site
Last week, architects from Ai3 gave a presentation about the possibility of using the Lowell site – including the playground area – for a new high school building. 

“Ai3 did a great job in its memo and it’s presentation to us explaining why the site would not work – the site itself, the size of the site and the slope,” said Town Council President and School Committee member Mark Sideris. Architects said the site would be smaller than recommended for a high school and the property slopes significantly, making it difficult to build a school without having many level changes.

Schools

WHS Students Team Building Robot from Scratch for Annual FIRST Robotics Competition

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Four nights a week and on weekends, a group of Watertown High School students work intensely bolting pieces of metal frame together, wiring electrical circuits and even sewing fabric. These members of the WHS Robotics Team have been working on their entry to the 2018 FIRST Robotics Competition for the past month and only have a few weeks left to finish their creation. During the build season the Robotics Team, also known as the KwarQs, has six and a half weeks to build a robot from scratch to take part in the competition. Each year the goal of the game is different, so the robot must be able to perform different tasks. This year’s competition, called FIRST Power Up!, is designed to be like a video game, with robots from three schools teaming up to compete against a trio of other robots.

Schools

Schools Seek Input on Decisions on High School Site, PreK/Preschool Programs

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As the Watertown Public Schools move full speed ahead on rebuilding or renovating the town’s schools, school officials must soon make some decisions which would impact the designs of both the elementary schools and Watertown High School. There are three key questions that must be answered in the next month, or so, in order for schematic designs of the school projects to continue, School Committee Chairman John Portz said at Monday’s School Committee meeting. A meeting has been scheduled for Monday, Jan. 29, 2018 at 7 p.m. at a site to be determined. The first question, Portz said, is whether the Lowell Elementary School site off Orchard Street should be considered as possible site for a new Watertown High School building.

Around Town

Watertown High Renovation Project Accepted Into State School Building Program

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The proposal to renovate or rebuild Watertown High School was accepted by the Massachusetts School Building Authority on Wednesday morning, meaning approximately half the cost of the project will be reimbursed by the state assuming Watertown clears the remaining hurdles. 

Watertown Superintendent Dede Galdston sent out a Tweet at 11:20 a.m. announcing that the project was accepted in the the MSBA. The MSBA Board just unanimously voted to invite Watertown into the Eligibility Period for a core program project for Watertown High school! — Deanne Galdston (@WatertownSupt) December 13, 2017
This was the fourth time that Watertown School officials had applied to get funding to renovate the aging high school, and it had already made it farther than previous efforts by being considered for being admitted into the program. Galdston said simply in an email, “We are thrilled!!!” when asked about the invitation into the MSBA program.

Asbestos

School Officials Hire Firm to Remove Asbestos from Watertown High School

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A firm has been hired to remove the asbestos found at Watertown High School for more than a quarter million dollars. 

The asbestos was discovered during an inspection by EFI Global, the district’s asbestos consultant. There were a few locations, but the most prominent one was in the skim coat plaster on the walls and ceilings of classrooms in the high school. The district will hire Northstar, a licensed asbestos abatement firm, to work on the high school, said Assistant Superintendent for Finance and Operations Mary DeLai. “The estimated time for the work will be 60 work days,” DeLai said. “It will probably take until March 1 to complete the abatement.”