Cunniff School

School Officials Detail Reasons for MCAS Improvement, Areas of Concern

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Watertown Middle School teachers and staff have a plan in place to raise the MCAS scores at the school after a poor performance in 2018. Monday night, the School Committee heard about the strategies being used in the Watertown Schools that led to improvements for the town’s schools on the 2019 MCAS test. The Watertown Schools have made an effort to use data to drive lessons and to address weaknesses in classrooms and even for individual students, said Theresa McGuinness, the district’s Assistant Superintendent for Teaching, Learning & Assessment. “Student performance data is used to identify areas of strength and areas of opportunity, as a district, grade level, cohort and individual in English Language Arts (ELA), mathematics, and science,” McGuinness said. She added that the MCAS data is used in conjunction with other assessment tools used in the Watertown Schools.

Cunniff School

Watertown School Recognized for MCAS Results, No Schools Require Intervention

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Hosmer Elementary School in Watertown. The State recognized a Watertown School for its results on the 2019 MCAS test, and Watertown Middle School improved its scores enough so that it will no longer be under special scrutiny by state officials. Superintendent Dede Galdston gave an overview of the Watertown Public Schools’ results on the statewide standardized test at Monday’s School Committee meeting. “We did very well on the exams,” Galdston said. “I am very proud of the work that was done last year, and we will no longer require assistance or intervention (from the state).”

Schools

Watertown Middle School Expanding Offerings in Sports Programs

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Watertown Middle School

Watertown Middle School has a tradition of not cutting players from its after school sports teams, but some sports have attracted many more players than can play in games. The School Committee approved a change to the program to allow more students to participate. The Watertown Athletic Department has come up with a plan to add intramural teams for the most popular sports, as well as adding a few new teams, said Superintendent Dede Galdston. “We looked at various option we can implement to reduce the impact of how many kids we have who want to play middle school sports,” Galdston said. “Currently there is a no cut policy — not a policy, but a practice that has been around for a long time.”

Around Town

Watertown Groups Walk to Spread Peace, Healing & Against Gun Violence

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Dozens of Watertown residents took part in the 2019 Mother’s Day Walk for Peace in Dorchester. Watertown Walks for Peace provided the following piece:

Despite the rainy and cold weather on Mother’s Day, over 75 Watertown youth, their parents, and other residents joined others from Boston and surrounding communities in the Mother’s Day Walk for Peace from Fields Corner in Dorchester to Government Center. The seven-mile walk raises funds and awareness for the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, a center of healing, teaching, and learning for families and communities impacted by murder, grief, trauma, and loss. Two Watertown Groups walking together. The Watertown group, Watertown Walks for Peace, actually included two groups who joined together – Watertown Youth Walks for Peace, with 17 students from the Middle and High School and 12 of their parents; and 45 other individuals and families from Watertown community groups and churches, including First Parish Watertown and Church of the Good Shepherd.

Around Town

Free Screening of Movie That Raises Awareness About Anxiety This Week

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The following information was provided by the event organizers:

IndieFlix, a leading independent online streaming platform, along with its non-profit arm, the IndieFlix Foundation, is sparking a global conversation about anxiety through screenings of its brand-new documentary, “Angst: Raising Awareness Around Anxiety.”

On April 4, 2019, The Watertown Community Foundation and Watertown Middle School PTO will hold a special screening of the documentary at Watertown Middle School auditorium to open up a dialogue between local families, community leaders and experts. The event will feature a viewing of the 56-minute film Producers Scilla Andreen and Karin Gornick have one goal: to start a global conversation and raise awareness around anxiety. Through candid interviews, they utilize the power of film to tell the stories of many kids and teens who discuss their anxiety and its impacts on their lives and relationships, as well as how they’ve found solutions and hope. The film also includes a special interview with Michael Phelps, a mental health advocate and one of the greatest athletes of all- time. In addition, the documentary provides discussions with mental health experts about the causes of anxiety and its sociological effects, along with the help, resources and tools available to address the condition.

Around Town

Mother Shares Her Mission of Ending the Cycle of Violence After Losing Her Son in a Shooting

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Tina Chéry shared the story of how she became dedicated to peace after her son was gunned down in his Boston neighborhood with an audience at Watertown Middle School. In the early 1990s, Tina Chéry thought she had found her place in the world as a stay-at-home mom and good citizen, as someone who attended church and donated to people in need, even if she felt removed from the problems that affected her Dorchester neighborhood. The mother of three and her husband had cut back on spending so she could be there when her 15-year-old son Louis Brown came home from school every day. Theirs was the family who welcomed in the neighborhood children, with hotdogs and hamburgers, and lemonade and popsicles in the summer. “That was my house.

Around Town

Mother Who Founded Peace Institute After Son’s Murder Will Speak in Watertown

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The following information was provided by the event organizers:

Chaplain Clementina M. Chéry, founder of the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute established in 1994 following the murder of her 15 year old son, Louis, will be addressing a public forum to be held at the Watertown Middle School, 68 Waverley Ave., on Jan. 17, from 6:30–8:00 p.m.

This forum on reconciliation and restorative justice is free and open to all. The program will also includes a performance by the Watertown Middle School Chorus. The Louis D. Brown Peace Institute sponsors the Mother’s Day Walk for Peace in Boston, an annual event started in 1996 to offer love and support to the mothers of murdered children. Since the founding of the institute, Chaplain Chéry has undergone a powerful journey of reconciliation and restorative justice, and has provided a beacon of hope for countless families.

Charity

Watertown Middle School Students Collect Items for People Battling Opioid Addiction

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Eighth graders at Watertown Middle School collected cold weather items for people overcoming addiction at a program at Mass. General Hospital. This was the first activity for the group working to help those trying to overcome addiction. In their first effort to help patients trying to overcome addiction, a group of Watertown Middle School students collected clothes and other items to help homeless people in need. Before winter break, a group fo WMS students held an ugly sweater party, to which they were asked to bring a new, cold weather item for a homeless adult in need, such as backpack, new socks, mittens, knit hat, or scarves, according to Watertown School Committee member Amy Donohue.