Schools

Recipes Wanted for Middle School PTO’s International Cookbook

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The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Middle School PTO:

We Want Your Recipes! For Watertown Middle School’s International Cookbook

The Watertown Middle School PTO is embarking on a very ambitious fundraising effort and we need your help. The vision is to create a cookbook that will celebrate the cultural diversity that is Watertown. Food is a wonderful way to bring people together! Sharing recipes is just one way to understand the heritage of our friends, neighbors and our community.

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.

Anti-Bias Coalition

Watertown Event Features “Dreamer” Who Spoke About Undocumented Children in Congress

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A woman who marched from Florida to Washington, D.C., to testify before Congress on behalf of “Dreamers,” that helped lead to the passage of the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) legislation. Gaby Pacheco will speak at Watertown Middle School on Jan. 16 at the Watertown Anti-Bias Coalition event, “Undocumented + Unafraid: Lessons from a Dreamer.” The Watertown Middle School Chorus will also perform that evening, which is part of the town’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day activities. The Anti-Bias Coalition formed after antisemitic symbols were found at two of the Watertown Schools.

Kingian Nonviolence

WMS’s Kingian Nonviolence Program Expanding to More Watertown Schools

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A closeup of the section of Watertown’s Kingian Nonviolence Mural featuring Martin Luther King. An effort to teach students and teachers about Dr. Martin Luther King’s nonviolence teachings that began four years ago at Watertown Middle School has now spread to all the Watertown Public Schools. Organizers hope that the program can get regular financial support to keep it going. Over the years, the Kingian Nonviolence teaching has spread from a small group of students at Watertown Middle School to include more teachers, Watertown Police officers and town residents. Now WMS offers a class focusing on the subject, and students from the middle school have sought to spread it to the other schools in town.

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.