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.

Schools

Anti-Semitic Graffiti Found at Watertown Middle School

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Watertown Middle School

School officials are investigating anti-Semitic graffiti that was found at Watertown Middle School, and have been holding conversations with students about the incident. This is the second such incident in the district this year. Superintendent Dede Galdston told the School Committee about the incident at Monday’s meeting. A swastika was found in a boys bathroom at the middle school, Galdston said. It was removed promptly after being discovered.

Schools

Watertown Schools Piloting New System for School Visitors, Student Pickups

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The Watertown Public Schools are going high tech to keep track of visitors, and to make sure student are being picked up by those who are allowed to do so. This week, Watertown Middle School started using the Raptor Visitor Management System, which enters visitors into a computer system and can also check criminal and custody databases. Jason DelPotro, Watertown Middle School assistant principal and chair of the district’s Critical Incident Team, gave the School Committee an overview of the new program Monday night. Prior to the use of the computer system, the Watertown schools used the old fashion clipboard sheet to have people sign in and out when visiting campuses. Now, people will have to show a driver’s license and have it scanned into the system. The computer will then create a paper visitor ID, DelPotro said.

Donna Martin

New Middle School Principal Thrilled to be in Town, Looking Forward to Working with Students, Staff

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While some may shy away from kids in their preadolescence and early teens, Watertown Middle School’s new principal said she enjoys working with students in those grades, and believes they can be successful as long as they make connections with adults at the school. Donna Martin comes to Watertown after serving as assistant principal at McCarthy Middle School in Chelmsford for a dozen years. When she looked for her first principalship, she wanted to be closer to her home. “Chelmsford is a great community, too,” Martin said. “When I was looking for a principalship I wanted something a little different.”

Schools

New Principal Selected for Watertown Middle School, Along with Lowell Assistant Principal

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Watertown Superintendent Dede Galdston announced appointment of the new Watertown Middle School principal and the new assistant principal at Lowell Elementary School. Donna Martin has been selected as the new WMS Principal. She succeeds Kimo Carter, who is leaving after 13 years to become assistant superintendent in Weston. The superintendent also appointed Candice Whitmore as the assistant principal at Lowell School. This is a new position for the 2018-19 school year (Fiscal Year 2019).

Around Town

MLK Friend: Watertown Embraces King’s Principles Like No Other Community

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Watertown has embraced the non-violence teachings of Martin Luther King Jr. like no other community, according to a Civil Rights activist and good friend of King. 

On Thursday afternoon a celebration for the dedication of the mural created on the back wall of the Watertown Boys & Girls Club was attended by Dr. Bernard Lafayette. The mural, called “The Time is Always Right,” features bright paints and sections of mosaics which demonstrate the six principles of Kingian Nonviolence (and the words on the mural):

Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people (Have Courage)
The Beloved Community is the framework for the future (Be Kind)
Attack forces of evil, not people doing evil (Don’t Hate, Solve)
Accept suffering without retaliation for the sake of the cause to achieve a goal (Stay the Course)
Avoid internal violence of the spirit as well as external physical violence (Love Yourself)
The Universe is on the side of justice (Trust)

Lafayette knows King’s teachings well. He has dedicated his life to spreading the nonviolence movement by teaching others how to use the principles and become Kingian instructors themselves. Two years ago he came to Watertown to teach 24 students, 17 school staff and three police officers. Since then, that group has reached more than 2,500 people in different events, according to Ruth Henry, a Watertown Middle School teacher who helped bring the Kingian principles to town.

Schools

Watertown Middle School Principal Leaving After 13 Years

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Watertown Middle School Principal Kimo Carter will be headed to Weston in July to take the position of Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning. The Weston Public Schools announced the appointment on its website on Monday. Watertown Superintendent Dede Galdston told the School Committee that Carter would be leaving during Monday’s School Committee meeting. “We wish him the best for his future, and thank him for 13 years in the district,” Galdston said. School Committee Chairman John Portz congratulated Carter.