Schools

School Committee: Interim Superintendent Has Experience to Lead Watertown for the Year

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The Watertown School Committee appointed a former superintendent, principal and teacher to lead the town’s Public Schools through the year while a permanent replacement is found. 

On Tuesday night, the School Committee chose Dr. John Brackett to fill the interim superintendent role through the rest of the school year, or until a new superintendent is found. When Brackett was interviewed by the School Committee Monday night, he said that he researched the Watertown Schools and saw the challenges, such as crowding and lack of a school business manager, but he also saw some positives. “I also found a lot of things appealing about the district,” Brackett said. “There are a lot of exciting things, such as diversity is celebrated and a strong commitment to high achievement.” Communication is a challenge in many districts, and Brackett said he would communicate often with the School Committee.

Schools

Watertown Elementary Schools Host 3rd Annual Crazy Color Fun Run

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The third annual Crazy Color Fun Run is sponsored by the PTO organizations of the Hosmer, Cunniff and Lowell Schools in Watertown to raise money for our schools. All donations go toward academic and cultural enrichment activities at the elementary schools. This fun run features the addition of color four times throughout the race, with a color celebration at the finish line! All color is non-toxic and edible (although I wouldn’t recommend it!)

Participants will start at the Hosmer Elementary School at 1 Concord Road in Watertown. They’ll turn right onto Mt.

Schools

School Committee to Embark on 2 Superintendent Searches This School Year

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The Watertown Public Schools will go through two superintendent searches this school year – an interim and a permanent replacement – but the timeline for the searches remains up in the air. 

Monday night, the School Committee discussed their game plan for replacing Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald, who is retiring in the beginning of October. The search for an interim superintendent will start immediately, while process of finding a permanent replacement will begin in late November or early December, said School Committee Chairman John Portz. The School Committee came close to just having one search for the permanent superintendent. Member Eileen Hsu-Balzer said she would feel more comfortable focusing on that search and have the current administrators run the district rather than someone brought in for the school year. “I question the idea of even having an interim.”

Dr. Bernard Lafayette

Teachers, Students & Police Team Up to Teach Nonviolence to Watertown Staff

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Crammed into a small conference room at the Westin Hotel in Waltham Thursday, a group of teachers took part in the first of its kind professional training where students joined other teachers and police officers to demonstrate the principles of Martin Luther King Jr.’s non-violence approach to conflict resolution. The Kingian Nonviolence Training was one of the sessions teachers and staff of the Watertown Public Schools could select as part of their professional training during the first two days back at work this year. The first of three trainings on Thursday was attended by teachers from all levels, special education and English Language Learner (formerly ESL) teachers, a dean of students and a reading specialist. Many said they hoped to find ways to resolve conflicts in their classes, both between students and with themselves and students. When conflict arises sometimes people have to resist their first reaction, said Harold Physic, a Watertown Police officer who helped lead the professional training.

Jean Fitzgerald

See the First Issue of the Watertown Public Schools Bulletin

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The first ever Watertown Public Schools Bulletin was released by Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald this week, with news, information and updates about the schools. 

Here is the “The Superintendent’s Word,” by Fitzgerald, which is part of the WPS Bulletin. You can see more stories and view the complete WPS Bulletin by clicking here. The Superintendent’s Word
Thank you for taking a few minutes to read the first issue of the WPS Bulletin. My address in this Bulletin will focus on the learning environment in our schools. We are in a new world that requires diverse, flexible, and highly technological environments that can be customized for the different ways in which students learn.

Charity

Woman Biking 200 Miles to Put a Salad Bar in the Watertown Public Schools

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Jenn LaVardera of Dole will cycle approximately 200 miles from Napa Valley to Monterey, Calif. on behalf of Watertown Public Schools to raise funds to donate a salad bar to the district. They will both ride as part of the third-annual Tour de Fresh Cycling Event benefitting the Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools campaign, which has provided more than 100 salad bars to schools across the country in the last two years – providing tens of thousands of students with fresh produce options on a daily basis. The event, a collaborative effort by fresh produce industry professionals and presented by The California Giant Foundation, will begin in Napa Valley on July 26 and conclude in Monterey, Calif. on July 28 just before the industry’s annual PMA Foodservice Conference.

Art

See Artwork from Watertown Students at the Watertown Mall

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The annual Watertown Public Schools Art Show will be held at the Watertown Mall beginning April 1. The show features artwork from students in the elementary schools, middle school and the high school. This exhibition is open to the public during mall hours. The exhibition will run from Friday, April 1 to Monday, April 25. A reception to celebrate the work of WPS art students in all schools will be held on Monday, April 4 from 5-7 p.m.

The artworks were created by students in the following teacher’s classes:

Donna Calleja, Watertown High
Dan Dressler, Watertown High
Elizabeth Donnellan, Watertown Middle School
Haein Kim, Hosmer School
AnnaMaria Lochiatto, Lowell School
Jaclyn Meyer, Cunniff School