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Watertown School to be Featured on PBS’s Ask This Old House

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Charlie BreitroseHosmer Elementary School. Watertown’s Hosmer Elementary School will be featured in the season premiere episode of PBS’s “Ask This Old House.” The school sent out the following information:

“Some of you may remember that “Ask This Old House” visited Hosmer last June. During this time they filmed an episode on composting with students and helped us by building a compost bin in our new garden. The episode is scheduled to air on WGBH this Thursday evening at 8:30!

Schools

Watertown Resident Wins Autism Research & Education Award

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NECCWatertown’s Lauren Rae is a winner of the 2022 Myrna E. Libby Scholar Award. The following announcement was provided by the New England Center for Children:

The New England Center for Children© (NECC©), a global leader in autism education and research, has announced Lauren Rae, a resident of Watertown, as a winner of the 2022 Myrna E. Libby Scholar Award. The award, established in 2009, honors an NECC staff member who is currently enrolled in each of its two onsite graduate programs — Simmons University and Western New England University — whose work exemplifies the late Myrna Libby’s vision that research guides the education and treatment of individuals with autism. Myrna Libby, Ph.D., BCBA, was a director at NECC for 20 years whose impact endures as she was the principal program architect of NECC’s internationally recognized curriculum. As clinical director, she was a tireless advocate for using scientifically validated approaches and her groundbreaking research helped improve the lives of children with autism.

Schools

Parents, Students Wanted for School District Improvement Strategy Committee

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The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Public Schools:

The Watertown Public Schools is forming a District Improvement Strategy 2.0 Development Team, “the Strategy Team”, whose charge is to create a multi-year District Improvement Strategy, as a successor to the current Strategy that was established in 2018. The team will develop a clearly articulated improvement strategy that emanates from the District’s mission, vision, and core values. Once these have been established, the team will determine the necessary initiatives and action plans to attain the objectives and set measurable benchmarks to monitor progress. The development of this strategy is an iterative process that will involve input and feedback from the School Committee, the District’s Leadership Team, parents, students, WPS faculty and staff, and WPS community members throughout the months. Watertown Public Schools is looking for broad representation of stakeholders on the Strategy Team 2.0, representing all schools and serving in a variety of roles.

Schools

Watertown Schools See Influx of Students at Elementary, High School Levels

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Charlie BreitroseThe new school building at Cunniff Elementary School, along with the new Hosmer School have seen an increase of enrollment this fall. Watertown High School has also grown. More students arrived at the Watertown Public Schools than expected this fall, requiring the addition of some new classes, teachers and support staff. Superintendent Dede Galdston told the School Committee on Monday that she believes the district’s new schools are part of the draw. The 2022-23 school year is the first that students will spend the whole year in the new Cunniff and Hosmer elementary school buildings.

Schools

School Committee Update: Changes to Student Handbooks, Rendering of New High School & More

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The following information was provided by the School Committee:

The School Committee met on Monday, August 29, 2022. Over the summer, the School Committee completed and presented the 2021/2022 Superintendent evaluation. Dr. (Dede) Galdston was rated as proficient or exemplary by all members on all four standards in addition to her overall performance. She continues to show strong and steady leadership and we are grateful she is leading the Watertown Public Schools. Minor changes were approved for the Middle School handbook, High School handbook and District handbook.

Schools

Watertown Grad & Athlete Gets Academic Achievement Award

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Bentley AthleticsWatertown’s Joe Chau, an athlete at Bentley University, received an academic award. Watertown’s Joe Chau was among the 10 Bentley University men’s cross country/track athletes and 169 total athletes from the Waltham-based college to be given Academic Achievement Awards from the Division 2 Athletics Director Association. Chau, a 2018 graduate of Watertown High School, was a member of Bentley’s Class of 2022. He majored in marketing and liberal studies, with a concentration in health and industry and a minor in management. On the track and field team he placed 10th in the discus at the 2022 Northeast-10 Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Schools

Watertown Resident Involved in Planning English High School’s 200th Anniversary Gala

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Watertown-resident Stephen Berkowitz and English High School alum is helping to plan the school’s 200th anniversary gala. The following information was provided by the English High School 200th Anniversary Gala:

For the past year, long-time Watertown resident, Stephen M. Berkowitz, Director of the Alumni Association of The English High School of Boston — his alma mater — has devoted much of hisspare time to planning EHSA’s 200th Anniversary Gala to be held Oct. 1 at the Boston Marriott Copley Place Hotel. The event is expected to draw some 500 alumni, families, friends, teachers, students, sponsors and donors. Founded in 1821, EHS was the first public high school in America.

Schools

Special Education Parent Group Invites All Families to Back to School Picnic

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The following information was provided by Watertown SEPAC:

Watertown SEPAC invites all families to attend our Back to School Family Picnic on Monday, August 29 from 5:00-6:30 p.m. at Fillippello Park. Please see the event flyer for more details.  

Watertown SEPAC is run by parent volunteers who were all nominated and elected by parents and includes all stakeholders in our community. Our meetings are free and open to the public. A SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council) is a district-level, parent-driven group that provides input to the school district on current successes and challenges in special education and related services.  

We provided families and other community members with the following: 

information about basic rights for families pertaining to special educationcontact information for our school special education administrators and school committee members in Watertowna space to discuss special education concerns and ask questionsaccess to local and state-level resources that can help answer more involved questionscommunity and support

Watertown SEPAC’s mission is to encourage honest and effective communication, understanding, and mutual respect in a supportive partnership inclusive of all students, caregivers, educators, and the community at large in an effort to ensure the delivery of appropriate services and supports to students with disabilities and special health care needs. We work directly with district administrators to address system-level challenges, facilitate family-district communication, and provide families with training and resources. We can be reached at sepac.watertown@gmail.com.