COVID Grant

Watertown Plans to Start Universal PreK With COVID Relief Grant

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Watertown School officials plan to use some of the money from the federal COVID school assistance grant to offer full-day PreK classes to more children in the City. The Watertown Public Schools will receive more than $2.86 million from the third round of the federal ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) grant, and Superintendent Dede Galdston told the School Committee she wants to use $370,000 of the funds to start the effort to create universal PreK. Other uses for the funds include expanding extended day and summer programs, credit recovery summer classes to help prevent dropouts, salaries for two assistant principals, and to create a teachers-in-residence program. The ESSER funds would be used to move the district toward universal PreK, Galdston said. The money would be used to pay for half the salary of PreK teachers and instructional assistants in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget.

Schools

New Elementary Attendance Zones Approved by School Committee, Enrollment Rising

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Watertown Public SchoolsThe Watertown elementary school attendance zone option approved by the School Committee. The buffer zones are shaded with diagonal lines. New boundaries for Watertown’s elementary school attendance areas have been approved, and include buffer zones that would allow families to choose between two schools. The School Committee approved the option recommended by Superintendent Dede Galdston on Monday night. The new areas will only impact students new to the district, not those already attending Cunniff, Lowell, or Hosmer elementary schools.

Class of 2022

Watertown High Class of 2022’s Sprit & Kindness Celebrated at Graduation

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Charlie BreitroseWatertown High School Senior Leah Knipper-Davis hugs teacher David Mastro at the 2022 graduation ceremony. Many obstacles and challenges could have derailed Watertown High School’s Class of 2022, but the unstoppable group of students made the best of very difficult times to be an inspiration to themselves and the WHS faculty. Friday evening, the seniors received their diploma at the graduation ceremony at Victory Field. See the list of graduates by clicking here. Class Valedictorian Taylor Lambo said that she will look back on the times of joy, big and small, when she was “truly present,” and just enjoying the moment.

Anna Maria College

Watertown Student Part of Anna Maria College’s Class of 2022

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The following information was provided by Anna Maria College:

May 2022 marked a new chapter for Anna Maria College as the institution celebrated its 2022 Commencement Ceremony at the DCU Center in Worcester. The new and larger venue held nearly 300 graduates and 3,500 guests while still retaining Anna Maria’s sense of a tight-knit community. 

Watertown’s Michael C. MacNeil received his Master of Public Administration degree at the commencement on May 9, 2022. About Anna Maria College

Located just outside of Worcester in Paxton, Massachusetts, Anna Maria College is a 76-year-old private, co-educational institution inspired by the ideals of the Sisters of Saint Anne. We prepare our students to become ethical leaders by combining a values-based, service focused education with strong functional knowledge and the skills necessary to address the rapidly changing needs of their world. Anna Maria delivers undergraduate and graduate degrees along with certificate programs on campus and online.

Around Town

Congrats to the 2022 Watertown High School Graduates

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Members of the Watertown High School Class of 2022 throw their caps in the air. Congratulations to the 149 members of Watertown High School’s Class of 2022! The seniors graduated at Victory Field Friday evening. The Class of 2022

(+ Cum Laude Society, # National Honor Society, * Seal of Biliteracy, % Seal of Biliteracy with Distinction)

Millicent Anne Abboud

Marc Abizeid Daou

Jasmine Amani Affany

Kawish Ahmad

Mahera Ahmed

Mashaim Ahmed *

Alishba Amin #

Mason Benjamin Andrade #

Mary Anoush Ashbahian #*

Ariana Rose Aufiero

Gabriel Avedis Avakian #

Yaren Basboga

Bailey O’Connell Beirne

Livia Freire Brandao %

Theresa Elizabeth Cabral

Karys Elizabeth Cafua

Colin Vincent Campbell

Margaret Ann Cavanaugh #

Jesse Francis Cavarretta #

Philip Richard Centola +#*

Paula Cepeda-Taco *

William Cohen Connolly

Lara Catherine Cordeiro #

Michael Thomas Cormier-Luce

May Gelband Cort

Joseph Rocco Cottone

Madison Lee Cummings #

Sadie Elizabeth Currier-Brown

Maria Vitoria Lima DaSilva *

Gregory Aram Davidian

Edgardo Raul De La Cruz Chambergo *

Emanuel Filipe de Oliveira Carvalho

Marcelo Candido de Oliveira

Walef Emanuel Soares De Paula

Ali Abbas Dia

Devin Vinicio Diaz

Matthew Steven DiDucca

Brenden Sean Donovan

Zineb Drouzi *

Ana Ruth Duarte Cordero

William Edward Dyszczyk

Antonia Grace Erickson

Melissa Nicole Escamilla Flores

Catherine Rose Penczar Fabian +#

Claire Elizabeth Penczar Fabian +#

Emma Lindsey Fallon #

Sean Francis Finn

Sophia Raquel Garapetian

Audrey Ann Oliva Garland

Merideth Pauline Green +#

Manka Mehmedova Hadzhieva *

Joseph Patrick Haggerty

Daniella Andrea Hagopian

Anas Mohammed Haloui

Benjamin Harrison Heep

Fathema Heidari

Mona Ali Houjazy +#*

Noah John Houjazy

Viktorya Hovhannisyan %

Deion Howe

The WHS seniors enter Victory Field for Friday’s graduation ceremony. Eleni Sarah Hum +#

Dayra Yecenia Jimon

Jenna Julianna-Brussell Johnson

William Anthony Jokic *

Jack Christopher Jones +#

Catherine Sauda Namudu Jumba %

Alize Jatuporn Kamkaew

Lena Marie Karaguesian #

Hirusha Akalanka Karunaratne

Eva Carter Kelleher

Teju Kim

Leah Evelyn Knipper-Davis +#

David Khachek Kostikian

Niv Amelie Krasnow +#

Pierre Paul Frederick Labossiere

Taylor Allyn Lambo +#

Anthony James Lampasona

Devlynne Alexandra Loder

Bianca Romina Lopez Polanco *

Sabrina Siomara Lopez +#%

Carly Morgan MacCormack +#

Malcolm Thomas MacDonald

Michael Andersen MacNeill #

Alejandro Harry Maguire

Rio Joseph Maguire

Tobias Christopher Magzelci

Ameir Hasan Mahmoud

Gianna Rose Mariano

Nathan Eli Master

Sean Anthony James McCusker

Maressa De Oliveira Meireles *

Mercy Daliana Mejia Pocon %

Anna Maria Michaelidis

Ellie Marie Monahan

Luiz Henrique Dos Santos Mota

Ngaatendwe T.G Moyo

Aryaman Narendra Nagaraj

Caio Negreli *

Isabella Joy Nitschke

Jared Thomas Norton

Patrick Kizito Nsubuga

Giancarlo Nunez

Kara Ann O’Neil

Da’jon G’Vonni Offutt

Melissa Elizeth Orosco Barrios *

Colin Paul Owens

Zachary Hiro Paquette

Ronak Mukesh Patel

Adam Christopher Patterson

Andrea Elizabeth Penalis

Camndon James Reed

Lameh Abdulkader Rifai

Beatriz Oliveira Rocha

Lucas Negrini Rogge *

Cristina Isabel Romero

Neythanial Rosario

Patrick Joseph Rourke

Isaac Lambert Russo

Rey Enrique Sanchez Soto

Yunel Yunior Sanchez Soto

Ramon Marshall Sara

Sargis Sedrakyan #

Ivy Rose Williams Seek +#

Shivani Sharma #

Lucy A Simonian

Joseph Scott Spinelli

Aram Shant Stepanian

Ari Steve Stepanian

Laura Elizabeth Terry

Watertown’s seniors gathered for the last time to get their diplomas on Friday evening.

Around Town

Town Wide Yard Sale Returns & Watertown Community Education Catalog Available

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The following announcement was provided by Watertown Community Education:

Watertown Community Education is excited to announce the return of our Adult & Community Education Catalog and Town Wide Yard Sale! The 2022 Spring/Summer Watertown Adult & Community Education Catalog features courses for Adults, High School Students, Middle School Students, Elementary School Students, and Families & Young Children. 

The catalog is online now, and can be viewed by clicking here, or visiting the Adult & Community Education page our website at https://www.watertown.k12.ma.us/about_our_district/community_education

The registration form can be found under each course description in our catalog, through this link, or by visiting our website. 

The 2022 Town Wide Yard Sale is Saturday, June 11th & Sunday, June 12th! Sign up to list your yard sale or mark your calendars and come find your neighbor’s hidden treasures! The informative flyer and registration form can be accessed through the links below or by visiting the Adult & Community Education page on our website at https://www.watertown.k12.ma.us/about_our_district/community_education 

The event will be held rain or shine. See more by clicking these links:

Town Wide Yard Sale Flyer

Town Wide Yard Sale Registration Link

As the Yard Sale dates approach, find the locations of the yard sales by clicking here.

Schools

Minuteman Student from Watertown Earns SkillsUSA Medal

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Minuteman High School vocational technical school in Lexington. The following announcement was provided by Minuteman High School:

Seven Minuteman High School students recently received gold medals at the 2022 SkillsUSA Massachusetts Awards Ceremony and will head to the national competition in Atlanta this fall. In total, 16 students from Minuteman received medals at the state competition. SkillsUSA is a national organization that strives to teach workplace, personal, and technical skills to high school and post-secondary students. Minuteman and numerous other career technical education high schools participate in the statewide competition each year. Students often present projects they have completed that demonstrate the core SkillsUSA framework, which includes workplace skills, personal skills, and technical skills that are grounded in academics.

Life Science

Hundreds of Watertown Students Inspired by Local Innovators

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Watertown CoLabNisha Patel of Arranta Bio addressed a class at Watertown High School about a career in science. The following piece was provided by Watertown’s Innovation Career Collaboration:

In this first year of CoLAB, Watertown’s Innovation Career Collaboration, 10 young scientists from five Watertown companies led 49 career exploration sessions at Watertown High School. These real-world discussions kicked off an effort to create a career development community for Watertown students to access the resources they need to build satisfying careers in the innovation economy. Hoping to open the eyes of students to the wealth of careers available to them here in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), a few volunteers from Watertown life science companies and Watertown High School started talking in mid-2021. By June 2022, we had reached virtually every biology, chemistry, and math class at the school – over 750 student-hours.