See Photos from the Opening of the New Hosmer School & Rededication

Charlie BreitroseParents and students head to the grand opening celebration of the new Hosmer School on Feb. 1, 2022. Watertown’s newest elementary school opened for the public to see Tuesday afternoon, and the bright and spacious three-story Hosmer School wowed those who roamed its halls and classrooms.

Superintendent Dede Galdston welcomed attendees who crowded the courtyard between the two wings of the Eastside school, and noted that it was just four months ago that the City opened another new school. “Many superintendents and city managers go through their entire career never opening a school and here we are opening the second in a year and a third on the way,” Galdston said, referring to Cunniff and Lowell schools. “And a new high school in the not too distant future.”

Community Forum to be Held on Watertown High School Project This Week

Ai3 ArchitectsAn illustration of what the outside of the new Watertown High School will look like. A Community Forum to discuss the Watertown High School project will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 6 p.m.

The meeting will be held virtually on Zoom, and will also be broadcast on Watertown Cable. The forum is the ninth one focused on the new WHS, according to the announcement from the School Building Committee. The most recent plan, which would cost an estimated $198 million, calls for the old school to be torn down and the new one constructed on the same site.

Watertown Community Foundation Awards $35,000 in Educational Grants

The Watertown Community Foundation (WCF) in collaboration with Life Sciences Cares and four life science companies has awarded grants totaling $35,000 for Watertown Public Schools. The addition of the STEM Fund this year builds on Watertown Community Foundation’s annual school- based educational grants program and increases total funding for the foundation’s grants in support of funding science, technology, engineering, and math programming. “We are grateful for this new partnership and funding to expand our ability to support Watertown teachers through our annual education grant program. It truly helps transform our grant giving capacity and provides teachers and our schools with more resources to support students in the classroom.” said Eleanor Donato, Watertown Community Foundation School Grant co-chair. This collective giving program also allows companies, leaders, and employees in the burgeoning Watertown life sciences field to learn about Watertown Public Schools and forge deeper relationships with the school STEM community.

New Hosmer to be Rededicated to Include Artist Harriet, Lowell School Moving Pair of Interim Spots

Hosmer SchoolThe new Hosmer Elementary School is nearly finished and the ribbon cutting will be held on Feb. 1. Construction will soon be complete on the new Hosmer Elementary School, and the public will get a chance to tour the new building. The school will be rededicated to the original Hosmers, along with their daughter, a renowned artist. The ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Hosmer School will take place on Tuesday, Feb.

COVID Cases in Watertown Schools Went Beyond What Officials Expected, New Protocols Discussed

The number of COVID-19 cases in the Watertown Public Schools was beyond what officials expected, and the way that pool testing will be administered has changed so not as many students need to be retested. Superintendent Dede Galdston discussed the upsurge in COVID-19 cases in the schools, and the steps being taken to prevent the spread. She added that the number of positive cases in the week after Winter Break, 193, was by far the most seen in the Watertown Schools since the pandemic began. “What we experienced last week was not something any of us were prepared for. I am not sure any of us in any district were truly prepared for what happened last week,” Galdston said, who told the School Committee that she is in quarantine herself after testing positive for COVID-19.

Teen Trip to Poland & Israel Complements Massachusetts’ New Genocide Education Law

March of the Living participants pray at entrance to Auschwitz concentration camp. The following information was provided by New England Friends of the March of the Living:

Genocide education will be compulsory in all Massachusetts middle and high schools under a bill Gov. Charlie Baker recently signed into law. The new bill underscores the serious knowledge gap among young Americans that is growing – and becoming more frightening! Examples from recent surveys:                                                                                                                                                       

A high school student asks ‘What’s Auschwitz?’

Two-thirds of millennials admit not knowing what Auschwitz was.                                                                       

41% of adults don’t know what the Nazi concentration camp was known for. Half of millennials and Gen Z’ers have seen Holocaust denial posts online.              

22% think the Holocaust was associated with World War I. 10% weren’t sure, 5% said the Civil War, and 3% said the Vietnam War.