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10 Students Honored During 53rd Lt. Paul Sullivan Scholarship Ceremony

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Watertown’s Lt. Paul Sullivan was killed in Vietnam in 1968, and a scholarship in his name has been given out for 53 years. The following announcement was provided by the Lt. Paul Sullivan Scholarship Committee:

The Lt. Paul Sullivan Scholarship Committee is pleased to announce the winners of the 53rd Scholarship awards. Paul was a member of Sacred Heart Parish in Watertown and a graduate of St. Mary’s High School in Waltham in 1961. He was a 1965 graduate of Boston College. During those years he participated on many area athletic teams, most notably in the areas of basketball and baseball. He worked for the Watertown Recreation Department as a park instructor.

Gold Star Mothers

LETTER: Gold Star Mothers President Opposes Using Moxley Field for Temporary High School

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Dear School Committee,

My name is Robin Abbott and I am the President of the Department of Massachusetts/Rhode Island American Gold Star Mothers. I write to express my deep sadness and anger that Moxley park and field is being considered for your swing space project. As an American Gold Star Mother, we devote what is left of our broken lives strengthening one another and working to ensure the memory of all veterans is never forgotten. You have no idea how painstaking it is to try to have a bridge or corner block, let alone a park, memorialized to the fallen. It takes an actual act of congress.

Letters

LETTER: Nephew of Richard Moxley Asks School Officials Not to Put Temporary WHS on Field Named for Vietnam Vet

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I am writing to you about the use of Moxley Field as a location for a temporary high school while a new state of the art high school is built for the kids of Watertown. Moxley Field is named after my uncle, PFC Richard Stephen Moxley. All of Richie’s immediate family have passed away, and I wanted to reach out to you before a final decision is made. Growing up in Watertown after his death, most people I met would mention Uncle Richie fondly and share how they had known him or grown up with him. Moxley Field is a dedicated reminder of his ultimate sacrifice in the Vietnam War, and the sacrifices of others.

Letters

LETTER: Group of Parents Support Using Moxley Field as Site for Temporary High School

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As WPS parents, We are writing in support of the proposal to build a new WHS on its current site and to use a section of Moxley Park as swing space during construction. There are many important reasons for this choice: this proposal will provide the best possible educational experience for students during construction; it will minimize the construction timeline; it will create the space needed to build a state-of-the-art, 21st Century high school for Watertown; and, it will reduce overall project costs. This investment requires temporary sacrifices from abutters, students and families. We are all sharing this burden, but the benefits far outweigh the temporary inconveniences. This project will benefit the entire Watertown community for generations to come.

Schools

Watertown High School Graduation to be In-Person, Seniors Will Have Prom, Other Events

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Charlie BreitroseThe Watertown High School’s Class of 2021 will hold an in-person graduation ceremony at Victory Field with no limits on guests. Pictured here, the Class of 2014 celebrates. Watertown High School’s graduation ceremony will return to Victory Field in 2021, with full attendance, and the senior class will also get to attend prom, the senior barbecue and other events. The Class of 2021 will graduate on Friday, June 4 at 6 p.m. at Victory Field, announced WHS Principal Joel Giacobozzi on Tuesday. There had been discussions about limiting the number of guests each student could invite, but with the change in the state’s COVID-19 guidelines the school will not limit the number of people attending the ceremony.

Schools

Watertown Student 1 of 20 from Minuteman High School SkillsUSA Medalists

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The following announcement was provided by Minuteman High School:

Twenty students from Minuteman High School and four adult students from Minuteman Technical Institute received medals in the SkillsUSA Massachusetts state competition on Friday, May 7. Three high school students and one adult student will compete in the national SkillsUSA competition in June, which will be held virtually. 

More than 370,000 vocational-technical students participate in SkillsUSA competitions nationwide annually. Students demonstrate their knowledge in their career technical area of study along with employability and safety skills. Minuteman High School Awards:

The three Minuteman High School students who are heading to the national competition are Noah Varghese and Dean O’Brien, Environmental Science majors, and John O’Brien, a Biotechnology major. All three are from Arlington; Dean and John are brothers. Their competition was in the natural resources, agriculture, and food category; their project involved collecting and testing water samples in their community. The following Minuteman High School students also received awards in the SkillsUSA state competition: 

Arya De Francesco of Lexington, grade 9, Design and Visual Communications major: gold medal in sticker design.

Schools

Busing Considered if Temporary High School is at Moxley Field, Veterans Group Support Using Site

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Ai3 ArchitectsA rendering of what a two-story modular building could look like on Moxley Field. It would be the temporary location for Watertown High School while a new school is constructed. Watertown School officials will look at busing students to the temporary high school and the middle school if modulars are built on Moxley Field, the School Building Committee heard at its meeting on Wednesday. Designers of the new Watertown High School, and the temporary campus, responded to a petition submitted by neighbors of the area near Moxley Field, addressing all the questions raised including: traffic issues, issues with tearing up the field dedicated to a Watertown Marine, stormwater issues and others. See the slide presentation from the meeting by clicking here.

COVID-19 Funds

Watertown Offering Free Summer School, Adding Enrichment Classes

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The Watertown Public Schools will offer free summer school in 2021, including both programs for students needing to make up credits or improve skills, and those looking to learn something new this summer. The district will use funds received to assist during the COVID-19 Pandemic to provide most of the programs free of cost, this year. Assistant Superintendent Theresa McGuinness said that the Watertown Public Schools are focusing on getting students back into the groove after the past two school years were impacted by the Pandemic. “This summer and into the fall we are prioritizing relationships, re-socialization and healthy human connections as we plan for both academics and social-emotional wellness for our students through enriching supportive programming,” McGuinness said. For students in PreK to eighth grade who need to boost their academics, the focus will be on literacy and math, McGuinness said, while in the high school grades emphasis will be placed on credit recovery in English, math, science and social studies.