Around Town

Online Meeting to be Held on Cunniff School Construction

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The latest rendering of the new Cunniff Elementary School, with the solar array in the parking lot. Construction will soon begin at Cunniff Elementary School, and school officials will host a meeting to discuss the construction activities around the Westside school. Town Council President Mark Sideris said he had hoped to have the meeting in person, but could not do so due to the COVID-19 restrictions. The meeting will be held on Zoom, and the public can participate by joining the meeting on Zoom or by phone. Also, they can tune in on Watertown Cable.

Letters

LETTER: Resident Worries About Sick Buildings, Asbestos in Cunniff’s Temporary Home

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The following statement was provided by Mary Russo, Watertown resident and former Watertown teacher:

I. Issue One: Watertown, sick buildings, our babies, and Covid 19

Sick building issues have been political losers in Watertown because of long latencies.  That is mostly because the most serious illnesses – in particular asbestos related ones – can take 30 years or more to manifest. 30 years of legal non-compliance and negligence have been ignored at the local and state levels. Easy to hide and hard prove things with 30 year latencies. But political reality is about to change for two reasons. The coronavirus is an immediate threat.

Schools

11 Watertown Students Graduating from Minuteman, Including Valedictorian

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Minuteman High School’s 121 member strong Class of 2020 includes nearly a dozen students from Watertown, one of whom is the class valedictorian. The vocational technical school will hold a drive-in graduation ceremony on Friday, June 5, at 2 p.m., at the school, 758 Marrett Road, Lexington. The ceremony will also be streamed live on YouTube. “While this is clearly an unusual way to hold a graduation, we hope that it will be a way for students and their families to share their excitement and create a happy memory of this milestone,” wrote Minuteman Superintendent-Director Edward Bouquillon. The graduates from Watertown are (with their program of study and future plans):

Emely AlmonteRouaa AlwazTJ DaleyFahad KhanAnthony LeoneElizabeth LinarteVasiliki MarandianosMichael McNamaraSabrina RaposoRenee ThompsonZachary Umbsen

Rouaa Alwaz (VALEDICTORIAN), BiotechnologyElizabeth Linarte, Biotechnology, University of Mass. Lowell – Pre-Dentistry Honors ProgramMichael McNamara, Carpentry Sabrina Raposo, Cosmetology, Entering the Workforce – CosmetologyVasiliki Marandianos, Culinary Arts / Baking, Entering the Workforce – Culinary ArtsRenee Thompson, Culinary Arts / BakingEmely Almonte, Early Education & CareAnthony Leone, Electrical WiringTimothy Daley, PlumbingFahad Khan, Programming & Web, Bunker Hill Community College – Software DevelopmentZachary Umbsen, Programming & Web

Visit the Minuteman High School Class of 2020 Instagram page to see more of the graduates.

Around Town

School Officials Discuss Construction Projects, Remote Learning on Cable Show

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The latest episode of Inside Watertown focuses on the Watertown Public Schools during COVID-19, and what’s going on with the school construction projects. Superintendent Dede Galdston and Town Council President Mark Sideris joined co-hosts Charlie Breitrose and John Airasian via Zoom to talk about the schools. Galdston discussed the evolution of remote learning in Watertown after the COVID-19 outbreak closed the schools. She also touched on planning for next fall, when she hopes students and teachers will be back in their classrooms.

Meanwhile, the construction of the new Cunniff and Hosmer schools are moving full speed ahead. The episode was filmed before the School Building Committee approved the $103 million contract with Brait Building Corp.

Schools

Minuteman High School Honored by State Reading Association

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The following information was provided by Minuteman High School:

Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School is pleased to announce that the Massachusetts Reading Association (MRA), an organization that promotes literacy, has honored Minuteman with its Exemplary Reading Program Award. “This award legitimizes the work we have done over the last 10 years to make sure we take care of the needs of the students,” said Minuteman High School Principal George Clement. “We recognized a need and stuck with it. It’s all been worthwhile.” For the first time in MRA history this award is being given to a secondary school. The previous recipients of this honor have been elementary schools. Minuteman was selected in a competitive process that involved 12 nominated schools from across the state. According to the MRA, the five objectives of this award program are: 

To improve literacy in our society;To recognize schools that demonstrate excellence in reading and literacy programs;To encourage the development and refinement of exemplary reading/language arts programs;To report to the public noteworthy efforts to improve reading/language arts, and;To disseminate specific information about high-quality programs so that other professionals can use it to improve their own instructional efforts.” 

 “We were very impressed with Minuteman,” said MRA Vice President-Elect Patricia Kelley. She specifically mentioned the media center situated at the hub of the school, the integration of reading skills in the school’s career and technical programs as well as in its academic programs, the outstanding reading program for freshmen, the multi-tiered system of support for the reading program throughout the school, and the allocation of financial resources to the reading program. “There is a lot of commitment from everyone at Minuteman,” Kelley said. “Literacy is being integrated across the curriculum.

Schools

Elementary School Projects Preparing for COVID-19 Issues; Will be Highly Energy Efficient

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The latest rendering of the new Cunniff Elementary School, with the solar array in the parking lot. Watertown will build two new elementary schools and, despite an estimated $1 million for additional costs of construction during the COVID-19 outbreak, the project came in under budget. The new Cunniff and Hosmer elementary schools will have enough solar panels to make them net-zero-energy buildings. Wednesday night, the School Building Committee voted to approve the hiring of Brait Building Corp. to construct the new Cunniff and Hosmer elementary schools.

Lt. Paul Sullivan

Winners of the 2020 Lt. Paul Sullivan Scholarships Revealed

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Lt. Paul Sullivan was killed in Vietnam in 1968, and a scholarship in his name has been given out for 52 years. The nine winners of a total of $25,000 in scholarships were announced on Sunday night. The scholarships are presented annually in memory an Army lieutenant from Watertown who was killed in Vietnam. The scholarships honor Lt. Paul Sullivan, who grew up in Watertown, and attended St. Mary’s High School in Waltham before going on to Boston College.

Around Town

Library & Other Facilities Remain Closed, Town Awaits Gov.’s New Order; Schools Feeding Hundreds Each Day & More

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The historic facade of the Watertown Free Public Library. The Town’s facilities, including the Library, Town Hall and the Senior Center will remain closed through at least Monday, as Town official await word from Gov. Charlie Baker about the state’s reopening plan. More details about the four phased reopening plan, discussed this week by Baker, are expected to be released Monday, Town Manager Michael Driscoll said in his latest Town Manager’s Update. In the first phase, “limited industries” will be allowed to reopen. The second and third phases will let more and more industries resume operation, and the fourth phase will be after a vaccine or therapy for COVID-19 is developed and the “new normal” can begin.