Government

School Committee Meeting Online Monday, Rec Department Hosting Facebook Live Open Forum

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The Watertown School Committee will hold its May meeting as an online meeting on Monday night at 7 p.m. and the Recreation Department will host an Open Forum session on Facebook Live. The School Committee’s agenda includes a presentation about the Phase 3 of remote learning in the Watertown Public Schools, information about WHS seniors and an update on the Building for the Future school building projects. See the entire agenda here. The meeting can be viewed live on WCA-TV (Comcast Channel 99, RCN Channel 13) and on Zoom at: https://bit.ly/3f7AAfy (Meeting ID: 926 0404 0459, Password: 142869). Recreation Department Meeting

On Tuesday night, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Recreation Director Peter Centola will hold an open forum on Facebook live.

Government

Town Council Approves Lights for Fields at Filippello Park

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Filippello Park’s two athletic fields, picnic area, playground and more draw lots of visitors. The biggest park on the Eastside of Watertown will receive new lighting at its two athletic fields after the Town Council approved funding for a project that has been in the works for more than a year. The $1.3 million project at Filippello Park replaces the lights on seven poles at the Grove Street Field with LED lights, and adds four poles with LED lighting at the Arlington Street Field, mostly used for soccer. The project also replaces the scoreboard at the Grove Street Field, which is used for softball and soccer, and replaces the backstop and infield fencing at that field. One of the impetuses for the project was the lack of lit field space in Town.

Schools

WHS Guidance: Course Selection for Next Year, New Dates for SATs, APs Online

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While Watertown High School students are in virtual learning mode for the rest of the school year, they can start planning for the return to campus next year, as well as, taking tests to prepare for college. The WHS guidance department sent out the following information for students:

Dear Watertown students and families,

First and foremost, I hope this email finds you and your family well during this challenging time. So much is changing, and all of it quite quickly. While it’s possible that more will have changed by the time you read this email, the WHS Guidance Department wants to provide you with some information in regards to course selection, post-secondary planning, and resources for support. We also plan to share a brief video covering this information in the coming days.

Entertainment

Watertown High School Student Honored by Boston Area Emmys

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Watertown High School senior Toni Carton, left, in a screen shot from her show “Toni & Me,” shown with family and consumer sciences teacher Deborah Johnson. A Watertown High School senior received an honorable mention in the 2020 Boston/New England Emmy Awards for her work on a show created as part of the school’s Radio and Television Production program. Toni Carton received an honorable mention in the High School – Talent category of the 2020 Boston/New England National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for hosting “Best of Toni & Me.” See “Best of Toni & Me” below:

Best of Toni and Me Host Reel from WHS on WCATV on Vimeo. Carton also played one of the leads in the WHS musical, Chicago, earlier this year.

Child Care

Gov. Closes Schools Through the End of the School Year Due to COVID-19

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Gov. Charlie Baker, with Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito. Gov. Charlie Baker announced Tuesday afternoon that all K-12 school buildings, public and private, will remain closed through the end of the school year due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Baker made the announcement during his COVID-19 update at noon on Tuesday. He said there has been no guidance that would allow schools to safely reconvene during the Coronavirus outbreak. Baker told students that the state order does not mean that students should stop laerning.

Schools

MassBay College Offering Virtual Info Sessions for Prospective Students

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MassBay Community College Admissions Office is now offering all information sessions and events, previously held in-person, as virtual events. Recognizing the seriousness of social distancing during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as the need of many to move to remote services, the College has moved to an online format to speak and interact with prospective students. A MassBay admissions counselor will contact anyone already signed up for an information session with instructions on how to join in virtually. “We were able to seamlessly shift to hosting information sessions online on March 16 to ensure students still had the opportunity to learn about all of MassBay’s programs,” said MassBay Director of Admissions, Alison McCarty. “We have found that prospective students are enjoying the online format with the ability to submit questions freely and have them answered right away. The feedback has been extremely positive as people are looking ahead to where they might be studying in the summer or fall.

Schools

See How the School Committee Voted on Whether to Keep Spring Break

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Watertown students will continue with their online learning next week after the School Committee voted Monday night to skip April Vacation. The decision will mean students will continue their remote lessons with teachers for four days next week, April 21-24. They will be off Monday for Patriot’s Day. The decision does not add more days to the school year, and now the Watertown Public Schools will end on June 16, rather than June 22, according to Superintendent Dede Galdston. The idea of cancelling spring break did not come up until Gov. Charlie Baker declared all schools in the state closed through May 4 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Galdston told the School Committee.

Around Town

Carroll Center Offers Virtual Rehabilitation for the Blind & Visually Impaired

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The following information was provided by the Carroll Center for the Blind:

To ensure that people who are blind and visually impaired receive training and support during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton, MA has launched virtual program offerings for individuals of all ages and all stages of vision loss. The adjustment to vision loss does not stop given the ongoing pandemic—in fact, the need to stay connected to critical blindness rehabilitation is more important than ever. Although the nonprofit is not currently providing face-to-face instruction on its campus or in the community, the renowned blindness rehabilitation institution is providing instruction through a variety of remote methods to school-age students, adults, and seniors across the nation. The Carroll Center’s team of expert vision professionals are remotely teaching on a variety of topics, including:

·       Activities of Daily Living

·       Technology Skills and Assistive Technology

·       Braille

·       Low Vision Devices

·       Employment Readiness

·       Health Management

Recognizing that schooling and many workplace meetings are now being offered through Zoom and similar telecommunications platforms, the nonprofit is also teaching consumers how to effectively use these technologies. Additionally, the Center is providing counseling support, assistance with resources and diabetes management, as well as support to use the variety of remote methods such as Zoom.