Coronavirus

Town Council, School Building Committee Meetings Cancelled During Coronavirus Outbreak

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Watertown’s Town Hall. Watertown’s Town Council and the School Building Committee will not be meeting until at least April 7, due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Town Council President Mark Sideris sent an email to Councilors alerting them that for now, they will not be meeting, even using video conferencing. The message reminded the Council that the March 24 Council meeting would not be taking place. “I cancelled the council meeting scheduled for (Tuesday) as there was nothing pressing that could not be dealt with at a later date,” Sideris said in the message.

Schools

MassBay College Moving Many Courses Online in Response to Coronavirus

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The following information was provided by MassBay College:

Joining in the global movement to limit large gatherings, MassBay Community College is encouraging faculty to transition their courses online in an effort to facilitate social distancing wherever possible. Much of the training and curriculum conversion will happen the week of March 16, 2020 during spring break. The following week of March 23, 2020, online courses already in progress will continue as usual. However, no face-to-face classes will be held to allow professors more time to convert their classes and prepare their students for the change in format. Students are encouraged to check their MassBay email accounts often, from today on, as professors will be communicating changes in their class formats that will begin the week of March 30, 2020.

Entertainment

Watertown Schools Art Exhibit Postponed Due to COVID-19

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Mall:

We are very sad to say that in a response to COVID-19 public health concerns, the annual Watertown Public Schools’ Student Art Exhibit, originally scheduled for March 24 through April 9, has been cancelled for this year. As of right now, we do not have any postponed dates for the exhibit set in place, but we will keep the community informed on any changes. About the Watertown Mall

The Watertown Mall is wheelchair accessible and accessible by MBTA Bus routes 70 and 70A. Hours are Monday through Saturday 9:30 a.m. – 9:00 p.,m.; Sunday 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. For more information about this event and other Watertown Mall programs, such as our weekly Walking Club, please visit www.watertown-mall.com or contact the management office at 617-926-4968 x21.

Schools

Several Watertown Students Make Minuteman Honor Roll

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Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School has released the names of students who attained Honor Roll and High Honor Roll for the second quarter of the academic year. The following students from Watertown received honor from Minuteman High School:

High Honors

Rouaa Alwaz, Biotechnology, Grade 12Marwa Alwaz, Biotechnology, Grade 10Zoha Bibi, Health Assisting, Grade 11Dayane Coutinho, Plumbing, Grade 11Saleena Khan, Health Assisting, Grade 9Elizabeth Linarte, Biotechnology, Grade 12Ana Martocchia, Metal Fabrication, Grade 9

Honors

Mahnoor Bibi, Health Assisting, Grade 9Samuel Cerqueira, Horticulture, Grade 11Jonathan Corbett, Advanced Manufacturing, Grade 11Maria DeFreitas, Early Education & Care, Grade 11Izadora Karla Goncalves, Health Assisting, Grade 11Emma Leone, Early Education & Care, Grade 9Ava Martin, Design/Visual Comm, Grade 9Theodore Surenian, Programming & Web, Grade 11

Schools

Public Can Join Monday’s School Committee Meeting Remotely

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The Watertown School Committee will hold its scheduled meeting on Monday, March 23, and members of the public can join in by video conference to watch and possibly to participate. Viewers can join the meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. Monday, using Zoom. This is the first meeting for the School Committee since most others were cancelled due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19). School Committee Chair John Portz said members will be at home or some other location and will join in electronically. “We’re working on the logistics and technical side of this, but I think there will be an opportunity for the public to speak,” Portz said.

Schools

Watertown Schools Start Planning to Keep Learning Going During Coronavirus Closure

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Watertown School officials sent out the following letter about how they are responding to the closing of the schools due to the Coronavirus outbreak, including finding ways to continue the learning while students are at home. The following statement was sent out by the Watertown Public Schools on Thursday evening:

Good Evening, WPS Families, and Staff:

Tomorrow as we welcome our incredible staff to join together in virtual spaces and begin to transition to providing continuous learning opportunities for students and families, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the entire community for understanding that shifting from face-to-face live instruction to this new virtual learning paradigm is challenging.  The next few weeks will be a time that we all learn and grow together.  Our teachers and staff are learning how best to keep continuity in learning for our students, and our families are learning how best to guide and support their children at home.  

Keeping Learning Moving

The Office of Teaching, Learning, & Assessment is continuing to develop excellent resources to support our families while schools are closed. On our new Extended Learning Opportunities webpage, we have posted educational resources for students from early childhood through grade 12. We hope you will find these resources to be helpful to stay engaged and provide opportunities for learning during the school closure. Please note that these activities are not intended to replace or substitute classroom instruction, but instead to keep our students engaged and thinking as much as possible while school is not in session. You may want to bookmark this site as we will be utilizing it and updating it throughout the period of closure.  As our teachers are preparing for course and/or grade level specific learning opportunities, please refer to this website as it provides deeply engaging resources for you to use with your children.

Around Town

Gov. Baker Orders Most Day Care to Close During Coronavirus Crisis

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Most childcare providers will be closed beginning Monday in an effort to stop the Coronavirus (COVID-19), Gov. Charlie Baker announced Wednesday. Baker said that most child care providers would be closed, but added the state was also looking to create “a process for opening exempt emergency child care programs,” according to a Boston Globe article. The emergency child care programs will be for families of medical staff, emergency personnel and “others critical to fighting the COVID-19 outbreak,” Baker said. These programs will be the only ones allowed to operate during this state of emergency, Baker added. The state will continue to give childcare providers subsidy payments to help them through the Coronavirus crisis.

Schools

Watertown Schools Now Closed Thru April 7, Tips to Keep Students Learning

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With Gov. Baker’s announcement that schools statewide will be closed through early April as a response to the Coronavirus outbreak, the Watertown Public Schools will be closed longer than first announced. Students can still keep their mind active. On Thursday, Superintendent Dede Galdston announced the town’s schools would be shut for two weeks (originally March 27). Now that has been extended to April 7 with the Governor’s announcement Sunday night, which also impacts restaurants, and gatherings over 25 people. See the Watertown School’s entire update from Sunday night father below.