Around Town

Watertown’s Effort to Bring MLK’s Teachings to Schools Honored at Unity Breakfast

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The Watertown High six students who received the Unity Award for their work spreading Kingian Non-violence teachings to WHS. Pictured from left, Fred Laboissiere, Tino Themelis, Eva Henry, Claire abian, Catherine Fabian and Shivani Sharma. The people who brought the teachings of Martin Luther King Jr. to the Watertown schools and the community came together, and were honored during the the 20th annual Watertown Unity Breakfast on Monday. The annual celebration on Martin Luther King Jr. Day has been put on by the World in Watertown for two decades, and at the 2020 breakfast the local efforts to teach the principles of Kingian Non-violence in town were at the forefront. The keynote speaker was one of those who trained Watertown teachers, students and police about applying King’s non-violence teachings today, and the Unity Award went to six students who spread MLK’s teachings to Watertown High School.

Around Town

Watertown Students Make Art Inspired by MLK for Monday’s Unity Breakfast

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Artwork created by Lowell School students. Ms. Jaclyn Zywocinski & Ms. Christine Talamas and their kindergarten & 1st grade students at the J.R. Lowell Elementary School created the centerpiece art for the annual Unity Breakfast while learning about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Students talked about how it doesn’t matter what the color your skin is… we are all so special, different and kind.  And all hands, even small ones, can help the world! The Unity Breakfast will take place on Monday, Jan. 20.

Around Town

Cunniff Elementary Moving to Waltham Site Next Fall, Speeding Up New Building

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When Cunniff Elementary School students return to class in September, they will attend classes at a different campus, in a different city. The move will allow the current school to be torn down and replaced by a new building sooner and will save the district money. Cunniff’s temporary home will be the St. Jude’s School, a former parochial school in Waltham. Watertown school officials came to an agreement with the Boston Archdiocese to lease the school during Watertown’s school building project, known as Building for the Future.

Board of Assessors

Perkins, Town at Odds Over $1.4 Million Tax Bill After School Missed Deadline

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The Howe Building at Perkins School for the Blind. A piece of paperwork that was filed late has put Perkins School for the Blind and the Town of Watertown at odds over whether the school should pay nearly $1.5 million in taxes on its property or if the school be exempt from taxes, as it has operating as a non-profit in town for more than a century. A third option has been proposed, which would cost less than the full tax bill, but over the years would add up to far more than the $1.4 million. Perkins President and CEO Dave Power said the payment would take money away from the school’s mission of providing services to blind and visually impaired children and adults. The missed filing occurred in March 2019, but the issue became public Tuesday night at the Town Council meeting.

Schools

Minuteman High School Running Girls in STEM Camp During February Break

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The following information was provided by Minuteman High School:

Minuteman High School will hold its fifth-annual Girls in STEM Camp for any interested female students in seventh and eighth grade during February school vacation, from Tuesday, Feb. 18 to Friday, Feb. 21, at the school’s new state-of-the-art facility in Lexington. With only about 25 percent of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) jobs in the United States held by women, the Girls in STEM Camp is a direct effort to engage female students in fun and hands-on learning that could shape their future education and careers. The Girls in STEM Camp involves activities led by Minuteman High School students who are in the school’s Girls in STEM mentoring program, along with faculty advisors.

Building for the Future

Several Options for New High School, All Have Some Headaches

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An illustration of how a new high school building with a four story academic wing could fit on the current WHS site. Architect Scott Dunlap stressed this is just a mock up to see if it would fit, not a design. Designers of the new Watertown High School presented several options for how and where new building could be built, but none of the options were simple and all have challenges. Last week, Scott Dunlap, the lead architect from Ai3 Architects, showed the School Building Committee some of the options for how a new high school could be built. With no obvious piece of unoccupied land, all the scenarios require tearing down existing buildings or displacing facilities, such as fields or the Senior Center. At a meeting in December, Dunlap presented some locations, including the existing high school site (both with or without the nearby former-Phillips School), the Victory Field site (both with or without the DPW facility), and Moxley Field.

Building for the Future

Discuss the Options and Vision for the New High School at a Meeting on Jan. 21

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Public Schools:

The Watertown High School School Building Committee (SBC) invites you to a community forum to discuss educational visioning and preliminary options for the High School Building Project. This is an opportunity for community members to learn about 21st century education and share their thoughts about the future of secondary education in Watertown. It will also provide an opportunity for community input on conceptual options and potential sites for the new high school at a very early stage of the project. WHEN: Tuesday, January 21, 2020, 6:30-8:00 p.m.

WHERE: Watertown High School Lecture Hall, 50 Columbia Street

The community is encouraged to come hear the progress on initial planning around the new high school. Contribute to the conversation and make your voice heard as we envision the future of high school education in Watertown.

Schools

Kids & Parents Can Join Science, Tech & Art Camp Over February Break

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The following information came from the Watertown Public Schools:

Watertown Public Schools is collaborating with PTO’s and C-STEAM Futures to host a FREE, Innovative, 3 day, Parent-Child February vacation camp for students in grades 3-5. The WPS Family STEAM+CS (Science Technology, Engineering, Art and Math + Computer Science) program is designed to engage children in the interdisciplinary world of STEAM & Computer Science and aim at engaging them in hands-on creative problem solving and computational thinking. Activities include:

Introduction to Basics of 3D Modeling & Printing Designing interactive circuits with Makey MakeyIntroduction to important coding and STEM concepts with Osmo Awbie and Scratch Jr.Designing a Fitbit prototype using Micro Bit microcontroller

Seats are limited so we urge you to please register soon. Registration Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd3qx5iLqwwPbsYAhGFtjIl3ipC43bOGBDWU6zf0BsWOVtBxw/viewform

Registration link will be open until February 5th.