Schools

Watertown Schools Appoint New Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

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Superintendent Dede Galdston announced the hiring of Dr. Ceronne Daly as the Watertown Public School’s Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. Galdston announced the hiring to staff on Monday. Daly has worked in the Boston Public Schools for more than 10 years, most recently as the Managing Director of the Office of Recruitment, Cultivation, and Diversity Programs.

Daly will officially start working in October, but will be attending events starting this week, Galdston said in her statement. Daly succeeds Kimberlee Henry, who was the first Director of DEIB. The School Committee approved the creation of the position in 2020.

Police/Fire

Watertown Police Receive Stuffed Animals from Freemasons Lodge to Comfort Children

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The stuffed animals inside one of the bags provided by the Bethesda Lodge Masons to the Watertown Police to give out to children. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)

Watertown Police officers will have a new tool in their cruisers, a bag full of stuffed animals to comfort youngster who have experienced a difficult situation. The six bags full of plush toys come via a donation from the Bethesda Freemasons Lodge, which represents Watertown. The program is known as Project Delta. Officer Michael Stewart said he knows that they will be a useful tool.

Around Town

Watertown Community Foundation to Celebrate 20 Years of Community Giving

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The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Community Foundation:

Since 2003 The Watertown Community Foundation has put funds to work in Watertown to address local needs to make positive change. Started with funds from the sale of the Arsenal property and grown by local giving and grants, a small group of Founders envisioned a community fund dedicated to sustaining a vibrant community. Twenty years later, the Foundation has given more than $3,000,000 in grants to improve the lives of the people who live and work in Watertown. “During 20 years of grant giving, the Foundation has built on a practice of giving to meet need at the street level. We started with Block Party grants to bring neighbors and neighborhoodstogether.

Around Town

Watertown’s New Library Director to Start Work in September

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Kim Hewitt has officially been named Watertown’s new Library Director. (Courtesy of the Watertown Library)

The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Free Public Library:

The Watertown Free Public Library Board of Trustees is pleased to announce that Kim Hewitt has been named as its new library director. In her role, Ms. Hewitt will lead the way in helping the library accomplish its mission of connecting people to ideas, information, education, creative opportunities, and to each other. She starts her new role on Sept. 11, 2023.

Government

Property Takings Pave Way for Start of Mt. Auburn Street Project, Expected to Last 4 Years

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The City Council approved some property takings on Tuesday to make way for a $30 million federally-funded reconstruction of one of Watertown’s biggest streets. With the easements in place, the City will be able to go to bid in September on the Mt. Auburn Street Reconstruction project that will be paid for by federal Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) dollars which are awarded by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). Most of the easements will be temporary, for a five year period, and a few will be permanent, said City Manager George Proakis. “All easements allow for construction to occur on the Mt.

Sports

Watertown Summer Basketball League Trophy Awarded, A 60-Year Tradition

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Donohue’s Kaos Club and New Day faced on in Game 3 of the Watertown Summer Basketball League Finals Tuesday at Saltonstall Park. (Photo by Natalie Nigito Photography)

Members of the Donohue’s Kaos Club posed triumphantly with the championship trophy Tuesday night after capturing the Watertown Summer Basketball League championship, defeating the squad that won the title last year. The league has been operating in Watertown for six decades, most of which were played in the outdoor court in Saltonstall Park next to the Watertown Boys & Girls Club. Donohue’s Kaos Club defeated New Day 67-49 in Game 3 of the Papas Elite League Finals. New Day forced the deciding third game by winning Game 2 in overtime on Aug.

Schools

Watertown High School Prepping for Life at Temporary Campus at Moxley, Other Locations

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A view of the temporary Watertown High School at Moxley Field from a presentation to the School Building Committee. (Courtesy of the Watertown Schools)

The final touches are being made on the temporary campus in preparation for Watertown High School students to return to class on Sept. 5, and the students and staff alike will have to adapt to their new digs, which include sites outside the modular campus at Moxley Field. Principal Joel Giacobozzi told the WHS community that they will have to adjust to a new way of “doing school,” in the introduction in the student handbook (see below). Meanwhile, construction crews continue to work to get the two-story school made from prefabricated modules ready for class.

Around Town

Prospective Young Scientists Get a Look at a Real Lab at Watertown’s Kymera Therapeutics

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Students in the summer program run by MassBioEd and the LEAH Project got to look around the labs at Kymera Therapeutics in Watertown (Courtesy of Kymera)

A group of aspiring young scientists got a glimpse inside a Watertown company that does cutting-edge biopharmaceutical research. The high school age students recently visited Kymera Therapeutics’ offices and labs at Arsenal Yards as part of a field trip organized by MassBioEd’s Summer Program. MassBioEd partners with the LEAH project and LabCentral to offer a lab-based summer internship program to rising high school juniors and seniors. They spend four days a week learning about biotechnology tools and improving their technical skills at LabCentral in Cambridge. One day each week, they visit life science companies and organizations to see how the skills and tools are used.