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Watertown wrestlers Tommy Dicker (front in grey), Brady Gleason (in black), and Tessa Master (back) are preparing for the Div. 3 State Meet this weekend. Gleason and Dicker won their bracket in the Sectional Meet. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
Last weekend, not just one, but two Watertown High School wrestlers — senior Tommy Dicker and junior Brady Gleason — won their division at the MIAA Div. 3 Sectional meet.
Photo by Charlie BreitroseArsenal Park will be getting a major overhaul. Here it is set up for the Watertown Arts Market. The second phase of renovations at Arsenal Park was approved by the City Council, which will include improvements to the recreation areas, but came in more than $4 million higher than originally budgeted. On Tuesday night, the City Council unanimously approved borrowing $10.35 million to cover the cost of the project. The project will make significant improvements to the park in the East End, said City Manager George Proakis.
The Watertown Public Schools budget forecast for Fiscal Year 2025 would provide the district with a small surplus. The budget for the current school year is $57.58 million, and when adding the 3.5 percent increase budgeted by City Manager George Proakis (about $2 million) the budget for the 2024-25 school year will be $59.6 million, Superintendent Dede Galdston told the School Committee last week. That would provide a surplus of $75,138. Most of the budget, about 85 percent, falls under personnel, said Lisa Gibbons, the district’s Director of Finance and Operations. Galdston said the figures are for a “level services budget.”
Lauren Jones, State Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, spoke at the Charles River Regional Chamber event at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Watertown on Feb. 6. (Courtesy of Charles River Chamber)
Massachusetts finds itself in an unusual job market in the post-Pandemic period. The state added more than 50,000 jobs from 2019 to 2023, but at during the same period the workforce declined by 113,000 people, creating a tight job market. Last week, Secretary of Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Lauren Jones spoke at an event hosted by the Charles River Regional Chamber at Watertown’s Hampton Inn & Suites.
On Monday, the School Committee approved Superintendent Dede Galdston’s plan to provide free universal prekindergarten in the Watertown Public Schools beginning in the fall of 2024. Galdston provided more information about the program in an announcement sent out this week, see it below. Watertown Public Schools is pleased to announce that PreKindergarten and Preschool classes will be tuition-free for children who turn 4 by August 31, 2024. Applications for the 2024-2025 school year have already begun, and we are excited to be able to offer up to 40 additional spaces for Watertown children in our prekindergarten and preschool classrooms.
Here is more information about our Early Steps PreKindergarten program and process:
PreKindergarten is for students who turn four by August 31. The classroom has 18 students in it with 1 certified teacher and 1 instructional assistant. The curriculum is age-appropriate with an emphasis on socialization, early numeracy, and early literacy skills.
Crown CafeDiners enjoy a meal at Crown Cafe on Main Street. The restaurant will soon close after getting a notice to vacate to make way for a new development on Main Street. Over the past couple of weeks, the section of Main Street near Watertown Square has gone through more changes than it has for many years, with the Post Office closing — at least temporarily — restaurants opening and closing, and a new development starting construction soon. On Jan. 26, the Main Street Post Office closed for at least two years.
by Charlie BreitroseSenior Laura Biagiotti and the Raiders’ girls basketball team have had a successful season. Here she plays against Oakmont in the 2023 State Tournament. Watertown High School’s winter sports teams are all on track to make the State Tournament in 2024, and even one group that doesn’t have a team of its own will be playing in the post season. Girls Basketball
The Raiders girls basketball team, under first year head coach Michael Tempesta, has put together two four-game winning streaks on the way to a 10-4 record. Most recently Watertown defeated Stoneham 53-34 at Watertown Middle School (the Raiders home court during the construction of the new high school).
(Courtesy of Watertown Public Schools)
Starting next fall, Watertown will offer free pre-kindergarten classes for 90 4-year-olds in town as part of a new universal PreK program. Since she arrived in Watertown, Superintendent Dede Galdston has been talking about offering universal PreKindergarten. She hoped that the district would get financial help from the federal or state government, but that has not materialized. “Sooner or later, if we feel this is something that is true to our core values, we might want to consider doing it ourselves,” Galdston told the School Committee on Monday. “So, I think we are at the moment and time where I think we do so.”