Schools

Conceptual Designs for Renovation of Watertown’s Elementary Schools Approved

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Details of what Watertown’s three elementary schools will look like after they are renovated came more into focus Thursday when the School Building Committee approved the conceptual designs for Hosmer, Cunniff and Lowell elementary schools. With the approval, the architects from Ai3 will move onto the schematic design phase of the project. The conceptual designs provide a guide for where designers will put new additions and which areas will be renovated inside the existing buildings, said Scott Dunlap, principal of Ai3. He added, however, that architects are still “pushing and pulling” the floor plans inside the buildings. Thursday’s meeting began with a walk through of the Hosmer site, where Ai3 had staked out the corners of the proposed new school building that would be built in front of the building with the auditorium and gym, ask you look from Mt.

Police/Fire

Boy Struck by SUV While Heading to Cunniff School, Suffers Minor Injuries

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An 11-year-old boy suffered minor injuries when he was struck by an SUV while on the way to Cunniff School on Wednesday morning. The incident occurred on Highland Street at Copeland Street at about 7:50 a.m. Wednesday, according to Watertown Police Lt. James O’Connor. The incident was witnessed by the boy’s sister. The boy was either riding or walking his bicycle across the street when a Jeep Grand Cherokee heading eastbound struck him. “The child was transported to Children’s Hospital Boston with minor injuries,” O’Connor said.

Cirque du Soleil

Members of Cirque du Soleil Make a Visit to a Watertown School

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A couple members of Cirque du Soleil brought a little bit big top magic to Watertown this week when they visited Cunniff Elementary School. 

Students in the Extended Day Program at Cunniff greeted Kelly McDonald, an acrobat, and Gracie Valdez, artistic director of the latest Cirque show coming to Boston, called Luzia: A Waking Dream of Mexico. During the visit, the pair answered questions from many students, including a few writing a story for Cunniff Kids News, the school’s online newspaper. The children wanted to know things like how to get into the circus, their favorite place they have performed and what happens if you make a mistake during a performance. McDonald said that the children should find something that interests them and then practice hard. “I practiced gymnastics all the way through high school and continued through college,” McDonald said.

Schools

Hosmer Proposed as Swing Space During School Construction Projects

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The architects for the renovation or rebuilding of Watertown’s three elementary schools presented refined conceptual drawings of the schools, and proposed to the School Building Committee that students from other schools go to school at Hosmer School while their school is being renovated. The conceptual plans for Lowell, Cunniff and Hosmer elementary schools includes some new construction and some renovation at each school. Architects from Ai3 shared a schedule that would stagger the start of construction at the three schools so that the new construction at Hosmer would be finished first, freeing up the old section of the school for other schools to use for a few months. Saving money on the project has been a focus since it was discovered that the construction cost estimates in the School Facilities Masterplan done by SMMA in 2016 were much lower than is realistic. Town Manager Michael Driscoll has pledged $120 million for the three elementary schools that would come out of the Town’s budget, and not require a tax increase, but Ai3 estimated the cost of the project would be as much as $180 million.

Schools

Architects Present First Visions for What Watertown’s Elementary Schools Could Look Like

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It will be a busy several years, but by 2023 Watertown will have built or newly renovated three elementary schools and the high school. Monday night the architect hired to do the schematic designs laid out the timeline to get there. The elementary schools and the high school are on different schedules, with the Hosmer, the Cunniff and the Lowell planned to be worked on simultaneously, and after those projects are complete it will be about time for construction to begin on Watertown High School, said Scott Dunlap, principal of Ai3, the district’s architects. Watertown school officials got a lot of good news last week. “Last week the most exciting time for a Superintendent occurred over a 24 hour period,” said Superintendent Dede Galdston.

Cunniff School

Schools Looking at Modular Classrooms, Crowding Still Concerns Parents

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School officials do not yet have a concrete plan for dealing with overcrowded classrooms in Watertown next fall, but modular classrooms could be part of the solution. Meanwhile, parents continue to worry about large class sizes or classes being taught in unorthodox spaces. Monday night, the School Committee’s Building and Grounds Subcommittee discussed the short and long term solutions to the space problem in Watertown’s schools at the meeting at the Watertown High School Library. Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald said, looking at the current projections, the schools would be OK, and classes in the three elementary schools would not be overcrowded. The biggest class would be one at Hosmer Elementary School with 24 students.

Cunniff School

Cunniff School Taking Drastic Measures to Relieve Crowded Classrooms

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Facing classes as large as 28 students, the teachers and staff at Cunniff Elementary School have turned the school’s art and music rooms into classrooms to split off a set of students and relieve crowding at the Westside school. Principal Mena Ciarlone told the School Committee Monday that the Cunniff has experienced unusual mid-year growth, and mostly in the upper grades – third through fifth. “The past two weeks we have noticed an increased enrollment, two stories each week in the upper grades.,” Ciarlone said. “Enrollment became a worry and class sizes were extremely high.” One of the fourth grade classes has 28 students and the other had 26.

Charity

Cunniff Hosting Event at Boston Basketball Raising Money for 5th Grade Class

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A fundraiser will be held at Boston Basketball on Saturday, Nov. 14 to raise money for the fifth-grade class at the Cunniff School . Come out to have some fun playing corn hole at Boston Basketball, Boston Basketball, 411 Waverley Oaks Road in Waltham, while raising money for the Cunniff School fifth grade class. Doors open at 6 p.m. and games begin at 7 p.m.

This is a 21+ only event with a cash bar, DJ and raffles. First place winner receives a prize!