Schools

Back to School: One School Welcomed a Large Kindergarten, Middle School Renovations Shift, Draft Cellphone Policy

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Cunniff Elementary School has a particularly large number of kindergartners this fall. (Photo by Watertown Public Schools)

Students in Watertown returned to class this month, including a large number of kindergartners on one campus. Back to School nights will be held this week, and the School Committee also heard about a proposal that would prevent students from using cellphones and other devices anytime during the school day. At Monday’s School Committee meeting, Superintendent Dede Galdston thanked the Watertown Schools’ faculty and staff for preparing the schools to welcome students to the 2025-26 School Year. The first day of class was Sept.

Around Town

High School Students Can Enter MassDOT Video Contest

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The following announcement was provided by MassDOT:

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is announcing the sixth annual statewide high school video contest, Safe Streets Smart Trips. The contest serves as an initiative within the Massachusetts Strategic Highway Safety Plan to promote and educate the public about safe walking, bicycling, and driving behaviors. The contest began five years ago to encouragehigh school students to showcase their understanding of roadway safety across all travel modes to try to decrease pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and fatalities. “We are pleased to once again be able to give students the opportunity to create educational videos which underscore messages in the ‘Scan the Streets for Wheels and Feet’ initiative,” said MassDOT Secretary and CEO Stephanie Pollack. “The video contest has resulted in very creative ideas during the last few years and we look forward to seeing what teenagers will produce during this year’scontest to make the public more aware of safe behaviors while traveling.”

In summer 2017, MassDOT launched a new statewide campaign to raise awareness about motorists, pedestrians and cyclists safely sharing the Commonwealth’s streets. This initiative reminds travelers to “Scan the Street for Wheels and Feet.” The campaign slogan emphasizes the notion that everyone who is traveling on a roadway is responsible for doing their part to ensure safety.

High School

Watertown High Renovation Will Have to Wait

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The request to renovate – or replace – Watertown High School, will have to wait at least another year after school officials were told their project was passed over by the state. Last spring, the Watertown Public Schools submitted a Statement of Interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority requesting state support in renovating or rebuilding the high school. The letter was sent after the a report from an architectural consultant found that the high school was the town school in most need of repair. (See the consultant’s report here). The original part of the the building was built in 1924 and 1925 and there were additions in the 1950s and in 1979.