Schools

Watertown’s Elementary School Projects to Finish Months Ahead of Schedule

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Recent photos of the construction at Hosmer (left) and Cunniff elementary schools. The construction of the new Cunniff and Hosmer elementary schools will be completed several months ahead of schedule. Students at Cunniff are projected to move into their new school three months early. At Hosmer, children and staff will return seven months early, with the entire project scheduled to be completed a year early, said Vivian Varbedian from owner’s project manager firm Hill International. The School Building Committee received the news last week, and it was shared with the Town Council on Tuesday night.

COVID-19

Positive COVID Test Reported at Watertown School, Reopening Still Going Ahead

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Hosmer Elementary School in Watertown. The Watertown Public Schools had a person test positive for COVID-19 in the same week that the elementary schools are preparing to welcome students back for in-person learning. Superintendent Dede Galdston announced that a person at Hosmer Elementary School had tested positive, but added that the case would not stop plans to start hybrid learning at the school on Tuesday. Watertown school staff can participate in free testing for the virus provided by the Broad Institute in Cambridge, but Galdston said that the positive test was not through that program. “…

Cunniff School

Dirt Removal Caused Messy Streets, Increased Cost for School Projects

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A view of the design for the new Cunniff Elementary School. The old building has been demolished, and the first parts of the steel for the new school has been delivered. Dirt from excavation getting on the street has been an issue at both Cunniff and Hosmer, in East Watertown. Hundreds of truckloads of soil have been removed from the building sites of the new Hosmer and Cunniff elementary schools, which has caused a bit of a mess on nearby streets and added to the cost of the project. Last week, the School Building Committee received a report on the progress of the projects, and also approved a change order that added nearly $450,000 to the project (but was still within the total project budget).

Around Town

Young Boy Gets Tour of Hosmer Construction for Birthday Gift

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Quin Gosselin gets help out of a W.L. French water truck from his mother Elizabeth Neylon after a tour of the Hosmer School construction site. In celebration of his upcoming fourth birthday, Quin Gosselin got a dream ride on a construction vehicle, and gave the construction crew at the Hosmer Elementary School a special treat on Wednesday. Gosselin spends a lot of time at his grandparents house on Boylston Street, and has been enthralled by the construction at the school, as workers demolish the school in preparation for the new building, his father, John Gosselin said. Quin has been persistent in his effort to get access to the work area, even asking a police officer parked on Mt. Auburn Street if he had keys to the site, his grandmother Diane Neylon said.

Around Town

Demolition of Hosmer School Will Begin Soon

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A map of the area around Hosmer Elementary School, including the traffic plan for the fall. The section of the school in the dark green area will remain after the rest of the school, to the left, is demolished this summer. The demolition of a portion of Hosmer Elementary School will begin on Monday, July 27. Project Manager Thomas Finnegan, from Hill International, sent a letter to school and town officials, and others, updating them about the reconstruction project. The auditorium and cafeteria will be torn down as part of the demolition work, which will take about four weeks.

Schools

Officials Celebrate Groundbreaking for Construction of 2 Watertown Schools

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Watertown school and town officials put shovels in the ground at the official start of the construction project Cunniff Elementary School. The ceremony also marked the beginning of the Hosmer School project. Standing next to the first of Watertown schools to be torn down and replaced with a state-of-the-art facility, Watertown School and Town officials celebrated the beginning of what will be several years of construction at school sites around town. Officials posed in hardhats, holding shovels during the official groundbreaking of the project at Cunniff Elementary School on Wednesday afternoon. The ceremony also marked the start of the project at Hosmer Elementary School, which will take place simultaneously.

Hosmer School

Groundbreaking Ceremony Planned to Kick Off Cunniff School Project

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The latest rendering of the new Cunniff Elementary School, with the solar array in the parking lot. The first of Watertown’s new school projects will kick off Wednesday, June 24 with a groundbreaking ceremony at Cunniff Elementary School. The School Building Committee invites public is invited to the event, which begins at 4:30 p.m. at the school, located at 246 Warren St. in Watertown. Those who attend must wear a mask of face covering due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Government

Playgrounds, Courts & Town Hall Reopening; Town Budget, Hosmer Traffic to be Discussed

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Tot lots and playgrounds will reopen this week, along with basketball courts and picnic and grilling areas in Watertown’s parks. Playgrounds and tot-lots will reopen this week, along with basketball courts and other Recreation facilities. Also this week, the Town Council will hold budget hearings, and traffic around Hosmer School during construction is on the Traffic Commission’s agenda. Town Manager Michael Driscoll announced that more Recreational facilities will reopen after being closed to the public during the COVID-19 shutdown. On Wednesday, June 24th, playgrounds and tot lots, basketball courts, and picnic tables and grills (by permit only) will reopen.