Schools

Elementary School Projects Preparing for COVID-19 Issues; Will be Highly Energy Efficient

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The latest rendering of the new Cunniff Elementary School, with the solar array in the parking lot. Watertown will build two new elementary schools and, despite an estimated $1 million for additional costs of construction during the COVID-19 outbreak, the project came in under budget. The new Cunniff and Hosmer elementary schools will have enough solar panels to make them net-zero-energy buildings. Wednesday night, the School Building Committee voted to approve the hiring of Brait Building Corp. to construct the new Cunniff and Hosmer elementary schools.

Government

School Committee Meeting Online Monday, Rec Department Hosting Facebook Live Open Forum

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The Watertown School Committee will hold its May meeting as an online meeting on Monday night at 7 p.m. and the Recreation Department will host an Open Forum session on Facebook Live. The School Committee’s agenda includes a presentation about the Phase 3 of remote learning in the Watertown Public Schools, information about WHS seniors and an update on the Building for the Future school building projects. See the entire agenda here. The meeting can be viewed live on WCA-TV (Comcast Channel 99, RCN Channel 13) and on Zoom at: https://bit.ly/3f7AAfy (Meeting ID: 926 0404 0459, Password: 142869). Recreation Department Meeting

On Tuesday night, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Recreation Director Peter Centola will hold an open forum on Facebook live.

Schools

See How the School Committee Voted on Whether to Keep Spring Break

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Watertown students will continue with their online learning next week after the School Committee voted Monday night to skip April Vacation. The decision will mean students will continue their remote lessons with teachers for four days next week, April 21-24. They will be off Monday for Patriot’s Day. The decision does not add more days to the school year, and now the Watertown Public Schools will end on June 16, rather than June 22, according to Superintendent Dede Galdston. The idea of cancelling spring break did not come up until Gov. Charlie Baker declared all schools in the state closed through May 4 due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Galdston told the School Committee.

Schools

School Officials Debate Keeping Spring Break, School Committee to Meet Monday

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With schools closed at least through May 4 due to the Coronavirus outbreak, Watertown Public Schools officials unveiled the second phase of the virtual learning for students, and are debating whether to keep spring break. The School Committee will meet Monday, April 13 to discuss spring break, the budget for the 2020-21 school year budget and hear a presentation phase II of the district’s Extended Learning Plan. (See information about watching and participating in the meeting below). In a letter to families and staff sent out earlier this month, Superintendent Dede Galdston said that students will have more interactive time with teachers, “requiring students to participate in the learning provided to the extent that is possible.” Teachers reached out to families this week with more details about the schedule and plans.

Schools

Watertown Schools Look to Adjust to Extension of School Closings for COVID-19

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The following letter was sent out on Wednesday by the Watertown Public Schools Administration:

Good evening,

I want to provide you with the recent announcement this afternoon by Governor Charlie Baker that Massachusetts schools will remain closed until May 4. We will follow up later this week with further information about the implications of this extended closure, but be assured we will continue with the excellent plans in place for the WPS community. As we learn more about the opportunities as well as the limitations that remote learning presents, we will all become more skilled as partners on this journey to keep the learning moving forward even when our school buildings are closed. Attached you will find a joint statement from the twelve communities that comprise the Middlesex League about our shared vision and goals for the extended closure. Our primary goal for the remainder of this week is to identify students who still need access to online learning and to provide continued support for all of our families. Originally, our focus was on families with limited access to devices or the internet.

Entertainment

Watertown Schools Art Exhibit Postponed Due to COVID-19

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Mall:

We are very sad to say that in a response to COVID-19 public health concerns, the annual Watertown Public Schools’ Student Art Exhibit, originally scheduled for March 24 through April 9, has been cancelled for this year. As of right now, we do not have any postponed dates for the exhibit set in place, but we will keep the community informed on any changes. About the Watertown Mall

The Watertown Mall is wheelchair accessible and accessible by MBTA Bus routes 70 and 70A. Hours are Monday through Saturday 9:30 a.m. – 9:00 p.,m.; Sunday 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. For more information about this event and other Watertown Mall programs, such as our weekly Walking Club, please visit www.watertown-mall.com or contact the management office at 617-926-4968 x21.

Schools

Public Can Join Monday’s School Committee Meeting Remotely

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The Watertown School Committee will hold its scheduled meeting on Monday, March 23, and members of the public can join in by video conference to watch and possibly to participate. Viewers can join the meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. Monday, using Zoom. This is the first meeting for the School Committee since most others were cancelled due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19). School Committee Chair John Portz said members will be at home or some other location and will join in electronically. “We’re working on the logistics and technical side of this, but I think there will be an opportunity for the public to speak,” Portz said.

Schools

Watertown Schools Start Planning to Keep Learning Going During Coronavirus Closure

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Watertown School officials sent out the following letter about how they are responding to the closing of the schools due to the Coronavirus outbreak, including finding ways to continue the learning while students are at home. The following statement was sent out by the Watertown Public Schools on Thursday evening:

Good Evening, WPS Families, and Staff:

Tomorrow as we welcome our incredible staff to join together in virtual spaces and begin to transition to providing continuous learning opportunities for students and families, I want to express my sincere gratitude to the entire community for understanding that shifting from face-to-face live instruction to this new virtual learning paradigm is challenging.  The next few weeks will be a time that we all learn and grow together.  Our teachers and staff are learning how best to keep continuity in learning for our students, and our families are learning how best to guide and support their children at home.  

Keeping Learning Moving

The Office of Teaching, Learning, & Assessment is continuing to develop excellent resources to support our families while schools are closed. On our new Extended Learning Opportunities webpage, we have posted educational resources for students from early childhood through grade 12. We hope you will find these resources to be helpful to stay engaged and provide opportunities for learning during the school closure. Please note that these activities are not intended to replace or substitute classroom instruction, but instead to keep our students engaged and thinking as much as possible while school is not in session. You may want to bookmark this site as we will be utilizing it and updating it throughout the period of closure.  As our teachers are preparing for course and/or grade level specific learning opportunities, please refer to this website as it provides deeply engaging resources for you to use with your children.