January 14, 2024
Dear Watertown Public Schools Faculty, Families and Students,
I hope you are having a lovely long weekend. This is a friendly reminder that when and/if weather delays need to occur, they are based on a wide variety of information provided to school districts and towns. The following are just a few items that are taken into consideration when a weather decision needs to be made, not limited to:
Regional weather forecast
Local weather forecast
Reports from the local highway department
The state of local custodial/maintenance/facilities before, during and after a storm
Reports from the Department of Transportation (DOT) regarding major highway arteries
State warnings and advisories
Temperature, and even the temperature of the pavement and other areas
Bus company operability
Weather decisions are not made lightly or in a vacuum and they can change depending on the most recent and current information available to inform the situation.
The Watertown Public Schools Goal is to provide a safe, uninterrupted and excellent educational experience for our children each day.
We are thankful for the close partnership with our town and school crews who work very hard in the late hours of the night and early hours of the morning when households are asleep to treat roads, clear downed trees, work with power companies to resolve outages, and essentially get our community ready for a regular and smooth start to the school and workday. Our Watertown crews are diligent, they move swiftly and carefully, and they are dependable. It is our crews who make it possible for our schools to operate without disruption.
In some instances, when schools do have to close or delay due to inclement weather, the Watertown Public Schools will make a call between 5:30 - 5:45 AM to notify all families by text and email. And, in some instances when there is an ample amount of confidence/information prior to a significant storm, a call will be made in advance to provide families as much notice as possible.
As always, school hours are posted on our main website (and local news outlets) and if you are interested in reading the annual inclement weather notice, click here.
Lastly, we are closely watching the anticipated snow for Tuesday and we will follow our inclement weather protocols in the case there is an adjustment to the regular school day.
Stay warm Watertown,
Dr. V
Important Dates and Happenings
Watertown H. S. Athletic Event Calendar January 2024
January 15 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day, No school for students and faculty
January 16 - Special meeting Board of Education Retreat, 6PM
January 17 - School Capital Project Building Committee Meeting, 7PM
January 22 - Regularly scheduled BOE meeting, 7PM
January 24 - WHS PTO Meeting, 7PM
January 25 - Early Release Day for students, PD for Faculty
January 27-28 - 57th Annual Swift Basketball Tournament
January 28 - WHS Theater Fundraiser: What is Bigfoot? With Ronnie Ronny LeBlanc
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Perhaps this weekend is best associated with honoring and celebrating the great work of Martin Luther King Jr. and his famous speech titled, “I Have a Dream” where he shared his hopes and dreams to end inequality; achieve harmony among people; and the importance of treating all people equally. Much of Dr. King’s work through the Civil Rights movement was anchored in the function of education and the goals that can be achieved through a critical and intensive educational experience. And this quote captures the sentiments so well…
“If you can’t fly then run.
If you can’t run then walk.
If you can’t walk then crawl.
But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
From the CSDE: Internet Safety Training – On behalf of the US Attorney’s Office, District of Connecticut and the Department of Children and Families
Tweens and Teens spend many hours per day online chatting and interacting with friends and people who they may not know well and who may put them at risk. To educate parents, teachers and others, the US Attorney’s Office, District of Connecticut, in collaboration with the Department of Children and Families, is offering - FREE OF CHARGE - online Internet Safety Training. This training will introduce parents, teachers and others to Internet and cell phone applications and video game systems being used by the tweens/teens that could potentially put them at risk. Training will take place on Thursday, January 25th, from 6 – 7:30 p.m. We encourage all districts to share this information with their teaching staff, as well as parents. Click the link to access the training https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8905...