Big Street Closures/Delays Monday, April 2 in Belmont

Photo: Upper Concord Avenue between Winter and Marsh streets.

The Belmont Police Department has issued a pair of street advisories that will impact traffic in and through Belmont on Monday, April 2.

On Monday and Tuesday, FE French Construction will close the outbound (heading towards Lexington) upper Concord Avenue between Winter and Marsh streets starting at 7 a.m. The detour will impact westbound traffic on Concord.

Also on Monday, Grove Street road construction resumes.

Expect delays and detours on these important Belmont thoroughfares.

Pats Are Back! Tixs, Sponsorships Are On Sale Today For May 23 Game

Photo: To the hoop with the Patriots and Boosters.

The New England Patriots are returning for another visit to Belmont!

The Belmont Boosters will be holding its fifth annual New England Patriots Basketball Fundraiser on Wednesday, May 23, at 7 p.m. at Belmont High School’s Wenner Field House. Members of the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots will compete against the Belmont Booster All-Stars, consisting of various members of the Belmont community. Attendees will have autograph and photo opportunities with the players, as well as a chance to win an autographed football.

ASK US HOW YOU CAN PLAY IN THE GAME! Business sponsorships that involve a direct solicitation of the entire Belmont community are also available.

Tickets and business sponsorship sales have begun. For information, please call 617-904-7542. You can also email the Boosters at belmontmaboosters@gmail.com.

 

The Belmont Boosters Club a 501(c)(3) organization is a community organization made up of volunteers excited and committed to promoting the athletic experience at Belmont High School. The Boosters’ mission is to provide funding for items that are outside the athletic budgets.

Foregoing Plastic: A Forum on Belmont Bag Ban Tuesday March 27

Photo: Plastic bags on the way out in Belmont? One group hopes so.

The Belmont Bag Ban Group, an ad-hoc group advocating for the ban single-use plastic bags at the check-out lines, is holding a forum to hear details of the proposed bylaw, and ask questions on Tuesday, March 27 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Assembly Room of the Belmont Public Library. Speakers will include Belmont organizers as well as environmental activists. Citizens are welcome to attend.

The proposed ban will be before the annual Town Meeting in May after the Belmont Board of Selectmen’s unanimous vote in March to place an article on the Town Meeting warrant prohibiting single-use plastic bags at stores.

The Belmont Bag Ban Group is hoping Belmont will join the 61 towns and cities in the Commonwealth and hundreds across the country and world that approved similar bans. One of the campaigners, Terese Hammerle, is excited that Belmont is poised to be part of a growing list of districts moving towards a more environmentally sustainable future.

“Simple alternatives such as reusable shopping bags and biodegradable single-use shopping bags are available everywhere and The Belmont Bag Group is working to ensure that anyone who needs reusable bags has access to them,” Hammerle says. Paper bags, which biodegrade naturally, will still be available at no cost to the customer, Hammerle notes.

“Several stores in Belmont are already prepared because they operate in communities in which a plastic bag ban is in effect,” she states.

One trillion single-use plastic bags are used worldwide each year, harming wildlife and littering our environment, making up the third largest type of litter from land-based sources found on U.S. coasts. While plastic bags are convenient and cheap, the Sierra Club cautions the environmental expense far exceeds the cost retailers pay to provide them. The flimsy material harms wildlife as they are often mistaken for food in our waterways and are sometimes used as nesting materials.

“Take a walk around town and see the bags caught in tree branches and trapped on sewer grates; they are so aerodynamic that even when properly disposed of, they blow away,” says organizer Mark Carthy. “And it takes estimated 200-plus years for plastic to photodegrade.”

“The forum will provide a good opportunity to hear from our community and provide educational materials. We’ll also have a number of items to a raffle that encourages sustainability,” adds Linda Levin-Scherz, another organizer.

Residents are encouraged to bring extra lifetime bags that the Bag Ban Group will launder and distribute to those who might find purchasing a bag a burden.

If you would like more information please contact: Terese Hammerle at teresehammerle@me.com

Thursday’s Nor’easter: School Delayed Two Hours, Parking Ban Starts At Midnight

Photo: Maybe not this much …

While the expected snow totals have been falling all night, the Town of Belmont isn’t taking any chances with the fourth potential Nor’easter in the past month. The town and school department have issued updates on possible closings and delays for Thursday, March 22:

  • There will be a two hour delayed opening for all Belmont Public Schools on Thursday.
  • There is a Snow Emergency Parking ban effective as of midnight Thursday until further notice. Vehicles must be off streets and out of municipal and school parking lots or they will be towed.
  • Trash and Recycling WILL be picked up Thursday as scheduled.
  • All town offices will open at  8 a.m. as scheduled.

Residents will be notified of any further changes based on updated weather conditions.

Please call 617-993-2698 with questions.

There’s Still Time To Nominate Educators For Outstanding Teacher Awards

Photo:(from left) Janice Darius, Assistant Superintendent, BPS; Jennifer Pressey, 2017 OTA Honoree; and Danielle Betancourt, Principal, Butler Elementary School.

You have 10 days left to nominate a Belmont educator for the Foundation of Belmont Education’s Outstanding Teacher Awards. The awards are proudly sponsored by Belmont Savings Bank Foundation.

Belmont parents and community members, Belmont Public School colleagues, and high school and middle school students have until March 31 to submit nominations for teachers – of any grade, subject, or specialty – who deserve this special recognition.

To be eligible for nomination, a teacher must:

  • Have completed three consecutive years teaching in the Belmont Public Schools and currently teach in the Belmont public schools
  • Teach students on a regular basis (40% of the time)

Based on nominations from the community, teachers from Belmont’s six schools are chosen for this award. Each award winner will be honored, first at a surprise celebration at their school, and then at a district-wide awards ceremony to be held on Tuesday, May 1 at the Chenery Middle School.

Nominate an Outstanding Teacher Today! 

Nomination Criteria and Online Nomination Form (submit before March 31):
www.belmontsavings.com/FBEOutstandingTeacher

For more information:
www.fbe-belmont.org/outstandingteacher

Questions?
ota@fbe-belmont.org

Residents Invited to New High School Presentation, Design Update, Thursday, March 22

Photo: The general outline of the new Belmont High School.

Just because the general design concept and class configuration have been decided, residents ideas and comments are still needed as the new Belmont High School starts to take shape.

The public is invited to join the Belmont High School Building Committee for an Education Vision Presentation and Project Design update on Thursday, March 22 at 7 p.m. at the Beech Street Center, 266 Beech St.

Thursday’s agenda includes:

  • a summary of School and Community Visioning Workshops.
  • Presentation on Belmont’s Vision of 21st Century Learning and Teaching Project Design updates.
  • Questions and comments.

Upcoming community meetings include:

  • Thursday, April 26, 7 p.m.: Project Design Update & Design Workshop, Wellington Elementary School Cafeteria
  • Tuesday, May 8, 7 p.m.: Design Update with Virtual Reality Presentation, a joint School Committee and High School Building Committee Meeting at the Chenery Middle School Community Room.
  • Wednesday, May 16, 7 p.m.: Traffic Solutions Discussion in the Wellington Elementary School cafeteria.

To sign up for email updates and to learn more about the Belmont High School Building Project, including project timelines, videos, meeting schedules, presentations, and more, please visit www.belmonthighschoolproject.org. Questions? Email quires to BHS-BC@belmont-ma.gov 

Belmont High School Bars Public, Town Officials, Press From Student Walkout

 Photo: Poster of the event

A student-led protest at Belmont High School will be a private affair as education officials are barring the public, town officials and the press from attending the “National School Walkout to Protest Gun Violence” event taking place on Wednesday, March 21 at 10 a.m.

“As you are aware, the public is not permitted on school grounds during this event,” said Kristen Murphy, community engagement coordinator for the district. It’s reported police will prevent traffic and people from traveling on the public access road fronting the school. Murphy noted that principals Dan Richards of Belmont High School and Michael McAllister of the Chenery Middle School will be able to speak in the subject after the event.

According to John Phelan, Belmont’s School Superintendent, only students, and staff will attend the event taking place outdoors on public space. 

“[S]tudent safety is our main concern,” said Phelan in a letter responding to William Fick, the father of one of the student organizers. Phelan defended the restrictions of outsiders attendance out of “concerns regarding student safety and minimizing disruption to the education process.” The ban includes those who only wished to observe the protest and publications and broadcasters reporting on the event.

Phelan did not provide examples how observers and media outlets would constitute a safety concern or how their presence constituted a disruption of education. A week earlier thousands of schools across the US held 17-minute  rallies without incident, including Belmont Day School located off Concord Avenue. The private elementary/middle school also invited the press to view the middle school students in their protest.

Last May, Belmont High students organized by then junior Barbara Joseph, held an impromptu rally against racism that circled Clay Pit Pond and ended by the flagpole at the school’s entry. Despite a large number of students attending, there was no public safety incidents.

Phelan was responding to Fick who raised constitutional issues on eliminating the public from the protest, specifically when it come to barring the press, calling that decision “unlawful” as the protest is a “newsworthy event.”

“In light of the nearly unfettered access BHS affords to local media for other purposes (sports, Promenade, performances, etc), the exclusion of media from the walkout is transparent “content discrimination” unrelated to any permissible basis to regulate the “time, place and manner” of protected speech activity,” said Fick, who is a Boston-based defense attorney who frequently works in partnership with the ACLU of Massachusetts. 

While the students agreed to stay on school property to respect the Administration’s “expressed concerns for decorum and safety,” “… the purpose of the protest is not simply for students to talk to each other, which they can do all day within the walls of the school, but to make their voices heard in the community and among elected officials,” said Fick.

Fick noted to Phelan that while the public will be restricted from entering school property, the access road and sidewalk running in front of the school are public ways as is the community path around Clay Pit Pond. Fick requested the school department to inform him of the “purported legal basis for any such closing of outdoor public property.”

While Fick reminded Phelan of the Supreme Court decision, Tinker v. Des Moines, that “students do not ‘shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expression at the schoolhouse gate,” Phelan stated that “Belmont recognizes” that ruling, “however, there is a well-recognized legal principle that administrators must ensure safety of all staff and students as well as minimize the disturbance to the educational process.” 

Belmont’s ‘Talk Of The Town’ Set For Tuesday, March 20

Photo: Barbara Joseph

There still is time to register to attend the Second annual Meet Belmont “Talk of the Town” event on Tuesday, March 20 presented by the Vision 21 Implementation Committee and co-sponsored by Belmont Public Schools.

Four notable Belmont residents will provided fascinating speeches in a “TED-talk” like format.  An exciting new development this year is that there will be two Belmont Public Schools students speaking.  

The event is free, but please reserve a ticket at the link below and forward to anyone you think might be interested; last year there were more than 400 registrants.  

WHEN: Tuesday, March 20, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

WHERE: Chenery Middle School Auditorium

TICKETS:  https://belmonttalk.eventbrite.com or through Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meetbelmont

COST:   None!

Host:
Jane Clayson Johnson

Journalist, Author and Radio Host

Speakers:

Graham Allison

American Political Scientist and
Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School

Debra Cash
Executive Director, Boston Dance Alliance

Barbara Joseph
12th-grade student, Belmont High School

Mariam Soliman

8th-grade student, Chenery Middle School

Preston Williams

Houghton Professor of Theology and Contemporary Change Emeritus,
Harvard Divinity School

Belmont World Films Opens 17th International Film Series Sunday, March 18

Photo: From the movie “The Workshop” which opens the 17th annual Belmont World Film’s 17th annual International Film Series.

Nine films from the world’s top international film festivals will premiere at Belmont World Film’s 17th annual International Film Series, which runs to May 14 at Belmont’s historic Studio Cinema, 376 Trapelo Rd.

Opening night on Sunday, March 18, at 7:30 p.m. features the New England premiere of The Workshop, (“L’ateliera”) by French director Laurent Cantet that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

After the festival’s opening screening, films take place mostly on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. All films are followed by thought-provoking discussions led by expert speakers and occasionally cultural performances. The opening and closing night films are preceded by dinner receptions featuring culturally-relevant cuisine at the theater.

This year’s series, “Bound by Beliefs,” features films that show how difficult it is to implement change in the face of long-held societal or community beliefs. All but one film is either a North American, East Coast or New England premiere and several are also their countries’ submissions to the Academy Awards’ Best Foreign Language Film category. As in the last several years, a third of the films are directed by women. The festival also includes the most recent work by several well-known directors, including French director Laurent Cantet (Foxfire, The Class), Laurence Ferrerira Barbosa (Normal People Are Nothing Exceptional), and Tony Gatlif (Latcho Drom, Gadjo Dilo).

“We don’t have to look much farther than the Hollywood sexual harassment scandal to understand how long it takes or how hard it is to change the status quo,” says Belmont World Film Executive Director Ellen Gitelman. “The characters in each of the nine films are not always successful in standing up to their societies’ beliefs, and even when they are, it is often an uphill battle.”

The festival opener, The Workshop, takes place in the once bustling port town of La Ciotat on the Mediterranean where a group of young writers with multiple backgrounds is trying to reflect the town’s current rundown state in their group written thriller. The hostility and disturbing vision of one particular workshop participant soon alarm his peers and the instructor, a famous Parisian mystery writer. The screening is part of the Month of Francophonie sponsored by the French Consulate in Boston.

The rest of the line-up includes:

  • Monday, March 26: The Wound directed by John Trengrove (South Africa) New England premiere
  • Monday, April 2: All the Dreams in the World directed by Laurence Ferreira Barbosa (France, Portugal) North American premiere
  • Monday, April 9: Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts directed by Mouly Surya (Indonesia, France, Malaysia, Thailand) New England premiere
  • Sunday, April 16: Streaker directed by Peter Luisi (Switzerland) East Coast premiere
  • Monday, April 23: What Will People Say directed by Iram Haq (Norway, Germany, Sweden) East Coast premiere
  • Monday, April 30: Disappearance directed by Ali Asgari (Iran, Qatar)
  • Monday, May 7: Under the Tree directed by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson (Iceland) New England premiere
  • Monday, May 14: Djam directed by Tony Gatlif (France) North American premiere

Blizzard Delays Belmont High Students ‘Enough’ School Walkout To March 21

Photo: Poster image.

Tuesday’s blizzard has placed a hold on town high schoolers joining fellow students from across the country on Wednesday to collectively say “enough is enough.” 

According to the local student campaigners, nearly two feet of snow and the cancelation of schools on Wednesday will delay by a week Belmont High School’s participation in “ENOUGH: National School Walkout” by a week.

“Some … will go to the [Massachusetts] statehouse, but the walkout will be postponed until [Wednesday] March 21,” said Belmont High School senior Seneca Hart, who with Lydia Fick, Georgia Sundahl, and Gayané Kaligian is organizing the Belmont action.

The walkout – conceived and promoted by EMPOWER, the youth branch of the Woman’s March – will take place across the country on Wednesday, March 14, at 10 a.m. and last for 17 minutes to honor the students and teachers murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School exactly one month since the crime.

When Hart – who is also the student liaison to the Belmont Human Rights Commission – first heard of the walkout, she felt Belmont High students should participate in the action happening.

“I used the Action Network to see if there was an event at my school because I knew I wanted to participate, but there wasn’t yet one. I saw a need and I filled it because this movement is important to me, and more than that, it’s really empowering students across America,” said Hart.
 
The senior believes the time is now for teenagers and students to speak up on the issue of gun violence and safety at school.
 
“So often we’re dismissed because of our age, and this is the first time a lot of us feel like we can finally prove we’re serious about change and know what we’re talking about,” she said
 
Hart said she and her colleagues’ efforts have been met favorably by their fellow students.
 
“So far most of the students I’ve talked to have been supportive and eager to help. I have encountered a few students who disagree with our goal— that we need stronger gun control on a state and national level — but for the most part those people have expressed that they still respect what we’re doing because this is democracy at work,” said Hart.
 
The walkout’s agenda in Belmont and around the country will be short and simple.
 
“We will not be having ‘speakers’ per say, but we will have a moment of silence, a reminder of why we’re walking out, and the student volunteers will be reading anonymous statements from students,” said Hart.