FREE Summer Explorations Program!
Space is limited! Registration is first-come, first-served.
2021 Watertown Community Education Summer Explorations Program
Watertown Community Education is pleased to offer a safe, fun, and engaging summer program for elementary school students! This program is available to students entering grades K - 5 in September 2021 at the Cunniff West, Hosmer, and Lowell Schools. We are most fortunate to share that for this year only, we have additional federal funding for schools so this program is being offered for free!
The Summer Explorations Program provides fun, theme-based learning with a blend of structured and unstructured activities for students. During the program, students will engage in hands-on activities including arts and crafts, STEM, sensory, and critical thinking projects all related to the weeks' theme. Students will also enjoy various social, movement, and creative activities such as sports, and music, and dancing, and spend plenty of time outdoors. In addition, our program includes on-site enrichment programs and experiences as well as the possibility of local field trips (due to COVID precautions, the safety of off-site field trips this summer is still being reviewed and considered). In past years, on-site enrichments have included Mad Science Programs, yo-yo shows and lessons, magic shows, and more! Past field trips have included Launch, Franklin Park Zoo, Hatch Makerspace, Golf on the Village Green, Filippello Park, EcoTarium, and more.
Below you will find links to a full program description as well as the online registration form. Please note that this program has a very limited capacity of 100 total students. Due to capacity limitations, we will be accepting registrations for this program online on a first-come, first-served basis. We strongly encourage you to register early as we do anticipate this program will fill to capacity and a waitlist will be maintained.
Program Dates:
Week 1: 4 Days **Patriotic Week**
Tuesday, July 6th - Friday, July 9th
Week 2: 5 Days **Mindfulness Week**
Monday, July 12th - Friday, July 16th
Week 3: 5 Days **Artist Week**
Monday, July 19th - Friday, July 23rd
Week 4: 5 Days **Water Week**
Monday, July 26th - Friday, July 30th
Week 5: 5 Days **Sports and Fitness Week**
Monday, August 2nd - Friday, August 6th
Week 6: 5 Days **Carnival Games Week**
Monday, August 9th - Friday, August 13th
**Please note program themes, special events, and activities are subject to change.**
Program Hours:
8:00 am - 4:30 pm daily
Program Cost:
FREE - for this year only, we have additional federal funding for schools
Enrollment Options:
5 days per week, Monday through Friday. There is no option for part-time enrollment (either part-day or part week) available unless your student is confirmed to receive summer services (Special Ed, Title I, EL) through Watertown Public Schools. This program is meant to provide a consistent, 5-day per week opportunity for students. Please do not register your student for this program if you are unable to commit to sending them 5 days per week. *Please see full program details for our consistent attendance requirement for this program.
When completing the online registration form, families will have the option to select the weeks they would like to register their students for. Students must attend the full weeks they are registered for. There is no limit to the number of weeks a student can attend. Due to the fact that this program is being offered at no cost and we anticipate a lot of interest, we kindly ask that you only register your students for the weeks you are certain they will attend to allow as many students as possible to benefit from this offering. *Please see full program details for our consistent attendance requirement for this program.
Program Location:
Lowell Elementary School - 175 Orchard Street - Students from Cuniff, Hosmer, and Lowell Schools can register to attend this program being held at the Lowell School.
How to Register:
There are 100 total spaces available for each week of this program. Registrations for this program are being accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
To register, you must complete the online registration Google Form. Click here to register. The registration link will be active beginning at 6:00 pm on Thursday, April 15th.
You must complete an online registration form for each student you wish to register for this program. There is no option for paper, call-in, or in-person registration. If you have more than one elementary student in your family who you wish to enroll in the program, please complete an online registration form for each student. If you do not have a computer or access to the internet, please email debora.cornelius@watertown.k12.ma.us and jeffrey.bodner@watertown.k12.ma.us to make arrangements to come to a school and use one of the computers available to complete the registrations form yourself if needed.
All completed Google Registration Forms are automatically timestamped when they are submitted. Registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
It is possible that some weeks may fill up faster than others. As each week fills to capacity, we will start a waitlist of students for each week. If your student does not receive a space, they will be added to the waitlist in the order in which their registration form was received. It is possible that some students may receive confirmation for space on some weeks and not others depending on the order in which their registration was received.
It is also possible that families with more than one student will receive space for one or more weeks for one or more students but additional students/siblings may be waitlisted. Each student's registration will be honored according to the date/time their registration form was received.
There is no priority enrollment for siblings, WPS staff, students receiving Watertown Public Schools summer services, or any other groups.
After submitting your online Google registration form you can expect to receive an email from Watertown Community Education staff within 72 business hours confirming your student’s space in the program and/or informing you of your waitlist status for each week you selected to register your student for.
If a student with confirmed space cancels their registration for one or more weeks, their space will be offered to the next student on the waitlist. Please see complete instructions on how to cancel your student’s registration in our full program details document.
Important Registration Note for Students Who May Receive Services for Special Education, ESL, Reading, and/or Other District Supports or Services:
Due to the time-sensitive nature of the registration period for the Summer Explorations Program, please do not wait to confirm your summer services before enrolling in this program if you would like your student to attend. It is not necessary for us to know your student's services schedule or even have confirmation that your student will be receiving services. Please register your students for the full weeks you'd like them to attend the Summer Explorations Program and we can make adjustments to their attendance hours at a later date. We are not able to hold space for students receiving services to receive wraparound care so we strongly recommend you register your students for the Summer Explorations Program once the registration link is active at 6:00 pm on Thursday, April 15th. Additional summer information about Special Education, ESL, Reading, and/or Other Academic District Supports or Services for students who are recommended by their teachers, will be distributed by the first week of May.
If applicable, once your student’s Watertown Public School summer services are confirmed, please email Debi Cornelius at debora.cornelius@watertown.k12.ma.us using ‘Summer Services’ in the subject line, and we will make arrangements to transition your students to and from their services being held in the Lowell Elementary School during the hours of our program.
Full Program Details:
Click here for full program details
Online Registration Link: This link will be active beginning at 6:00 pm on Thursday, April 15th!
Click Here For the Online Registration Form
**PLEASE READ THE FULL PROGRAM DETAILS PRIOR TO REGISTERING.**
If you have questions about the Watertown Community Education Summer Explorations Program, please email Debi Cornelius at debora.cornelius@watertown.k12.ma.us or Jeff Bodner at jeffrey.bodner@watertown.k12.ma.us.