December 2024 volume 11 number 5
Westbrook School Department
Dear Friends,
Our school community is truly fortunate. So many local individuals, organizations, and businesses have donated gifts of food, toys, books, clothing, winter gear, and personal products for our students. The generosity in our community is second to none! In addition to a number of individuals and families, many of whom have asked to remain anonymous, we would like to thank the following businesses and organizations:
Kiwanis, Maine Needs, Orange Theory Fitness, University of New England, Pike Industries, The Locker Project, Jim Foye Foundation, Congin PTO, Saccarappa PTO, Altrusa Club, Westbrook Police Department, Westbrook Fore Department, Maine Jewish Alliance, Community of Grace, Westbrook Warren Congregational Church, St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Stroudwater Church, Swanson Group, Avita of Stroudwater, First Baptist Church, Blazes Burgers, Knights of Columbus, Acadia Insurance, Rowe Ford, Xtreme Screen and Sports, and Prides Corner Church
Winter vacation is coming up! Schools will be closed December - January 1. All of us at the Westbrook Schools hope that you enjoy your time away from school and for those who celebrate holidays during this time of year, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, and Happy New Year.
Take care,
Dr. Peter Lancia, Superintendent of Schools
Below: Our friends at Acadia Insurance pictured with McKinney-Vinto Coordinator Katie Garrity.
Welcome and Thank you to School Committee Members
Congratulations to the newly elected and reelected members of the Westbrook School Committee. They join veteran members in serving the children of our community! Let's thank them for their service.
Ward 1 Katy Rice
Ward 2 Erin Cavalarro
Ward 3 Noreen Poitras
Ward 4 Andrea Mancuso
Ward 5 Brooke Reed
At Large Brittney Barr
At Large Jeremy McGowan
Andrea Mancuso was selected as Chair and Katy Rice was selected as Vice-Chair of the Committee. Sub-Committee chairs and members will be appointed in January.
Congratulations WHS Athletes
Congratulations to our Fall Athletic Teams who wrapped up their season with strong results.
Teams that were in playoffs were: Field Hockey, Boys Soccer, and Volleyball. Westbrook was represented at the State Cross Country meet by Megan G. who came in 17th in the State!
Individual Recognition goes to:
SMAA All-Academic: Field Hockey: Mackenzie H.' Girls Cross Country: Megan G.; Girls Soccer: Carolee S., Kylie Y., Ketsia K.; Boys Soccer: Zachary C., Jason M., Caleb M., Lance W.; Volleyball: Ava A., Hannah C.
SMAA All Stars: Field Hockey: Mackenzie H. (2nd Team); Football: Gio S., Cole T.; Girls Cross Country: Megan G. (2nd team); Boys Cross Country: Ezra B. (Honorable Mention); Girls Soccer: Ava B. (2nd Team), Kylie Y. (Honorable mention) Kelsie K. (All-Citizenship); Boys Soccer: Paddy W. (2nd Team), Ithiel M. (2nd Team), Pierce M. (Honorable Mention), Hussain I. (Honorable Mention); Volleyball: Ava A. (2nd team), Peyton G (Honorable Mention).
Plaque Winners: Girls Cross Country: Megan G. (MVP); Boys Cross Country: Ezra B. (Coach's Award); Fall Cheer: Justina W. (Most Improved), Julia H. (Blazes Best); Football: Andre H. (Rookie of the Year), Cole T. (Defensive Player of the Year), Gio S. (Offensive Player of the Year); Golf: Nathan R. (Most Improved), Ben C. (MVP); Elyse B. (Blazes Best), Hattie C. (Lockdown Defender), Kyile Y. (Top Scorer); Boys Soccer: Yousif A. (FT Spirit of Soccer), David B. (JV Player of the Year) Pierce M. (Blazes Best), Ithiel M. (Co-Player of the Year), Paddy W. (Co-Player of the Year); Volleyball: Sennette V. (JV Most Improved), Sophia S. (Blazes Best), Ava A. (MVP)
State Board of Education Meets at WPAC
The State Board of Education held its December meeting at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center on December 11. It is their custom to meet in schools throughout the state several times a year in order to be visit and tour schools, learn about programming, and make their meetings more accessible to citizens. Board members toured Westbrook Middle School with students Emmanuel O., Patrick D., Maryam A., and Mallak H. and enjoyed lunch in the cafeteria with our students.. They also listened to a presentation about the district-wide BARR initiative in Westbrook presented by principals Alexis Jones, Laurie Wood, and Wendy Harvey and Superintendent Dr. Peter Lancia. We were very pleased to welcome them to Westbrook and showcase our work at WMS and with BARR.
WRVC Rotary House Project Continues
Electricity students have been working off-site to excavate a lengthy trench for underground utility wires as part of our Rotary House project. Mr. Mike Corey, the code enforcer, arrived to inspect the electrical trench and interacted with our students. This proved to be an excellent experience for our aspiring electricians. Roof trusses were scheduled to be installed last week but could not be due to weather. That part of the work will be rescheduled. What an experience for our Building Trades students! Thank you students, Electricity teacher Rudy Clark, Building Traces teacher Kirk Nygren, and Ed Tech Deb Atripaldi. The house is located at 13 West Pleasant St.
Grade 5 Visits GMRI
5th grade students had a wonderful field trip to Gulf of Maine Research Institute on recently. They learned about how climate change is negatively affecting the Gulf of Maine.
Music in Our Schools
Congratulations to Nora B., Addisyn S., Luke R., and Lauren K. who were all accepted into the 7th and 8th Grade District 1 Honors Chorus. Congratulations to Addi S., Karma G., Acadia T., Paska B., Lila C., Layla G., Emelda M., and Owen M. who were all accepted into the 7th and 8th Grade District 1 Honors Band. Particular mention to Addi S. who earned the second chair and Lila C. who earned the fourth chair in their sections!
The WHS music programs were featured in the annual December concert. What a spectacular show! A highlight was Social Studies teacher Dave Ennis who portrayed Charles Dickens in a musical rendition of A Christmas Carol.
Thank you to our talented musicians and faculty!
Kindness at Congin
Congin School's focus for the month of December is kindness and they are celebrating with "The 12 Days of Kindness." Students are encouraged to say kind things and do kind deeds for friends, family, and school staff. Nice job Cougars!
School Nutrition News
Recently, students in our schools explored December’s Harvest of the Month—Winter Squash! Students had the opportunity to try butternut squash, roasted with cinnamon and brown sugar, and cast their votes on how much they liked it. The next week, butternut squash was on the menu on the menu. We hope this tasty experience inspires students to enjoy it again!
Books! Books! Books!
The Altrusa Club of Portland visited many of our kindergarten classes to read and hand out books to the students. The students also enjoyed blankets donated by the Warm Hugs group at Westbrook-Warren Congregational Church. Thank you to all of the local organizations who go above and beyond to support Westbrook Schools.
Equity and Opportunity in our Schools
The Westbrook School Department provides interpreter services. If you would like to request an interpreter for a meeting or require translation of a school form or document, call the administrative Offices at 207-854-0800. After you are connected, please say the requested language and provide your name and telephone number. A staff person will return your call with an interpreter.
Also, Reach My Teach, the Westbrook Schools website, and this newsletter may be read in multiple languages. Simply select your preferred language in settings and content will be translated.
College and Career Planning
It's a busy time of year for high school seniors who are completing college applications. Juniors and others are also beginning to consider options for post-secondary education and experiences. According to the most recent National Clearinghouse Data, approximately 64% of the Class of 22 was enrolled in college after high school. This rate continues to rise, especially since the start of the pandemic. Additionally, he retention rate, students staying in college after the first year, was steady, indicating that our students were well prepared for post-secondary study and were successful at 2 year and four year colleges. Many of our students are first generation college students.
WHS Aspirations Center is here to help students with the college search and application process! Nicole Sturgis, our Aspirations Counselor, is available to work with all students in future planning, the college search and application process, and applications for financial aid and scholarships. She has helped hundreds of students (and families) achieve their goals. As a reminder, the FAFSA is now accepting applications for federal student aid. Need help to complete the FAFSA? Mrs. Sturgis is ready! The whole month of December has been set aside to help families with the FAFSA and you can select a day and time that works best for you using this scheduling link: https://calendar.app.google/HoGEsoVAEZk7YLMH9. The first step in the process is to create your FSA ID (user account) if you don’t already have one. It takes the Social Security Administration three days to verify your identity so you must create your account and then wait until your identity is verified. Create your account now!
Teaching and Learning in Westbrook
How do young (and not so young) readers develop?
Learning to read is a complex and complicated process. Students must learn how to use skills and strategies that include phonics, phonemic awareness, and vocabulary development skills that allow students to build fluency and support comprehension. They must also apply skills and strategies in meaningful contexts and with authentic purposes. Children need time to read extensively, particularly in books of their interest and personal choice. In school, we provide time, instruction, and practice in skill and strategy development as well as time to read independently. We hope that students will be reading during vacation time. By maintaining that daily time to read, students are best able to continue progress. We encourage students to use vacation week as an opportunity to read and discuss books of choice while maintaining their developing skills. Read aloud, read independently, read as a family... take time to read!
Stormy Weather Plans
Wintery weather is in the forecast and weather conditions may cause us to delay the start of school or cancel school. I will send an automated phone call, text message, and email announcing our plans. I will also post information on channel 6, 8, and 13, on the school department website, and on the school department social media.
When we delay the start of school by 2 hours, Canal, Congin, and Saccarappa School will begin the school day at 10:40am; Westbrook Middle School will begin at 9:35am; and Westbrook High School and WRVC will begin at 9:50am. Breakfast will be served at schools when students arrive. On days when there is a delayed start, Pre-K Classes will be cancelled.
The first two times we have to cancel school will be traditional snow days with all schools closed, no remote learning, no before and after school care, and no before and after school activities. After those first two days, we will consider remote learning days as an option.
Let’s hope that weather interruptions will be minimal this year. Thank you for supporting our plan to keep everyone safe during stormy days.
Winter Vacation
There will be NO SCHOOL December 23 - January 1.
All school facilities are closed December 24, 25, and January 1.
Happy Holidays!
