Snowmen aren’t just for snow days! Our School Nutrition program partners with Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy classes to host food groups. Students recently explored fruits and vegetables by building festive snowmen and eating healthy snacks.

Dear Friends,

The last few weeks have been challenging for many people in our school community. The tension around increased immigration enforcement throughout the state and across the country has caused fear and anxiety among many families, students, and staff. Some families have not been comfortable leaving their homes or even sending children to school. In fact, our average daily attendance dropped by over 5% in January. Fortunately, attendance is now bouncing back to typical rates.

As we always do when challenges arise, the Westbrook community is banding together to provide support for people in so many ways. Families are being provided with food, household supplies, and personal products through the generosity of Westbrook Families Feeding Families, The Locker Project, the Westbrook Food Pantry, and our own school pantries. Donations are being accepted at any time and may be dropped off at individual schools or the Transportation Building on Saco Street. Items will them be delivered confidentially to families by our school team. The Transportation Department hosted a very successful Stuff the Bus event last week at Hannaford to support the ongoing needs of our school food pantries as well. In addition, a group of caring volunteers offered families support around the community including bus stops and public events, demonstrating the power of neighbors helping neighbors. School staff sent messages to students along with favorite books and school supplies, maintaining contact when students are not in school. Thank you to everyone who has been supportive. The kindness of our community is overwhelming!

I want to assure you that we will continue to follow our protocols to keep students and staff safe at school while we maintain our focus on both teaching and learning and social and emotional development. If you or your students are struggling, have questions, or need support, please contact your school counselors, social workers, and principals through the Student Services office at your school. I was speaking with a parent recently about how her six year old misses his friend who has not been in school. While we cannot confirm reasons for a student's absence, we can acknowledge their friends' feelings and encourage them to send a note via their teacher. Gestures like this show support and care and are very much appreciated. Small acts like this demonstrate the beauty and power of kindness and affirms what matters most especially in challenging and confusing times. To paraphrase the central theme of one of my favorite books, Wonder by R.J. Palacio, now is a time to be "kinder than necessary."

Take care,

Dr. Peter Lancia, Superintendent of Schools

Schools will be closed the week of February 16-20

for Winter Vacation. 

Again this year, the Saccarappa Masons are sponsoring Books for Bikes at Canal, Congin, and Saccarappa. As students read books, they enter a drawing for a new bike and helmet. Thirty students will receive new bikes - two students in each grade level K-4 at each elementary school. Students will be reading through April vacation. Members of the Masons will deliver bikes to students in May. Thank you to Alex Stone who organizes this program for our schools!

Our School Transportation Department is the backbone of our school district. Every day, our team of drivers and bus aides transport over 1600 students to and from school, traveling over 300,000 miles every year throughout the city in addition to special purpose schools outside of the district as far away as Auburn. Our drivers also transport our pre K students and students who are homeless,  provide transportation for athletes, musicians, and others to competitions,  and classes in all grades on field trips and community based learning experiences. Our bus fleet is well maintained by our in-house mechanic and consists of 36 regular route buses, 3 buses for students with disabilities, 9 spares buses, and 11 vans. Transportation staff, led by Director Melissa Foye, participate in regular professional development and training including safety practices and student management. New drivers are welcome and training is provided. Safety is our top priority as we care for every student on our buses. Our Transportation Department is an example of how we fulfill our mission and is definitely one of Westbrook's Points of Pride!

Students have been working on their book-finding skills in the library. They had to find examples of picture books, graphic novels, nonfiction, information books, and more! The scavenger hunt helped students navigate the collection in our library, find books they were looking for, and discover new book to read in the future.

Meet the new Canal School Mascot - Cosmo Coyote! Cosmo enjoyed a celebratory dance party with students when his name was revealed. Canal students also celebrated their monthly focus on responsibility.  We are proud of our Coyotes who earned over 200 Coyote paws for demonstrating being responsible in different ways.

The Heavy Equipment Operations class at WRVC is taking advantage of winter conditions to provide real-life situations for students. Teacher Mr. Henry had students moving snow. Learning to maneuver a regular vehicle in the snow is one thing- these machines are something totally different! Nice job students!

Every winter, each school in Westbrook selects and honors a Teacher of the Year for their outstanding service to children at their school and community. Nominations are made anonymously by colleagues and recognized within the community. All Westbrook Teachers of the Year are them nominated for Cumberland County Teacher of the Year. Congratulations to:

Haley Tardiff, Special Education Teacher at Saccarappa School

Hannah Gundersdorf, Kindergarten Teacher at Canal School

Celina Marden, Kindergarten Teacher at Congin School

Mike Crawford, Physical Education Teacher at Westbrook Middle Shool

Brian Adams, Math Teacher at Westbrook High School

Kirk Nygren, Building Trades Teacher at WRVC

In addition, several teachers were nominated for Cumberland County Teacher of the Year by individuals outside of our schools including parents and community members. Congratulations to:

Katya Nash, french Teacher at WMS

Joey Hendricks, Music Teacher at WHS and WMS

Ken Lattari, Grade 6 Teacher at WMS

Kate Preston, Grade 2 Teacher at Congin

Emily Gray, Science Teacher at WHS

Alyssa Rogers, Grade 3 Teacher at Saccarappa

Westbrook has a long tradition of district, county, and state Teachers of the Year. Good luck to all of our nominees!

From WMS Principal Dr. Boursaw: Middle school is an important time for students to develop study habits that support learning, confidence, and independence. Families can help by establishing a consistent homework routine and creating a quiet, distraction-free space for studying. Encouraging students to break larger assignments into smaller, manageable tasks can make schoolwork feel less overwhelming. Checking assignments together helps students stay on top of deadlines and responsibilities. Most importantly, praising effort, progress, and persistence helps students build motivation and a positive mindset toward learning. With guidance and support at home, students can develop study skills that will benefit them throughout middle school and beyond.

First Grade students in Ms. Armstrong's class at Congin each received a beautiful, home-made crochet lap blanket from a wonderful group at the Westbrook Warren Congregational Church called Warm Hugs. The group is organized by long-time Westbrook substitute teacher and friend Mrs. Kathy Blake. What a beautiful and cozy way to read on a cold winter day!

Westbrook Regional Vocational Center (WRVC) offers Career and Technical Education programs for students in Westbrook, RSU 14, Scarborough, Gorham, and MSAD 6 as well as several other high schools in the area. WRVC offers programs in 14 areas of study that lead to certifications and college credit. programs currently offered are: Cosmetology, Medical Occupations,  Heavy Equipment Operation, Criminal Justice, Cybersecurity, Computer Programming, Business, Culinary Arts, Education Pathways, Electricity, Building Trades, Automotive Repair, Firefighting, and EMT. In 2026-27, WRVC plans to offer an Exploratory CTE program that introduces students to four different trades and a Cooperative Education program which supports students with internships and work experiences in the community. Most classes fill two traditional high school blocks, plus travel time for students at high schools other than Westbrook. Most programs are filled by Juniors and Seniors in a two year sequence, although the Exploratory CTE program would be focused on Sophomores and some programs are for a single year. WRVC conducts outreach to its sending schools to recruit students into programs. Counselor Rachel O'Toole and Assistant Director Kim Bennett visit high schools, give presentations, and meet with interested students. Applications are accepted through the spring followed by interviews with instructors.  Once admitted, students are welcomed on site and through various communications. For more information or application assistance, contact Director Gloria Noyes (noyesg@westbrokschools.org) or Administrative Assistant Koren Sullivan (sullivank@westbrookschools.org.) 

Also, February is Career and Technical Education Month! Please join in celebrating all of the great work happening at WRVC and other CTE centers around the state!

Eleven WHS music students auditioned for and have been accepted into the highly competitive All State Band and Choir Festival which will be held in May at The University of Maine. Students audition and are judged on how accurately they play a very challenging piece of music as well as their musical skills. Two students received the highest score IN THE STATE and three students received the second highest score IN THE STATE. Wow! Similarly a record number of WHS students participated in the District 1 Honors Festival at which teacher Joey Hendicks served as one of the band director and teacher Kyle Smith served as a  manager. This is a fantastic accomplishment for our students and our music program in Westbrook! Let's all congratulate our amazingly talented students!

WHS Jazz Students also recently participated in the Essentially Ellington regional festival at Endicott College in Massachusetts. Founded by jazz legend Wynton Marsalis (who visited WHS a couple of years ago and held an impromptu master class while he was in Portland for a performance), the festival celebrates the music of Ellington while coaching jazz musicians in their craft. 

The WHS Blue Blazes Unified Basketball team opened their season on January 27 with a game against South Portland. The Blazes held off a late surge by the Red Riots and won a close one, beginning the season 1-0. Come to a Unified game at the WHS Warren Centennial Gymnasium on February 24, and March 2 at 3:30pm.

We are proud to announce the introduction of daily halal-certified options at all Westbrook Elementary Schools. Now ALL schools offer Halal certified meals options. We are one of the few districts in the country offering Halal certiofioed meals to all students. Halal is an Arabic word meaning lawful or permitted. It is most often used to refer to foods that are permissible for Muslims to consume. We are working with the IFANCA (Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America) and the Halal School Meals Network (HSMN) to certify meals as halal and ensure that more students have access to Maine’s universal school meals program. The option B and C every day are both certified halal, along with multiple main entrees throughout the month. When an item is halal, it is written in green on the menu and clearly marked. All students in Westbrook schools are able to enjoy the halal meals at lunch! Families can learn more about halal guidelines from our certifier here -https://ifanca.org/faqs/

Seven students in our dual enrollment EDU 100 course recently completed their final exam by designing and teaching a lesson to their peers. Lesson topics included music, art, and Westbrook history. Throughout the semester, the students learned about the culture of teaching, classroom management, and curriculum and instruction, and volunteered in Westbrook classrooms in order to observe teachers in action and reflect on teaching. EDU 100 is Exploring Teaching as a Profession and follows the University of Southern Maine curriculum. It is the first course for students intending to become teachers and is one of the requirements for our Education diploma endorsement. Thank you to WHS teachers Nancy Ryan and Drew Boursaw for teaching the course this fall.

Westbrook School Department

One Promise: The best education for all, for life.

Dr. Peter Lancia, Superintendent of Schools

www.westbrookschools.org

wsd@westbrookschools.org