Westbrook School Department

Congratulations to Westbrook High School's SMAA Citizenship Award winners for 2024. Brooklyn Thayer and Owen Pilsbury were recognized on Monday, April 8th at the Italian Heritage Center with a banquet honoring all 17 schools in the SMAA. It is a well-deserved honor for both of them. Congratulations again!!

Please read this month's Teaching and Learning Newsletter. Click on this link: https://westbrooksdme.edurooms.com/engage/westbrook-school-department/newsletters/teaching-and-learning-newsletter-april-2024

We received information today that a man in a silver sedan, possibly a Chevrolet, with tinted windows followed and verbally accosted a high school student yesterday after school on Monroe Avenue, following her down Stroudwater Street to Vocational Drive. This was recorded on our security cameras. The student is safe and reported the incident to the School Resource Officer today. The Westbrook Police are investigating the incident and are providing additional presence in the area. Please contact the Westbrook Police at 207-854-0644 if you have any information about this concerning situation.

Please take a moment to respond to this very brief survey. We'd like your feedback on the Remote Learning Days as well as how the next school year will begin. Thank you! Link to the survey: https://forms.gle/VN4cJM89MzzRbSpH9

We are all set to have school tomorrow as all schools have power, and I hope you do as well at your homes. This will be an unusual week with schedules. Remember that on Monday, we will have a one hour early release due to the Total Eclipse. Students will be dismissed one hour before the usual dismissal time. We have our regular one hour Early Release on Wednesday. On Thursday, we have an Early Dismissal due to School/Family Conferences. WHS and WRVC will be dismissed at 10:25, WMS at 10:15, and the elementary schools at 11:30. There will be no school on Friday or all of next week for April vacation. Please call your schools if you have any questions. Let’s all hope for warm weather whether you are traveling or staying at home! Take care!

All Westbrook Schools will be closed tomorrow, Friday April 5 due to power outages in much of the city, including Congin, staff unable to commute to school, and unsafe road and sidewalk conditions. It will be a traditional snow day with no remote learning. While we had planned for the possibility of two days of remote learning in advance, there were many challenges for students and staff today due to power and internet outages to make a second day feasible. Thank you to our staff, students, and families for doing their best to make the most of a remote learning day. And thank you to our custodians who have been working since early this morning to keep up with the snow. All before and after school activities are canceled on Friday as well. Be safe as this messy spring storm clears out.

All Westbrook Schools will have a Remote Learning Day tomorrow, April 4 due to the major storm that is predicted. By having remote learning, we will not have to make up the day at the end of the year which is scheduled to end on Friday, June 14.  The Remote Learning Day will have an abbreviated schedule and your principals will communicate specific details. There will be plenty of time to enjoy the snow along with a little bit of school work. Students are bringing home learning materials as well as meals. There will be no before and after school activities, and School-Family Conferences are canceled for Thursday evening. Also, the Mad Science event scheduled for this evening is canceled. Take care, and be safe in the storm.

Due to the upcoming total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8, all Westbrook Schools will dismiss students one hour early that day. The eclipse will be at its peak at about 3:30pm which is when our youngest children are dismissed. We want to ensure their safety. We will follow our typical Early Release schedule where students are dismissed one hour before the usual time, just as we do on Wednesdays. The LEARNS after-school program at the Community Center will open early that day and most after-school or evening activities will go on as scheduled, including school-family conferences at Saccarappa. A special thank you to our PTOs and other funds for providing special glasses to view the eclipse safely.

Spring Art Show Season has arrived in the Westbrook Schools Art Department! Come enjoy the incredible creativity and learning journey of our talented students. Their artwork will be showcased at various locations throughout April and May. Save the dates and join us in celebrating our budding artists!

Enjoyed learning about Ramadan from our high school students tonight. It was a privilege to be a server and share the experience of Iftar! Awesome group if students and staff! #community

As of this afternoon, roads have mostly been cleared, the power is back on at Congin, and power is on track to be restored in that part of the city this evening. That means that schools will be open tomorrow! If anything changes, I will notify you in the morning. Otherwise, we can plan on a regular day at all schools. This includes the PreK program, Adult Education, and the LEARNS before and after school program at the Community Center. Thank you to our Public Works crews and power company workers who have been hard at work all weekend. I hope your power has been restored and that you have a great evening.

All schools in Westbrook will be closed today, Monday March 25, due to the weekend’s storm. While all schools have power or are powered by a generator, several road closures due to downed trees and power lines present dangerous travel conditions for buses and walkers. Also, many families and staff are impacted by power and road conditions and cannot come to school or work. We appreciate the hard work of our Public Works crews and custodians. We will continue to provide updates throughout the day.

Tonight is 8th Grade Family Night at Westbrook High School! The evening begins with a meeting in the WHS auditorium at 6pm. Welcome to WHS, Class of 2028!

WRVC staff working on Language Embedded Instructional Practice. Many thoughtful and insightful discussion about best practices to support all students!

Read the March issue of the Westbrook School Department's Teaching and Learning newsletter. Follow the link below. https://westbrooksdme.edurooms.com/engage/westbrook-school-department/newsletters/teaching-and-learning-march-2024

Reminder: The is no school for students on Friday, March 15. It is a professional development day for staff. Enjoy your weekend!

Congratulations to the following students selected by their art teachers to participate in the 2024 Youth Art Month Exhibition at The Portland Museum of Art! The works will be on view on the Lower Ground Floor of the PMA from February 28 to March 31, 2024, and digitally on the PMA’s website. WSD Awardees: Canal Elementary School Isabella Moustrophis , grade 4 Congin Elementary School Seren DeSouza, grade 4 Saccarappa Elementary School Abbas Abbas, grade 4 Westbrook Middle School Daphne McCannell, grade 8 Westbrook High School Juliana Aguirre, grade 9 Poni Mongu, grade 10 Quintin Enger, grade 12

Kindergarten Orientation sessions are being held at each of Westbrook's Elementary Schools on Tuesday, March 5th, at 6:00 p.m. If you have a child who is turning five before October 15, 2024, then please plan to attend. Additional information regarding registration and screening can be found at the link below and on the elementary schools' websites. https://www.westbrookschools.org/o/wsd/page/kindergarten-registration-2024

Schools are closed next week for February Vacation. We hope everyone has a restful and enjoyable break!

Congratulations to our Boys and Girls Basketball teams for moving on to the tournament playoffs this coming week. The boys will be playing Falmouth at the Expo on Saturday at 5:30 pm and the girls will play Mt Ararat also at the Expo on Monday the 19th at 6 pm. Good luck to both teams!!!! Please be aware that they will not be accepting cash for tickets to the contests. You will have to purchase your tickets online. Here is the info: Tickets: Adult General Admission--$10 Student; Senior Citizens (65 & older) Admission--$5, plus surcharge. Tickets to MPA games at the Expo and Augusta Civic Center will be sold exclusively online at MPA (Maine) Events and Tickets by GoFan. You can reach the site at mpa.cc under Tournaments.