"Coach Dave" Higgins has been coming in several days a week during recess to work with 5th and 6th students on soccer skills. These students love soccer, and it's great to have a knowledgeable person to help them learn new skills and abilities!
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, typically between 5-5:30am. We will also post information on channel 6, 8, and 13, the school department website, and the school department social media. Please see the attached letter from September explaining the full plan for winter weather.
https://5il.co/327iy
The PTO Craft Fair is almost here. Stop by to check it out this Saturday, from 9-3pm.
Are you interested in helping with the PTO Craft Fair? Sign up to help with set-up or clean up before and after the fair, or hang out with us during the fair. Even if you can only stay for an hour or so we would appreciate any time you can give.
Bonus - If you sign up to help, your name will be entered into a raffle for an item donated by one of our talented vendors.
Sign up here: WMS Craft Fair Volunteer Sign-up
If you can't volunteer, please come say hi and do a little shopping to support our vendors.
We want to hear from you! We are beginning to develop the school budget proposal for 2025-26. Please participate in the attached Community Survey to share your thoughts. Thank you!
We want to hear from you! We are beginning to develop the school budget proposal for 2025-26. Please participate in our Community Survey to share your thoughts. Follow the link: https://forms.gle/dACvVibJqAtke4x2A. You may also complete the survey on our website.
Thank you!
Thank you to Girl Scout Troop #151 for their donation today. These basketballs, soccer balls, volleyballs, etc. will be greatly appreciated by our students. Troop #151 is made up of Autumn Thibault, Nora Pellegrini, Cora Alley, Hazel Schmalke, Jazmyn Black, Molly DelVecchio, Beilegh Margeson, and Natalie Johnson.
Have you heard about the amazing program that the Westbrook Marching Band put together and performed in honor of Jeff Smith who tragically died in a car accident last year? It is a profoundly beautiful program that showcases not only the tremendous feeling of loss but also the tremendous skill of our student musicians. Check it out at: https://www.westbrookmusicboosters.org/
Attention Families, the WMS PTO is pleased to share the craft fair is back for its second annual event! Please see the attached flyer for more information. We hope to see you there!
We have found that families really like being able to meet the Unified Arts teachers in a different setting than a traditional parent-teacher conference so, once again this year, they will be available during conference times to meet with families and show off some of our students' work product from their Unified Arts classes. Don't miss out on the amazing things our kids are doing in Unified Arts!
The Intercultural Community Center's FREE after school program is open for more registrations. Don't miss this active, free, fun, after school program!
Here is a link to our Positive News Bulletin. We share this over the intercom every Friday in addition to our PBIS raffle drawing. It's great to hear about the exciting things happening in our school!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XfqxB87zsPOGRGzWqKNcdm2Lwt75ByR3iUNawAYMEu4/edit?usp=sharing
On Monday, September 16th the 6th grade science classes got out into the WMS garden to do some hands-on science. Ms. Inkpen and Mr. Crosby’s science students spent their class time weighting, measuring, and counting the harvest that came out of 4 experimental garden beds. This project was begun by Ms. Hanna’s 5th grade science class in the spring. These students learned about experimental designs and then created their own using garden beds and growing vegetables in their designs. One experiment had cucumbers growing in two garden beds, one bed receiving weeding on a schedule and the other not getting any weeding care. The other experiment had potatoes growing, with one bed receiving water on a schedule and the other only getting rain water. The returning 6th graders completed the harvest, collected their results, and will spend time back in class compiling the results of their experiments. This lesson was bolstered by support from the Nell at the Wild Seed Project who will be working with WMS educators all year through the Climate Education and Professional Development Grant that was awarded to WMS this year.
Westbrook Middle School proudly hosted a n important event for our State, the Maine launch of the Pine Project, which has brought culturally inclusive picture books to Maine School libraries. During the event, 10 students beautifully read the book, I'm An American by Darshana Khiani, which honors some of the diverse cultures that make up American people., and their experiences. Our 5th grade class were invited to watch the event, and a copy of one of the books from the project was gifted to each 5th grade class. Our student readers were a highlight of the event!
From the Intercultural Community Center about their summer program:
2024’s Power Summer program was a raging success! Summer was kicked off by ICC’s first
Power Summer open house, an event which served to educate families about the program. Through collaboration with Adult Program ESL teacher Kareem Djerdjouri who acted as the event’s interpreter, ICC was able to welcome and get to know eight families prior to the program beginning. With fifty-four registrants, and an average of about thirty students a day, this summer we saw an unprecedented amount of new faces. Twenty-two of those fifty-four students were brand new to the ICC community.
By way of the theme, “Future Foodies,” students spent the summer immersed in Maine’s culinary scene. With the Portland Farmers’ Market and WisMaine farm serving as weekly outdoor classrooms, Power Summer students had the opportunity to step into the experiences of both the farmer and the patron. Activities in these spaces were largely student driven; at the farm some students chose to spend their time weeding garden beds while listening to music, while others were drawn towards tending hatchling chicks and collecting fresh eggs. At the market, groups of students were tasked with shopping
for fresh produce they would later use to develop their own recipes. Indoors, students strengthened their English Language Acquisition (ELA) and Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) skills prior to the school year through twice weekly class sessions. Projects here included practicing math “mad minutes,” creating solar ovens, exploring the Westbrook Middle School library, and making their own zines.
This summer’s field trips prioritized time spent outdoors, and expanding knowledge about
environmental sustainability. Some of the most popular outings included river exploration and fly fishing with the Confluence Collective, learning about the history and occupations of lobstering in Maine with Lucky Catch tours, and canoeing with Friends of Presumpscot River.
The thirty-five day program ended with a family celebration held at Walker St. Park. The thirty-five students and their families in attendance enjoyed breakfast sandwiches, obstacle courses, soccer, and lacrosse. Participating partners included Help Me Grow, Back Bay Lacrosse, Locker Project and Portland Public Health.
Don't miss out on our Open House for Grades 6-8 on September 19th from 6 to 7 p.m. In addition to your child's core content teachers, you can visit with our Unified Arts staff and see some of the things they do with students in the UA classes. We look forward to seeing you on the 19th!
This morning, WMS was placed in a brief HOLD which means that the hallways were cleared and students stayed in their classrooms while there was a response to a situation in order to protect the privacy of those involved. It was reported and discovered that a student had brought a small pocket knife to school. There is no evidence to suggest that the student had intentions of using the knife to cause harm. School administration and Westbrook Police intervened immediately and appropriate action was taken. The situation was resolved quickly. All students and staff were safe and no one was harmed.
7th and 8th graders had a great time today getting to know their homerooms and building a healthy rivalry with each other. 5th and 6th graders did the same yesterday. It was great to have the students back and we're looking forward to a great year together!
This morning, WMS was placed in a brief HOLD which means that the hallways were cleared and students stayed in their classrooms while there was a response to a situation in order to protect the privacy of those involved. It was reported and discovered that a student had brought a knife to school. There is no evidence to suggest that the student had intentions of using the knife to cause harm. School administration and Westbrook Police intervened immediately and the situation was resolved quickly. All students and staff were safe and no one was harmed.
Please read the Back to School special edition of the Westbrook Schools newsletter. See you when school begins next week!
https://westbrooksdme.edurooms.com/engage/westbrook-school-department/newsletters/back-to-school-2024
Hello to all our Westbrook Middle School families! We are busy getting ready for the start of the school year and I wanted to share a few important reminders.
5th and 6th graders' first day of school is next Wednesday, August 28th. They will then be home for a 5 day weekend.
7th and 8th graders' first day of school is next Thursday, August 29th. They will then be home for a 4 day weekend.
All students return to school on Tuesday, September 3rd.
The school day starts at 7:30 a.m. and dismissal begins at 2:15 p.m. (Please note: buses are often late in the first few days of school as drivers and students all get used to the new routes and routines.)
Bus routes for middle school students can be found at this link. (https://www.westbrookschools.org/documents/bus-routes-2024-25/689893)
Our 6th -8th grade Open House is scheduled for Thursday, September 19th at 6:00 p.m. We will start the evening in the Performing Arts Center and then you will move to the classrooms for introductions to your student's team teachers.
Our school website can be found at https://www.westbrookschools.org/o/wms. You can find our calendar and other important news and information here. We are still updating a few items so thank you for your patience as we prepare for the start of school.
You can find our school supply letters here. https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/10CSaTzn_zNaTRpVqCqShcWSk6Mrl-cul. If you are not able to get school supplies for any reason, please just let your student's school counselor know so they can help. School supplies will not be needed until the first full week of school.
Here is a list of some staff members that you may want to contact in these first days of school:
Laurie Wood, principal - woodl@westbrookschools.org
Sam Chatto, Asst. Principal for grades 6 & 8, chattos@westbrookschools.org
Pattie Demaria, Asst. Principal for grades 5 & 7, demariap@westbrookschools.org
Katie Corbett, School Counselor for grade 5, corbettk@westbrookschools.org
Kayla Gagner, School Counselor for grade 6, gagnerk@westbrookschools.org
Betsy Shibles, School Counselor for grade 7, shiblesb@westbrookschools.org
Megan Grimshaw, School Counselor for grade 8, grimshawm@westbrookschools.org
Jess Simmons, School Nurse, simmonsj@westbrookschools.org
We are very excited to start this year with our students! It is always a pleasure to see how they have grown and changed over the summer. Please reach out with any specific questions you might have.
Enjoy this last weekend of a beautiful Maine summer!
