During the summer six members of the Westbrook School Department attended the Farm & Sea to School Institute at the Ecology School in Saco for three full days of learning about growing food, purchasing local foods and teaching sustainable agricultural practices. The institute supports Maine schools to increase healthy food access, create a culture of equity & wellness, and strengthen their local food systems. Westbrook has greenhouses at three of our schools. WMS has a 20 tree orchard and 12 raised beds as well as a donated aquaponics system to provide for cultivating fish inside the greenhouse, which was also funded by grants. Westbrook will also be hosting a service member from Food Corps, Hannah Morse. Her role will be provide nutrition education in the classroom and also taste testing in the cafeterias throughout the district. Team members included Mary Emerson, School Nutrition Director; Brian Davis, WHS Science Teacher; Abby Harnik, WMS Science Teacher; Mariah Krauss, Summer Greenhouse Coordinator & Alternative Education Teacher; Austin Mehlhorn, WMS Social Worker. Not pictured - Jerome Bennett, Community Member.
There will a Community Conversation about the revised FY25 School Budget and Validation Vote on Thursday, July 11, 5:30-6:30pm at the Westbrook Middle School cafeteria.
PLEASE VOTE on July 16!
Tomorrow is Field Day for our 6th grade class! Our 6th graders should come to school appropriately dressed for Field Day, wearing comfortable clothes, sneakers and bringing sunscreen and a water bottle if possible.
Don't forget that this last week at WMS is Spirit Week!
Here are the themes for each day:
Monday, 6/10- Wacky Tacky Day (Mismatch, backwards, crazy hair, crazy socks)
Tuesday, 6/11- Summer Vibes (Think tropical, Hawaiian, sun hats, glasses, etc; No bathing suits!)
Wednesday, 6/12- WMS Pride (Blue & White or Westbrook gear)
Thursday, 6/13- Fast Forward to the Future Day (Dress to impress, dress like your future self, or go all out futuristic)
Friday, 6/14- Color Wars (5th-Blue, 6th-Green, 7th-Red, Staff-WMS Gear)
Join the fun!
Attention all 8th Grade Families - please see an email I sent to you about helping provide some food items for our newly promoted students after their ceremony. Please reach out to me or Principal Wood directly if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you all on the 13th!
Reminder: All K-8 students and families are invited to a presentation by renowned children's and young adult author Hena Khan this evening at 5:30 at the Westbrook Performing Arts Center. There will be refreshments, discounted book sales with books signed by the author, free books and learning activities, and fresh food for take home provided by the Locker Project. Hope to see you there!
Come see our Theatre Club perform "An Absolutely True Story" in the Performing Arts Center, May 21st at 6:00 p.m. Share in the fun of this adventure (as told by a bunch of liars!). :)
The Intercultural Community Center presents Future Foodies for our 2024 summer program! Power Summer registration opens today! Please share with any students, teachers, friends, or other Westbrook community members. Below are a few reminders about the criteria students must meet to attend Power Summer. Dates are June 24th - Aug. 9th.
-The child must be a rising middle schooler. This means that the grade the child is entering in fall of 2024 must fall between 5th and 8th grade.
-The child must be a student or incoming student of Westbrook Middle School.
-The program is primarily designed for low academically performing students.
Parents/caregivers can register their students by:
-Visiting our website
-Clicking the bit.ly link on our flyer
-Scanning the QR code on our flyer
If any parents express interest in registering their child but need assistance with translation, please direct them to fill out the registration alongside a caseworker, or reach out to us directly at via call or text at 207-272-1766 or email kaim@iccmaine.org
Registration will close on June 1st.
On Friday, May 3 a group of 7th grade WMS students participated in a conservation project in conjunction with Portland Water District (PWD) and Cumberland County Soil & Water Conservation District (CSWC). The 7th grade Dirigo Team and our alternative education program had been raising trout eggs and making scientific observations since February. On May 3rd students, staff, and our partners from PWD and CSWC joined on the trails behind the Middle School. The students broke up into 7 groups and cycled through stations. The first group learned about macroinvertebrates by searching the water for little creators to identify. Next they learned about water quality and tested water samples from the creek. Students completed a site assessment of the area we were releasing the trout. We engaged in some ELA content by having students write poetry in our beautiful outdoor space. Students helped with trail building and trail cleanup. They did square foot investigations where students pick a small patch of ground and find all the life they can. Finally students helped with trash clean-up on the trails and surrounding area. The day culminated in releasing the trout fry that we had been raising in Beaver Pond Brook which then leads into the Stroudwater River.
Congratulations to 7th graders Bryan Muanza and Henry Branch for finishing first and second, respectively, in the Maine State Stock Market competition. This was a year-long competition between middle school students across the state. This is the second consecutive year that Westbrook Middle School has had a top-three finisher in the competition.
Explanation of the Program:
The Stock Market Game™ is a project-based financial education program
widely used in 4th-12th grade classrooms that introduces youth to the global
capital markets through an integrated curriculum and dynamic, online market
simulation. SMG is proven to raise student test scores in economics, math
and personal finance, while also teaching essential life skills. Starting with a
virtual cash account of $100,000, student teams strive to create the best
performing portfolio of bonds, common stocks, ETFs and mutual funds. SMG
teaches youth cooperation, communication, and leadership as they relate
long-term saving and investing know-how to financial news and current
events. Winners are recognized nationally and regionally.
WMS will be completing testing for Reading and Math next week for all grades. The Maine Through Year Assessment will take place on Tuesday, 5/7, and Thursday, 5/9, in the morning. The Science Assessment will be given to 5th and 8th graders on Wednesday, 5/15. Please contact administration if you have any questions about these assessments.
Our 8th grade math team, which is made up of 8th graders Parker Benedict, Tailyn Lychalk-Chooying, Kairi Burr, Nathan Ly, Arkin Gonzales, and 7th grader Javier Santos, placed third in our final meet of the season at the Portland Expo today! Parker Benedict placed 2nd overall with his individual score. What a great season, we're so proud of these students!
Good afternoon. We wanted to give you advance notice of some important dates at the end of the year. Our grades 5-7 awards ceremonies this year will all be on June 14th (the last day of school) in the morning. Families whose children will be recognized at these ceremonies will receive advance notice. Our grade 8 promotion ceremony will be Thursday, June 13th at 6:00 p.m. The promotion dance in the gym will follow. We will be sending out more specifics as we get closer to these dates. Please contact your child's school counselor with any questions.
We are coming close to the deadline for ordering this year's Westbrook Middle School Yearbook. Don't miss out on the chance to capture the memories for your 5th through 8th grader.
Here is the link to directly order a yearbook: https://tinyurl.com/4nf4m6fr
If you have any questions, please email peabodym@westbrookschools.org.
What a great week we are having at WMS! Monday we had a magical African drumming demonstration from Namory Keita and fellow drummers, yesterday we were given the opportunity for all the whole student body to hear our 7th and 8th grade bands play a selection of music from their recent concerts and last evening we had a very successful (and delicious) Heritage Potluck sponsored by our Passport Club. Thank you to all our staff and students who have made this week such a wonderful celebration so far!
6th Grade Families - please join us this Thursday night from 5-7pm for the 6th Grade Culture Museum. We will celebrate the cultures and heritages of students, featuring artwork, displays and projects. See the attached posters for additional information.
Calling all 5th grade families to our Second Annual Heritage Potluck dinner! This event is sponsored by the Passport Club and honors culinary traditions from all over the world. No matter what your background is, there must be a special dish you celebrate with at special times. Italian meatballs? Irish Soda Bread? Iraqi Kebab? West African Jollof Rice? We would love to come together as a community and share our traditional foods. Please join us April 23rd at 6:00 in the WMS caf. Fifth grade students or their families can email Megan Peabody-Alvarez at peabodym@westbrookschools.org or Katya Nash at nashk@westbrookschools.org to let us know you'll be attending (please do contact us, we need to know the number of people coming for planning purposes.). Hope to see you there!
Here are some photo updates of Falcon Feather winners over the past 3 weeks. In addition, we have finally tallied up all of the Falcon Feathers from February. A big congratulations to our high fliers, McKenna Frenette, Cora Alley, Paige Grenier, Greta Reinhard, Emma Tameemi, and Jack Wescott, who earned the most Feathers in February.
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.