Students recently attended a "College Experience Day" and were able to visit the video production booth.
Great job by the WHS Concert Band and the WMS 8th Grade Band on their collaborative performance on Wednesday, March 13 - bravo to all!
Chorus student Linda Nelson auditioned and was selected to perform in the Treble Choir at the CMEA Southern Region Music Festival. Linda sang on January 12th and had an outstanding performance!
Each year, two high school students are recognized by the Superintendents’ organization, CAPSS, for leadership, scholarship, and community service. The two deserving high school students are Katelyn Wallace and Finian McGannon. These students were recognized on November 26th at a luncheon at the Saybrook Point Inn.
Westbrook High Teen Leadership/School Climate Students presented at the National Education Association New England Aspiring Educators' Conference on Sunday, October 21st at the Heritage Hotel in Southbury, CT.
The 9th grade attended Camp Hazen for a team building and leadership skills training program.
The Science Club shows off their cardboard boat for the UConn Cardboard Boat competition.
Westbrook High School is committed to educating all students to achieve their unique potential as 21-st century learners. Faculty and staff value collaboration and reflection in order to provide instruction that engages all students in an equitable learning environment.
Westbrook High School believes that students learn best when they are actively engaged in their learning experiences and encouraged by a safe, supportive school climate that nurtures social connections, emotional well-being, academic skills, and personal integrity.
Students will meet expectations by:
Academic
Social
Civic
The Connecticut Department of Public Health today is urging residents to continue personal preventive measures to avoid mosquito bites and reduce the chance of contracting eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus. Residents are advised to protect themselves and their children by minimizing outdoor activity from dusk to dawn, when mosquitoes are most active. The mosquitoes that carry the virus are active until the first heavy frost.
The EEE virus has been identified in mosquitoes in 12 towns and in horses in two other towns. Westbrook has not been identified and no cases have been reported in Westbrook. Information shared herein comes as a result of talking with the First Selectman and the Executive Director of the Public Health Dept. in Westbrook. All are working diligently and preventively to limit town-wide exposure to mosquitoes. Please see the attached flyer from the CT State Dept. of Public Health. These are precautionary best practices that the schools follow for any outdoor activities including athletic competitions. Further, we monitor the condition of our outdoor facilities to spot and eradicate puddles or other standing water sources.
Thank you.
Patricia A. Ciccone
Superintendent
860-399-6432
Dear Parents/Guardians:
On Wednesday, August 28th, your students will be welcomed back to their new school year by their administrators, teachers and staff. While we all lament the winding down of summer, the first day of school is an exciting day for students to reconnect with one another and with their principal, teachers, counselors and other support professionals. This year, major programming and facilities improvement projects that have been completed over the summer will also add to the excitement of returning to school. Thanks to the efforts of our Board of Education, our elected town officials/boards & committees as well as our school district professionals; this is truly a grand opening. Here are just a few of the changes and improvements that our students and staff will enjoy.
Our expansion of Pre-K opportunities has led to our Westbrook becoming a Universal Pre-K district. All four-year-old children now have access to full-day Pre – K.
Our EL population continues to rise and with it our diversity percentages are providing positive impacts on our culture and climate. To more effectively serve our EL students, we have added to our bilingual support professionals and now have two full time certified faculty and several teachers with added credentials to meet the needs of our EL population.
High School students will have access to greater career exploration opportunities and placements as part of their programming through the auspices of our new Career/College Readiness Center and the efforts of our new Coordinator who has joined the Guidance Dept.
Last year’s growth in athletic programming for students has resulted in the outcome for which we had hoped. We are seeing an impressive rise in the number of students coming out for sports teams and showing interest in becoming multi-sport athletes.
Our school buildings are in great shape, with specific upgrades including, fire and chemical safety inspection adjustments & repairs, new high school safety/security doors, tennis courts resurfacing, improvements to field turf conditions and, final improvements to the high school auditorium. Daisy Ingraham and the high school now have new generators with back-up alternative fuel sources.
The aforementioned improvements aside, we understand always that student success and mastery is a journey. We are committed to giving students the individual support they need on their personal journey to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to realize their hopes and aspirations; always measuring our own performance relative to theirs.
Again, it is exciting to plan for and welcome our students every school year and we welcome your involvement as well. Please plan to join us often for individually planned visits, conferences and events, festivities and celebrations, and as always, please contact me with any questions or concerns.
Welcome to school year 2019 - 20! You have my sincere best wishes for a wonderful year.
Patricia A. Ciccone
Bus routes have been made available within the parent and student portal of PowerSchool. To view this information, please login to the PowerSchool portal and and look for the section labeled "Bus Information" on the main screen. For bus route questions, please contact the main office of the school where your child is enrolled.
July 1 presents us with many new laws. Of those that are effective on July 1, the laws briefly described below, referencing sunscreen and access to HIV prevention drugs, impact the health and well-being of our school-aged children.
Sunscreen for school children
Students who are 6 and older will now be allowed to carry and apply sunscreen before outdoor activities at school — provided they have a written note from a parent or guardian. Prior law treated sunscreen the same as other over-the-counter medications, meaning it required a doctor’s note and had to be administered by the school nurse. “Use of sunscreen at a young age is a critical and necessary component of skin cancer prevention,” the SUNucate Coalition, which advocated in favor of the bill, wrote to legislators. Connecticut joins 22 other states that have similar laws, according to the group.
Youth access to HIV prevention drugs
Minors will no longer need parental consent to obtain HIV prevention medication, commonly referred to as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, and sold under the brand name Truvada. State law already allowed minors to be treated for HIV or AIDS without their parents being notified. Youth ages 13-24 account for 22 percent of all new HIV infections in the U.S., according to Rep. Raghib Allie-Brennan, one of the bill’s chief sponsors. If youth are required to receive parental consent to obtain PrEP “we are effectively requiring that they choose between their right to privacy and their right to medical treatment,” Rep. Jeff Currey, an East Hartford Democrat and another co-sponsor of the bill, wrote in testimony submitted to state legislators.
In October, Westbrook High School renewed its New England Association of Schools and Colleges accreditation. Read the newspaper article written about the visit, as well as NEASC's final report, both available below.
