I was an earlier PP with children in high school. Yes, I volunteered, but what was even more common was a whole slew of middle school and high schoolers coming back to volunteer for SSL credits. It was a big social gathering for the Westbrook alum. Is that not still the case?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This makes me so sad. My kids went there forever ago (my youngest is graduating from B-CC this year) and Carnival was the best! The way the kids would look forward to it forever and just run out and have the best time! It was huge. It was always amazing that it was so impressive each year and they made so much money. I always remember it as a huge fundraiser. What caused them to downsize it? My dd got a design on the t-shirt- it was a Star Wats theme, that’s all I remember. But we definitely got the tickets before leaving the school and it was fun for kids and parents.

They stopped doing the t-shirts this year

I'm curious if any of the people complaining have ever volunteered to help with the event.

I both complained and volunteered. I saw how the sausage is made, and it's not pretty!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This makes me so sad. My kids went there forever ago (my youngest is graduating from B-CC this year) and Carnival was the best! The way the kids would look forward to it forever and just run out and have the best time! It was huge. It was always amazing that it was so impressive each year and they made so much money. I always remember it as a huge fundraiser. What caused them to downsize it? My dd got a design on the t-shirt- it was a Star Wats theme, that’s all I remember. But we definitely got the tickets before leaving the school and it was fun for kids and parents.

They stopped doing the t-shirts this year

I'm curious if any of the people complaining have ever volunteered to help with the event.

Anonymous wrote:This makes me so sad. My kids went there forever ago (my youngest is graduating from B-CC this year) and Carnival was the best! The way the kids would look forward to it forever and just run out and have the best time! It was huge. It was always amazing that it was so impressive each year and they made so much money. I always remember it as a huge fundraiser. What caused them to downsize it? My dd got a design on the t-shirt- it was a Star Wats theme, that’s all I remember. But we definitely got the tickets before leaving the school and it was fun for kids and parents.

They stopped doing the t-shirts this year

Anonymous wrote:What rides do they have?? At an ES spring festival?

They've always hired a carnival ride company to run a number of rides (several spinning/nauseating things, small Ferris wheel, little kid stuff, etc). On the first day of the carnival, one ride was already deemed out of service and another not even installed, so very lame first impression. All the hype over bigger and better fell flat. They claimed they couldn't set up on the grass bc too muddy.

This makes me so sad. My kids went there forever ago (my youngest is graduating from B-CC this year) and Carnival was the best! The way the kids would look forward to it forever and just run out and have the best time! It was huge. It was always amazing that it was so impressive each year and they made so much money. I always remember it as a huge fundraiser. What caused them to downsize it? My dd got a design on the t-shirt- it was a Star Wats theme, that’s all I remember. But we definitely got the tickets before leaving the school and it was fun for kids and parents.

What rides do they have?? At an ES spring festival?

Anonymous wrote:The carnival was completely underwhelming, I spent twice as much as prior years, my kid only went on three rides, each once, and the cute homey touches were gone. No t shirts, bottlemania, food trucks, MS/HS bands, KAH climbing wall and bounce houses, parent volunteers wearing recognizable sashes or hats, etc. Very confusing about which things needed wrist band, tickets, cash, etc. To kick off carnival with excited kids running out of the school straight to a twenty minute ticket line ....nope. they needed those wristbands on and ready to go from their classrooms. Total turn off in every way. For the first year ever, I also worried about outsiders (teens mostly) coming in and making security disturbances since it was apparently advertised throughout the county. I get the pressure to hedge on bad weather and make money for the school but I did not enjoy this year's experiment.

All of this. And for some reason they moved the rides from the grass lawn to an asphalt parking lot. I saw some kids stagger off some rides, fall and go splat on the hard ground. They hyped it up to be bigger and better but it was not good. No rides, no food, and somehow a seedier atmosphere.

The carnival was completely underwhelming, I spent twice as much as prior years, my kid only went on three rides, each once, and the cute homey touches were gone. No t shirts, bottlemania, food trucks, MS/HS bands, KAH climbing wall and bounce houses, parent volunteers wearing recognizable sashes or hats, etc. Very confusing about which things needed wrist band, tickets, cash, etc. To kick off carnival with excited kids running out of the school straight to a twenty minute ticket line ....nope. they needed those wristbands on and ready to go from their classrooms. Total turn off in every way. For the first year ever, I also worried about outsiders (teens mostly) coming in and making security disturbances since it was apparently advertised throughout the county. I get the pressure to hedge on bad weather and make money for the school but I did not enjoy this year's experiment.

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been at the school for 10 straight years with multiple kids. It’s a fabulous school with wonderful teachers and a strong PTA (though the PTA seems to be more cash-strapped and short on volunteers now that the school has increased in size). Yes, it was a transition after COVID for our school to nearly double in size with the boundary change, but it’s still smaller than even some local private schools (e.g., Blessed Sacrament has more classes per grade in some grades). I strongly dislike the principal and do not know why she is currently on leave (when this happened last time everyone speculated she had been fired, but to their dismay it was for other reasons and life went I ). However, the teachers and community are strong enough to allow me to just block her out and still have a great experience for our family and kids.

It's out just me was the PTA carnival so underwhelming and just a cash grab this year?

We had a child placed into Westbrook seses in 4th grade and it was the best thing that ever happened. Westbrook administration and staff were fantastic. The principal or AP always attended meetings and seemed knowledgeable about my child and their experience at the school. He’s now in 6th and thriving in middle school.

What is it about the principal that is so bad? I have a child who is being considered for the SESES program there and will probably start next year. At least to this point, we have needed a lot of interaction with the principal due to my child's behaviors, so it is important to me that administration be strong and approachable.

We’ve been at the school for 10 straight years with multiple kids. It’s a fabulous school with wonderful teachers and a strong PTA (though the PTA seems to be more cash-strapped and short on volunteers now that the school has increased in size). Yes, it was a transition after COVID for our school to nearly double in size with the boundary change, but it’s still smaller than even some local private schools (e.g., Blessed Sacrament has more classes per grade in some grades). I strongly dislike the principal and do not know why she is currently on leave (when this happened last time everyone speculated she had been fired, but to their dismay it was for other reasons and life went I ). However, the teachers and community are strong enough to allow me to just block her out and still have a great experience for our family and kids.

Thanks for the helpful responses. What type of enrichment programming have you been able to take advantage of at Westbrook? Is it possible to have my kindergartener in enrichment activities during school hours? I’d be more than happy to sign my kid up for a qualifying exam.

Fantastic school! I live in the neighborhood, two kids that walk to the school and attended over the last 5 years, and have been super super happy. My kids LOVE their school and community. The parents are super involved. It's very international because of the World Bank and other orgs like that. I believe it's rate #1 or #2 in the state for elementary schools. Before the Somerset kids came over it was very very small and some say felt like more of a private school. A couple of years ago when the school doubled in size it was a chaotic year. However, the last two years have been strong and the school was able to scale up. Some of my child's closest friends are from the Somerset kids that migrated over, so it's been a good experience for us. I have academically smart kids and they've had programming to support them. My friends who have kids with learning challenges also have had support with IEP programs, etc. You'll find the community is SUPER active and it's a good group of highly educated kids and parents.