Westbrook Staff Blog

  Today, we find ourselves the day before returning to school after a nice, long break! This is rarely our favorite place to be but I hope you were able to find some time to relax and savor the moments. I know I am not alone in thinking this past week flew by! The collage above is from our trip to get our Christmas tree and its arrival in the house. Each year, our family goes to a cute tree farm the day after Thanksgiving. As you can see, we have a tall ceiling, so we have had some really tall trees. The funny thing is that we never have any idea how big the tree actually is until we get it in the space. This year, our tree is really narrow and I love it! Who knows what next year will bring!  As we were getting ready and decorating the tree, it felt like we had just done it last week. How could it be that time of year again?? But then, I took a second and thought about last year at this time. Last year, I was busy writing my letter of interest and getting ready to apply to be ...

  Oh my goodness! If you all could have seen me at the West Park game on Friday night!! They played Placer, a team that beat them handily just a few weeks ago. The boys were pumped and excited to meet them again, however I knew all of us had a bit of doubt in the back of our minds. Man, the boys came out to play from the first moment. It was such a close game! West Park had several penalties at exactly the wrong times and Placer tied the score just before the 4th quarter. The game went into overtime and we won!! I was worn out and had no voice! Even Joelle started to yell. It was so fun! Our stands were rocking and the West Park band was awesome. The best was the excitement and pride on these boys' faces. I think they still are on cloud 9. I share all of this with you because of course, I am a proud momma, but also because these are the boys that help in our classrooms! Shoot, that gave me an idea. (Literally, at this moment.) Maybe we could do some good luck cards for them. Let me...

  Here it comes, more sappiness from Brooks. I cannot help it! This week, I was talking to one of our own and she said, 'At Westbrook, everyone meets in the middle. We all put work into supporting our students. It is not on the shoulders of any one individual. You don't see that at many schools.'  I have not stopped thinking about this since. It is absolutely true! I know that you know, but we are an anomaly. Right now, you do not meet many teachers or administrators who are genuinely happy and feel positive about the work they do. I think we would all agree that we are genuinely happy about our work. That is not to say our work is easy, or that there are not really tough days, but I think that we all feel surrounded by support and positivity. Man, we are so lucky! Thank you again for being a part of it and for all that you do each day!  Speaking of appreciation and being grateful, it is November, the month of thanks. I challenge you to make a point to let others know how...