Stripped, sealed and waxed are Wiscasset Middle High School’s tile floors, WMHS Head Custodian Daniel “Dan” Lincoln said as he and custodian Debbie Gagnon showed Wiscasset Newspaper around Friday. “We really want it to look good for the students, and the public,” Lincoln said. Principal Charles Lomonte said he was tickled pink with the results.
Lincoln and Gagnon said the custodial staff there and at Wiscasset Elementary School have been working hard readying for the new school year Sept. 6.
According to interviews by phone, email and in-person last week, so have administrators and other employees – from honoring veteran staff to helping ensure the middle and high schools have their own identities.
Interim Superintendent of Schools Robert “Bob” England Jr. explained, “This year we have essentially three schools like (in) Wiscasset's history. The elementary school (WES), and WMHS, (which) is essentially two schools within one building now: WHS (grades) 9-12 and WMS 6-8 with each having its own identity. Each school site’s staff are focused on how to meet each student’s educational need and experience.”
England cited a new goal for the whole school department: Wiscasset Educational Collective Efficacy (WECE). He said staff will work together weekly “to assess what each school, each teacher, each support staff needs to do to take each student from where they are ... and to support their academic, social and emotional development. We have a very committed and talented staff I am very proud to be working with, (and) with the collective focus of this incredible team we will reach our goal. Each student will reach their potential,” he added. England said staff worked last week on goals for the year and on safety protocols, “so all new and veteran staff are prepared.”
Lomonte and WES Principal Kathleen Pastore described an exercise Lomonte emceed that had staff stand up to show how long they have served. Pastore said this was a welcome for newer staff and a way to honor others’ longtime service.
Recounting it via email, Lomonte said it was “a true testimony of dedication and love for the field of education. As (those with) many years of service were recognized, the (longest term) educators that remained (standing) all were applauded by the entire Wiscasset School District. Alan Small, custodian at WMHS, stated, ‘It's a place I love coming to work every day. Knowing I am a part of helping to get everything ready makes me feel good inside.’” Lomonte added, “There were smiles on all of us as the group was celebrated for their long-term service to the students of Wiscasset.”
The round of applause was rousing, music teacher Carole Drury said. Other highlights she shared via email were School Committee Chair Jason Putnam’s encouraging remarks to the group, team-building activities and a barbecue luncheon the food service team provided: Grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, salads and desserts.
“Everyone left the morning feeling excited and positive about the upcoming school year,” said Drury, who is in her 23rd year with the Wiscasset schools. “We can't wait to welcome our amazing Wiscasset students back to school on Tuesday!”
In phone interviews, Pastore and WES educational technician Jessica Bailey also voiced excitement for the new year. Pastore said the work and activities leading up to the start of school had her feeling invigorated, including for how staff continue to “pool together” to adjust for unfilled jobs that include a special education teacher, library media specialist, a one-year opening for a pre-K teacher and, like last year, a gifted and talented teacher.
In her 34 years as a Massachusetts educator before she became WES’ principal last year, she never saw “a group of teachers and a community who will rally around their students as they do (here),” Pastore told Wiscasset Newspaper.
K-2 resource room educational technician Jessica Bailey is in her eighth year with the school department. The 1996 Wiscasset High graduate said the school has a great team, and she is feeling positive about the new year, including her getting to help newer staff get to know the students’ routines and needs.
What keeps her coming back? “I would say it’s the kids, the family, the teachers, and just the community. This is where I grew up, and I love it.”
