At Wiscasset's community playground Friday night, Wiscasset Elementary School fourth grader Katelyn Lahaye had chocolate ice cream with sprinkles and whipped cream. “And chocolate syrup,” the 9-year-old said.

Partners in Education (PIE) gave out ice cream cone-themed bubble bottles, along with chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream and the toppings, at an ice cream social celebrating the end of the school year.

“Help yourselves, and there's toppings at the table behind us,” PIE Co-Chairman Kim Andersson told event-goers at the front of the line.

Schoolchildren and their families went through 108 bowls and a dozen cups of ice cream, including the vanilla that Sprague's Lobster donated, Andersson said. PIE donated the rest. Andersson said she was surprised by, and thrilled with, the turnout.

“This is amazing,” she said as attendees continued eating at and near tables and spending time on the playground.

Kristy Lincoln, mother of new Wiscasset Middle High School graduate Andrew Lincoln, helped her 5-year-old, WES pre-kindergartener Chris Lincoln, make his ice cream treat. She has two other children at WES, fourth-grader Damon and second grader Brooke. Wiscasset Newspaper readers met the family in an August 2015 article on the ribbon-cutting for the former middle school's re-opening as Wiscasset Elementary.

Asked Friday how the year went, Kristy Lincoln said: “I think it was good. It all seemed to work.”

Damon Lincoln said he liked the field trips, especially one to a wildlife park.

Lahaye, standing beside her mother Lori Reed, said she liked her teacher, Mrs. Morissette. Reed also has a first grader and a fourth grader at WES.

“They seemed to acclimate to it,” but have said they would like a bigger playground, Reed added about the change in schools. Wiscasset Primary School closed in 2015 as the town consolidated three schools into two.

PIE opened Friday’s event to all families with children in Wiscasset schools. In addition to celebrating the end of the school year, the event was also a chance to celebrate what great schools and schoolchildren Wiscasset has, Andersson said. Those are important, positive points to remember after a big transition like the consolidation, she said.

The event’s other aim was recruitment. PIE considers everyone in the school community, from all the employees to all the families, to be members because they all support the children and the schools, Anderrson said. But there are 11 to 15 active members who meet, handle the fundraising and do other tasks. The number fluctuates and it would be good to have more people involved, not only for the added help but because everything PIE does was first an idea that someone had, she said.

The more members, the more good ideas can be found for ways to support the schools, Andersson said. PIE provides free swimming lessons to all first through fourth-graders and, among its other contributions, a free book to each student every holiday season, she said.

Co-Chairman Aubrey Martin, a substitute teacher in Wiscasset and former high school teacher in New Hampshire and Washington state, said that with her children reaching school age, she had time to get more involved with PIE. She hopes others will do the same, to keep the group’s membership up, and to make use of the unique time Wiscasset schools are in now, she said.

“I think Wiscasset schools have been through a lot the last few years, and we have this amazing opportunity, kind of a clean slate. Let’s make it what we want,” Martin said.