Dear Wawaloam School Community,

We are off to a GREAT start and are amazed at how quickly we are adapting to new routines. Our Full Day Kindergarten friends are sharing smiles and figuring our how our school functions each day. First Grade friends are thrilled to be here all day this year and Grade 2 friends are helpful, respectful and kind as they represent the "BIG KIDS" now!

As a school, we are working together to adjust to the new year while assessing systems and routines to ensure our school runs as smoothly as possible.

One thing that would be a TREMENDOUS help is to make sure we have a note if your child will be picked up from school. Please include the name of your child, your child's teacher and the specific day of the pickup, if this is a routine one note is acceptable. This small step helps us to stay as organized as possible at the end of the day.

We want to know how the week is going for your child, please tell us if you hear anything that causes concern so that we can address this right away. We want this to be the most successful year possible for EVERY child and we will need to be partners in this process.

Look at our school and how shiny everything looks! We have to give a pat on the back to our awesome custodial staff. They worked so hard to give our students a school that makes you smile when you walk down the halls!

By now you should have received the information and the invitation for our Open House Events. Grades 1 and 2 on September 11 and Kindergarten will be held on September 18th. We hope you will join us for these fantastic opportunities for parents/caretakers to hear about what your children are learning and what is expected in the classrooms.

We can't wait for next Friday when Johnny the K will visit with his usual motivational presentation and yearly kick-off for our PBIS program!

Don't forget to mark your calendar for the first PTA meeting on Thursday, September 4 at 6:30 PM AT METCALF School this month!

Enjoy the 3 day weekend! See you Tuesday~

Melissa Marino

Happy New (School) Year!!

Dear Wawaloam School Community,

First of all, welcome to all of our "new Kindergarten" and "new to the district" families! We are excited to have you experiencing the educational journey of your child with us at Wawaloam School for the 2014-15 school year!

Welcome back to all of our returning families and also to all of the new staff we have at Wawaloam School this year! This is going to be a very exciting year for our school. We are thrilled beyond words to have full day kindergarten for our youngest students. The expectations for the Kindergarten students have shifted significantly over the past few years and this change is by far one of the best decisions we could have made.

I try to send out communication weekly to families through email. I like to use the blog format and hopefully you have discovered that by clicking the link in this email, it will bring you to the Principal's Blog. This can also be found on the school webpage if you click Principal's Message. Last year, I tried to put this out on Fridays as often as possible. This allowed me the opportunity to reflect throughout the week and share pieces of information about the on-goings, events and any issues to bring to your attention. The feedback on this format seemed to be quite positive so I intend to keep up this method of keeping you informed and "in the loop" as one parent put it.

We are looking forward to seeing all of you on Monday, August 25 from 1:30-3:30 at our Back to School Celebration. We love seeing all of the big smiles and feeling the excitement of a community as we prepare for a new year. Nothing invigorates us for this more than seeing your children! They are the reason it is inspiring to walk through the door every day, they amaze us with their words and their wisdom. Their innocence is transparent and can make us laugh in an instant; we love them as though they were our own and want the very best outcome for each and every child.

I am proud to work with a faculty that is as dedicated and devoted as these teachers are. There was not a day this summer where I did not observe several teachers getting ready for the year ahead. Whether they were here preparing a classroom, interviewing new teachers or participating in district professional development, they were devoting time to the upcoming school year. Although they have a very brief time away- the children are always on their mind.

Please know that I am always available for any questions or concerns you have. You can reach me by phone or email if something is on your mind or if you have ideas for ways we can make Wawaloam School even better than it is now. We aim to work as partners in educating your child and want your feedback. We want to pay close attention to anything else that is on your mind.This is your school, we want you to love sending your child here each day.

Attention Kindergarten parents, we are still watching the enrollment numbers very carefully. We will be contacting you as soon as we know if there are changes to our anticipated number of classrooms this year for Kindergarten. As I have mentioned, there may be changes that have to be made to the planned roster for each class. We thank you wholeheartedly for your patience and understanding. A reminder that the students will be broken up into 5 groups for the family bus ride and the orientation but we may be contacting you regarding changes that have to be made based on enrollment.

See you soon!!!
Melissa Marino melissa_marino@ewg.k12.ri.us