We are busy bees!

Week of September 15, 2014

Good Afternoon,

Congratulations! We made it through the first, full five day week of school. Did it feel longer for anyone? I did notice a few extra yawns today :)

Thank you to all Kindergarten families who attended our Open House this week. We were thrilled with the turn out and I am sure you gained valuable insight from the Kindergarten teachers on the expectations for the year. We are so happy to have our Kindergarteners here for the WHOLE day!
Thank you again  this week to the PTA board for their welcoming reception at the entrance to our school and for helping families complete background checks and "sign-ups" for PTA memberships.

Also, I know there have been a few questions about dropping off AFTER the allotted time for parents, which is 8:25-8:35. We simply have to wait until all 5 busses have dropped off children and left before we will be crossing students in our crosswalk. Please wait in your vehicle until we are clear of busses rather than waiting where the flagpole is at the beginning of the crosswalk. We cannot have children "playing" in that area and we really appreciate your help with this.
We recognize that this may not be the most convenient approach, but from everything we have experienced, we assure you it is the SAFEST method for our students.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my weekly meetings with each Grade level. I am so impressed with their RESPECTFUL behavior during our time together. We are working so hard on what it means to be a GREAT audience. We talk about eyes on the speaker, hands to yourself, bodies still and I have to tell you the results are IMPRESSIVE!!! We have had weekly raffle winners in each grade and students are applauding for their friends and celebrating their good choices together.

In all 3 Grades, K-2 we read the book, It's Mine by Leo Lionni. The reason I picked this story is because it talks about working together and that sharing yields better results for everyone which is a great message for our school community.  If you would like to check out this book with your child, I found a youtube link that reads the actual story out loud:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkRiTJNYyIk

Community News

There was information passed along this week regarding Boy Scouts- if you have any additional questions, please contact: saarnold@verizon.net

For more information about GIRL SCOUTS you can contact: tmitchell524@yahoo.com

I have been watching the signs pop up around town for the FALL FESTIVAL this weekend  and I am happy to share the following links that will give you the details about this FUN FAMILY EVENT! I know Keith Munslow is scheduled at 11:00 AM!  I am hoping to make it there myself. This information can be found on the Exeter Library website www.exeterpubliclibrary.org or at www.exeterfallfestival.com

I hope you have an amazing weekend! Make it count!

Melissa Marino 

Melissa Marino

melissa_marino@ewg.k12.ri.us

The Buzz at Wawaloam School This Week

Wawaloam School Celebrates 200th Birthday of our National Anthem

Friday Greetings! 

Hoping you all had another great week of learning and fun at Wawaloam School. I was absolutely thrilled to see so many of you at our Open House for Grades 1 and 2 Parents.  It is not possible for me to feel more pride in regard to the amazing teachers and students we have here!

Thank you for all of the compliments on your way out last evening, I passed along all of your obvious enthusiasm to the Grade 1 and 2 faculty and Specialists and let them know how impressed you all were.

We are looking forward to a great turn out next Thursday night as well on September 18 for our Kindergarten Open House at 6:00 PM.

Did you see your PTA Board last night? They were all here pitching in to help get background checks completed and also signing up many new PTA Members.  I think they are bonding because I even watched them take a group photo for the PTA Facebook Page and they were all smiles!

In order to be added to that group, you simply have to send a Friend Request to Exeter West Greenwich PTA on Facebook. This is a great way to stay informed, they pass along many helpful reminders etc. Have you sent in your membership application yet? Don't worry, we have plenty of those available right in the office.

Grades 1 and 2 Families, you heard from a lot of people last night and I thought it would be helpful to give you a little "cheat sheet" for how to reach the Specialists that presented. I also think this information will be helpful to Kindergarten families :)

Mrs. Larkin, our school nurse can be reached at debra_larkin@ewg.k12.ri.us

Our Reading Specialist, who sees all of the students once per week, Mrs. Gagner can be reached at Donna_Gagner@ewg.k12.ri.us  She is actively seeking parent volunteers and should be commended for her read-a-loud of the passage from Charlotte's Web!

Mrs. Curry, our school psychologist, has kept our PBIS program buzzing for over 5 years! She mentioned that she is available to talk with you at any time. Susan_Curry@ewg.k12.ri.us

Our PE teachers, Mrs. Breene and Mrs. Guglielmo shared a nice reminder about safe shoes for PE and knowing which days your child has class with them to ensure children can participate. They can be reached at Karen_Breene@ewg.k12.ri.us or Deborah_Guglielmo@ewg.k12.ri.us

Our Art teachers can be reached at Amie_Ray@ewg.k12.ri.us for Grade 2 and Kristen_Beaulieu@ewg.k12.ri.us for Grades 1 and Kindergarten
Kristen shared the address for her weebly page which is SO adorable! Check it out!!!
Wawaloamart.weebly.com

Mrs. Kilday, our Math Coach shared some helpful information about the Common Core State Standards and Math Instruction at Wawaloam School. She will be sending home helpful family letters after each Unit and stay tuned for information about upcoming Parent Workshops!! She can be reached at Gina_Kilday@ewg.k12.ri.us

Mrs. Blake can be reached at Deborah_Blake@ewg.k12.ri.us  She shared information about the READ program and the outreach we are doing to sign as many families up for the Stop and Shop A+ Rewards program as possible (this does not interfere with gas points). She will also be looking for parents and family members interested in the training and becoming a READ Volunteer.
*A special thank you to Alicia Cranston for helping Mrs. Blake with this throughout the night :)
It is not too late to share your Card # with us, we can do it for you or you can even ask one of the lovely girls in the office to photo copy your Stop and Shop Card...... Thanks!!

Mrs. Scheff, our Music teacher reminded us all how important it is to sing, dance and laugh together. She even sang out loud for all of us~! She can be reached at Caroline_Scheff@ewg.k12.ri.us

She also helped us prepare for recognizing Star Spangled Banner day today, September 12, 2014. Today marks the 200th Birthday of the National Anthem! This morning, we heard some facts about this song and Mrs. Millard's class came and sang it out loud over the intercom- it was pretty special!! She even encouraged us to wear Red, White and Blue to celebrate. We are so lucky to have her!
I am not a great videographer, but I tried to record this so I could share our awesome students with you!

In other news, we started our weekly Grade level meetings this week and our first PBIS Raffles were held K-2. If your child tells you they won the raffle, congratulate them for being RESPECTFUL, RESPONSIBLE AND SAFE...... ask them about this. If they were not "chosen" remind them to congratulate their friends and to keep up the good work and great choices. I was so proud to see the students applauding and giving "high fives" to their peers :) This makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside..........


I hope you all have a super weekend and that you enjoy your time together as a family! I have a little sign over my kitchen sink that says, "Cherish each day".....that is my plan!

O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave .............

Sincerely,

Melissa Marino
melissa_marino@ewg.k12.ri.us

Greetings,

Hope you all have had a great week and that your child is adjusting to the back to school schedule and routines. We are noticing progress on a daily basis as we guide and teach our expectations.

Just wanted to remind everyone that there is not school for students on Tuesday, September 9th as this is Primary Election Day. Teachers will be participating in Professional Development with a focus on a new web based diagnostic assessment allowing us to target student areas of strength and need to help us differentiate instruction for our students. We are very excited to move in this direction!

Our Open House for Grades 1 and 2 is fast approaching. It is this coming Thursday evening- September 11. You should have received an invitation in your child's home/school folder.

Open House for Kindergarten in on September 18th at 6PM

Both Open House events are exclusively for parents so that we can focus on answering your questions and share the learning that is happening in the classroom.

Today we kicked off our PBIS program with a visit from Johnny the K! He always pleases our crowd and today was no exception! We had so much fun reinforcing our message of respect, responsibility and safety! Check this out!!! Click on the video link so you can see how excited our students and teachers were to participate in his awesome show!

****A final note that is so very important- we truly need to ask all parents dropping off children to please make sure you wait until your child is safely onto the sidewalk before you pull away and that all children exit vehicles from the passenger side of the car. 

Thank you so much for all of your support and responses to the blog! I am glad you find this information helpful and I hope it serves a small glimpse into the experiences of your child over the course of the week! 

Respectfully, 

Melissa Marino :)

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

Happy Summer!

It is officially here!  Can you believe it?? I am passing along a lot of information today, sorry if you are reading this via phone!

Report Cards went home yesterday for Kindergarten and today for Grades 1 and 2. With your report card, you will find a business card sized magnet with a few important “Save the Date” items.  For example, our Back to School Celebration will be held on Monday, August 25 from 1:30-3:30.  This event is a great opportunity to meet your teacher and find out what friends are in your class. We are excited to have “All Hands Drumming” from 1:30-2:15 and “Toe Jam Puppet Band” from 2:30-3:30 booked for this event!  We will also have many resources available for families, you will find our kitchen, the bus company, scouts, karate etc. and of course PTA!

One consideration for summer time fun is the FREE EWG Summer Track Program. Please visit the District website Announcements page for details. This program is available for children 14 and younger. You can also paste this link into your browser:  http://bit.ly/1nk8s6U I plan to go with my daughter it would be great to see you there!

Also, please visit the District website's Community Announcements page for information regarding the "Skills and Drills Youth Basketball Clinic - for Girls ages 7 - 12

As a reminder, our school supports the local food banks, if you are in need of assistance this summer you may contact: Christine Heart Skaggs if you are an Exeter resident  at 294-3176 or Marge Gartleman if you live in West Greenwich at 397-4234. Additionally, you can reach Mrs. Larkin RN if you have any questions at 295-8802.

We are so thankful to those of you who volunteered this year, we could not have done everything that we did without all of you! You have “earned your wings!”

Wawaloam will be a busy place this summer, we are adding new technology and we are so excited about upgrading our mini computer lab!

I did find a pretty cool website called “Wonderopolis”. If you are interested in a summer online learning site, check this out: http://camp.wonderopolis.org/  I have not explored yet but it looks like it will be worth the while.

Congratulations to Jared Sweet and Cameron Lindberg! They were our year end  Grades 1 and 2 PBIS bike raffle winners today!! They were SO excited . Mrs Briggs even got in on the action!! Check out the photos!

Also Congratulations to our Kindergarten Friends for doing such a fantastic job at their celebration today!!

Best wishes to all Grade 2 students at Metcalf next year! Again, we will miss you.

Hope to see all of our Fall  2014 Grade 1 and 2 students at our back to school celebration on August 25 at 1:30!!!

I will check email all summer for any questions you may have. Thank you for everything!

Bee Safe, Bee Happy, Bee Kind!

Melissa Marino

Good Morning~

I hope you all survived the incredible amount of rain we experienced this morning! It looked like someone was pouring buckets outside of the front door when the students were coming in! I suppose it is better now than while all of the baseball, soccer and outdoor events are scheduled!

We had a pretty exciting week here, our two Librarian's, Diane Silva from The Exeter Library and Shannon Darowski from the Louttit Library in West Greenwich. We have been working together behind the scenes to kick-off a very different approach to motivate students to participate in summer reading and visit the library. Recently, we sent home a bookmark with all of the students. It looks like this:

The bookmark has a suggested reading list on the back which was created by Diane Silva this spring. She based the list on books that students enjoy and those that are accessible in the library. There is a question on the bookmark, "How many times will you visit the library this summer?" At the bottom, there are 6 bees. Each time you visit, the librarians will punch your bookmark with a special hole punch. If you visit the library (either one) 3 times, you will receive a certificate and a special pencil that says, "Summer Reading Success". If you visit the library 6 times this summer, we think that is a BIG DEAL!!!  Your child will receive another certificate AND a coupon to celebrate all of this reading with a Free Kids' Meal at Dan's Place! We are very excited about connecting our school, our library and our community this summer! We are very thankful that Dan was excited about being part of our Summer Reading Incentive this year! 

The librarians also wanted to reinforce how easy it is to get a library card, the whole process is super quick and if your child does not have their own library card, now is a great time to get one! Be sure to check out the websites at both libraries to learn about summer events and happenings. They will also be emailing me updates that I will continue to pass along throughout the summer.

Additionally, we sent home an opportunity to earn a FREE book this summer! Barnes and Noble asks students to write the name of 8 books you have read and who you would recommend them to and return the form to them for a Free Book! This is a super simple way to keep your children motivated to read this summer.

According to Johns Hopkins Center for Summer Learning: “A conservative estimate of lost instructional time is approximately two months or roughly 22 percent of the school year.... It's common for teachers to spend at least a month re-teaching material that students have forgotten over the summer. That month of re-teaching eliminates a month that could have been spent on teaching new information and skills.”

It was wonderful to see how many children knew the local librarians already, we are so lucky they could carve out time this week to visit ALL students Kindergarten through Grade 2! 

Also, the reading teachers at Metcalf asked me to include the following information for Grade 2 students: Current grade 2 students should bring evidence of their summer reading to their grade 3 teacher at the start of the school year in August in order to be recognized for their reading.  Evidence could include a copy of the Barnes and Noble form, the child's punch card, or the certificate they earned.  Metcalf also has a "Summer Reading Challenge" that entering third graders may choose to complete.  Please see the Metcalf School website for details.

Hope you all have a great weekend- Happy Father's Day to all of the dads out there! 

Respectfully, 

Melissa Marino