HAPPY BIRTHDAY DR. SEUSS

Dear Wawaloam Community, 

This community announcement is a sure sign of Spring! 

EWG Girls Softball is now accepting spring registrations for grades K-8, no prior experience is required.  Established in 1982, EWG Girls Softball provides our children a safe, fun and friendly environment to learn and enjoy the game of softball.  Registration forms are now available for print on the Community Announcements page of the EWG District website - let's get ready to PLAY BALL!!

Hopefully this week you received our GROWTH MINDSET FOR PARENTS brochure. This is an outcome from our School Improvement Team. We welcome your feedback and comments and we are always available for questions. 

We are looking forward to a lot of exciting events this upcoming week! 

The PTA has generously made arrangements for all of our classes to have a special presentation connected to our Science Curriculum! 

On Tuesday- Mystic Aquarium will be doing a special presentation for our Grade 1 students all about the seashore.  http://www.mysticaquarium.org/fun-and-learning/teachers-and-school-groups/grades-1-3

On Thursday- the ZOOMOBILE will be here from Roger Williams to talk about animal habitats with our Grade 2 students and on Friday- they will be doing another presentation on animals with our Kindergarten. 

http://www.rwpzoo.org/313/ed-guide

Also- Next week we will celebrate Dr. Seuss' Birthday! During all of our grade level meetings we will have special guests! Our local librarians will be coming in and we will be reading a Dr. Seuss book and distributing commemorative hats to all of our students! This year we ordered them in yellow and black- to emphasize our PBIS expectations! 

We will gladly accept ANY USED AND IN GOOD CONDITION SPORTING GOODS between now and March 18th! Look high and look low and consider donating items that are causing clutter for a great cause! Send these items in to the Wawaloam School office ASAP. 


Have an outstanding weekend- play outside (even just 15 minutes can make a difference)! 
Melissa Marino
@MelissaMarino9

Happy School Vacation Week!

Happy School Vacation!

OUR ICICLES!!! 

 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY XOXOX

Report cards are coming home today with your child. Please take the time to review the progress that your child is making. At Wawaloam School, we celebrate the Growth Mindset- we believe that all children can learn and we have systems in place to monitor the progress of our students and plan for their individual learning needs. In the next paragraph, you will read about an example of how we collaborate to meet the needs of all students, your children may have already told you about this!! They know all about this amazing news!

We are excited to inform the population of Wawaloam School that sometime in the month of March you will notice a new addition to our student body! This one will have four legs and a tail!!! 

Through fundraising and faith, a family in our school has been granted the gift of a very special dog who will be working to help our Kindergarten friend, Lilly Steiner, have the best days possible! 

Her special dog will be here as a working dog and will be able to detect seizure activity in Lilly and will offer a sense of calm and comfort during her school day.This service dog has gone through intense training and has been specially matched to meet her specific needs. 

As a school, we are preparing our student body for this exciting new canine friend. In order to plan for this, we talked about how to behave around this dog and created our  school wide expectations for when you see the dog in our school. There is a short video clip from the Today Show with a student who presently works with a service dog and how the dog helps him.We shared this with all of our students this week and offered the opportunity for students to ask questions.

 http://www.today.com/video/today/53911441#53911441 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY1kcnhL0b0&app=desktop

We believe wholeheartedly in the “whatever it takes” philosophy for all of our students and we are very proud of the opportunity to support Lilly and her family with this outstanding miracle.  A special thank you to the Steiner family for giving us permission to share all of this information with you.

Speaking of meeting the need of children, Lineham Early Childhood Learning Center will be holding an OPEN HOUSE for those interested in the Preschool program. The date for this is March 27 and will be held at 9:15-10:00 for 3 year olds and 1:30-2:15 for 4 year olds. If you would like to attend, you can call 397-3771 to RSVP by March 20th. 

As we end this week and approach our school vacation, I would like to wish all of you a week filled with opportunities to enjoy each other. There are lots of FREE opportunities for making fun memories with your children.

The Exeter library will be open 10-8 Tuesday –Thursday and 10-5 on Friday and Saturday. They are  having a beach party on Saturday, February 21 at 2:00, games, music, limbo, crafts and snacks!

Brainwaves in South County Commons will offer free crafts 10:30-12:00 ages 2-8 Monday through Friday.

The West Greenwich Library will be open 10-4 Monday and Friday and 10-8 Tuesday-Thursday!

The Kettle Pond Nature Center in Ninigret/Charlestown is a little hidden gem. If the weather is decent, you could plan a short hike. On Wednesday they will have a Wild About Reading event. They will read a nature based story and do an activity to go along with the book at 10:30.

Last week I posted all of the opportunities that the Feinstein card offers to you like the Children's Museum and Mystic Aquarium.

Other inexpensive ideas are:

The Roger Williams Zoo is half price admission during the month of February and it is great to see the cold hardy animals in the winter setting.

Audubon Society asri.com  for the full calendar of events but I noticed that on Wednesday you can meet a live owl at the Smithfield location if you register on line. Admission is 14.00 for an adult and 7.00 for a child.

If you are at home, definitely check out Gonoodle.com. The kids will love it and you will LOVE that they are moving around and getting the Wiggles out!

Try to have an unconnected/ TV free day and see how you can plan for ways to stay busy and have fun. You could create a family art project, work on a “big” puzzle, have a family Lego competition, have an indoor picnic right in the family room, make cards or letters for special people like grandparents or elderly neighbors. Do anything that brings you all together, talking and laughing with one another!

Phonics Centers in Kindergarten

 Art in Kindergarten working on Painted Elephants and learning about India

 Rolling Sight Words and Recording the Data

Don't forget to begin to think about SPORTING EQUIPMENT IN GREAT CONDITION THAT COULD BE DONATED FOR OUR SPORTS RE-SALE EVENT! This is a good week to do this! We will start to take donations on Monday February 23. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask. 

Have a great week off of school together! 

Melissa Marino

@MelissaMarino9

PS Be sure to check out our updated webpage!  ewg.k12.ri.us/wawaloam/

Wawaloam School News

 What is the buzz this week?

                                                                     
Today is day 99 of our school year! That means that our next school day will be day #100! We are thrilled and overjoyed with the number of families who participated in the opportunity to design a project at home! They are admired by our entire school community! On day 100, our whole school will be invited to take a walk to the cafeteria to really appreciate the time and creativity that went into these! I can't believe we are 100 days into this school year! We will accept projects on Monday (or Tuesday) of next week as well.

We are once again watching the forecast with a storm predicted over the weekend into Monday. If you have not done so, here is the link to have text alert messages sent to your phone or email. These come through as soon as a message is posted and you can sign up for the alerts by school district.

http://my.textcaster.com/asa/Default.aspx?ID=6d6b22e1-242f-46b3-ae4f-e01582e9a14c

*A quick reminder that this is the last day for the PTA BJ's membership fundraiser.

Join North Kingstown Youth Lacrosse!

  Open to Exeter and West Greenwich boys and girls Pre-K through Grade 8!! 

 www.nklacrosse.org

We are just about finished with our Mid-Year I-Ready Assessments for Grades 1 and 2. We are definitely becoming more and more tech savvy in our classrooms! The Enoboards and the visits to the computer lab are paying off! Our students are doing really well with logging on and navigating their way through the various online resources we are so fortunate to offer our students!! I thought I would share a few snapshots of what kind of questions students are faced with and what the screen actually looks like while they are taking the assessment. We have a great team of people devoted to ensuring that we have the support we need for the students during these sessions and the progress of this process has been pretty amazing. I am proud of the effort and perseverance of our students!                           

We are working together to make the Wawaloam School website more appealing, user-friendly and useful to all of you. The website is their for you!! Please take a look at it and tell us what you need to be able to access on that page. We are happy to work together to have your needs met. One parent has mentioned the lunch menu and we were able to shift the link for that to the top of the page. We have changed the entire set-up of the page worked as a team to make the decisions for what we want it to look like. We think and we really hope this is a positive shift. We are open to ANY AND ALL suggestions you have for creating a school web page that is used as a resource on a regular basis.

The government has issued a statement regarding safety during extreme cold. Please review the precautions and suggestions in this short document.   http://www.ri.gov/press/view/23968

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend, keep warm and stay safe. 

Sincerely, Melissa Marino

@MelissaMarino9

Lots of helpful information this week!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Know that your child's health, safety and well being are priorities at Wawaloam School. We continue to encourage frequent hand washing, covering coughs, good nutrition, fresh air, exercise, etc. but recognize that our population is young and learning to master these healthy behaviors. Increased illness at this time of the year is to be expected. Working together, we hope to minimize the amount of illness so our students can be in school, feeling well, and ready to learn and excel at Wawaloam School. Mrs. Larkin and I have been reflecting on information that we feel may be helpful now that we are encountering increased illness. She has shared information that we wanted to pass along so that we can stay as healthy as possible:

Despite our continuous efforts to decrease the spread of illness, this is the time of the year when students seem more likely to become sick. Complicating this year is the report that the flu vaccine has not been as effective as was hoped. In school, the most common recent complaints have been: stomach aches, nausea, diarrhea, headaches, sore throats, ear aches, vomiting, and developing fevers.

This is a reminder that while attendance is very important, it is also very important that your child feels well enough to be in school for the day with his/her classmates and ready to learn. If your child has a fever of 100 degrees or higher, has vomited, has a headache not relieved by an over-the-counter analgesic, a severe persistent sore throat or earache, nausea or stomach ache unrelieved by eating, going to the bathroom  and/or an antacid, it is advised that your child remain at home with a responsible caretaker. Please contact your physician for medical advise if needed. I can be reached at 295-8802 if you have any questions or are unsure if your child should come to school, or wish to discuss your child's health.

As a review, students should remain out of school for 24 hours fever free without the use of analgesics before returning to school. Students who vomit should be able to eat solid foods without further vomiting for at least a day before returning to school. Students with persistent headaches, sore throats, earaches should be evaluated by their physician to determine if medication should be ordered to relieve their symptoms. If your child is brought to the physician, it is advisable to obtain a doctor's note that he/she has been examined. This will document the reason for your child's absence, if prolonged, from school. Students who are prescribed an antibiotic, must take the antibiotic for 24 hours to be noncontagious and able to return to school.

During this time of higher than normal illness, to limit unnecessary exposure to ill students in the health office waiting to be picked up, I have requested that staff continue to use health office passes to send ill/injured students to the health office and to limit the visits of students whose complaints are minor and can be handled in the classroom. For example, during the winter months, having chapped lips is a big distraction for many students. If able, you may send in a lip moisturizer with your child's initials for their personal use.

Please note that during the winter months, unless the temperature, including wind chill, is below 20 degrees, or inclement weather, students spend approximately 15 minutes outside to enjoy fresh air, exercise and sunshine. Please mark all belongings with their initials to avoid items becoming part of our growing lost and found bin. If your child is missing a piece of winter clothing, please encourage him/her to check this bin or send us an email describing the missing item and we will gladly check for you.
If your child is in need of a winter coat, or clothing, please let me know. I frequently receive donations of gently used items to pass on to our students.

 

Thank you so much Mrs Larkin! We certainly appreciate all of these reminders! 



Additional information that we want to share is that we are extending the Flash Food Drive from this week until Monday. Please try to send in one item.  Mr. Feinstein has announced that he will donate 1.00 per item up to $1000.00 to all schools who participate. As of now, we seem to have about 400 items. Anything you can send in is appreciated. 

Don't forget about the Math Workshop next Wednesday at Wawaloam School from 9:15-10:45 AM. This is on the Common Core Math and Tools to Support Instruction at Home and Mrs. Kilday will be the presenter. She can offer this at additional times as well if there is interest. Please let us know. 

Hoping you all have an outstanding weekend and that you are ready for some Superbowl action!! 

Sincerely, 
Melissa Marino

PS- Here is a GREAT site to check out with your child about Groundhog Day which is on Monday, February 2, 2015!  http://www.groundhog.org/

PSS - 100th day of school is now on February 6 (NEXT FRIDAY) we will accept your 100th day of school projects throughout the entire week next week! We already have some AWESOME creations!! 

January 23 Wawaloam Updates

Dear Wawaloam School Community, 

It seems as though we may be forced to deal with some true winter weather over the weekend and maybe into next week too! WJAR Channel 10 says: A coastal storm may come closer to the area than previously expected for Saturday and Saturday night. Right now specifics are cloudy but there is a chance of accumulating snow for SOME as well as a chance of rain mixing in with the snow at times closer to the coast. Must be time to dig out the sleds and snowpants! Speaking of which, we do try to make every effort to get your children outside for recess. We do feel that it is very important to get hearts pumping and bodies moving! The link below stresses the importance of getting outside to play:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/why-kids-should-play-outside-even-in-extreme-cold-pediatrician-1.2516872

However, at times it actually is TOO cold to do this and we have been creative on some of those days. We have been using the gonoodle.com website and there are actually 15 minute links that are called INDOOR RECESS. We have to set some safety parameters for these days but overall, all of the kids who have recess at that time come down to the cafeteria and spread out and follow the movement prompts to the music while watching the screen. Have your children mentioned this? They seem to be having a GREAT time when it is taking place! 

Another great idea for an indoor activity: Family Bingo event this Sunday, from 1-3 pm in the Metcalf cafeteria. We've got about 50 families signed up but have room for more, so walk-ins are welcome. Just $10 per family includes two hours of BINGO (everyone wins a prize!) and refreshments. We'll also have a raffle with great prizes like a $20 gift card to Christmas Tree Shop. 

BJ's Membership Fundraiser - The PTA's annual BJ's fundraiser starts today and runs until Friday, February 6th. Fliers and enrollment forms are coming home today with your child. Did you know that your friends and family outside the EWG community can participate as well? Send them to the PTA web site (https://sites.google.com/site/exeterwestgreenwichpta/bj-s-fundraiser) where they can download the enrollment form. You can do a new membership or a renewal, and the PTA receives $5 for every membership. The PTA thanks you for your support!

We are going to be having a FLASH FOOD DRIVE FOR ONE WEEK ONLY NEXT WEEK JANUARY 26-30. Alan Shawn Feinstein has invited schools to participate in this challenge and we are taking it on! He will donate 1.00 for every item we receive next week up to $1000.00 Put this on your calendar, please send in at least one canned food item next week! We will try to send additional reminders out as well and if we get enough participation, we will plan another special assembly for our school! 

A message about the EWG Girls softball winter clinic. It is a great introduction for the little ones to see if they are interested in softball and also great exercise during the winter. It is reasonably priced and is geared toward the younger girls. If you are interested, this link will take you to their website: www.ewggirlssoftball.com 

Don't forget to check out what is going on at your local library! I know that Shannon at Louttit Library and Diane at Exeter Library are always planning great events for children and families. In fact, I noticed on the Exeter Library Calendar there is a FROZEN party coming up on Saturday January 31 Shannon from Louttit asked me to share this information with you:
Relax and Read With a Dog Saturdays January 31 & February 28 10:30am-11:30am A local 4H group will be here with their dogs for children to read to. This program is great for struggling and new readers to read to dogs in a non-stressful environment. Children can sign up for 15 minute sessions. Please call the library or come in to register. Open to children in Pre-K through 4th grade.  Lego Club Thursdays  6-7pm  January 8, 22, February 5, 26, March 5, 26 What do we do at Lego club? Lego club is free play for an hour with the library’s  collection of Legos~We hope to see you there!

One more upcoming event I want to mention briefly this week is that we are going to be having a SPORTS EQUIPMENT RESALE EVENT. Do you have cleats that no longer fit? Outgrown equipment? Football helmets? Bats? Gloves? Outdoor games? Hobbies that have fizzled (snowshoes, tennis raquets, yoga mats?  Stuff that you have no use for taking up space in the garage? Please consider sending these items in to Wawaloam School. We will be saving all of your donations for a special event in March called "Bee A Good Sport". All of the proceeds will be used to support our PE program at Wawaloam School! Bee on the lookout for more detailed information coming soon! 

           What a FUN idea!                My children enjoying the snow last year!

Have a terrific weekend everyone! 

Sincerely, 

Melissa Marino

P.S.  Have you placed your orders for Girl Scout Cookies? 

Happy New Year~Happy Winter Wonderland

Dear Families,

I am beginning to understand the whole idea of hibernation after this week of a true dose of winter chill. For the record, I am not a fan of cold, snow, ice or wind (no matter how many times I have been exposed to the movie Frozen). Trying to stay positive, I forced myself to think of 10 things that make me happy that are connected to the cold weather. Here they are: warm pajamas, fleece blankets, a fireplace that is crackling, homemade soup, winter boots, rosy cheeks, Yawgoo Valley, baking cookies, football season and fresh fallen snow that looks like glitter. Please feel free to add to my list, maybe hearing your additions will change my perspective:)

Obviously, we did not go outside for recess this week but if we see temperatures and wind chills that are acceptable, plan on outdoor time next week. This means students should come to school with warm coats, boots, hats, gloves etc.  I am sure we will hear cheers of joy and jubilation when we can finally allow outside recess.

Did any of your Kindergarten children mention the book we read this week together called Tattle Tongue?? This provided a GREAT explanation of the difference between tattling and telling and the rules for Tattling! 1. Be a Danger Ranger 2. Be a Problem Solver 3. Now or Later 4. Mind your own "Bees"wax  If you are interested, ask your Kindergartener about this!

Thank you to the PTA for a great meeting last night. In spite of the frigid temperatures, we had a great turn out and lots of ideas were shared! One promise I made was to mention that the PTA will gladly accept donations for Upcoming PTA Event Raffles! They will be happy to accept items you received over the holidays for gifts that you might not need and would be willing to donate. These could include but are not limited to: Frames, Gift Cards, Accessories, Stationary, Games, Home Decor, Soaps, Candy, Costume Jewelry, etc. etc. etc. Simply send your donations in to Metcalf or Wawaloam and leave for PTA :)

Speaking of donations, we are in the process of sending 18 packages to troops stationed in Spain, Italy, Iraq and Africa thanks to all of you! This was a great community project and we should be very proud of our Wawaloam efforts to think about and help others.


A quick reminder about the Parent Math Workshop scheduled for this coming Tuesday from 6-7:30 PM at METCALF on Alternative Algorithms. Many times we will hear "they do not teach math the way I use to learn" and Mrs. Kilday has a great parent session planned to help you support the instruction that takes place in the classroom at home! She is hoping for a great turn out!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend- I will be wearing warm pajamas, covered in blankets, eating soup, listening to the crackling fire while routing for the Patriots!

Warmly,
Melissa Marino

Simplify

Dear Wawaloam School Community,

It is that time of year, holiday shopping and running back and forth and everywhere. Hoping that during all of the hustle and bustle you are carving out the most important thing, time together with your family. I am on a personal mission to worry less about "getting it all done", my plan is to look for ways to simplify while increasing the number of opportunities to spend time together.

The thing is, there is not a magic wand or secret code to make this happen. You have to really analyze the day (the week) and think about ways this can happen. I have learned that the crock pot works as a lifesaver in our house. If I can plan the meal in the morning, when we get back from all of the errands and events from the day, dinner is done. If the schedules are different, the food stays hot and there is less stress involved......and it makes the whole house smell delicious!

Another crazy little lifesaver is using paper plates and cups during the week. First off, I want to say that I HATE THEM.....but it makes for a super quick clean up and increases time to spend together at night. I am sure this is not great for the environment.....but I am using less water because I am not doing dishes....or running the dishwasher......that has to count for something!

This weekend, we are making cookies. My husband and son are probably (definitely) not interested. My plan is to do this with my daughter while the Patriots game is on TV. This will put all of us in the same room while we are accomplishing one of my favorite holiday activities. I actually checked the game schedule and planned the time for making the cookies. This is what I mean by analyzing ways to make this happen.

Do you have any special time saving tricks you can share? I know our Wawaloam Community would love if you would share your own ideas with us! I will post your thoughts if you send me an email or respond to this blog. Let's help each other to simplify!

Next week, December 16th is the last day to turn in your Cards for a Cause orders for the year. I also know that if you add an extra 1.00 or 10.00 all proceeds are being used to purchase gift cards for the local food banks....something to consider.

By now you have probably seen the permission slip for our upcoming whole school field trip to the movies on December 23! We are all very excited about this opportunity to do something so special for our troops, our heroes!

We have already seen some of the items: socks, playing cards and hard candies! Thank you for reinforcing our community project at home and for your support. We can also thank Mr. Feinstein for the funds we will use for our school wide celebration of performing a good deed for others.

I also want to encourage you at home to check out the website called  GoNoodle.com  You can sign on and make a quick account and it is FREE!  On this site you can find many ways to get your children moving, especially on days when it is bitter cold and outside play time is limited. Mrs. Corcoran's class uses this pretty consistently. I have used this during indoor recess with our students and they loved it (well, except for the boys when I played the Frozen song, "Let it Go"). I am sure you can find a few family favorites and it might even become a special part of your routine together!

I asked 3 students to share their holiday wishes and received the following responses: 

Anthony B. "A New Bike!"

Owen S.   "A Video Camera!"

Liam W. "New Pokemon Cards!"

Hoping you all have a weekend filled with lots of time together.  My daughter is in a Holiday Dance Show on Saturday! 

Enjoy~
Melissa Marino