Week Ending May 29

Good Afternoon, 

I am in disbelief that there are 15 more days left to this extraordinary school year! I had the opportunity to observe 2nd Grade friends helping out in Mrs. Civic's Kindergarten class this week and it made me feel a little bittersweet because it seemed like they were just in Kindergarten themselves and now they are heading to Metcalf as Grade 3 students!  This week in general has had a slight impact on my sense of time as my son got his driver's license! Where does the time go??

Grade 2 students helping in Mrs. Civic's class



GRADE 2 having a great day at the zoo!!

 

                      

This week, in my grade level meetings with the students they had the opportunity to share what they love and think should stay the same at Wawaloam and what they think would be a good idea to change.  I am sure you can imagine the insightful ideas that they shared! I thought I would pass along some of these delightful ideas for your entertainment! 

"We need a bigger office". 

"We need a bubbler that is faster and colder".

"We should have school on the weekends!"

"We need strawberry milk". 

We need pictures of bees on the wall" :)

"I wish the slide on the playground was longer". 

"We need higher monkey bars."

How could you not smile at these suggestions!!! 

Have an amazing weekend, lots of choices out there to keep busy and active! I am hoping for my first beach day of the season! 

Respectfully, 

Melissa Marino

Visit the Community Announcements page of our District website for information regarding Free Summer Meals! For teens and kids, 18 and under . . .

http://s3.amazonaws.com/EWGRSDweb/contentweb/CommunityAnnouncements/Hlthy%20Kids%20Flyer.pdf

Week Ending May 22

Families, 

Enjoy the time with your family over this long weekend while remembering those who gave......... 

Thank you Mrs. Ray, Mrs. Scheff and Mrs. Beaulieu for a wonderful Night of the Arts! What an AMAZING turnout!! 

Hope that students came home on Wednesday sharing the excitement of The Ned Show this week! I know many families opted to purchase yo-yo's even though we made sure to say that this was optional. The reason we bring this show back every couple of years is because of that OUTSTANDING message: did your children tell you what NED stands for? 
N-Never Give Up
E-Encourage Others
D-Do your Best! 
The message is aligned to our continued reminders of the importance of the Growth Mindset!! One student actually said, "Thank you for the best assembly ever!"

Today I had the good fortune of participating as part of a panel of judges for the Senior Projects at the High School. It made me think about how quickly the time goes by and how significant these projects actually are. I have to say, I was impressed with each of the presentations today and loved the reminders about how important it is to foster perseverance in our children (together). It has been an absolute pleasure to celebrate the learning that has taken place this year at Wawaloam School! 

Visit the EWG Community Announcements page for detailed information about Free Admission to Mystic Aquarium and EWG Little League's Pawsox Fundraiser!

http://ewgrsd.org/Community/CommunityAnnouncements/tabid/149/Default.aspx

No School Monday, March 25

Get ready for the home stretch! 

Melissa Marino

Week Ending May 15

Good Afternoon,

Once again,  we have had an amazing week of growing and learning at Wawaloam School. Honestly, there is not a day that goes by when I do not feel fortunate to find myself inside of this school filled with people who genuinely adore and appreciate their students.

I would like to offer you the opportunity to explore a new growing resource that is available for families. Mary Slattery, who is the Principal of the Junior High School spearheaded the effort to organize resources that may be helpful to you.

I am including the link to the site in my blog this week because I feel that knowing this is available will serve as a reminder to check out the tools and resources and will point you in the right direction if needed. I know this is a work in progress so be sure to share other ideas or even resources that you know of that could be added to this link.

https://sites.google.com/a/ewg.k12.ri.us/health-wellness-corner/

Next week, we are bringing back a motivational assembly for students called The N.E.D. Show.  It has been about 3 years since they have come to Wawaloam! This show is full of energy and excitement! You will be getting a flyer telling you about the show and giving you the opportunity to purchase Yo-Yo's as the whole show takes on the theme through Yo-Yo tricks. We just want to stress that making purchases is NOT necessary at all, a requirement of having the show is offering these items to the students. We do not receive any funds as a result of these sales and it is entirely up to you if you opt to purchase anything. If you do, the item will be bagged and labeled and sent home and not allowed to be brought out at school until it goes home. We find that clarifying this is helpful in advance :)


Just a friendly reminder that safety is always first and with the warm weather we want to remind you about safe feet and toes by asking that sandals and open-toed shoes or flip flops be saved for the beach because they can be hazardous here at school.  Please refrain from sending your children to school without their feet being covered.

Hoping you all have a great weekend!

Melissa Marino

Reminders and Upcoming Events:

The NED Show! This Wednesday at 1:45 (Look for an informational flyer coming home soon)

http://www.thenedshow.com/

No School on May 22 for Students

Week Ending May 8

Another busy week at Wawaloam School!

Thank you so much to all of you for making Teacher Appreciation Week so special! PTA- we LOVED the basket of fruit! Families- the pictures of teachers, the letters, the dress like a teacher day and of course all of your homemade treasures will be cherished for years to come! We are so lucky to have such a supportive community! What a great week this was!!

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers and caregivers!

CHESTER AND THE BULLY- Did any of your children talk about this story? It is one of my favorites!!

AWESOME EARTH DAY PROJECTS!! WE LOVE FAMILY INVOLVEMENT!

What a great turnout we had last week for our FIRST EVER FACULTY/STAFF Lip Sync Event! We raised $3000.00 to support families who are battling pediatric cancer. We could not have done this without all of the organizers, performers and of course the attendees!! Thank you! 

Mrs. Millard, Hannah and Mrs. Curry!

Mrs. Cash!

Bill Plumley! 

*All we heard from our friends this week was how much fun the Sweetheart Dance was! Thank you for making these type of events possible for our students!!


Don't forget to check out what is happening at your local library!

exeterpubliclibrary.org

Special Announcement:  8th graders at EWG Junior High, are working on a Girl Scout Silver Award Project. We are giving a presentation at the West Greenwich Community Center on June 2 at 6:00 PM. Our goal is to inform children about animal abuse to help prevent it. If children are taught how to treat their pets well, they will then teach their kids how to be better pet owners and this will continue on for generations. We are making sure children can become better pet owners. "

 Teachers talking with students during our Learning Walk this week:

Thank you parent volunteers for planting marigolds with every student! 

Students writing thank you notes to the farm that donated the marigolds!
A special thank you to Heather Eklof for continuing to think of us 
at this time of year and recruiting volunteers to do this special recess activity!! 

Our Grade 2 Students are studying mealworms :)

Thank you Jenn Spira for sharing this quote!

Please visit the Community Announcements page on the District website for details about the upcoming Boy Scout Pancake Breakfast.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend with beautiful weather predicted! 

Respectfully, 

Melissa Marino

Mark your calendar! Art Show Monday, May 18th 5:45-7:15  
6:30 Chorus performance!

School Vacation Week Learn! Move! Play!

Greetings!

Reading week was lots and lots of fun, just like we predicted! We appreciate you all at home for taking the time to plan and organize crazy hats and pajamas and stuffed animals and socks!! I know how busy and chaotic the mornings can be and time is precious! We hope the reminders and notices have helped as the children seem to have had a great time with all of the excitement to promote the love of reading! An extra special thank you to Donna Gagner for organizing the events this week! I was so lucky to be invited to Metcalf School to read to Mrs. D'Amico's class as a guest reader, this was an honor and a privilege for me!!!

The students saw a video of my daughter reading a short story- I told them that if someone at home videotapes them reading a short story, I will incorporate these videos into weekly meetings or show these during lunch! A chance to be famous! Please consider sharing reading videos with me!!!

*By the way, the Junior High Student Council is collecting gently used books to give to the RI Books are Wings program. What a great week to look through those collections! If you have any books for them, send them to Wawaloam and we will make sure they get them!

Grown ups dressed like a book or character day! So much Fun!!!

                                      

                                Book Movies During Lunch!

    Mrs. Larkin Reads To Kindergarten!

Crazy Hat/Hair Day!

CRAZY SOCK DAY!!

Recycle Project Invitation

A notice came home this week inviting everyone to participate in our Annual Recycled Art project! Just like the 100th day of school, we are inviting families to work together to create masterpieces out of items you might have otherwise thrown away! Have fun with this, be creative!! We can't wait to see what you all come up with!

School Vacation week is upon us and once again, I thought I would share some easy links to check out the calendar of events to consider.

Don't forget about our  PUZZLE-A-THON on Wednesday April 22 from 9:30-11:00 here at Wawaloam School. The event costs 10.00 with proceeds going to Athletes4Autism.org
You do not need to pre-register, you can pay at the door to participate in all of the fun!! Hope to see you here!

The Audubon Society of RI has a week full of opportunities to keep you busy and learning!  www.asri.org

Another favorite destination of mine is the RI Children's Museum: www.childrensmuseum.org
Almost every day their are awesome activities planned including Mad Science, Dave Marchetti's Animal Show, Farm Friends etc.

Don't forget to make some time to get to your local libraries to check out a few books or to participate in any of the events that they have scheduled- check them out online:
www.louttitlibrary.org
www.exeterpubliclibrary.org
Casey Farm Project Chick: Tuesday April 21 11:00 AM
Pinocchio Play Wednesday April 22 6:30 PM
Project Peep Thursday April 23 10:30-12:00

Are you busy on Thursday, April 23 at 10:00 AM? I will be going with my daughter Juliette to the Showcase in Warwick across from Dave's, Panera etc.  to see Monkey Kingdom! We can't wait!  http://nature.disney.com/monkey-kingdom  By going to see this during opening week, they are making a donation to protect monkeys and other endangered species in their natural habitats. What a great way to do something to celebrate Earth Day!! 
Consider joining us, this is not a school sponsored event, just an opportunity to see a great movie together!! 

Remember our Bandaid Brigade has started! We are collecting band-aids and stickers for The Tomorrow Fund at Hasbro Children's Hospital-we can't wait to count how many boxes we will collect this year!!

Please visit EWG's Community Announcements page for Girl Scout Camp information.  All girls grades K - 12th are welcome! 

April 22 is Administrative Assistants Day and I have to take a minute to acknowledge how fortunate I am to have the best office team! It is a pleasure to have people who can anticipate needs before they arise and who work in the best interest of students at all times. Mrs. Briggs and Mrs. SanAntonio light up our front office with their smiles and are always ready for the next idea! I watch them share the enthusiasm when your children are in our presence and I can not think of a moment when I have heard a negative word. I count my blessings to work with them every day! I am sure you all share in my appreciation for these amazing women!

Hoping you all have a week that allows you time to spend some quality time together while making memories that you will hold in your heart for years to come.

Enjoy the week off and get ready for the home stretch of the 2014-15 school year!

Respectfully,
Melissa Marino

Wawaloam Updates and a Reminder to Vote for our School Budget~

Dear Wawaloam and Exeter West-Greenwich Community, 

Thank you for remembering to VOTE on 4/13/15

EXETER-WEST GREENWICH REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT 

ALL-DAY REFERENDUM 2015 - 2016 SCHOOL OPERATIONS BUDGET 

MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2015 FROM 7:00 A.M. TO 8 P.M. 

~ EXETER VOTERS VOTE AT EXETER TOWN HALL 675 TEN ROD ROAD EXETER ~ WEST GREENWICH VOTERS AT WEST GREENWICH TOWN HALL 280 VICTORY HIGHWAY WEST GREENWICH

For more information:

http://goo.gl/zkJ6hF

The EWG Drama production of Shrek the Musical that is taking place THIS WEEK Tickets are $12 for students and $15 for adultsThe show is amazing!  The leads are phenomenal and the supporting cast is fantastic!  Kids (and adults) can even ‘Meet the Cast’ at the Exeter Library and have a photo-op with the EWG Drama students starring in the show (Shrek, Fiona, Donkey).

The district-wide lip sync show is approaching. This is event is very close to my heart and was organized to honor and support a my friend Gail Bender and her family, she is a retired physical education teacher from the Junior High School and recently faced the heartbreaking loss of her beautiful 5 year old grandson, Zachary .  This will take place on May 1st and you will not want to miss this event! Tickets are now ON SALE and we will also accept donations to support the cause. Adults are $5 and children are $3. Tickets can be obtained by inquiring in the school office. ALL PROCEEDS WILL SUPPORT THE TOMORROW FUND.

During the school vacation week, on April 22 you are invited to come to Wawaloam School from 9:30-11:00 with your children to participate in a community  puzzle-a-thon in an effort to support http://www.athletes-4-autism.org/ This will take place in our school cafeteria and should be a fun event to put on your calendar of things to do during the week off if you are not going away. The event costs 10.00 per family and will include time to make puzzles, a balloon artist, snacks , music and fun!! Join us!

If you ordered a Reading Week T-Shirt, we hope to see as many as possible on FRIDAY 4/17/15

Next week is Reading Week! Each day students are encouraged to participate in the fun events that are planned!

Monday:Bring your favorite book to school to share with a friend!

Tuesday: Cuddle up with a good book, bring your favorite stuffed animal to school (must fit in backpack)

Wednesday:Crazy hat/Crazy Hair Day!!

Thursday:Pajama Day!!

Friday: Crazy Sock Day! Guest Readers Today and Free Popcorn!!

I am ready:

*Report Cards will be coming home on 4/17/15

Other dates to remember-

April 9, 10, 11 and 12 Shrek the Musical at the High School

April 12 PTA Bowling Event

April 13-17 Reading Week!!

April 20-24 Spring Recess no school

April 22 Puzzle-a-thon event at Wawaloam 9:30-11 AM

May 1 Faculty Lip/Sync/Variety Show 6PM High School

May 2 Sweetheart Dance

May 7 PTA

Have a fantastic weekend, make memories!!

Melissa Marino

Spring Fever!

Dear Wawaloam School Community, 

Hoping everyone had a fantastic week, it is really amazing that we are preparing to send home 3rd quarter report cards in two weeks! We are moving into that home stretch, once April vacation goes by we seem to blink our eyes and the year comes to an end. This year has been incredible! Full day kindergarten, smartboard technology, a computer lab that a whole class can use and our work in the implementation of a Growth Mindset have kept us learning and stretching our brains!! 

Mrs. Donnelly consistently pushes for our addition of PERSEVERANCE as one of our expectations, which we love! When the weather breaks, we will be adding the words PERSEVERANCE and KINDNESS to our Queen Bee outside of our school. I am very proud of the work of our SIT team and our PBIS team for continuing to refine our systems, our work is never "finished" at Wawaloam School because we believe there is always room for improvement and growth. 

I recently read a publication on the subject of bullying and there was a piece of information that I found fascinating in how we can work together to teach a skill that will have a powerful impact! Check out this amazing statistic:

In the world of bullying prevention, the “simpler solution” includes the power of bystanders. Research shows that when a peer bystander intervenes in a bullying situation, the bullying usually stops within 10 seconds. 10 SECONDS. THAT is a powerful intervention worth nurturing! Let us work together as partners to teach this skill and this statistic!!

The article goes on to say:  Let’s be sure to keep our eyes on the importance of relationship building and social emotional skills MORE than entering the slippery slope of “criminalizing” bullying behavior (the person bullying needs our support and guidance too) and thinking the solution lies in ever more structured ways of passing on expectations and norms.  

In one kid-friendly story that I shared, they review how powerful it can be to simply teach children to say, "Stop it!" when bullying behavior is observed. Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas on this information. 

This past Wednesday, I attended a session on Cyber Safety at New England Institute of Technology. Meghan Martinez, Cyber Terrorism Program Manager for the RI State Police and Leader of the Cyber Disruption Team.  I would encourage you all to become as informed as possible in terms of online safety. They shared some valuable resources for parents and I thought I would pass these websites along to you to review: 

www.netsmartz.org provides tips for families, children, and teens about online safety.             www.netsmartz411.com is parents' and guardians' premier, online resource for answering 

questions about Internet safety, computers, and the Web.

The following sites contain information regarding keeping your child safe online:

McAfee's Internet Safety Plans for the Whole Family                                                                                 

Bright Futures' Safety Tips for Surfing the Internet

Cybersmart Kids' The Risks and How to Deal with Them

Department of Justice's Project Safe Child

ConnectSafely's A Parent's Guide to Facebook

US Health and Human Services' Stop Bullying

We are excited to be participating in the Washington County Coalition for Children "Feelin' Groovy" bookmark contest with our Grade 2 students. The goal is to teach emotional literacy to children and Mrs. Gagner and I have teamed up together to have Wawaloam School participate. I don't know if your children mentioned the Academy Award winning performance she gave to "showing" the children what our different emotions can LOOK LIKE by acting these out. We had so much fun working on this together. We can not enter your child's bookmark if we do not have the permission slip forms returned to school. They will select 1 winner per school to have their entry turned into a printed bookmark that will be shared throughout the state and possibly beyond.

If you have a 2 minutes to spare, check out this adorable cartoon video with a very powerful Growth Mindset message. You have to appreciate the PERSEVERANCE of this sweet little bird.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksiob6KVPDw

Reminders: 

PTA  Meeting Thursday at Wawaloam School 6:30 PM
Spring Pictures- Wednesday April 8th (Spring Pictures are Optional)

Report Cards will come home on Friday, April 17th

Have a fantastic weekend!!

Melissa Marino