Happy Spring

GRADE 1 & 2 ARE YOU COMING TO MATH NIGHT?

Math Night Rocks!

          Come to Math Night! Cool!

Hope to see many of you on Tuesday, March 29 from 5:30-7:00 

Come for some or all of the event, your time of arrival does not matter!

*Thank you to Mrs. Gina Kilday for organizing this event for our school! 

MATH GAMES! ESTIMATION! PRIZES! FUN! 

Hoping you will all enjoy the long weekend! Start to save items that could be recycled and turned into something FABULOUS for our EARTH DAY RECYCLED PROJECTS MUSEUM! More information coming soon, this will take place the week AFTER APRIL VACATION. 

Community Announcements:

http://s3.amazonaws.com/EWGRSDweb/contentweb/CommunityAnnouncements/ESWURI%20Color%20Run%20flyer%20%281%29.png

Wawaloam Updates

Save the date for some hands-on family fun investigating science!  Saturday April 30th URI’s GEMS-Net project is hosting a Family Science Expo at the Ryan Center on the University of Rhode Island's Kingston campus from 10 AM to 2 PM.  

GEMS-Net partners with our schools, and others around the state, to help teachers bring cutting edge science education to all classrooms. Dig in with hands-on investigations from our kindergarten through 8^th grade science curriculum. 

Let your children lead the way- teaching you what they know and exploring what’s to come! Visit the inflatable planetarium, get up close to hissing cockroaches, design and build the tallest tower and connect with URI students to explore STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) majors offered at URI. The Family Science Expo offers free admission and parking, and concessions will be open.  

We hope you'll save the date to explore with us!

PTA Book Fair Family Night is tonight, from 6-8 in the cafeteria at Metcalf. Lots of great books for sale (including Rooster Games titles), free refreshments, and entertainment by a professional hula hooper who will get the kids moving and having fun! We can accept cash, checks or credit cards. 

Fliers are going home this week for the Kids Choice Bowling event, coming up on Sunday, April 3. All students PreK to Grade 6 are invited to bring an adult of their choice for the fun Rock n Bowl, pizza, refreshments, and raffles at Kingstown Bowl on Post Rd in North Kingstown. Admission is just $10 per person!

We also have our next dance planning meeting next Thursday, March 17th from 6:30-7:30 in the Metcalf library. We'll be finalizing decorations, food and more for the dance, which this year is themed "Keep Calm and Get Your Country On."  It will be happening on April 30 at Metcalf and is also open to all students PreK to Grade 6 with an adult of their choice. Just $10 per family!

COMMUNITY INFORMATION

http://s3.amazonaws.com/EWGRSDweb/contentweb/CommunityAnnouncements/EWG%20Little%20League%2004-08.pdf

“Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way!”

What a great week this was at Wawaloam School!! 

     Dress Like Cat in the Hat Day! 

“You have brains in your head; you have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”

Peanut Butter Collection for Washington Trust Bank

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

Our Field Trip Today!

How to Make a Mistake Review

The "How to Make a Mistake" show is about becoming good mistake-makers by learning that admitting your mistake as soon as it happens is always best.

If you find yourself in front of your classmates and make a mistake that causes you to feel embarrassed, double tap your heart. This tells the teacher and the class that you acknowledge your mistake and feel a little silly. Your class can then silently respond by using the Ooch point and a double head nod that tells you that it's all good and that they understand. After all, EVERYONE makes mistakes and mistakes are okay.

Sometimes mistakes are bigger and require more from us. Here's what you do when you make a mistake that requires some cleaning up -

Admit it ("My mistake", double tap your chest over your heart)
Own it (Pull it in)
Clean it up (Table cleaning gesture)
Forgive yourself (Hug yourself)
Learn from it (Point to your brain)

When we make a mistake it always ends up better for us if we admit it RIGHT AWAY by saying, "My mistake". Putting it off, lying or blaming someone else will make it worse. Admitting it right away doesn't mean that we will not be embarrassed or get in trouble but it does mean that the damage (if any) will be minimal.

Owning it means that we fully accept responsibility for our mistake. It means that we don't make excuses or blame someone else.

Cleaning it up is a two step process -

The first step is to apologize (and really mean it.) Sometimes our mistakes require an apology and if we aren't sincere with our apology it does no good.

The second step is to ask how to fix the mistake and then do it. Often times there is something we can do to make it better. Sometimes there isn't but by asking we are letting others know that we are willing to clean it up.

To forgive yourself means that we don't continue to feel bad about the mistake. If we admitted it, owned it and cleaned it up then we have done all we can and can move forward. Sometimes we hold on to our embarrassment or shame and continue to punish ourselves long after the mistake has been made. It's important to remember that EVERYONE makes mistakes and that mistakes are NORMAL and OKAY.

To learn from our mistakes is of the utmost importance because if we truly we learn from our mistakes then we don't repeat those mistakes. When we learn, we become better people.

“If you never did, you should. These things are fun, and fun is good.”

AUTHOR VISIT AT WAWALOAM SCHOOL!

Author Scott Magoon signing books!!

       “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

Thank you to everyone who made this such a memorable week, especially Dr. Seuss!!!

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Little League Information:

http://s3.amazonaws.com/EWGRSDweb/contentweb/CommunityAnnouncements/EWGLL%20Spring%202016%20Registration%20V2...pdf

Softball Information:

http://s3.amazonaws.com/EWGRSDweb/contentweb/CommunityAnnouncements/EWG%20Softball%202016%20Registration%20form%20%282%29.pdf

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Greetings Wawaloam Community,

While it is hard to believe, next week we will be in the month of MARCH! On March 2, we are celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday!

To really get the celebration going, we are inviting everyone in Grades 1 and 2 to wear Red, White and Black to school on Wednesday and to bring their favorite Dr. Seuss book to school if they would like to.

Kindergarten has decided to have a PJ day!  This will definitely add to the excitement about our big field trip at the end of the week!

A reminder that we do need permission slips signed and returned to school by Tuesday and the donations for the Washington Trust Peanut Butter collection are greatly appreciated! We already have about 20 jars!

Grade 2 friends are SO excited about the arrival of their mealworms! 

Let the observing begin scientists!

              

Additionally, next Friday will are thrilled with the planned visit with author Scott Magoon to Wawaloam School who will be giving a talk to each grade level about the creation of his books! We will see some of the behind the scenes secrets to his fantastic sketches and creative ideas! We can't wait! 

Thank you PTA for making all of these memorable events happen! 

Have a wonderful weekend, 

Melissa Marino

P.S. We will celebrate READING WEEK April 11-15, more information soon! 

         

A Whole Lot of LOVE! 

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! 

100 Days of School

So Many Creative Projects!!

                     

 


Wishing everyone a great week off to relax and refresh, we are looking forward to seeing you all after the break! Hope that there will be lots of time spent outdoors (after the arctic temperatures this weekend though.....).

Grades 1 and 2, don't forget about the vacation challenge! We are going to be giving a book and stuffed friend to the classes and the student who reads the most books this month!! Make sure you set aside time every day to Read Read Read !!!! 

Please view this link for information about Spring Soccer (Registration ends March 2.) 

http://s3.amazonaws.com/EWGRSDweb/contentweb/HomeAnnoucements/EWGYS%20Reg%20Flyer%20Spring%2016.pdf

Week Ending January 29th

     

Dear Wawaloam Community,

I wanted to take the opportunity to update all families on our READ program this year. Students in Grades 1 and 2 are thoroughly enjoying the challenge of being added to the Hall of Fame for reading the most books in their class or in their grade. For every 10 books students read they will earn a colorful link, we are hanging all of these above student lockers and these links are starting to be a popular topic of conversation in the hallway among students!

Here are the hallway links! 

The student in each class who reads the highest number of books has the honor of having their picture hanging in the front foyer of the school! Please help us by encouraging your child to set a goal of reading more books each month than they did the month before. Classes as a whole are also recognized when we announce the winners over the intercom, you can hear the cheering from the classrooms all the way in the office!

Reading Hall of Fame

Our ultimate challenge goes back to answering the question we posed at the beginning of this school year:

How many books do we need to read at Wawaloam School to connect all of our links to make a "chain" around 

our entire school?

100th Day of School Wednesday February 3

We are loving the 100th day of school projects! Keep them coming until next Wednesday. The creativity and pride in these projects is what makes this SO MUCH FUN for our whole school. Classes have the chance to visit the "Hundredth Day of School Museum"  (cafeteria) at some point before the end of the week. We kindly ask that students bring their projects home before the February vacation if they plan to keep their project. Thank you for your participation! 

Our district just received notification we were chosen to represent excellence in Visual Arts learning through the "Gift of Art to the State of Rhode Island." Each year, the RI Alliance for Arts Education selects one District that best exemplifies the required criteria. More information is available on the Superintendent's Blog this week: http://erinakes.blogspot.com/

PTA UPDATES

Family Bingo is this Sunday from 1-3 in the Metcalf cafeteria. Room is still available, so please feel free to sign up or just walk-in and pay at the door (only $5 for the whole family) and remember that your donations to the RI Guard Food Pantry and Exeter Animal Shelter will earn you free tickets for our raffle! Here is the list of needed items:

RI National Guard Food Pantry (please, no expired items):

Pasta and pasta sauce

Peanut butter

Tuna and canned meat (ham, chicken, salmon, etc.)

Canned beans

Meals in a can (stew, chili, soup)

Canned fruits and dried fruits like raisins

Canned vegetables

Low-sugar breakfast cereals and instant oatmeal

Graham crackers

Powdered or evaporated milk

Snack items for kids: juice boxes, single-serve applesauce, granola bars

Toilet paper, Kleenex, paper towels

Stop & Shop gift cards (can be used for food, gas and RIPTA passes)

Exeter Animal Shelter:

Dry cat food (Purina Cat Show)

Wet cat food (any brand of cans)

Dry dog food (Purina One, Rachel Ray or Pure Balance)

Canned dog food (Purina One)

Cat litter (Non-scoopable Special Kitty)

Dog treats

Laundry soap for HE washers

Bleach

Paper towels

The EWG-PTA annual fundraiser with BJ’s Wholesale Club ends Feb. 5th. More information about the special membership offer and application can be found on the EWG-PTA website. https://sites.google.com/site/exeterwestgreenwichpta/bj-s-fundraiser 

Consider attending the next PTA meeting, next Thursday, February 3, in the Metcalf library.  This amazing team will be talking about Family Bowling, Sweetheart Dance, and more!

Another note from PTA is that as a policy, they don't send home tickets for events as a way to cut expenses. Anyone who sends in their sign-up and money is all set to attend unless they get a phone call from PTA saying otherwise. We recognize that  there can be  confusion if new parents don't receive tickets, so we wanted to make sure you're all aware. 

See you all when we say goodbye to January and hello to February 1st! 

Melissa Marino

Happy Birthday John Hancock!

Dear Wawaloam Community, 

Although the week was short, we were still very, very busy! Teachers are spending lots of extra time preparing 2nd Quarter report cards which will be coming home on February 12th. 

As a school improvement initiative, we are placing extended emphasis on the importance of handwriting and a consistent approach from Kindergarten through Grade 2. Even though we are more emerged with technology everyday, it is the automatic formation of our letters that lays the groundwork for academic achievement. We know that if handwriting is taught consistently that students' writing quality, quantity and speed have been shown to improve. This is not about rushing students, but about helping them to develop these skills so that the act of handwriting becomes an innate ability that will positively impact performance across all subjects. 

Timing wise, an interesting fact is that tomorrow is the birthday of John Hancock, who is remembered for his signature on the Declaration of Independence. The date is now recognized as National Handwriting Day and in celebration, students will be receiving pencils that say, "I Love Writing". 

We are trying to get outside as much as we can but on some days it is just too cold! Here is a picture of some Kindergarten friends getting the wiggles out using a 2 minute GoNoodle video. Check out that website, it is free and you can use it at home too! gonoodle.com

Mrs. Caron's class getting the wiggles out! 

I hope you all have a great weekend and that we are not hit with too much snow! Enjoy the playoff game this weekend! 

Melissa Marino

Community Announcement Links

http://s3.amazonaws.com/EWGRSDweb/contentweb/CommunityAnnouncements/EWGLL%20Spring%202016%20Registration%20%281%29.pdf

http://s3.amazonaws.com/EWGRSDweb/contentweb/CommunityAnnouncements/EWGLL%20Spring%202016%20Registration%20%281%29.pdf


There is going to be a parents night out event on February 13th. The student police academy along with SGT Petrarca (safety officer) and Sean Fay (firefighter) are hosting this event to allow parents of elementary school children to enjoy a night out for Valentine's Day. SGT Petrarca has reserved the Gym at Exeter West Greenwich High School for the event. The times will be from 6-10 pm and the cost will be $15.00 per child. 

EWG PTA FUNDRAISER WITH BJ'S WHOLESALE CLUB

Open a new or renew your existing BJ's membership and save at least $15!   EWG PTA will receive $5 from BJ's for every participant.  Please send your completed form and payment to Metcalf Elementary School, c/o EWG PTA.   Open to all!  Offer expires February 5, 2016.