May Newsletter
Oakland Beach - Lippitt - Norwood - Hoxsie - Scott
May, 2024
What’s happening in May?
Check out the highlights from our April Literacy Nights on our Instagram page, @WarwickFamilyEngagement!
May has arrived, and our schools are busy with end-of-the-year events. Our elementary schools are hosting Kindergarten Orientations all through the month, the dates and times are listed for each school community below.
The Rhode Island Community Food Bank is partnering with us, and 
their Healthy Habits nutrition education team has conducted engaging workshops throughout April and May. We are grateful for their partnership and the positive impact they have had on our families.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and we are proud to start it off with a Health & Wellness Fair on May 1st at Warwick Veterans Middle School. We invite everyone to join us for games, free stuff, and an abundance of great information and resources, including a Taylor Swift bracelet-making booth. In addition, we are hosting an important workshop for parents called Calm & Kind Family. This workshop focuses on building skills and tools for parents to support their children’s social-emotional well-being. Together, let's work towards
a healthier and happier community. Register for Calm & Kind Family here.
Hoxsie Happenings
Brought to you by Ms. Cassidy
Our Hawks have had a busy week back from break! After school clubs, taekwondo gym classes, Unified basketball practices, and literacy night! Thank you to those who joined us for a SUPER literacy night. Your attendance and participation is so appreciated. We can’t have the same fun without you!
Headed our Hawks way in May:
5/8 Calm & Kind Workshop - An opportunity for our Title 1 families to come together and continue to develop intentional ways of supporting our child’s (and own) emotional growth and well-being!
5/17 @9am Coffee Hour - Bring your morning cup of preference and we’ll bring the pastries!
5/21 KIDS Day @9am - for our incoming Hoxsie Kindergarten students!
Questions or concerns, please email Ms. Cassidy: cassidy.kamer@warwickschools.org
Life at The Beach
Brought to you by Kelly Correia
May is a busy month at Oakland Beach, filled with exciting end-of-the-year events. Mrs. O’Neil and Mrs. Carter's class are hosting baby chicks! If you would like to check it out, the live stream link is here www.youtube.com/@obhatchery/live Mr. Wishart and his Unified Basketball team have hit the court, and they are already looking great! Finally, a huge shout-out goes to our 5th-grade teachers and staff for setting up a memorable field trip for our 5th graders who are going to Gillette Stadium!
Upcoming Events!
Teacher appreciation week starts on Monday, May 6th to Friday, May 10th. This week is a time to show teachers and educators appreciation for their dedication and hard work. Teachers play a huge role in shaping the minds of tomorrow. Now it's time to show them a little love.
Calm & Kind Family Workshop starting 5/8 meeting every Wednesday evening at Hoxsie from 6-7 PM. Please register here.
Kindergarten Orientation for incoming 2024 Kinder Kids will take place on May 16th at 9:30 AM
Time Capsule Family Workshop was rescheduled for May 28th from 6-7 PM Sign up here!
Any questions or concerns please email Kelly at Kelly.correia@warwickschools.org
Noteworthy at Norwood
Brought to you by Ms. Bernie
On Thursday, May 2, Norwood, in conjunction with the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, will be hosting a workshop for children and their families in grades K-2 focusing on nutrition and building healthy eating habits. The event will take place from 5:15-6:15 pm in the All-Purpose Room. Look for further details regarding this event coming home with your child.
Due to its popularity this winter, we have added two more sessions of Norwood Family Yoga with Ms. Bonnie before the end of the school year. The tentative dates will be Tuesday, May 21 and Tuesday, June 11. Both sessions will be from 6:00-7:15 pm.
With the advent of warm weather and our students and parents using the warm weather and our students and parents using the playground more frequently after school, what could be better than Popsicles on the Playground? We will be offering cold treats for the children at the end of the school day on these three dates: May 3, May 24, and June 18.
Kindergarten Orientation for incoming 2024 Kinder Kids will take place on May 22nd at 9:30 AM.
Lippitt Lately
Brought to you by Mrs. Kadek
May is a busy month filled with various events and activities as we approach the end of the school year. I would like to express my gratitude to all the families who attended our Literacy Night event in April. It was a fantastic event and wouldn't have been possible without the hard work of Mrs. Stearns. We look forward to seeing you all at the following May events:
- Mental Health & Wellness Fair on Wednesday, May 1st, from 5 to 7 PM at Veterans Memorial Middle School.
- Final Coffee Hour of the year at 9 AM on Tuesday, May 7th, in the Family Center. Let's discuss summer work expectations, summer camp opportunities, and other summer-related topics.
- Calm & Kind Family workshop for parents focused on social-emotional learning and wellbeing, meeting every Wednesday evening at Hoxsie from 6-7 PM. Please register here.
-Kindergarten Orientation for incoming 2024 Kinder Kids will take place on May 29th at 9:15 AM.
Status at Scott
Brought to you by Mrs. Sullivan
Monday, May 13th will be the monthly PTA meeting. Our first Family Paint Night was such a fun time. Wednesday, May 22nd will be the second one. Friday, May 17th is kindergarten orientation, don't miss out on KIDS day. Please remember to register your child for kindergarten. Monday, May 20th there will be popsicles with the Principal and Mrs.Sullivan on the playground at 3:15. Come, play, and chat about what is new at Scott.
S.T.E.M. club started with Mobile Quest on Thursdays, the Scotties have been having a blast. There are plans in the works for next year for before and after-school care provided by Alphabest, available on a sliding pay scale. Lots more fun to come in June; Literacy Night / Scholastic Book Fair, Color Run, and Field Day!
Thank you to the PTA for an amazing job organizing the Carnival-themed family dance.
Parent Voice
Parents who attended our annual Advisory Council Meeting shared some truly inspiring thoughts and we wanted to share what was discussed in the newsletter. Please reach out to Mrs. Kadek at any time with your thoughts. Your voice is essential, and parents are the key to student success.
After introductions and a review of our Family Engagement Policy, we broke into small groups and worked on what we refer to as a SOAR analysis. Below are the notes from this activity and what was discussed during the meeting.
School Improvement Planning Discussion - SOAR analysis
Family Engagement Strengths
Having a dedicated facilitator in each school- having a dedicated facilitator creates accountability for the relationship between parents and the school. A familiar comfortable face and staff member as a resource.
Increase of events with multiple facilitators
Follow through, follow up.
Parent groups work, and those who attend get a lot out of it
Monthly events
More events, more variety, increased participation.
Family Engagement Opportunities
Becoming more inclusive for all families and making everyone feel welcome. Ex: Instead of offering an interpreter, center the event on a specific culture and language.
Invite parents and caregivers to come into classrooms as guest readers or speakers to share and showcase their identity.
Increased events with various times (afternoon and evening) to accommodate parent’s schedules, increasing attendance.
More diversity and inclusion, bringing culture and what other students are working with, or battling
Monthly cultural events; utilize nationally recognized months. For example, Hispanic Heritage Month, Indigenous Peoples/ National American Indian Heritage Month, Black History Month, Women’s History, Asian American Pacific Islander, etc. Special education events during October for National Disability Employment Awareness Month, December can be a multicultural holiday celebration, June would be all about families & kindness.
Paper flyers - parents still want the hard copy
More involvement from teachers
Mrs. O’Neil reiterated the need for Title I events to be on the morning announcements
Short text reminders
Showcasing after-school programs for the whole school, encouraging participation
Hosting advisory at the beginning of the year
New family “Social”, hosting an event for new incoming families.
Family Engagement Aspirations
More personal follow through, being able to reach out to parents individually and directly.
Having a dedicated facilitator per school
Strength in numbers, more success getting parents together, and creating an inclusive and welcoming environment and community.
Warwick Passport
Family bulletin board showcases every family in the school
Consistency
Getting the kids into recycling, composting, and more events that build pride in the neighborhood. More community service
Regular coffee hours and communication with school staff aren’t just for when you have a problem
Have parents as guest speakers, let the parents take a leadership role
School Facebook page
Virtual events, virtual lunch hour
Family Engagement Results
Attending events opens the door to more engagement. Parents who show up, continue to show up
Being involved builds character and accountability for the family unit
Parents are the key to success, and caregiver involvement in the school community leads to greater academic success.
What’s Happening in The Community?
Library Events - https://www.warwicklibrary.org...
Community Service Opportunities
Rhode Island Community Food Bank
Storytime Spotlight
Watercress is a children's book written by Andrea Wang, illustrated by Jason Chin, and published in 2021 by Neal Porter Books. In 2022, the book won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature for Picture Book, Caldecott Medal, and Newbery Honor. This May, we share this title with you in honor of Asian American & Pacific Island Heritage Month.
Please reach out if you are having trouble viewing or translating this newsletter.
Best Regards,
Your Title I Family Engagement Team