Norwood School News

Messages From Manchester

Hot off the Press! 📣

The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) has just released the new School Report Cards — and we’re excited to share that Norwood Elementary earned a ⭐⭐⭐ (3-Star) Rating!

Out of 13 Warwick elementary schools, 11 received a 3-Star rating, putting Norwood right in line with our peers. When we dig deeper into the data, there’s even more to celebrate:

✨ Math and Science proficiency scores have increased!

✨ Chronic absenteeism has decreased by 6.4 percentage points!

We’re proud of this progress and grateful for the teamwork between families, students, and staff that made it possible.

Of course, we know there’s always more work to do. This year, our focus is on:

📚 Improving Reading and Writing (English Language Arts) — Our instructional team is prioritizing writing and helping students strengthen their reading and analytical skills.

🏫 Continuing to reduce absences — Every day counts! When students are in school consistently, they learn, grow, and connect with their peers.

Thank you, families, for being our partners in learning and helping Norwood continue to shine! ⭐

Please check it out for yourself: LINK

Kind & Caring Community

This month, our focus is on Kindness and Caring for Our Community. Students are learning what it means to be thoughtful, inclusive, and compassionate — both in the classroom and beyond. We’ll be highlighting stories of students who go out of their way to help a friend, lend a hand, or make someone feel welcome.

🌟 Daily Reminders to SHINE: We continue to remind our Norwood Knights that kindness is a powerful way to show we are Safe, Helpful, Inclusive, Noble, and Excellent.

We encourage families to join us in this focus by asking your child:

“What’s one kind thing you did at school today?”
“Who made you feel cared for this week?”
“How can we show kindness as a family?”

Together, we can continue building a community where every child feels seen, valued, and loved. Thank you for modeling the same care and kindness at home that we nurture here at school — it truly makes all the difference.

2025 Gratitude Challenge

Positively Present

21 Day Family Gratitude Challenge (Free Download)

What can you do for others?

This Week!

Monday, November 10th: Family STEM Night

Tuesday, November 11th No School

Thursday, November 13th

Kindness Day Kick Off
4th Grade in School Visit: Save the Bay
PTA Meeting 6:30
School Committee Meeting

Friday, November 14th Ruby Bridges Day & Norwood Knights Walking School Bus

Next Week:

November 19th: Picture Day

November 20th: Mobile Library 1st Grade

November 21st: Texas Road House Roll Pick Up

November 26-30th: Thanksgiving Break

Nurse's Office

Do you have gently used clothes sitting in your trunk too? Donations of sizes 4T-14 welcomed for Nurse Rea's clinic! Thank you!

Memories in Motion 5K: Sunday, November 16th

Norwood's very own Girl's on the Run team will be putting their practice to the test on Sunday, November 16th at URI, as they run a 5K. If you see them around, make sure you encourage them and give them a high 5!

Huge shout out to our coaches, Mrs. Kayla and Ms. Patty, for all their support and encouragement!

5K Run!

Wish our small but mighty team of runners the best of luck as they run their 5K on, Tuesday, November 11th!

Huge shout out to our coaches, Mrs. Kayla and Mrs. George, for all their support and encouragement!

PTA Meeting: November 13th

Please join the Norwood PTA meetings and help support the many events for students & families! The next meeting is 11/13 @ 6:30-7:30 in the Norwood School Library.

Incientive Kickoff Assembly

On Monday, November 3rd, Norwood will be hosting an Incentive Kickoff Assembly! What are we kicking off you ask?

iReady Kickoff:

2 lessons weekly for Math & Reading = 12 Total iReady Lessons for November
Name & Picture in Showcase, Newletter and Slide show
Knights SHINE Bucks to spend or save for buying treasures
iReady Cape - raffle
Trimester incentives will be group activities - Glow Dance Party, Extra Recess, Ice Cream Party, Movie & Popcorn!

Attendance Kickoff: Be an Attendance HERO

Here
Everyday
Ready to Learn
On Time

10% of the year = Chronic Absenteeism

Thank you to the PTA for supporting the incentive bin purchases! 🌟

Hakuna Matata

For Halloween, last Friday, you may have noticed that most of the staff was dressed in Lion King Hakuna Matata shirts! It was amazing team unity for Halloween and .....

Norwood's big announcement that we will be putting on a production of Lion King this coming Spring. Mrs, Mederieos and her crew are so excited about this year's performance. More to come!

Fruits & Vegetable Program

Starting next week the Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program will kick off again this year. This program is made possible through a grant for all Warwick Schools. Please see the calendar!

One-Way Traffic

ONE-WAY Signs are now up!

Please make sure to keep one-way traffic flowing at morning dropoff and afternoon pick up! Enter from Norwood Ave - Exit on Pierce.

Drop off Lane - make sure to stay in line. There should NOT BE cars passing on the left.

Thank you for keeping our community safe!

Attendance Matters

Attendance Matters

School attendance is a powerful predictor of student outcomes. Rhode Island defines chronic absenteeism as the percentage of students who miss 10% or more of school days during the year (or two days per month). Research shows that chronic absenteeism is associated with a number of negative consequences for students, including lower achievement, disengagement from school, course failure, and an increased risk of dropping out. Check out the leaderboard and additional data here. See Norwood's current stats in the pic below!

Starting in November, we will be celebrating students monthly for being "on track" with their attendance. Students will be awarded a certificate and be able to enter a raffle to have breakfast or lunch with Ms. Manchester.

Walking School Bus

Keep a look out for information about the Walking School Bus. 🚌 Please contact Mr. D'Aiello (mark.daiello@warwickschools.org)

Student Absences

Students will be marked absent, no matter the reason, if they are not in school.

If the absence is due to illness please supply a doctor's note to have the absence labeled as an excused absence.

STUDENT ABSENCE CALL-IN PROCEDURE

In accordance with Rhode Island State Law #16-19-10, Notification of Pupil Absence, the Warwick School Department requires that all parents/guardians call their child’s elementary school on the day that he/she will not be in attendance. We would like to receive all calls by 9:15 in the morning. If you are aware of a pending absence, feel free to call at any time prior to the day of the absence. In the event we do not hear from you, an automated call will be sent at 10:00 a.m. to inform you that your child did not arrive at school.

Aspen Portal

ASPEN Family Portal

It is important that the Aspen Family Portal is updated with correct address and contact information. Students can only be released to emergency contacts listed in the Family Portal so please make sure this is updated. You can find more information about the Family Portal on the district website here. Using the WPS Family Portal (PDF) WPS Family Portal (direct link)

ASPEN

Title 1 Updates

Please find the Family Engagement Newsletter on the Norwood website. Link

Sign Up For PTA

PTA School of Excellence Designation

Norwood is proud to receive the 2022-2024 National PTA School of Excellence designation!

Congratulations on earning this prestigious designation, which recognizes your incredible work as national leaders in developing strong family-school partnerships

It’s never too late to join the PTA! Signing up for the PTA does not mean you are required to participate. It just means that you are supporting our PTA.

Warwick Public Schools 2025-2026 School Year Calendar

Community Flyers on Norwood's Website

To access community flyers please utilize our existing website, with a new 'Community Updates' page.

Once a week, midweek, WPS will send a push notification to all school families regarding new flyers added to the Community Update page, along with a note to check frequently for up to date updates.

Please check here for all flyers, sports sign-ups, clubs and community events

Community Updates