Dear Norwood Families,

I hope everyone had a nice day off while our teachers engaged in Professional Development. Stay safe and warm tonight!

There have been some concerns around the drop off and pick up loop. With the colder weather and more families driving students to school there has been a bit of a back up. Please keep in mind that more students tend to be driven to school in colder and inclement weather and plan accordingly. To help alleviate this a bit we will be moving all buses in the morning to the bus turn around loop in the front. The loop in the back of the school is a drive thru loop. It is not intended for parking and or stopping and leaving your car. If you need to do this please park in one of the lots in the side or back of the school. Please do not park along the loop for the safety of our staff and students. Please see the picture below to help as a guide of where to go.

Norwood School hours are 9:00 am - 3:10 pm.

Drop off is 8:40 am for students having breakfast and 8:50am for everyone else. We are not staffed before that time for drop off.

Students are dismissed at 3:10pm. Students in grades K-2 are dismissed out of the back of the All Purpose Room. Students in grade 3-5 are dismissed out the back door in front of the playground.

Please consult our school handbook.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.

See everyone tomorrow!

1/23/24 - No School Professional Development Day

1/24/24 - Better Together at Norwood School 6pm

1/24/24 - Texas Roadhouse Fundraiser

1/26/24 - Winter Creations Paint Night 6pm

1/29/24 - Parenting Partners Starts 6:30pm at Lippitt Elementary School

1/29/24 & 1/30/24 - Hearing Screenings

1/30/24 - Family Yoga 6pm

1/31/24 - Storyteller Len Cabral

1/31/24 - World's Finest Fundraising Bars Ends

1/31/24 - Red Robin Fundraiser

2/1/24 - Girl Scouts Talk at Lunch

2/5/24 - Student Performance Chorus Concert

2/8/24 - 100th Day of School

2/9/24 - Souper Bowl Pep Rally

2/9/24 - Wear Your Favorite Football Team Gear Day

2/12/24 - Family Performance Chorus Concert 2pm

2/12/24 - Jump Rope for Hearts in PE class

2/12/24 - PTA Meeting

2/14/24 - Wear Pink or Red Spirit Day

2/19/24 - 2/23/24 No School President's Day Break

2/27/24 - Vision Screenings

Warwick Schools District Calendar

The Rhode Island Department of Education is currently administering its annual SurveyWorks Family Survey, which is an opportunity for family members to provide feedback about our school community and our children’s opportunities to learn. The survey results are most useful when all families participate.

Your views on matters like the safety of your child at school, the way students are taught, the condition of the school, and how connected you feel to this school are important. By taking this short survey, you can help our school leadership and school community to make improvements. Responses are anonymous and cannot be linked to any individual; no one can tie your responses back to you.

You can take the short survey online between January 16 and March 31. You may use any electronic device that has access to the internet to complete the survey. Family surveys are available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Choose your school from the dropdown list, Norwood School (Warwick). If you don’t have access to the Internet, please contact Norwood Elementary School at 401-734-3525 to access the survey.

Every student's family that completes the form recognizing survey completion will be entered into a school-wide raffle for three different prizes including book bags, gift certificates and prize baskets. The first class to have 100% completion will receive a pizza party. Your participation and input is truly appreciated!

I am pleased to announce that children in grades 3-12 will have the opportunity to give feedback about your children’s school through SurveyWorks, a statewide survey that asks you questions about the learning environment of schools. In a time where testing is all around us, this is your chance to let the school know what you think – so that schools in turn can learn how to improve the learning environment for your children. This year, we have decided to focus on learning in the schools

Topics on the survey include:

School Safety

School Climate

Teacher-Student Relationships

Rigorous Expectations

College and Career Readiness

You can preview the survey content at this link: Elementary Student. As in previous years, all surveys are anonymous and taking the survey is voluntary.

Students will take the survey in class and be proctored by their classroom teacher. Students, parents and staff will be able to take the survey between January 16th and March 31st, 2023. We appreciate your participation and look forward to using the survey results as a guide to improving our school. All surveys are available in English, Portuguese and Spanish. Accommodations will be offered as necessary.

Thank you for helping to make our schools better for all students!

We are starting another round of Parenting Partners at the end of this month. This group will meet on Mondays starting January 29th at Lippitt Elementary and is open to ALL Title I school community members. I highly encourage you to come connect with other parents and discover more ways to support your child's growth. As parents, we all want the best for our children and Parenting Partners is an incredible program designed to strengthen school communities. Mondays can be rough, but we guarantee they will become your [second] favorite day of the week! (we can’t compete with Friday) We’re providing FREE childcare & dinner for your family so that you, the adult(s), can laugh and have a wonderful experience with other parents. 100% of past participants in Warwick recommend this program to others. RSVP today!

"Where You Come From"

The Challenge Runs December 11- January 31, 2024.

Registration is open now.

Here is the link to our Beanstack Platform https://warwicklibrary.beanstack.com/reader365

Log your reading minutes and explore topics like family, history, and identity all while earning virtual badges. Read 10 hours to complete the challenge and earn a raffle ticket for a chance to win an Ancestry DNA test kit or a Family Tree Package.

Every person has a rich history and unique stories to tell — dive deeper into your own this winter! Explore topics like family, history, and identity. Read the featured book: Where We Come From, a poetic picture book for all ages, written by John Coy, Shannon Gibney, Sun Yung Shin, and Diane Wilson and illustrated by Dion MBD. Let it inspire you to reflect on your own story! For logging your reading minutes and completing fun activities, you will earn badges that feature some of the beautiful artwork from the book itself.

Happy Reading!

RI STATE POLICY 16-21-36. Outdoor recess

No elementary school or private preschool shall permit recess to be held outdoors when the local temperature falls below thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit (32oF)/ zero degrees Celsius (0oC).

See document on link above.

We should of course take the wind chill into consideration.

If the wind chill is 29 degrees or lower please use your discretion. Please make sure students

are dressed appropriately for the weather.

Lunch Aides & Bus Monitors - great hours for parents looking for a schedule to match their student's. Apply Today- https://www.warwickschools.org/page/job-openings

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.

As the new school year approaches the Warwick Police Department and WPS would like to remind everyone that dogs are not allowed on school property or in schoolyards. This is for the safety of our students and also for the dogs. Any violation of Warwick City Ordinance Sec. 4 -9 can result in a $50 fine. https://www.warwickri.gov/city-council-legislative-department/pages/code-ordinances

If you have not downloaded the Warwick Public School mobile app, I highly recommend doing so. You must set up your push notification settings to receive important messages from your child's school(s). This 30-second video will show you how to do so.

Title I Family Engagement Policies

Warwick Cares Program

Could your family benefit from supplemental food items brought home at the end of each week to provide nutrition to your child over the weekend? Our backpack program ensures your child will be given a backpack with food items to bring home weekly throughout the school year. This program is only available to currently enrolled Norwood students. Please register your student for the Title I Backpack Food Assistance Program.

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.

What is Chronic Absenteeism?

Chronic Absenteeism is a measure of how many students miss a defined number of school days for any reason. Rhode Island defines Chronic Absenteeism as the percentage of students who miss 10% or more school days during the year (or 2 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 increased risk of dropping out.

Missing 10% of school or more makes it harder to learn

Please refrain from requesting an early dismissal for your child after 2:45pm. The dismissal process begins at 3:05pm and it becomes very difficult for us to fill an early dismissal request once the process begins.

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

If the absence is COVID related it will be entered as an excused absence.

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.

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)

Healthy Snacks Letter

Personal Device Policy

Student Dress Code

Warwick Special Education Advisory Committee Brochure

Download the WPS App

Warwick is moving forward with implementing the WPS Vision of a Graduate for all students!

• Please make sure students are dressed appropriately for the weather. If you need help with this please reach out.
• There are no water fountains at school for health and sanitation reasons. Students are advised to bring in a refillable bottle to use at the water refill station.
• The parking lot for arrival and dismissal hours is a one way loop.
• Please be mindful of the buses, stop signs and the crosswalks.
• Outside toys are not allowed in school including Pokemon cards. We have enough for students to do and games to play!

Dr. Sabrina Antonelli

National Distinguished Principal

2023 RI Elementary Principal of the Year

Instagram account @principalantonelli

Cell: 401- 871-4350

Fax: 401-734-3528

Email: sabrina.antonelli@warwickschools.org
Website: https://norwood.warwickschools.org/o/nee/
Location: 266 Norwood Avenue, Warwick, RI, USA
Phone: 401-734-3525
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wpsnorwoodknights
Twitter: @principalant