Week of June 15, 2012

The summertime publication for The Williams School community

The Williams School builds with each child the foundation for academic, moral, and social success. A Williams School student embodies confidence, discipline, integrity, and a love of learning.

Dear Williams School Families, It has been a privilege and an honor to serve as the Interim Head of The Williams School. The countless times that parents, teachers, staff and students pitched in to help were a blessing and a kindness that made the year successful. I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for all of the support that has been given to me. I have been repeatedly lifted up by the TWS community and touched by everyones devotion to the school. Every day I have been inspired by our childrens eagerness to learn new things, their determination to do their best, and their ability to express themselves so sincerely. Every day I have been motivated by a seemingly tireless faculty whose first commitment is to our children, and whose satisfaction truly arises from their students successes. And every day I have been enriched by parents who look for partners in their childrens lives and who are eager to celebrate the success of all children in addition to their own. It is a heartfelt thanks that I give to you all. Have a wonderful summer!
My best, Melanie

SUMMER READING INVITATION

As a community of learners, The Williams School faculty and staff would, once again, like to extend an invitation to parents to join us in our summer reading. We have added a few more titles to last years list. Please let us know if you have additional suggestions that you would like to add to the list. To help you with your selection, each book listed is hyperlinked to a book review. Happy Reading!
The Blessing of a Skinned Knee by Dr. Wendy Mogel The Blessing of a B- by Dr. Wendy Mogel The Price of Privilege by Madeline Levine Building Resilience in Children and Teens by Dr. Kenneth R. Ginsburg Doing School by Denise Clark Raising Self-Reliant Children in a Self-indulgent World by Dr. H. Stephen Glenn and Jane Nelson The Over-Scheduled Child: Avoiding the Hyper-Parenting Trap by Dr. Alvin Rosenfeld M.D. and Nicole Wise Putting Family First: Successful Strategies for Reclaiming Family Life in a Hurry-Up World by William J. Doherty and Barbara Carlson lol...OMG!: What Every Student Needs to Know About Online Reputation Management, Digital Citizenship and Cyberbullying by Matt Ivester The Parent's Guide to Texting, Facebook, and Social Media: Understanding the Benefits and Dangers of Parenting in a Digital World by Shawn Marie Edgington Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Lives of Children by Michael Thompson, Cathe O'Neill-Grace, Lawrence J. Cohen and Catherine O'Neill Grace The Pressured Child: Freeing Our Kids from Performance Overdrive and Helping Them Find Success in School and Life by Michael Thompson Ph.D. Raising Respectful Children in a Disrespectful World (Motherhood Club) by Jill M. Rigby Just Tell Me What to Say: Sensible Tips and Scripts for Perplexed Parents [Paperback] by Betsy Brown Braun (2008)

Main Office Summer Hours

Monday Friday 9am-12:00pm

Spanish, French or Academic Resource

Parents of students new to the middle school and first-time foreign language students, please check your email for an important message from the school regarding your childs selection of Spanish, French or Academic Resource. Please contact the school if you have not received an email concerning your childs class selection.

Summer Reading Lists

To see the summer reading lists for students, please visit www.thewilliamsschool.org . Select Academic Life and then click on the Summer Reading link on the left. Select the appropriate grade. Middle school students should also click Middle School Summer Reading Assignment as well.

RenWebs ParentsWeb is a private and secure parents portal that will allow parents to view academic information specific to their children, while protecting their childrens information from others. You can see your childs grades, order lunch, view homework assignments as well as other useful school information. You can also communicate with teachers and other school staff online whenever necessary. All you need is an Internet-capable computer. Heres how to access our easy-to-use RenWeb ParentsWeb: Go to Internet Explorer and enter the address www.renweb.com. Click ParentsWeb Login in the red box. Log in as follows: 1. Type WILLIAMS for your School ID. 2. Click the Submit button. 3. Click the First Time Users tab if you have not logged in to RenWeb before. If you have, skip to Step 6. 4. Enter your email address that you provided to the school. 5. Click the New User button. You will receive an email containing your password within 3 minutes (to the email address you entered, which must be the same email address that you provided to the school). 6. Click the Parents tab. 7. Enter the password assigned. 8. Click the Parent Login button. Please contact the main office should you require additional assistance.

Report Cards will be mailed out on Monday, June 18

Lunch Survey
Lunch is prepared and served at The Williams School by our very own chef, Hector Perez, with the assistance of Kenya Dixon. Chef Perez is a graduate of The Culinary Institute if Virginia and has been with the school since 2008. Kenya came to Williams in 2010 with two years experience in day care school food service. Our lunch room maintains a license with the Virginia Department of Health, with Chef Hector holding a Food Management Certificate and Kenya retaining a Food Handlers Card. The menu entrees are planned with selections that are generally not repeated during the course of two months. Three days a week entre selections keep the pallet of the child in mind and the other two days are planned to broaden their experiences. Chef Hector strives for affordable, quality food and makes every effort to limit processed foods. Our kitchen does not deep fry and stays away from nuts, white bread and highly sugared products. During the course of the year, the menu supports the curriculum with special entrees for days such as Francophone Day, Hispanic Day, Chinese New Year, and Pi Day. Please take a moment to complete a very short survey. We value your input. Thank you! https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6ZPZGTQ

TWS Library Summer Hours!

The library will be open to students for hours on select Wednesdays this summer. Please come by and enjoy the library, check out books, share some stories and fun. Wednesday June 20, 10-1 July 18, 3:30-5:30 (with Sally Marr! Trying to give some of you in day camp some late afternoon time!) July 25, 2-5 August 1 10-1 Lots of Summer Reading Books are available.

Missed Signing up for the Reading Incentive Program on Festival Day? anyone grades 1-8 interested in the librarys Book A Summer Reading Trip- come pick up your passport in the library with instructions, or please let me know if I can mail you one!

Beth Miller bmiller@thewilliamsschool.org Check out our bloghttp://thehouseowlhoots.blogspot.com

The Williams School Field Hockey Camp June 19-22, 2012 8:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
The Williams Schools fifth grade science and sixth grade language arts teacher, Sue Schneider, is currently the Head Field Hockey Coach at Maury High School. For the past 4 seasons, she has also coached at Blair Middle School and at Norfolk Collegiate School. She is offering a field hockey camp for the first 20 novice or experienced Williams School students in rising grades 4-8. Campers at The Williams School Field Hockey Camp will be introduced to the basic skills and rules of the game. What a GREAT time we had in 2011! A typical camp day will include a stroll to The Field for instruction time, drills, and scrimmages with members of the Maury High School field hockey team and Coach Schneider. Upon returning to TWS campers will enjoy a snack and craft time. Campers will need: a snack, plenty of water, mouth guard, shinguards (soccer is fine and we have some extras), and a stick (we have a few sticks to share). Registration begins immediately and will continue until the camp is full. Please contact Sue Schneider if you are interested. sschneider@thewilliamsschool.org

The

will once again return to TWS. The camps will take place from July 30th through August 10th from 9:30-11:30 AM. Details can be found at http://www.tidewaterwritingcamp.org/. Applications for the camps will be available soon.

Tidewater Writing Camp

School of Rock @ THE ACADEMY Summer Camps

See you this 2012 summer!! 3 Sessions -- Let's ROCK!! Call 757-461-1787, email kslocke@schoolofrock.com, or visit www.schoolofrock.com/norfolk for more info! SoR Rock 101 camps June 18-June 22 and July 30-Aug 3 Little Wing camp July 23-July 27 Cost: $265 per week June 18, 2012 - 9:00am - June 29, 2012 - 3:00pm July 2, 2012 - 9:00am - July 13, 2012 - 3:00pm July 16, 2012 - 9:00am - July 27, 2012 - 3:00pm