April 18 — Staff Professional Day, Early Dismissal, School Closes at 12 noon!
April 25 — Parent/Teacher Conferences, Middle School, School Closed for Middle School Only!
April 26 — Parent/Teacher Conferences Lower School, School Closed for Lower School Only!
May 2 — Discover the Difference Event
May 27 — Memorial Day, School Closed!
June 11 — Graduation, 5:00 pm
June 12 — Last day of School Closing Ceremonies, Dismissal at 10:30 am
July 8 to August 16 — Summer Program
Guests at Wolf’s Fundraiser Discovered the Difference!
When Jody Zeuli, a current Wolf School parent, spoke at this year’s Discover the Difference fundraiser, a crowd of 200 people was close to tears. Describing her child’s transformation from a terrified, scarred student who hated going to school, to a confident learner and athlete, Jody explained, “As a parent, I can say that The Wolf School gave me back my breath…I’d been holding it so long, I didn’t realize what it was like to breathe normally.”
Jody’s sentiment rings true for most of our parents. Wolf, as Jody described, is “a life preserver.” Children thrive at Wolf, in part because of the extraordinary supports and expertise of team members, but also because of the emphasis on building a partnership with parents.
And this notion of partnership certainly extends beyond the school building. With an outpouring of goodwill and philanthropy, our sponsors and guests raised over $80,000. Countless individuals, businesses and corporations donated auction items or contributed sponsorships to this exciting event. Tony Petrarca, WPRI Channel 12’s Chief Meteorologist, hosted our scholarship and live auction with great humor and enthusiasm, and a special visit from the Extraordinary Rendition Band (ERB) made for a fun and lively evening.
See photographs from the festivities below and on our Facebook page, and click here for a complete list of sponsors, contributors and in-kind donors. And thanks to everyone who made Discover the Difference a stellar fundraising event!
Author Visit Highlights Annual Book Fair
Award-winning illustrator and children's book author Mary Jane Begin visited The Wolf School's Book Fair last Friday for a fun and inspiring reading of her latest book, The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Known for many beloved children's picture books, locals may best recognize her alphabet book, R is for Rhode Island Red.
During a question and answer time students learned that the cover for this book is from a painting. They also learned that The Sorcerer's Apprentice is the first book Ms. Begin both illustrated and wrote, and that of all the stories she worked on, her favorite was The Wind in the Willows.
Students also read their own stories in front of faculty and classmates and shopped at the Book Fair to round out this exciting literary day!
Wolf Staff Present Poster at National Conference
Two of Wolf's speech and language therapists, Rachel Best and Anissa Khouri, were accepted to present at a poster session at the 2012 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) national convention in Atlanta, GA. Attended by over 10,000 professionals and highlighting the latest research in the field, this convention was an extraordinary opportunity to showcase Wolf's Immersion Model.
The poster showed significant improvement in expressive and receptive language over a three year period for students receiving integrated speech and language supports through The Wolf School Immersion Model. In addition to quantitative test results demonstrating improvement, qualitative reports from teachers and parents observed more complex speech usage in the classroom and at home.
Click here to view or download the poster.
For more information about research at The Wolf School contact Lise Faulise at lfaulise@thewolfschool.org.
Local Educators Learn the Wolf Way!
Helping teachers in regular classroom settings identify and work with complex learners was the goal of a recent training by Wolf School staff at Highlander Institute's Diverse Learners conference this November. Presented by Wolf's expert team, participants looked at characteristics of the complex learner through the lens of language processing, occupational therapy, academic and social/emotional factors.
According to Jessica Robins Miller, Head of School, "If educators can identify children early on and utilize practical strategies to support learning in the classroom, it can make a huge difference in establishing a positive school experience for the complex learner."
The training reviewed a range of contributing factors that can create learning interferences and provided concrete tips and practical solutions for teachers to implement in class. Click here for the full presentation.
If you are interested in future trainings, or would like to have Wolf staff make a presentation to your group, contact Jessica Robins Miller at (401) 432-9940 or jrmiller@thewolfschool.org
Wolf Showcased on WPRI
Reporter Walt Buteau of WPRI Channel 12 News got a first hand look of The Wolf School’s Sensory Arena and our unique approach to teaching children with multiple learning interferences. Check out the video and his full report here.
All School Assembly Builds Community
On Thursday mornings at The Wolf School, staff and students gather for a school-wide assembly in The Pelson Center. Every meeting looks similar — there is a fun greeting around the circle, classrooms share information about what they are learning or individuals talk about special interests and talents, and faculty make announcements about upcoming events and activities.
But so much more is happening. “For many of our students, this is the first time they have been able to participate in a large group setting,” explains Anna Johnson, Director of Education. “They are sharing and learning information about each other in a way that builds new levels of confidence and social skills.”
As the school year progresses, students will begin to take more ownership over the assembly, reinforcing leadership and communication skills as well. Students may share a Power Point presentation, or reflect on critical questions about the school. This mirrors Wolf’s overarching goals as a Professional Learning Community (PLC).
The PLC approach has been widely studied as a school reform concept, and is put into daily practice at Wolf. The focus on learning, collaboration, and results are core principals to a Wolf education. Classroom teachers, teaching assistants, Occupational Therapists and Speech Therapists work collaboratively in the classroom to make learning happen. According to Anna, “We look at each student individually and brainstorm ideas together until we've found the strategies that work best.”
The All School Assembly promotes this sense of collaboration and learning across ages, grade levels, and roles. “We’re all here to learn, to work with each other, and to have fun! And that's what All School Assembly is about!”
A video for prospective Wolf parents. Watch Wolf parents discuss the decision to send their children to our school:
See our 2010 graduates talk about their Wolf School experience: 
Our 2011 graduates: 
Our 2012 graduates:
Watch Wolf parents discuss the decision to send their children to our school:
Our mission: The Wolf School is dedicated to providing an educational environment where children with learning differences become successful, secure learners. Our intensive and integrated model enables children to discover and utilize their strengths and talents by meeting their academic, social and emotional needs.
