Special Education Department
Educating Students Academically, Socially and Behaviorally
September 30, 2016 Volume 4 Issue 8
October
Children's Health Month
AAC Awareness Month
Learning Disabilities Awareness Month
10/3-10/7 Week of Respect
10/10 Columbus Day- School Closed; World Mental Health Day
10/11 BOE Meeting
10/17-10/21 School Violence Awareness Week
10/20 Early Dismissal- Staff PD
10/21 Staff PD Day
10/24 BOE Meeting
10/29 Faces 4 Autism Super Hero Walk for Autism
News
Happy News
Last Saturday both Scott Scott and Lindsay Scott were married (not to each other:). Congratulations to all the newlyweds!
Welcome Back!
I am happy to share that Rose Rhine will be assisting us while we continue to search for a new school psychologist for the Hess School. Rose will be in a couple of days a week to handle the case management. Welcome back, Rose!
Hellos and Goodbyes
Three of our paraprofessionals will be leaving us today- Angie Chavez, Enza Lewis, and Mary Jane Valiante. We are sad to see them go and wish them the best of luck in all their future endeavors.
Ericka LaSure will be replacing Angie. She will be starting on Monday. Please welcome Ericka. Cassie Milone will be replacing Mary Jane. She will be starting shortly. Please welcome Cassie. Enza's replacement is pending board approval on 10/11.
Substitutes:
We are always looking for teacher, nurse and paraprofessional substitutes. If you know anyone who is interested, please have that person call the personnel office at 476-6247.
Mental Health Initiative
Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
Check out this new blog series, We All Teach SEL.
Suicide Prevention
Jersey Matters Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
Stockton University is sponsoring a Suicide Prevention Week. See flyer below.
Learning Disabilities Awareness Month
Advocating for Students with Learning Disabilities
By Jazzy Wright
October is Learning Disabilities Awareness Month, which means it is time to recognize children, adolescents and adults with learning disabilities -- and the educators who serve them. The month is celebrated to bring attention to individuals that have disabilities like dyslexia, dyscalculia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
In 1985, the observation was introduced as a proclamation by President Ronald Reagan. Since then, the month has been used by organizations, such as the National Center for Learning Disabilities and the Learning Disabilities Association of America, to educate the public about those with learning disabilities.
According to the National Center for Learning Disabilities, there are 15 million people in the United States with learning disabilities. One of the biggest challenges faced by individuals with learning disabilities is the overall lack of acceptance by society. This month is an excellent time for people to pay more attention to people with learning disabilities.
Educators can take part in Learning Disabilities Awareness Month by teaching their students facts about learning disabilities—doing so may show children and adolescents how to be supportive peers.
“The Learning Disabilities Awareness Month allows us to remember our commitments to all children and educate the public to our successes and our challenges,” said NEA Executive Director John Wilson, a former special education teacher from North Carolina. “I encourage everyone to become more knowledgeable about our students who may have a learning disability and how they can become an advocate for them.”
This is also a great time to recognize another underappreciated group affected by learning disabilities: special education teachers. Special education teachers are in great demand in school systems throughout the country, and they are also more likely to transfer to another job or leave the profession than teachers in other specialties.
Resources:
LD OnLineLearning Ally
When you are assigning your students Learning Ally accounts, please remember:
Learning Ally UserName= the student's ID number (can be found in Genesis)
ID Number= the student's ID number
Password= LearningAlly
These and all the directions can be found in the brief screencast in the Student Services Snippets section of this newsletter.
Paraprofessionals
Straight from the Code
In order to provide both general and special education teachers with more knowledge of special education, there will be an excerpt from the code each week to help clarify our processes. http://www.state.nj.us/education/code/current/title6a/chap14.pdf
Over the next few weeks, information will be shared relative to IEPs. Please be sure you have read and are implementing the IEPs for your students.
6A:14-3.7 Individualized education program
(d) The IEP may be amended without a meeting of the IEP team as follows:
1. The IEP may be amended if the parent makes a written request to the district board of education for a specific amendment to a provision or provisions of the IEP and the district agrees;
2. The school district provides the parent a written proposal to amend a provision or provisions of the IEP and, within 15 days from the date the written proposal is provided to the parent, the parent consents in writing to the proposed amendment;
3. All amendments pursuant to (d)1 and 2 above shall be incorporated in an amended IEP or an addendum to the IEP, and a copy of the amended IEP or addendum shall be provided to the parent within 15 days of receipt of parental consent by the school district; and
4. If an IEP is amended pursuant to this subsection, such amendment shall not affect the requirement in (i) below that the IEP team review the IEP at a meeting annually, or more often if necessary.
Parent Resources
Galloway Township School District is sponsoring a parent workshop- Effectively Dealing with Challenging Behaviors in Youth. See the flyer below for details. If you have any parents who you think would be interested, feel free to share the information.
Grants, Contests and Free Stuff!
The Press of Atlantic City Halloween Story Contest
The deadline is October 7, 2016.
Dash Back-to-School Pinterest Contest
Create a board. Name it “Handwriting Without Tears®Dash Back to School Contest." Pin everything from helpful teaching tips, classroom activities, or downloads. Have a the chance to win $200 WORTH of back-to-school gift cards! The deadline is October 14, 2016.
Enter daily for more chances to win! The contest ends March 14, 2017.
Healthy Playground Makeover Sweepstakes
Enter once a day, every day for more chances to win! The contest ends March 24, 2017.
Share Your Ed-Tech Innovation and You Could Be a Grand Prize Winner!
FREE Professional Development
*Tip- If there is a webinar you are interested in but you are unavailable at the time listed, register anyway as the company will generally send a link to the recorded webinar after the event.
Free Webinars:
Fostering Understanding, Empathy and Dialogue in Our Students
Monday, October 10, 2016 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
What Every Educator Should Know About Special Education Law
Monday, November 7, 2016 @ 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
NJ Coalition for Inclusive Education (NJCIE) recorded webinars
Student Services Snippets
Critical Information for ALL staff is contained in these short screencasts. They run from 4.5 to 8 minutes. Please refer to them as needed.
Working with Paraprofessionals
Critical Information for Paraprofessionals
If there is other information you feel it would be helpful for us to share via screencast, please let us know.
Special Education Department
Email: stecherm@hamiltonschools.org
Website: http://www.hamiltonschools.org/cst.html
Phone: (609)476-6314
Facebook: facebook.com/HTSDspecialed
Twitter: @HTSDspecialed