Transition Trender
Vol. 10, 2023
Transition Students Spotlight
"COOL" Event Raises Over 20K For Special Olympics And Unified Sports At Grosse Pointe South High School
Grosse Pointe South students and staff braved the cold and brought in over $20,000 dollars for Special Olympics at the first ever Polar Plunge at the building. GPPSS Transition students participated in the plunge bringing in cheers from their peers and other spectators. The event overall promoting kindness and inclusion, included over 200 plungers. Special thanks to the administration and special education staff who worked hard to put this event on and the administrators and staff who plunged as well. Not only did this event bring in money for very important programming at Special Olympics, it showed that inclusion is cool on so many levels!
Grosse Pointe Transition Students Attended the First Annual Special Needs Resource Fair in Their Community
The first annual Special Needs Resource Fair at The War Memorial was held at the end of February and Grosse Pointe Special Education students were happy to be a part of it. Students and their families came and gathered resources and talked with agencies looking to open doors to a more independent and supported future. The fair came together when groups such as The Family Center of Grosse Pointe and Harper Woods, Full Circle Foundation, Kids On the Go, Lumen Pediatric Therapy, The Arc of Grosse Pointe and Harper Woods and GPPSS Transition Services teamed up to form a coalition of sorts to plan supportive events and provide resources to families in the special needs community. For list of the providers and services that were at the fair, click here: https://www.familycenterweb.org/content.aspx?page_id=22... Save the date for next year's Resource Fair on February 27th, 2024, 3:30pm-7:30pm at The War Memorial.
Students Learn Ways to Communicate With Employers and Co-Workers
Some students in Grosse Pointe Special Education classrooms completed the Pre-Employment Services program through Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS) this month. The program teaches students some of the skills needed to gain employment such as communication skills, job seeking and readiness skills. Michigan Rehabilitation Services is a statewide network of vocational rehabilitation (VR) professionals delivering individualized services that assist potential employees with differing abilities to prepare for, pursue and retain careers. MRS partners with Disability Network Wayne-County-Detroit to deliver the services to the school.
How to connect to an agency
Contact: Kim Childers (grades 11-12th)
313-549-8909, Childersk1@michigan.gov
Rakisha Smith (grades 9-10th)
248-697-7213, smithr108@michigan.gov
Why is it important to connect to an agency? What can an agency provide?
MRS can help build a bridge between the services that we provide in a school setting and the students life beyond the classroom.
For more information on MRS click here: https://www.michigan.gov/leo/bureaus-agencies/mrs.
Grosse Pointe Community to Turn Purple in April
In the month of April you may see a lot more of the color purple as part of a campaign to honor, acknowledge and celebrate individuals with cognitive, physical, and emotional challenges. During April, the Full Circle Foundation is promoting Purple in the Pointes, in which businesses, groups, and community organizations are encouraged to shine purple lights, wear purple clothing, or come up with creative ideas to colorfully show their support. For more information scan the QR code in the article or call 313-469-6660 for more details. Check out this article in the Grosse Pointe News explaining the campaign in greater details. https://www.grossepointenews.com/articles/purple-in-the-pointes/?fbclid=IwAR0h3L9mPKxXRNT3g_E5-3aaStlkPAVjkC-gqefdX4o-bVYHM04WfzHV2rc
The After I’m Gone Program (AIG) presented by the Arc of Western Wayne County and Northwest Wayne County assists families in planning and preparing for the future of their family member with a disability. AIG helps families build the framework that combines long term legal and financial planning with person-centered quality of life planning. Here is a link the program brochure and schedule of webinars tohttps://thearcww.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/After-Im-Gone-2022-2023-Brochure.pdf
May The 4th Be With You - Don't Miss This Chance to Dance the Night Away
Join us for this special dance and social opportunity for youth and young adults (ages 12 and up) with special needs, brought to you by Kids On The Go, The Arc of Grosse Pointe-Harper Woods, Full Circle Foundation, and The Family Center of Grosse Pointe and Harper Woods. The dance takes place Thursday, May 4th from 6:30-8:30pm at the Grosse Pointe Memorial Church. DJ Dave Dazzle Do Time will be spinning some tunes and light refreshments will be provided. Attendees may dress for the Star Wars Theme. Please RSVP by April 27th here is the signup link to attend.
Did you miss our Transition Planning Family Information session?
Need more information on the next steps for your student as they reach adulthood? Watch this family information session with local transition experts from The Ark of Grosse Pointe - Harper Woods, Michigan Rehabilitation Services and school district speech pathologists, social worker, transition coordinator and special education teachers as they cover everything on how to get your young adult ready for life after the public school and what you should be doing now to prepare for that transition. Scan the QR code or click the image for the video presentation and the slides.
Special Educator Spotlight
Special Educator Spotlight
What you do in the district: Special Education Teacher at Community Campus, one of GPPSS's programs for 18-26 year old young adults who are learning employment skills.
Years in education: 20
Years in the district: 17
What you wished everyone knew: I wish people knew how capable our student are.
Things you are most proud of: There are a ton of things I am proud of in my life. I am proud of my own kids. As for my students, I am proud of their simplest accomplishment to the hardest. I'm also proud of the peers that felt comfortable enough to come to my room and befriend my students when I was at Pierce.
Your favorite quote: "That was easy". I used to tell my students at Pierce that hearing "that was easy" was music to my ears. It meant that they really understood.