Kirkwood Special School District
September 2021 Edition
The Parent Education and Diversity Awareness (PEDA)
PEDA will be hosting the Parent Leadership Institute (PLI) this fall. The program, which is offered at no cost to participants, is designed for parents and family members who are the educational decision makers for a child with a disability. The three sessions will be held on Wednesdays from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 22, Sept. 29, and Oct. 6, 2021, at SSD Central Office, 12110 Clayton Road, 63131. To learn more about this program and/or to apply to be a part of it, please visit this link: Link to Application
Follow this link for more information Parent Education & Diversity Awareness Program / Parent Leadership Institute (ssdmo.org)
PEDA is also happy to announce that there will be a second PLI in the Spring of 2022. They will be announcing the dates in the near future.
Virtual Lunch and Learn Series for SSD Families and Stakeholders.
Special School District’s Family and Community Outreach, Social Work, Parent Education and Diversity Awareness (PEDA) and Communications departments have teamed up to offer a virtual Lunch & Learn series for SSD families and stakeholders. The series, which will involve community organizations sharing information about their work, will take place on the first Wednesday of each month during the 2021-22 school year, from 11:30 AM - Noon.
Representatives from nine community organizations will participate in order to increase awareness about their agency and make connections with those in our SSD community who may benefit from their programs and services.
Organizations represented in the Lunch & Learn series include:
- The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) – Sept. 1
- The Community Action Agency of St. Louis County (CAASTL) – Oct. 6
- Operation Food Search – Nov. 3
- Behavioral Health Response – Dec. 1
- Easterseals Midwest – Jan. 5
- The Recreation Council of Greater St. Louis – Feb. 2
- Team Activities for Special Kids (TASK) – March 2
- St. Louis ARC – April 6
- St. Louis County Library – May 4
BE A PART OF "KIRKWOOD UNIFIED LIGHTS"
WHERE: 801 WEST ESSEX AVENUE, KIRKWOOD, MO
MORE INFORMATION: If your child(ren) are interested in participating, please visit kirkwoodschools.org/unl. The external link is: https://forms.gle/DQC1cnSi2AmS5Hiu7. Please complete registration by Friday, September 24. Participants will be partnered up with a member of the KHS football team, cheer team, dance squad, pep nation or band. The partner student will be with your child throughout the event.
All participants and their families are invited to the pre-game pizza dinner which is sponsored by the Kirkwood School District Foundation.
Questions? Please contact please contact Cheri Nienhaus: dewdrop519@yahoo.com or April Curtis: kidscando@yahoo.com.
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Often times the start of a new school year can bring an increased feeling of anxiety for families and students. It’s normal for families to have a tough time transitioning themselves when their kids begin kindergarten, move on to the next grade, or transition to a new school. For many families, they are experiencing the loss of some control. It is important for families to remember they can’t control experiences and stress for their kids. Instead, she says families should be focused on helping their kids understand how they feel, talk it through, and learn how to cope with whatever’s going on. There are a number of ways that families and children can manage the stress that can come with the start of a new school year:
*Differentiate stress from stressors. Stressors are what activates the stress response in your body. Stressors can be anything you see, hear, smell, touch, taste, or imagine could do you harm. Stress is the neurological and physiological shift that happens in your body when you encounter one of these threats. The stress response = fight / flight / freeze.
*Just because you’ve dealt with the stressor doesn’t mean you’ve dealt with the stress itself.
*The key is to “complete the stress cycle” - i.e. to remove stress from the body in ways that work for YOU. Below are the 7 evidence-based strategies for completing the stress cycle
KIRKWOOD SSD STAFF DIRECTORY
Helpful Links
Upcoming Events
SSD Board of Education Meetings:
9.14.21 Board of Education Work Study Session 5:45 PM
9.28.21 Board of Education Business Meeting 5:45 PM
Please visit the SSD Board of Education for more information.
Kirkwood School District Board of Education Meetings:
9.13.21 Board of Education Work Study Session 5:00 PM
9.27.21 Board of Education Meeting 7:00 PM
Please visit the Kirkwood Board of Education for more information.
9.6.21 No School-Labor Day
9.7.21 No School for Students-Staff PD Day
9.29.21 Unified Lights-Lyons Stadium 5:00 pm
9.30.21 KSD SSD PAC Meet and Greet 6:30 pm-8:00 pm
Contact Us
Special School District of St. Louis County
12110 Clayton Road
Town & Country, MO 63131
Phone: 314‐989‐8100
Taneal Davis
- Director of Special Education-Robinson
- tmdavis@ssdmo.org
- taneal.davis@kirkwoodschools.org
Colleen Card
- Special Education Coordinator-KHS
- COcard@ssdmo.org
- colleen.card@kirkwoodschools.org
Bridget Duke
- Special Education Coordinator-North Glendale, Tillman, Nipher
- baduke@ssdmo.org
- bridget.duke@kirkwoodschools.org
Emily Meuth
- Special Education Coordinator-Keysor, Westchester, NKMS
- ELMeuth@ssdmo.org
- emily.meuth@kirkwoodschools.org