Holiday Party

Our class will hold a Holiday Party on Friday, 12/19 during our lunch period at 11:30. Parents are invited. We hope to see you there!

WMS Choir Concert

UPDATE: Due to the weather, tonight's concert has been rescheduled for Wednesday, December 17th at 7PM.

The WMS Holiday Choir Concert will be on Tuesday, December 16th @ 7PM in the gym. Come join us for an evening of music and fun to get you into the holiday spirit!

A Christmas Carol

Along with the 7th grade English classes, we will be going to see the Dallas Theater Center's production of "A Christmas Carol" on Wednesday, December 10th. Students must bring a sack lunch from home. We will leave at 9am and return around 1:45pm. We have been reading the novel in class and are excited to see the live production. It should be a great experience for all of our students. They have been really enjoying the story in class.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I would like to wish all of my students and families a very Happy Thanksgiving. As we spent the past several days talking about the things we are thankful for, I have been impressed to hear the many different things that the students have told us they are grateful to have in their lives. I want to take this opportunity to tell them that I am thankful for them and their hard work. I am thankful that I have an opportunity to work with them and learn from them each and every day. I am also thankful to have such an amazing team to work with, and to be so blessed to have Mrs. Wolf and Mrs. Stone in our classroom. I love to come to work every day and love my job. So I am thankful for all of the many opportunities and blessings I have just by being in the right place at the right time. Happy Thanksgiving!

Parent Training

November 6th at 7pm

Futures Planning and Transition Services for Parents of Students in grades 7-12 at the admin building.

Jump & Jive in Rockwall

Jump and Jive says it is finally okay to jump inside. The huge warehouse located at 356 Ranch Trail in Rockwall offers thousands of feet of climate-controlled fun. The arena features huge air-filled structures that attract kids of all ages, including teenagers. Jump and Jive not only provides a much needed energy outlet for kids of all ages in a safe environment, they also provide for the community.

On the second Saturday of every month, the doors open from 9-10 a.m. for children with special needs and their parents.

In approaching Jump and Jive owner, Elisha Duckworth, they found a friend. Duckworth, herself a teacher, understood their need and invited the group to use the facility before the doors opened, at no charge to the parents. Three years later, they are still meeting there.

The group, hosted by Noel Andring and Sandy Woods has become so popular that their email list is now over 200 names. The Jump and Jive arena offers a great stress reliever for parents, and the kids can be rambunctious and run and play with their friends and siblings. The group that was originally started for Down’s syndrome kids now includes autistic kids as well.

For fall session times visit http://www.jumpandjive.us/

More Movies for Kids with Special Needs

Special screenings for students with special needs at Studio Movie Grill. Check out the website:
http://www.studiomoviegrill.com/familyfun.html

Respite @ FUMC in Rockwall

First United Methodist Church in Rockwall (near Utley) provides respite care for children with special needs. It is typically on the first Saturday of the month, however, sometimes that changes. The next one will be held on Saturday, November 8th from 6:30-9:30. It is specifically for children with special needs, aged 6 months-13 years. There is no charge. Parents can drop off their kids or stay with them, although parents do not typically stay, it is a time for them to have a break or do something with another sibling.

There is a packet of information the parent fills our and turns in prior to attending, including medical information and it includes behavior strategies,etc.... The parents then make a reservation by the Wednesday before the respite night. They bring their child with dinner, unless they ate before coming and they are placed into same age level classrooms. Trained volunteers watch the children and there is a bounce house every month, movies,toys/games and snacks provided. Siblings can attend as well up to age 13 years.

The Dec. 6th one is a daytime event from 10 am til 4 pm, giving parents an opportunity to get soem Christmas shopping done.

Lake Pointe also provides respite. I will get some information on this as well.

Autism Day @ the movies

I wanted to share an email I received:

I wanted to let yall know that I took my Special Needs Sunday school class to the movies yesterday to see Beverly Hill Chihuahua. Anyway while my group was getting their snacks the manager came over to me and asked if I was there for the special Autism showing of Beverly Hill Chihuahua. I said no I didn't know anything about that. She said at their theater (AMC Firewheel in Garland) they have started a special showing of a current movie just for children with autism or kids that need it. They offer a time that is not open to the general public so it is less crowded, the lights will be dimmed instead of off, the volume will be not so loud and the kids will not be expected to stay in their seats and be quiet. It sounds like a great idea to me! The price will be the same.

The next one will be on Saturday, November 8th @ 10am. The movie will be a new release "Madagascar 2". Please call Roxanne "Ruth" Morales the General Manager of the theater 972 496-5473 for more information.

I also saw on their web site that they have closed captioning and descriptive video and headsets available at certain showings for people who are visually and hearing impaired.

Yearbooks

Yearbooks are handled kind of weird...students are given a form that asks them if they are interested in purchasing a yearbook. The students mark "yes" or "no". The form has the student's name and address on it. If the student marks "yes", the parent eventually receives information in the mail notifying them that their student is interested in purchasing a yearbook. All of our students marked 'yes", so you will all be receiving this information in the mail at some point.

You are under no obligation to buy this book if you do not want it. I am not sure how much the yearbook costs.

Fair Day

Just a reminder that Wednesday 10/01 is Fair Day, so there is no school. Each student received a free ticket to the fair. This was sent home in their folder on Monday. The ticket is good for the duration of the fair, not just for Wednesday.

Welcome

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Welcome to our class blog. I have found this site to be easier to use and more helpful than the current teacher website available through the district. This site will allow us to share important news and information regarding our class, the school, and the district. In addition, it will allow you to post questions and comments which are visible to other parents and guests to our site, potentially answering their questions as well, or raising additional questions that were perhaps not considered previously.

This site is not available to the public and is only available to those whom I invite to see it, or to those whom you choose to share it.

UPDATE: This site is now open to the public!

Please remember to respect confidentiality and privacy at all times...this means do not discuss specific individual's names or identifying information nor specific incidents involving individuals. If you need to discuss something in private with me, I will be happy to set up a parent conference with you.

Finally, with these new student laptops, I know you are all having difficulty getting onto the internet at home. I believe this is true about many students at the school. Maybe we can use this website to work those issues out, since maybe the same answers will work for all of you...not that I know what the answers are at this point. But know now, the filters on the computers do not allow the student computers to access this website, so the students won't be able to use this blog.

Thanks for checking it out. I hope it becomes a valuable communication tool. Thanks for letting me into your children's lives. We're already off to a great year and I look forward to each and every day.

Kris