Menu’s will be coming home today for our trip to the Bone Yard on Tuesday.  We will be contributing $5 per student, and paying the tip at the restaurant for this trip.  Please look at the menu and indicate what your son/daughter would like to have and return to us so that we can help students order.  Please do not send any money until Tuesday.  Thank you!

Hello!  An early update before I forget everything that is happening!

Congratulations – Tori, Hassan and Yasmeen for completing the DIY Weekend Activity!  Each of you will receive a $5 gift card from Five Below!

Library Fines – Please be aware of library materials.  We go to the library every Monday, but it is the students responsibility to remember to bring his/her materials back to be returned.  Some students have racked up some hefty fines recently.  If your son/daughter has overdue materials, please be sure to drop them off at the library to avoid further fines. Materials should be returned every Monday.  The library will not allow students to check out new books if they owe a fine.  One student currently owes $26!

Dates to be aware of:

April 8th – DIA  Please bring a bagged lunch.

April 12, 13 and 14th are high school testing days, and we will not have buses for work sites or CBI.  Students have changed their planners to reflect this.

April 12  – we are planning on walking to the Bone Yard for lunch.  Students will need approximately $10-15 for lunch.  Menus will be sent home for your planning purposes.

April 17 – SPECIAL OLYMPICS SPAGHETTI DINNER!

April 22 – New Parent Orientation – anyone is welcome.  We will go over our program, classroom policies, and changes for next year. The orientation will take place in the Banquet Room at Hype from 1-3 p.m.

April 23 – Weekend activity.  Movie – The Jungle Book   Details will be sent home next week.

April 29 – Bowling $12

Other News:

Cedar Point – Unfortunately, we have had to cancel our trip to Cedar Point.  We have had some recent busing issues (see below) and we could not fit it in another time.  Fortunately, we do have many other fun things planned for this year!

Smart Bus – The SMART Bus Commuter system has cancelled all group trips.  We used this bus system for many of our non-CBI activities.  (Bowling, Greenfield Village, Benihana’s, etc.).  This restricts what we will be able to do in the future.  We are fortunate that Mr. Saad is allowing us to use the Hype van for several of our trips,  as long as it is available.  We will continue to collect an extra dollar or two per student when we use the van, to pay for gas.  In addition, we will begin using the SMART Bus fixed route system to travel to some of our locations.  This will be a good learning experience for the students and for many, realistic of the way they will travel.

Phone Numbers – Several families were interested in having a family phone list to coordinate activities with our students.  I think it is a great idea (we are on a family phone list with my sons school to organize play dates), however, only a few people returned the form that was sent home.  We are really trying to encourage friendships between the student and families.    These are their peers that they will have for the rest of their lives.  Even if you are very involved with your son/daughter’s lives, they still need their own friends outside of family, and they are unlikely to meet friends outside the school setting.  If you would like to be placed on a family phone list, please text or call our classroom phone (313-701-7985).  The list will only be distributed to those who contribute.

Before we leave for Spring Break – here is the schedule for April as we know it, as well as a few other notes…

• April 4 – Return to School
• April 8 – DIA
• April 17 – Special Olympics Spaghetti Dinner   What a wonderful way to support our athletes!!!  Ms. Cote and I will be there with our families.  Even if your son/daughter does not participate in Special Olympics – please join us for the fun.  Please ask if you are interested in purchasing tickets and I will connect you with the right person.
• April 22 – New Parent Orientation
• April 29 – Bowling

Also, a form will be coming home today if you would like your name to be on a family phone list.  This will be so helpful when students are planning their own activities.  We’d like them to do things with all of the students, not just the circle of friends they are used to.  So if you would like to participate, please return the form by Thursday March 24th if possible.  It will only be distributed to those that participate.  Thank you!

Enjoy the break!

Just a few reminders….

Dont forget to set your clocks 1 hour ahead on Saturday night!  It’s time to Spring Ahead!

Monday March 14th – Cedar Point RSVP due – please do not send money at this time.

Wednesday March 16th – Late Start

Wednesday March 16th – Friday March 18th      Ms. Cote and Mrs. Camp will be at a Transition Conference.  Classes will run as scheduled.  Please use the classroom phone if you need to speak to the substitute or one of our parapros.  313-701-7985

Have a great weekend!

Invitation to Attend:  Students who are eligible to attend the Cedar Point trip brought home an information sheet yesterday.  To be eligible, students must demonstrate the following:

• Good Behavior
• Participate in all classroom activities – work sites, community sites, etc.
• Able to take care of own personal hygiene needs
• Does not have any health/ medical issues (please see Health Concerns)
• Has ability to be in crowds, wait in long lines, appropriately
• Has ability to walk long distances

The new date for Cedar Point is Friday, May 20th.   We will send home new flyers to indicate this change.    Please return as soon as possible to indicate whether your son/daughter will be participating.  We do not need money at this time.  Please note, we are not planning a trip to Cedar Point next year, so if you are on the fence about going, this is the year to do it!

Health Concerns:  Any student with a known medical issue must have a parent or chaperone drive them and stay with them for the day.  We are not allowed to transport students with medical issues across state lines, but we would be happy to have you join us if you wish.  Keep in mind that most students will be on the rides, so if your son/daughter is not able to ride them, it might not be worth the time and money if he/she won’t be able to hang out with their friends, but that is your decision.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at any time.

It has been brought to my attention that the date selected for Cedar Point is also the date for Special Olympic Spring Games.  We will look for an alternate date for Cedar Point and let you know as soon as possible.  Thank you Mrs. Gontarski for letting us know!

Yesterday we sent home a note about a “DIY” Weekend Activity.   I would love to see students participate in this.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

As a reminder, please do not send lunches to school that need to be heated in a microwave.  More and more students asking us to heat something up “just this once”.  It creates a domino effect and soon all students will want something heated up “just this once”.   We just do not have the time and/or the facilities for this.  Students should be making their own lunches at this point, and a good lesson for them to work on at home is learning the difference between a “hot lunch” and “cold lunch”.   Please send cold lunches only.     Thank you for your understanding.

Happy Friday!  There are just a few reminders for this week:

Friday March 11th – DIA trip.  No cost.  Bring a bagged lunch

Thursday March 24th – Alternatives to Guardianship  Workshop 1-3 p.m. at MBCC Auditorium.  I have had a chance to sit through this workshop and it is excellent information for all parents.  Learn about power of attorney, advance directives, financial power of attorney, family consent policies, etc.  I highly recommend this workshop if you can make arrangements to attend.

Just a few notes this week…

1. Since we are in a public building and share our room with other programs, supplies often go missing.  We are asking that all students bring a pencil bag (box, container, etc.) with a few pencils to keep in their backpack.  Some may have them already, and for those that don’t we can purchase them the next time your son or daughter is scheduled to go to Target or Kerby’s Koney Island. 5 Below has pencil bags for $1 and are located right next door to these CBI locations.
2. For the month of March – we will be going to Kerby’s Koney Island on Tuesday’s instead of Target.   This might mean your son/daughter is scheduled to eat out twice this month because we eat at Fairlane as well.   I’d like to give everyone the opportunity to eat at Kerby’s, and students will have the opportunity to pass on Fairlane this month if they choose.
3. Planners will be updated on Monday with the March schedule

It’s hard to believe we are almost through February!  It’s getting close to that time of year when things start picking up, more activities, more field trips, etc.  Please keep a close eye on your son/daughter’s planner.  As always, everything will be listed on the blog as well.

Yesterday, Ms. Cote met with the Detroit Institute of Arts and we will be starting a partnership with them.  They want to learn from us, how to better serve our students.  This means we will be visiting the DIA a few more times this year, and at least three times next year,  while we develop this program.  We are so excited.  Great job Ms. Cote!!!!

WEEKEND ACTIVITIES:

• Tomorrow is our girls weekend activity at the Red Olive Restaurant at 1:00 p.m.   Pick up time will be 2:30 p.m.
• There will not be a weekend activity in March because both Ms. Cote and I will be away at a conference, and following is Spring Break.  However, if there is a parent who would like to take the initiative and “host” an activity, I will be happy to help distribute the information and plan.  I would like the program to be student led over the next year or so, so this would be a great trial run.  Please  call or email me if you are interested and we can go from there.

UPCOMING DATES:

March 11th – DIA  (no cost)

March 16 – Late Start

March 16-18 – Camp/Cote at Transition Conference

March 24 – Bowling ($12)

March 25 – April 3 – Spring Break

Save the Date:  April 15 – New Family Orientation   This is for the students and their families who will be coming into our program next year.    All parents are invited to attend, especially if you were not able to attend last year, or if your son/daughter started our program in the middle of this year.   We will also be presenting any changes that we make to the program for the coming year.