Zee the Cook Update – Thank you to those who have sent in your applications!  I realized today, that there was a back side to one page, that didn’t get copied.   For those of you missing that page, I am sending it home today to be signed and returned.   Also, a copy of your insurance card needs to be included with the application, in case of an emergency.   Please send in a copy if you haven’t already.  If you trust your son or daughter with the card, you can send in the card and we can copy it here if you’d like.

Zap Zone – Currently we do not have enough students who have RSVP’d to hold the activity, however,  we still have one more day to go before we make a decision.  If you are planning on going please make sure those forms are turned in tomorrow.  Please note – most games cost 2-4 tokens to play.  For every dollar they bring they will get to play 1-2 games (typically).   Also, laser tag is played in a dark multi-leveled room.  If we feel is it unsafe for a student to play we will not allow them to purchase a ticket even though they may have indicated they wanted to play.

Hello!   I hope everyone enjoyed their break!  With all the snow days we’ve had I didn’t feel like we “needed” it but it was nice to take advantage of the time and get out of the house since we weren’t snowed or iced in!

This week we have the Zap Zone Weekend activity on Saturday.  RSVP’s are coming home today so that we can plan for the event.   Please return those by this Thursday, February 21st.   We need to have at least 5 students attend in order to make this even successful.   The address for Zap Zone is:  9751 Telegraph Rd. Taylor, MI  48180   As a reminder, please check in with either me or Ms. Cote upon arrival before dropping your son/daughter off.   Start time is 3:00 p.m. and pick up time is 5:30 p.m.    As mentioned earlier, this activity is best suited for those who need minimal supervision.  If your son/daughter requires more supervision, a chaperone has been requested and has been noted on your form.  We don’t want to exclude anyone and understand that some students need more assistance in the community than others.

Permission Slips for Zee the Cook were due today.   Our first class will be on March 1st and the students are so excited!  The staff is excited too!  🙂   The students are going to be making their own personal pizza and salad, and I believe they voted on fried oreo’s for dessert!  YUM!!!!   Students who have not turned in their permission slip will stay back in the classroom instead of going on the trip.  It is our hope that everyone will be able to come!  If you have not turned in your permission slip, please do so this week so we are prepared to go well in advance!  Thank you!

The 2019-2020 School Calendar is available online for your planning purposes.   Students first day back will be August 26th, 2019.   No School August 30 & Sept 2 for Labor Day Weekend.  Please don’t shoot the messenger!  LOL

Upcoming Dates:

March 1st – Zee the Cook

March 4th – Bowling at Ford Lanes – Free

March 13th – Late Start

April 1-5 – No School – Spring Break

April 19th – No School – Good Friday

April 24th – Late Start

Happy Valentine’s Day!  We had a great two days with our party today and special Valentine donuts this morning!  We also had a visit from Zee the Cook who would like to offer cooking classes to our class on a monthly basis.   The cost for the class will be approximately $10 -$15 per student, and it will replace our Target trip that week.  Permission slips will be coming home for students who are qualified to attend.   Approximately 99% of our class will be attending, so if you don’t receive a permission slip, please feel free to ask about it.  Students not able to attend are those who have unresolved behavior issues or hygiene issues that will affect cooking.  The first field trip is scheduled for March 1st, providing transportation is approved by the Director of Special Education.  Please return the permission slips by Tuesday February 19th, 2019  

Our weekend activity is schedule for February 23rd at Zap Zone in Taylor.   Information will be coming home on today that will include the costs for activities there and food options, etc.   The time for the activity will be 3-5:30 p.m.    Your student should be able to attend a community activity with minimal supervision in order to attend this event.  If we feel additional supervision is required, it is noted on the students information form.  Please, no siblings.   Next week we will send home an RSVP form so we can plan on the amount of students that will be attending.

Remember!  No school Feb 15-18th!   Enjoy the break!

ALL students are required to have a thermal lunch bag with their name clearly written on the outside.  Sending lunch in a grocery bag, ziploc bag and/or paper bag will not protect food from spoiling.  In addition, they are too easily confused.   Recently, the same student has had her lunch eaten by another student TWICE!   Unfortunately, we could not give her the other student’s lunch, because of the possibility of spoilage as it too, was in a grocery bag.   If your student has been bringing lunch in a thermal bag, thank you.  Please make sure their name is on the outside as sometimes students have the same bag, or sometimes a teacher is looking for a students belongings for one reason or another and having their name on the bag is very helpful when there are 25 lunch boxes on the same table.   Thank you in advance for your cooperation!

Hello!   What a crazy few weeks we have had between the cold and ice!  Next week brings us another short week with a half day on Feb 14th, followed by Mid-Winter Break Feb 15 and 18th.  Here’s what you need to know….

February 13th – Valentines Party!  We will have pizza for lunch – students just need to bring a drink.   Students are welcome to bring Valentine cards and/or treats to pass out, but this is optional.   We have 25 students in the class.   I will try to print out a list of names to send home today, but it will more likely come home on Monday. Students may wish to bring a bag (grocery bag or small gift bag) to carry their treats home.

February 14th – There might be a special treat in the morning – have to attend to find out!  It’s also a half day!  11 a.m. dismissal

February 15-18th – Mid Winter Break – no school

February 22nd – DIY Weekend Activity Homework Due

February 23rd – Weekend Activity – Zap Zone

Also, please don’t delete the REMIND app from your phone just yet.   Verizon has decided to reverse the fee and all will be able to see the messages again.  We will be discussing which platform we will continue to use.  Sadly, only 5-6 people have read the messages we’ve sent on Class Dojo so I’m thinking this wont be an effective tool for communication.

Have a great weekend – and to those going to Night to Shine – have a GREAT time – we look forward to seeing your pictures!!!!   :

Hello!

There will be lots of paperwork coming home today!

1.  Students will be bringing home an application to be filled out at home.   Please make sure the writing is legible.  If your son/daughter is not able to write on their own, you may fill it out for them.  In the reference section, please use someone other than a relative.   These are due Monday, January 28th.
2. For those who have not registered for Class Dojo yet – you will be receiving your 2nd/final notice.  (It’s actually the third notice because everyone was sent an invitation to their phone as well)   I really don’t want you to miss anything, so I hope everyone will take time to connect over the weekend.  We will not be using multiple platforms to share the same information.  We will use the blog for weekly updates, and Class Dojo for reminders and announcements that need to get out really quick.
3. Our Special Director has invited everyone to the 2nd Special Education Parent Advisory Committee.  The flyer is coming home and is also posed under “Class Stories” in ClassDojo.

Please remember, due to the size of our classroom, we are much busier and are moving around the building more.  We have small groups going on daily with each of us working with one of those groups.    What that means is we are not able to answer calls or texts as fast as we used to be able to – but I promise we will get back to you as soon as we can.  Please try to give us an hour notice if you plan on picking your student up early – this gives us time to see the text and make sure the student is ready.   All students will be placed on the bus to go home unless we have spoken with a parent, if you wait to text us at 2:45, we are already loading the buses and will not see your message.   The student will be placed on the bus.   If you are in a bind and unable to give us much notice, please try, just understand we might not always see the text.   Also, we have received several calls with no messages.   If you need to contact us, please leave a message on our voice mail or text.  We do not return calls to unidentified callers.   If your student has our classroom number (a few do), please advise them to only call once time.  If we do not answer, they are welcome to leave a message.  Thank you for your understanding.

We have received 30 Chromebooks and we have started using them!  Please have students bring in a set of headphones to keep in class.   30 Chromebooks going at the same time can get pretty overwhelming!   We will store them here so they do not get damaged in their backpacks.

Smart Bus Applications – Ms. Cote is still actively working on the Smart Bus passes.   If you receive information regarding the Smart Bus, please send it to Ms. Cote so she can keep track of everything.   Thank you!

Upcoming Dates:

February 6 – Late Start

February 14 – 1/2 Day 11a.m. dismissal

Feb 15 – 18 – No School

Feb 22 – DIY Weekend Activity Homework Due

Feb 23 – Weekend Activity at Zap Zone (details will come home Feb 1)

Hello!  I hope everyone is having a nice afternoon!   This was quite the week at Hype, a flu epidemic, a missing bus, and discovering 28 parents would not receive our messages anymore if we continued to use the Remind System.    Thank you to those of you who have already switched over to ClassDojo.   This app will allow us to do much more than just send messages, so I’m excited to start using it and discovering all that it can do.   Please remember you have one more week to make the switch….after that we will only be using ClassDojo.

The flu really took a toll on our students and staff this week.   Thank you to those who kept your students home when they were ill.  While we don’t know for sure, we do feel this happened as a result of a student coming to school sick.  As we have stressed many times, we have students in our class who have health complications and any illness could seriously jeopardize their health.   As a result of this incident, one of our students had to be hospitalized.   I know having a sick child is not convenient, but this is not a place to send a sick student.  They need to receive care at home.   Students are not to return to school until they are free of symptoms for 24 hours.  (Fever, vomiting, diarrhea, etc) Students should stay home with congestive coughs or green runny noses and/or sore throats that are beyond that of a common cold.   Students who come to school ill will be sent home.  If you are unable to pick your son/daughter up within a reasonable amount of time we will begin calling your emergency contact numbers so that student can receive the care they deserve and to protect others from unnecessary illness.

For those of you interested, the Tim Tebow Foundation “Night to Shine” Prom is open for registration.  The event is in Ann Arbor and I have heard nothing but spectacular things about it.   Several students from class go each year – it would be so much fun to have a big group that attends!

Our classroom phone list has been sent out to those that participated, but I had one just come in, so before I update the list, if there are any others that would like to be included, please send in your form by Friday, January 25th.

Upcoming Dates:

Jan 21 – No School – MLK

Jan 22 – Half Day – 11:00 a.m dismissal

Jan 23 – FULL DAY

Feb 6 – Late Start

Feb 14 – Half Day – 11 a.m. dismissal

Feb 15-18 – No School

Feb 23 – Weekend Activity – ZAP ZONE!!!

Happy New Year!  We are off to a good start returning from the break!  Since both Ms. Cote and I are going to be out on Friday, I thought I better get the blog out now!

Just a few reminders for the month:

DIY Weekend Activity Paperwork came home yesterday.   This is a time for students to begin planning their own activity with a friend or group of friends.   We had a good response for the classroom phone list too, so once that is complied I will send it home to those who participated.   If you are interested in being on the classroom phone list, please return the form by Friday.

CBI – We have completed our CBI at Barnes and Noble and will be back at Target this month.  Our focus is finding clothes in the correct size.   Please remember, students only purchase a small snack at Target – they still need a lunch for the afternoon.

Upcoming Dates:

JAN

January 18th  – 1/2 day – 11:00 dismissal

Jan 21st – No School, MLK

Jan 22nd – 1/2 day – 11:00 dismissal

Jan 23rd – FULL DAY

FEB

Feb 6 – Late Start

Feb 14th – 1/2 day – 11:00 dismissal

Feb 15 & 18 – No School

Hello!  We are quickly winding down to the break with one week to go!  Just a few reminders for the last week of school.

Christmas Spirit Week – we will have a fun activity every afternoon next week.  The schedule is as follows:

Monday  – Bingo

Tuesday – Minute to Win It Games

Wednesday – Left/Right Game

Thursday – Open the present w/ oven mitts game (so much fun!)

Friday – Bowling!  (Wear your headbands if you bought them – details below)

Reindeer headbands – some students have been purchasing reindeer antler headbands at Party City after our breakfast at Leo’s.   Everyone who bought them is going to wear them on Friday when we go bowling!  If your son or daughter is not scheduled to go to Leo’s, but would like a headband, they can bring $2 to school and we will purchase them this Thursday!  (As long as they are available).

Don’t Forget! Bowling is $10 (it’s actually $12, but we are paying the extra $2 per student out of our class funds to help ease the cost for families).   Most have paid, but for those who have not,  there are only a few days left!  If your son/daughter is not interested in bowling they may stay home and they will be marked excused for the day. This is an all day event.

Please Remember – if you need to get a hold of us,  we could be in the middle of a lesson, or in a different part of the building.   We will not always be able to answer a text or phone call immediately (but we do our best to get back to you as soon as we can.)   If you are trying to contact us to let us know you are picking up your son/daughter early, it’s best (when possible) to give us a half hour to an hour notice – just to give us time to see the message.

Have a great weekend!

Good Morning!

December is here and we’ve got lots going on – it’s an exciting time of the year!   The students are very excited for our Bowling and Pizza Party on December 21st.   The cost will be $10 per student.  They can bring that in anytime between now and December 20th.   The cost includes two games of bowling, two slices of pizza, pop, and shoes.  It’s always a great time and we are looking forward to it.

December also brings cold and flu season!  Thank you to all of our parents who have been so courteous when their children are sick.  Please continue to keep students home when they are not feeling well, this really does help eliminate the spread of germs and helps to protect our students with underlying health conditions.   We did receive a few boxes of kleenex at the beginning of the year – but we are down to our last box.   It would be great if every student could bring a box to school as we enter into the worst part of the year for runny noses!  If you have already done so, please do not feel the need to send in more.  Some of you did more than your share – thank you!

Community Based Instruction this month is Barnes and Noble.   Students LOVE looking at the books and finding out there’s much more there too!  Students are welcome to bring money to spend, but should plan on spending about $10-15.   We also walk over to Target for our snack so students should bring extra money for that if they wish to purchase a snack or drink.  It’s also important for them to wear a good coat, tennis shoes or boots and gloves as the weather gets colder.  It’s not a long walk but it can get cold and windy.  Everyone student will get the opportunity to attend Barnes and Noble one time, after that it will be a voluntary activity for the students who enjoy and benefit from it.

Just a reminder – students should be taking showers and wearing clean clothes to school every day!  We understand that some students are resistant and give you a hard time.   When we allow them to get away with that due to their behavior, we are teaching them it is “o.k.” to skip showers, when we stand firm, we are teaching them good hygiene skills!   Remember, YOU are the parent!!!  (This is something I have to remind myself of too sometimes!!!)  Skipping personal hygiene is NOT an option!

FYI – the Smart Bus applications that came home are for class use.   Students will not be using the bus by themselves, however, this will set them up for future use once they exit DPS or move to Project Search.   The ADA pass allows them to ride the bus for $1 each way, and we plan to use it for small group trips and job exploration activities.

Upcoming Dates:

December 12th – Late Start

December 21st – Bowling and Pizza Party – $10 per student

December 24th-Jan 4th – No School!

January 18th – 1/2 day.   11:00 a.m. dismissal

January 21st – No School – MLK

January 22nd – 1/2 day – 11:00 a.m. dismissal

January 23rd – FULL DAY