Winter 2016 - Kidsability

Winter 2016
Table of Contents
TLLP-Accessible and Meaningful Physical Education for All
2
Music and Movement with
Taryn!
2
School Closing Due to
Inclement Weather
2
Paediatrics Equipment
Exchange Source
3
Yoga in the Classroom
3
Tooth Fairy Visit
4
2015-2016 School Authority Trustees
Handwriting Without Tears
4
KidsAbility School Authority Trustees for the School Year 2015-2016 are:
Assistive Technology for
Hearing
4
Bridge to Transition
5
Play Based Learning
5
The Sounds of Christmas
5
Free Workshops
6
IEP 101 Online Workshops for
Parents
6
Waterloo Region Special Needs 7
Strategy Planning Table
Kindergarten Registration
7
School Field Trips
7
Education Week
8
Mission and Vision
8
Chair
Cynthia Davis
Vice-Chair
Bonnie Bremner
Board Members
Judy Cavill
Elaine Lewis
Karen Temple
Brian Traviss
KidsAbility School Authority, like every public school board in Ontario, is
governed by a Board of Trustees. This Board of Trustees governs the operations
and policies of KidsAbility School within an approved financial framework. The
trustees evaluate and review, on a regular basis, the board’s achievement of its
goals, objectives and strategic plan for KidsAbility School. The six trustees of
KidsAbility School Authority are appointed by the Ontario Ministry of Education
and volunteer their time and expertise, without remuneration, to support the
vision of “Children with complex special needs prepared for school success.”
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Winter 2016
Teaching Learning and Leadership Program (TLLP)
Accessible and Meaningful Physical Education for All
Each year the Ministry of Education funds proposals for Teaching Learning
and Leadership Programs (TLLP). The TLLP fosters teacher leadership and
facilitates the sharing of exemplary practices with others for the broader
benefit of students. This year, the proposal submitted by teachers from
KidsAbility School was selected by the Ministry. The project focuses on
exploring adapted and/or accommodated physical activities and offering
our students a wide variety of physical education experiences. In doing so,
we are determining appropriate expectations and curriculum
programming.
School Closing Due TO
Inclement Weather
Music and Movement with Taryn!
As a component of our Teaching Learning and Leadership Program, Taryn
McKinnon has developed a Music and Movement program for our students
in Waterloo. Taryn blends her experience as a music therapist with our
physical education curriculum goals to deliver an eight week program that
is motivating, multisensory and targets a range of developmental skills.
During the winter, there may be
days when KidsAbility School
must be closed because of poor
weather and/or hazardous
driving conditions. When
school buses are cancelled in
Waterloo Region, KidsAbility
School will be closed. The
message will be broadcast on
the two local radio stations:
CKGL AM - 570
CHYM – 96.7
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Winter 2016
Yoga in the Classroom
Paediatrics Equipment
Exchange Source
During the month of January, Amanda Soikio from Queen Street Yoga, led
and developed a yoga program for our students in Waterloo. Amanda
worked with our Teacher Learning and Leadership team to develop classes
that were accessible and meaningful. Yoga in the classroom helps to
develop self-regulation, refines balance and coordination, enhances
flexibility and strengthens the mind-body connection.
Kids with special needs can have
a lot of equipment needs.
Wouldn’t it be great to reduce
the costs, reuse the equipment
and recycle those wheelchairs
and walkers to people who can
use them?
Welcome to Zach’s List…. Your
Paediatric Equipment Exchange
Source. Zach’s list is a website
dedicated to the exchange, sale,
trade and giveaway of used
paediatrics equipment. The
website is similar to other online
classified sites such as Craigslist
or Kijiji, in that members of the
community can post any items
they wish to sell or donate and
other members can post wanting
to buy.
Check out www.zachslist.ca.
Teachers and educational assistants received training through Queen Street
yoga! Now yoga in the classroom can develop into a sustainable element of
our curriculum. The training focused on cultivating body, mind and breath
awareness in our students.
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Winter 2016
Tooth Fairy Visit
The Tooth Fairy from Country Dental in Cambridge stopped by to visit our
classes in Waterloo, and she will also spend time in our Cambridge classes.
Students learned about visiting the dentist office and what to expect. They
were also taught about oral hygiene and healthy food choices. Before she
left, the Tooth Fairy sent each student home with a tooth brush and tooth
paste!
Assistive Technology
For Hearing
In all of our classrooms we have
built in FM systems called REDCAT, to assist children with
hearing challenges. REDCAT is
an all in one single speaker that
fills a classroom with clear even
sound, so that every child hears
every word. It strengthens the
Handwriting Without Tears
Handwriting Without Tears is a multisensory play approach to learning, for
drawing and printing letters. It focuses on teaching students how to print
using a variety of methods, including dance and movement, playing with
objects, singing and drawing! You may have heard your child singing the “Mat
Man” song: Mat Man is a fun way to help students learn about parts of the
body and how to draw them more accurately! Handwriting Without Tears is
an engaging and interactive program that helps students with a wide
spectrum of needs and skills.
teacher student connection.
Small wireless microphones are
worn by teachers around their
necks and when they speak
every child benefits from the
amplification. As well, a larger
microphone is available for the
children to take turns when
they are speaking at circle.
A Handwriting Without Tears app is available for some tablets, smart phones,
etc., called Wet Dry Try, where users can practice their printing on a
“blackboard”! To see a video of Mat Man go to http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=lYiGf_0elw8
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Winter 2016
The Sounds of
Christmas
Nicole Guse and her musical
production The Sounds of
Christmas, was once again a huge
success! This year a cheque of
$24,100.47 was donated by
Nicole to KidsAbility Centre. A
portion of those donations will
be used to fund the Music
Therapy program at KidsAbility
School.
Thanks you Nicole for your
continued support!
Bridge to Transition
KidsAbility School has prepared a resource guide for parents entitled A
Parent’s Guide: Transitioning from KidsAbility School To Your Community
School. Please refer to it to answer questions such as “When should I
register my child for senior kindergarten?” “What do I need to take for
registration?” “What therapy can I expect to receive next year?” “What
should I include in an ‘All About Me’ booklet?
“What questions should I ask when I visit the
school?” and “How can I prepare my child for
senior kindergarten?”
Another publication available from KidsAbility
School is First Steps: A Parent’s Guide to Your
Child’s Educational Journey. These guides can all
be found on our school website under Publications
at: www.kidsability.ca/en/SchoolPublications.
Play Based Learning
Child-directed, adult-supported play is the major activity through which
young children learn. In Ontario, our new kindergarten program is built on
play-based learning. It has long been acknowledged that there is a strong
link between play and learning for young children, especially in the areas
of problem solving, language acquisition, literacy, numeracy and social/
emotional skills. Play is mostly a self-chosen activity by the child; it is a
process rather than a predicted outcome or product. Children use ‘inquiry’
skills to explore, investigate, experiment, and try out ideas and strategies.
In our classrooms we provide a variety of activities that are interesting to
the children and promote exploration and inquiry. Adults help children
develop play and inquiry skills by joining in play, modeling, encouraging
and providing time for skills to develop.
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Winter 2016
Free Workshops
Augmentative Communication Services (ACS) at KidsAbility offers free workshops
on a variety of topics. Workshops offer caregivers opportunities to learn about
strategies, to ask questions and to meet other caregivers and professionals in
small group settings. Your child does not have to be currently receiving service or
be on the ACS waitlist for you to attend. Registration is necessary.
March 10, 2016 – Cambridge Site – register by March 3/16
Supporting Early Communication
9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
Using a Speech Generating Device Functionally
10:10 a.m. to 11:10 a.m.
Vocabulary Selection and Developing Overlays
11:20 a.m. to 12:20 p.m.
How to Introduce Switches and Computers in Play
for Young Children with Disabilities
1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
May 12, 2016 – Waterloo Site – register by May 5/16
Supporting Early Communication
Using a Speech Generating Device Functionally
Vocabulary Selection and Developing Overlays
How to Introduce Switches and Computers in Play
for Young Children with Disabilities
IEP 101 Online Workshops for Parents
The most effective Individual
Education Plan (IEP) is one that is
created when the parent and the
school staff collaborate to write
an individual plan to help your
child succeed in school. To help
parents understand their roles in
the IEP process, the Learning
9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
10:10 a.m. to 11:10 a.m.
11:20 a.m. to 12:20 p.m.
Disabilities Association of
1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
this and other online courses at
May 25, 2016 – Waterloo Site – register by May 19/16
Using a Speech Generating Device …
Success through Aided Language
5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Beyond Requesting….Next Steps
6:45 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Ontario created an online
workshop about IEPs. Check out
the Learning Disabilities
Association of Ontario website,
under “Workshops & Courses”.
Location: Online
June 9, 2016 – Cambridge Site – register by June 2/16
Using a Speech Generating Device …
Success through Aided Language
9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Beyond Requesting….Next Steps
10:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Pre-registration is necessary for these sessions. Please call 519-886-8886, Ext.
1541 or email us at ACSInfo@kidsability.ca and indicate the date and time(s) of
the session(s) you would like to attend. You do not need to attend all sessions in
a day! You may choose to attend only those of interest to you.
Cost: Free
Website: www.ldaolearning.ca
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Winter 2016
Waterloo Region Special
Needs Strategy
Planning Table
Ontario Special Needs Strategy
marks the beginning of a new way
of delivering services to children
and youth with special needs and
their families. The goal is to
connect children and youth to the
services they need as early as
possible and improve the service
experience of families in three key
areas:
1. Identifying children earlier and
getting them the right help
sooner
2. Coordinating service planning
3. Making supports and service
delivery seamless
For the most up-to-date information locally visit http://
waterlooregionspecialneedsstrategy.weebly.com/
Kindergarten Registration
Kindergarten registration for the 2016-2017 School Year takes place in
February 2016. Take your child’s birth certificate, immunization record or
a letter of exemption from the Waterloo Region Health Department, proof
of address and, if applicable, Catholic baptismal certificate.
Tell the school about your child’s involvement with KidsAbility School and
make an appointment with the principal to discuss your child’s special
needs. For further information about Kindergarten registration or to find
out at which school you need to register your child, parents should phone
the school board and/or visit the school board’s website:
Waterloo Region District School Board: Call 519-570-0003 or
go to:
www.wrdsb.ca/schools/how-register/kindergartenregistration
Waterloo Catholic District School Board: Call 519-578-3660
or go to:
www.wcdsb.ca/schools/kinder/sign-up-k.html
School Field Trips
Using real-life context is a highly
effective way of motivating young
learners. Children grasp ideas more
easily and effectively and maintain
their interest in school when they
have an educational program that
enables them to connect learning to
their own lives and the world around
them. This interconnected learning
occurs when children are exposed to
a variety of real life situations and activities in the classroom, home,
school and neighbourhood. Trips can enhance literacy, numeracy, physical
and social skills. These experiences build and expand vocabulary related to
classroom themes, provide hands-on experiences, exposure to unfamiliar
environments, and opportunities to be part of a larger group experience.
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Winter 2016
Mission and Vision
Our Vision:
Children with complex
special needs prepared for
school success.
Our Mission:
KidsAbility’s unique school
environment empowers our
students to achieve
continued success.
Education Week
This year's Education Week will take place from May 2 – May 6.
Education Week is an annual event celebrated by school boards, school
authorities and schools across the province in Ontario. It is a time for
students, teachers and parents to celebrate teaching excellence and
student achievement.
Our Values:
 Promoting innovation,
professionalism and
service excellence that
empowers our students
and their families
 An inclusive environment
respecting unique needs
and abilities
 Working together with
our students, their
families, and our
stakeholders to build
sustainable relationships