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TO: Secondary Students and Staff
DATE: September 14th, 2015
FROM: Alexa Kontes and Pat McCall
Meetings this week include:
Mon, Sept 14 10:10am CR for MN led by M. Engelbrecht, IMC
10am Support Plan mtg for RY, 11W
AEC Dan Caterino
Tues, Sept 15 9:45am – 10:40am Health Services specific med protocol, 11W
1:20pm Advisory Committee mtg, 11W
2:30pm May Behavior mtg
AEC Chris Underwood
Wed, Sept 16 10:10am Planning mtg for KH, led by J. Potter, 11W
10:10am CR for LD led by J. Peters, Jodi’s room
1:00pm – 1:50pm Health Services specific med protocol, 11W
2:15pm May Cottage mtg
4pm Opening Sports mtg, Howe gym
AEC Jessica Erlich
Thurs, Sept 17 9:50am Planning mtg for MK led by J. Potter, 11W
9:45am Planning mtg for NK led by M. Engelbrecht, IMC
10:40am Post-evaluation mtg, led by J. Rines, 11W
Noon – evening Nancy Swartz observing TP
1:30pm CR with MN’s parent, 11W, invite only
Brooks Behavior Meeting 2:30pm – 3:00pm
7:00pm Williams Reunion Jazz Band, Dwight Hall
AEC Pat McCall
Fri, Sept 18 Morning through noon, Nancy Swartz observing TP
10:10am CR for KE led by M. Engelbrecht, 11W
10:10am CR for LP, led by J. Peters, Jodi’s classroom
AEC Joe D’Ottavio
If you would like to submit something for the newsletter, please email it to Alexa Kontes by Wednesday at 4:00. Any students interested in reporting for the newsletter should contact Alexa.
Next Thursday, 9/17, we will have the first Monthly Concert of the year.
It will feature the fun and highly skilled Williams Reunion Jazz (Dixieland style) band led by Fred Clifford, long-time chairman of the Board of Trustees.
This is a great and talented group that has been together for decades – performing in many different venues. It is important that we have as big an audience as possible, in a small way thanking him for all his years of service to Perkins. Please make a special effort to have students in the cottages attend along with as many staff as possible. It will be a very fun and high quality musical evening. Please contact Arnie Harris with any questions.
Margie has a bag on her classroom door, room 114 Howe west for redeemable cans and bottles. We recycle and donate the money to a good cause every few months. Please leave cans and bottles in the bag.
Margie recycles ink jet cartridges; please leave them in her mailbox or in the bag on her door.
Margie posts a monthly student birthday calendar on the west side hall; if you do not want your birthday listed, please tell Margie by 9-18-15. She can be reached x 7340
The all sports information meeting will be on Wednesday, September 16 at 4:00 pm in the Howe Gym. Students who plan to participate in any sport this year or who would like more information about sports teams offered should attend. This meeting will also be the swim team sign up and information meeting. If you would like to sign up for a sports team and can't make the meeting, please contact Tracey Polimeno.
Please contribute to the Sunshine Fund. Donations can be given to Kendra.
We are an entirely NUT free school. No nuts at all, not even in private staff offices.
The first student of the month for this school year will be announced in October. Please submit nominees by Friday, September 25.
This year we will be focusing on two general rules for all students:
1. Students are expected to be on time for class (teachers should keep attendance)
2. Students should be prepared, including having technology charged and materials organized.
We will continue to focus on our Secondary Program standards in addition to the new campus wide Core Values initiative.
Secondary Standards:
We RESPECT each other, and we respect ourselves.
We HELP each other to become better citizens and to achieve our goals.
We CREATE and SUPPORT an atmosphere promoting high achievement and independence.
We are EMPOWERED to grow and advocate for ourselves.
We HONOR our rights and responsibilities as members of the Perkins community.
Students who are interested in writing group or cello club should contact Alexa.
Please note: The library will close promptly at 4:00 for the remainder of the school year. There will be no after school study hall or clubs on Tuesdays.
Notes for Staff
Reminder, please email the for any assistance with your phone, computer, ink printer, internet, server, wifi, or standard software issues such as Outlook, Word, Excel. Call the Helpdesk at 7669 if it is an urgent/work stoppage issue. IT Dept would like you to utilize the Helpdesk lines rather than contacting individuals unless requested otherwise by them. Please contact Betsey Sennott, Secondary’s technology liaison for any issues you may have with any assistive technology, iPads, and for the installation of Assistive Technology/specialized softwares. She will help you determine if it’s an issue she can address and provide support for, or if it should be addressed by the Helpdesk/IT Dept.
Please remember to complete your bloodborne pathogens training. Check your email for more information.
The brailler, embosser paper, and boldline paper is kept in 11w (w241). These papers are located on the bookshelves at the back of the room. The shelves have been labeled. Please try to only take what you need as you need it. The boxes have been labeled. If you need to open a box, please close it when done and try not to leave loose paper on the shelves. Dust on the paper results in brailler and embosser damage.
If you would like to assign your students to 4:00pm study hall, please contact Alexa. There will be no 4:00 study hall on Tuesdays from now through June.
Reminder: Please do not reassign students to the library during break unless you speak with Alexa first. Thank you.
All requests for new technology equipment (equipment, software, Assistive Technology) are submitted to Betsey Sennott, Secondary’s technology liaison, who then submits a purchase request, with Pat McCall’s approval.
App requests for Perkins iPads can be made by completing the app request form. App requests are not automatically granted. Each request will be reviewed separately by the program’s technology liaison or collectively by the school educational technology committee, depending on the app purpose and cost. Staff may be required to justify the purchase of an app request with additional details. Betsey will confirm your request with you.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/10I31HXOTu8HEXa3YWv8kbISJCBMx8nZAUo0RQC5O-JQ/viewform
The staff book group will meet on Wednesday, October 7th. We will discuss The Novel by James Michener. Location TBD.
Catalogs for the Instructional Materials Center, Tactile Museum, Educational Videos and Staff Videos can be found on AskHowe. Please contact Betsey to use materials. You can ask her if we have a particular APH product before ordering it yourself. https://askhowe.perkins.org/department/resources/curriculum-resources/13
A compilation of online teaching resources for internet/social media safety has been posted to Ask Howe. https://askhowe.perkins.org/resources/internetsocial-media-safety-teaching-resources
Transitioning to Unified English Braille
Dates: November 14, 15, 2015 (Saturday and Sunday)
Presenters: Sandy Smith, M.Ed., C.A.E.S., Wendy L. Buckley, M.Ed., Ed.S.
Fee: $150.00**Early Bird $125.00 if received before October 30, 2015
Credits: (20) Continuing Ed. Hours, PDP’s, ACVREP’s
Sign in/Coffee 7:30 am Workshop: 8:00am – 4:00pm (light lunch provided) Both Days
Twenty Hour Training
Course Description:
This course is designed for teachers of students with visual impairments and school personnel with a working knowledge of EBAE to transition to Unified English Braille. All materials and handouts are presented online.
Prerequisite Skills:
Working knowledge of literary braille (English Braille American Edition)
Instructors:
Sandy Smith, M.Ed., C.A.E.S. Braille Instructor for the Vision Studies Program at UMass Boston
Wendy L. Buckley, M.Ed., Ed.S., Braille Instructor for the Vision Studies Program at UMass Boston
Time: Two 8 hour in-person sessions. Four hours of follow-up practice drills on the NERCVE online brailler.
Full attendance required.
For more information, please contact:
Teresa Pagliuca
x7712