This month we will host our General Parent Support Group on November 10th from 6pm - 7pm on zoom. This will be an opportunity for families to come together, share experiences, and resources. Our monthly Family Education Night will be on Wednesday November 16th, 2022 from 6:00pm - 7:30pm at Reed Elementary School. Limited Childcare will be available for students 5th grade and younger. Students of all grades are welcome to attend the sessions and ask questions alongside their families. Our Coffee Chat will be held on Friday November, 19th from 10:00am-11:00am on zoom. All previous Parent Night presentations are housed on the Parent Meeting Archive for asynchronous access.
Thanksgiving Break Tips
Our first big break of the year is quickly approaching! Here are some tips to help your child during the holiday break:
- Maintain a Routine - Routines help our students know what to expect throughout the day and feel secure. Let your child know of any changes ahead of time to help them prepare for the shift in schedule.
- Visual Supports - Utilize visuals! Work with your child to create a school break schedule with preferred activities and breaks built in. You can create checklists of activities that you want to accomplish or utilize some first then boards. Here's a short YouTube video on how to create your own visuals at home.
- Utilize Social Stories - Help your child prepare for holiday events with a social story. There are plenty of templates online that are customizable to fit the needs of your family. You can even make your own using a google doc! Once the story is completed, you can print them or read them with your child on their electronic devices. Here is an example of a Thanksgiving Social Story.
- Holiday Themed Sensory Boxes - Check out these lists of fall and winter sensory box ideas that can help get your child engaged in learning and play over break.
- Have Fun- This is the most important part of a school break!
Engaging Children in Conversation
Are you looking for motivating ways to get your older children engaged in conversation? Try using these 1- to 2-minute video shorts! Most are wordless videos that present a problem and a solution. They are highly engaging and can be used for cause/effect, making predictions, retelling a story, or even for a brain break after a harder task. Here's a website that lists several with a short description of each!
Here are some questions you can ask after viewing the shorts/ to start the conversation:
Pause the video mid-way: What do you think will happen next?
Tell me what happened at the beginning, middle and end of the video?
What made you laugh, concerned or wonder during the video?
What was the problem and solution in the video?
If you were the director, how would you change the ending?
Space Camp Adventure!
One of our Winkley Wolverines, Gavin Huitt was selected to attend Space Camp for Interested Visually Impaired Students (SCIVIS) at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama!
Gavin learned all about astronaut training, living and working in space through hands-on and simulation activities. While at SCIVIS, Gavin also had multiple opportunities to practice independent living skills, orientation and mobility skills, assistive technology access skills, as well as social skills! To learn more about SCIVIS, please visit their website.
LSSP Week 11/7-11/11
School psychologists, or Licensed Specialists in School Psychology (LSSPs) as they are referred to in Texas, will be celebrated 11/7-11/11/22. LSSPs partner with families, teachers, school administrators, and other professionals to create safe, healthy, and supportive learning environments that strengthen connections between home, school, and the community. They apply expertise in mental health, learning, and behavior to help children and youth succeed academically, socially, behaviorally, and emotionally. They are also important members of school safety and crisis teams. We have LSSPs that work across Leander ISD to support students in special programs with comprehensive evaluations and related services.
The “Together We Shine” theme of this year’s school psychology appreciation week honors the hope we feel after several challenging years and emphasizes the power of our collective efforts to overcome difficulties to ensure that all our students can thrive in school, at home, and in life. While we all have our own individual strengths and attributes, we shine even brighter when we all bring our ideas and actions together. Through collaboration, we can empower students to find purpose and possibility, all while fostering resilience. Check out the How Caregivers Can Foster Resiliency Handout.
Meeting Specialists
Our Leander ISD Meeting Specialists are invaluable members of our teams.
At the Elementary Level the ARD/504 Specialists schedule, facilitate and process all 504 and ARD Meetings, across a couple campuses.
At the Middle School Level the Special Education Team Leaders also serve as meeting specialists and schedule, facilitate and process ARD meetings on their campus in addition to leading their special education teams.
At the High School Level the ARD Specialists schedule, facilitate and process all ARD meetings for their entire campus.
At the secondary level, our 504 coordinators serve in various capacities to meet student needs. In addition to being the 504 coordinator, they also are the RtI and testing coordinator. Their role allows them to build relationships and support the needs of students as they are served within programs on campus.
At all three levels, our meeting specialists stay up to date on TEA guidelines and special education laws and procedures, provide guidance and training on special education processes and procedures and ensure that documentation is accurate, user friendly and legally compliant. Meeting specialists are essential in LISD's efforts to provide teachers with as much time as possible to serve their students and focus on student learning.
Self-Determination
The development of Self-Determination skills is a process that begins in childhood and continues throughout one's life. A person that is self-determined can:
Make choices and decisions as needed
Exhibit some personal or internal control over actions
Feel capable and act that way
Understand the effects of own actions
Every month in this newsletter, we include a different self-determination skill of the month with ways that you can practice and model these skills at home. Each Self-Determination skill builds upon one another. During last month’s Family Education Night, Ashley Anderson (Parent Liaison) and Denise Geiger (Sr. Transition Coordinator) shared the importance of helping your child build Self-Determination skills and different tools that can help you assess your child’s independence skills.This month’s Self-Determination skill is Risk Taking and Safety. This skill revolves around the ability to assess a situation, take smart risks and use resources to be safe. At home you can have discussions with your child about what is considered safe and not safe, how to identify someone that they can trust, or encouraging them to try new things. For more at home tips visit the family night presentation and the monthly Self-Determination poster.
