CST Update
December 2022
Self-Care Tips for the Holidays
It is very easy to forget our own self-care during the holidays. Take extra care to tend to your overall health and wellness during this holiday season. 64% of people say they experience a case of the holiday blues at some point throughout the season (NAMI, 2021). However, the holiday blues are short-lived and there are certain things that you can do to help avoid the holiday blues such as:
- Care for your body and get enough sleep
- Take time for yourself
- Stick to normal routines as much as possible
- Practice mindful eating
- Get exercise as little as a short walk
- Practice letting go of expectations
- Listen to music
- Read a book
- Practice guided meditation (i.e., Calm app, Headspace app)
- Spend time with caring and supportive people
- Say No, Don't over-stretch yourself
- Take things week by week or day by day
- Pamper yourself to something
- Ask for Help
Helpful Articles:
How to Make the Holidays Kid-Friendly Click Here
Handling Holidays When Your Child Has Special Needs Click Here
9 Ways to Beat The Holiday Blues Click Here
District-wide Parent Workshops starting in January
Dr. Grace Lee, District School Psychologist is planning a series of interactive workshops for parents who have children in grades preschool thru 1st. These workshops are anticipated to begin next month. Does your child have difficulty following routines at home and are you looking for some strategies/resources? If yes, please complete the survey if you are interested in signing up for one of these workshops and/or to provide feedback of other topics of interest. There is limited availability for the first series so please don't wait!
Link to Survey: https://forms.gle/UjRzRsfPLKGtwuC87
If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Nicole Schimpf nschimpf@vs30.org and/or Dr. Grace Lee glee@vs30.org
Preparing and Feeling Confident about your child's Annual Review CSE Meeting
What is the Annual Review?
Each year the Committee for Special Education (CSE) is required to annually review your child's existing Individual Education Program (IEP) and present special education program/services. During this process, the CSE will make recommendations upon review of records &/or updated evaluations that will continue, change, revise or end the student's special education program based on your child's current needs. Parents are part of the CSE that develops and reviews the IEP. The proposed IEP goals for the following year should be specific, measurable, and tailored to the unique needs of your child. Annual Review meetings are held from January - May. Please know that you don't have to wait for an Annual Review CSE meeting if there's a concern earlier in the school year and you can request a meeting at any time.
Things To Expect:
- You will receive a minimum of 5 day notice of your child's CSE meeting and the Special Services Office will do our best accommodate date/time that you are available.
- The CSE packet consisting of teacher reports &/or evaluations is provided to you prior to your child's scheduled CSE meeting.
- 6th Grade meetings are scheduled for the month of January. These meetings will include your elementary school team and members from the Valley Stream High School District. If you did not receive an invite with your child's date/time, please contact Mrs. Terry Deeks, CSE clerical tdeeks@vs30.org.
- Kindergarten to 5th Grade meetings will be held the months of February thru May.
- Preschoolers transitioning to Kindergarten meetings will be held the months of March and April.
- Meetings will be offered in person or remote via Google Meet for convenience purposes. For school-aged students, please share with your IEP case manager (who is your special education teacher) if you are requesting an in-person meeting. If not, the Special Services will assume a remote meeting is acceptable. For transitioning preschoolers, please contact Mrs. Patricia DiStefano pdistefano@vs30.org.
- Before the meeting, if you require or prefer to have a translator in your native language at your meeting, please communicate that to your IEP case manager and the Special Services Office will make the necessary arrangements. You also can also bring a friend or family member to serve as a translator. Please inform Special Services @ 516-434-3600, ext. 5233 (school-aged level) or 5232 (preschool level) in advance if you plan to bring anyone to the meeting so we can add them to the invitation.
- At the meeting, the CSE will ask you to share your feedback of your child's growth, strengths, and any concerns. Teachers and related service providers working with your child will share your child's current levels of performance and progress with current IEP goals based on data collected. Proposed IEP goals will be discussed and recommended together for next year. Supplemental aids and testing accommodations will be tailored for your child's unique needs. Program and related service recommendations will be made. If updated testing was conducted, test findings will be discussed and your child's classification revisited.
- After the meeting, the Special Services will work on finalizing the IEP for 23/24 school year. You will receive prior to the first day of school. You will also receive a Prior Written Notice Letter with the IEP outlining the CSE recommendations, other options considered and any changes made from your child's current IEP. Once in receipt of the finalized IEP, if you have any questions or concerns please contact Dr. Schimpf nschimpf@vs30.org or 516-434-3600, ext. 5233. It is recommended to annually maintain copies of your child's IEPs and reports in a binder for future reference. If you require at any time additional copies of your child's special education documents, please feel free to call the Special Services Office.
Helpful Parent Resources:
Support the Special Education PTA (SEPTA)
Attention Parents and Teachers:
Please consider joining on Memberhub! using this link https://vssepta.memberhub.store/ for $10.00. The Valley Stream SEPTA comprises of VS#30, VS#13, VS#24, and VSHSD. SEPTA provides informative guest speakers, annual Scholarships for our 6th grade special education students, and a great support system of fellow special needs parents. You are not alone! Let's work together!!
SEPTA met this Wednesday, December 14, 2022 for a "6th Graders Transitioning to High School District" presentation to learn about the secondary level special education programs. If you missed this meeting and would like to receive the video recording, please contact Rachael Aiello, SEPTA President aiellorachael@gmail.com or view the attachment for the VSCHSD presentation slides.
Afternoon Tea Time with Dr. Schimpf, Director of Special Services
Bring your questions and join me on Monday January 9, 2023
Here is the link: meet.google.com/ddx-nofc-wsv
Our first meeting was recently held on December 12, 2022 with 14 attendees! Topics discussed included Preschoolers transitioning to Kindergarten next year, the
different district special education programs, Homework Extra Help, referral process for special education, and RTI counseling & speech services for all struggling students. It was great chatting with both special education and general education families!!
This month marked the first episode of the Forest Road Morning Show, a student-led broadcast of school news, highlights, and entertainment. Mrs. Haynesworth and Mrs. Ryan guided a group of children through the broadcasting process, where specific career-related skills, such as scripting, editing, and filming were learned firsthand. This type of authentic learning opportunity really captures the district's commitment to not only providing students with equitable access to state-of-the-art technology, but leveraging that technology to develop essential 21st Century skills! Click HERE to view the Morning Show!
Ever wonder what it was like to host a podcast? This month, 4th graders across the district participated in a podcasting activity and learned the fundamentals of scripting, recording, editing, and exporting audio. Students collaborated with their classmates to create a podcast of their choice within Apple's GarageBand app. Click HERE to check out one of the finished products from Mrs. Eberle's class at Shaw Avenue!
Projects and activities that align with the New York State Computer Science and Digital Fluency Standards are meant to build a child's capacity to create and revise digital artifacts using a variety of digital tools (i.e. Garageband via the iPad). Children will be encouraged in the next marking period to draw from their newfound knowledge of podcasting when they are working on their 21st Century project!
The Affordable Connectivity Program is a benefit program that is currently offering a discount of up to $30 each month towards Internet service. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price. Click HERE to find out if you are eligible for this discount! Please click the link below to apply. All applications are due by January 9, 2023.
