Dear
Parents and Concerned Citizens:
Students,
teachers and adminstrators have been working diligently on the
state-wide standardized testing this past week or so.
The budget
process continues. I had the opportunity to meet with folks at
the Haddam Senior Center on Monday. What a nice group of
people... They were truly interested in
what is being proposed and seemed supportive of the
efforts of folks in the district. It was a delight to be
with them.
The CT
State Department of Education has informed all superintendents of a
change in the rules for immunization for students in PK, K and
grades 7. The notice is posted on our
website.
My time
with you in racing towards the finish line. Mr. Thiery spent
the day in the district on Wednesday getting familiar with his new
surrounds. He will begin in earnest on April 1. I might
have chosen a different day!
Spring has
(almost) sprung!
John
Interim
Superintendent of Schools
Regional
School District 17
"Students
Learning What They Live"
Haddam-Killingworth
Middle School SADD
Invites
Community Members
to
the SADD Family Focus Speaker Series
Presented
by Liberty Mutual Insurance
Participants
will hear from Stephen Wallace, SADD Chairman and
nationally-recognized youth advocate in PARENT POWER
program
Parents and
other adult mentors of the community are invited to a free,
informative evening forum to learn more about the real world of
today's teenagers and concrete steps they can take to help keep
youth safe. Held in a town-hall style format, this one-hour dynamic,
motivational presentation is both interactive and
participative.
WHEN:
March 22, 2011 7 p.m.
WHERE:
Haddam-Killingworth Middle School Auditorium
Parent
Power, part of
the SADD Family Focus Speaker Series presented by Liberty Mutual
Insurance -SADD's National Insurance Partner - features Stephen
Wallace, SADD Chairman and CEO, college professor, camp director,
former school psychologist, and author of Reality Gap: Alcohol,
Drugs and Sex-What Parents Don't Know and Teens Aren't Telling
(Sterling Publishing/Union Square Press).
By mixing
stories and humor with audience participation and groundbreaking
research, Wallace sheds new light on the most difficult issues
facing teens today: underage drinking, other substance use, and
risky and impaired driving, as well as the many positive choices and
contributions teens make to their families, schools, and communities
every day.
PLEASE JOIN
US FOR THIS INFORMATIVE EVENING!
For more
information, contact Michele Ouellette at 860-663-1241
or
Kathryn
Glendon at 860-345-7498
Family
Connections
Family Connections is a group of parents of adopted children
from the community, meeting to discuss issues unique to their
family. The group was recently formed and is growing with each
passing week with members welcoming new families. Some of the
topics discussed during meetings are: sharing adoption stories,
working through common concerns, discussing the different stages of
families with adopted children, sharing experiences, sharing
resources, and providing a safe environment for families that can
relate to one another. Family Connections is offered
through Youth and Family Services of Haddam-Killingworth, Inc. and
is led by a graduate intern with experience in adoption
issues. Family Connections is an open meeting, so that
those interested can join at any time. Please contact Laurin Franco
at lfranco@hkyfs.org or at 860-345-7498 for meeting information and
to sign up.
Please
join us for a Partners In Transition OPEN HOUSE for all early
childhood providers!
Sponsored
by Haddam Killingworth Youth and Family Services and hosted by
Celeste Formica, Kindergarten Teacher and Tania Shaw, Special
Education Teacher. Join us for an informal gathering to visit a
kindergarten classroom, share ideas and look at curriculum materials
as we work together to prepare children for kindergarten. The Open
House is scheduled for Monday, April 4, 2011 from 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.
at Haddam Elementary School - Room 8. For more information:
860-345-7498 or hkhelpingkids@yahoo.com
Please RSVP by March 28.
HK PROJECT GRADUATION NEEDS
YOUR HELP: We are seeking
Decorators for our Decorations committee. No creative experience
required. Come join our committee for Project Graduation for the
class of 2011. Please contact Kaycee Blancaflor at KCCallahan@uks.com if you're interested in joining
this committee.
HK Projection Graduation Decorating Committee will meet weekly on
Tuesdays & Thursdays from March through to June at 6:30pm in the
lower media center.
Chaperones needed:
Please
contact Sue Craffey at jcraffey@snet.net or
860-345-3908 or Marianna LaRosa at malarosa@comcast.net if you are able to help
out with chaperoning for a few hours on the evening of Tuesday, June
21, 2011(depending on more snow days). We need lots of
volunteers to help make this event a success.
Food volunteers:
If you are
able to help making phone calls and/or picking up food at local
businesses. Please contact Stacey Grimaldi at ssgrimaldi@comcast.net or Joan Cizek at joancizek@comcast.net
Clean up Volunteers:
Please
contact Laura Roman at Landdroman@aol.com or 860-345-3583 if you
are able to help out with clean up. All volunteers will be greatly
appreciated.
HK Project Graduation is
continuing with the recycling fundraiser so please look for the
green bins in all of RSD 17 schools, Haddam Town Hall Brainerd
Library, Killingworth Town Hall, Killingworth transfer station &
Killingworth Library. Please consider donating used cell phones, ink
jet cartridges, digital cameras, laptops, etc. Any
questions, feel free to contact Kathy Strom, 860-345-3398 or
KSSTROM@aol.com. Updates will be
added to the Project Graduation link on the district website.
Our meetings are the
2nd Tuesday of each month at 7pm in the Lower Media
Center. The dates are as follows, 4/12/11, 5/10/11 and
6/14/11. Come and join the fun on the Project Graduation
Committee!!! We welcome all members from Haddam and Killingworth
community to be part of Project Graduation. You don't have a student
in the school system to be part of our committee.
We need lots of volunteers
and all the publicity helps. Thank you in advance for posting this
in the weekly message. If possible, if it can be run every few weeks
it will help us greatly.
Thank you again,
Elaine
Jackson
HK Project
Graduation, Publicity
HES
Warms Your Heart Soup & Bread Luncheon
Tuesday, March 15,
2011
11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Haddam Fire Station · 439
Saybrook Rd.
$5 All-You-Can-Eat (dine-in only) - Carry out
($5 per pint)
Coffee and Water provided · Sodas
available
Select from more than 20 homemade soups provided by
area restaurants, businesses and friends of HES.
Save these
dates!!
Sensory Processing
Disorder
Support Group
Everyone is welcome to
attend!!
Please pass this information
along to anyone that might find it
interesting!!
All SPD support group
meetings are held at the Clinton Police Station, 170 East Main
Street (RT 1). Meetings start promptly at 7:00
p.m.
Sensory processing is a term
that refers to the way the nervous system receives messages from the
senses and turns them into appropriate motor and behavioral
responses. Sensory Processing Disorder is a condition that
exists when sensory signals don't get organized into appropriate
responses. Pioneering occupational therapist and neuroscientist A.
Jean Ayres, PhD, likened SPD to a neurological "traffic jam" that
prevents certain parts of the brain from receiving the information
needed to interpret sensory information correctly. A person with SPD
finds it difficult to process and act upon information received
through the senses, which creates challenges in performing countless
everyday tasks. Motor clumsiness, behavioral problems, anxiety,
depression, school failure, and other impacts may result if the
disorder is not treated effectively.
One study shows that at
least 1 in 20 children's daily lives is affected by SPD. Another
research study by the Sensory Processing Disorder Scientific Work
Group suggests that 1 in every 6 children experiences sensory
symptoms that may be significant enough to affect aspects of
everyday life functions. Symptoms of Sensory Processing Disorder,
like those of most disorders, occur within a broad spectrum of
severity. While most of us have occasional difficulties processing
sensory information, for children and adults with SPD, these
difficulties are chronic, and they disrupt everyday
life.
On Tuesday, March
22nd
Tara J. Glennon, EdD,
OTR/L, FAOTA
Professor of Occupational
Therapy
Quinnipiac
University
Tara Glennon was our most
popular speaker yet and she is coming back!! Dr. Glennon
travels the country speaking and teaching about Sensory Processing
Disorder. She is an active participant in working to get SPD
in the 2011 DSM. We are hoping you will bring your
NON-BELIEVERS (husband, grandparents, friends ...), all those that
do not understand or believe in SPD. Tara has an unbelievable
way of explaining how Sensory Processing Disorder works and what it
is like to live with SPD. DON'T MISS THIS MEETING!!!
Please pass along the wonderful event!!
Dr. Glennon has had a
long-standing devotion to pediatric practice, evident in her
clinical work and scholarly endeavors. As a clinician, Tara has
specialized in the pediatric domain of practice since 1985 and was
among the original group of four therapists in Connecticut to
receive Board certification as a pediatric specialist from AOTA. She
owns the Center for Pediatric Therapy, a pediatric private practice
here in Connecticut, and has recently begun a web resource for
pediatric clinicians called OT for Kids. Dr. Glennon has authored
numerous works on pediatric practice and has lectured extensively on
both the local and national levels. Her AOTA Roster of Fellows award
for her commitment to Professional and Community Education in
Pediatrics clearly exemplifies her national work in this area. From
the student perspective, they simply know her as the professor who
is often on the floor demonstrating childhood movement patterns or
jumping into the ball-pit in order to illustrate how to children
play!
On Tuesday, April
26th
Sally Brockett, M.S.
Director, IDEA Training Center
Sally Brockett is the
program director and is one of the foremost Berard Auditory
Integration Training experts in the world. Sally learned the Berard
method of AIT directly from Dr. Berard and continues to work closely
with him to maintain program standards and excellence. Sally
personally works with each individual and their family while
providing AIT consultation and training
The Berard method of
Auditory Integration Training (AIT) helps reorganize the brain to
improve auditory and sensory processing capabilities. Participants
use headphones to comfortably listen to AIT auditory stimulation.
This reorganizes the dysfunctional sensory center so the brain no
longer gets overloaded with disorganized information.
