The holidays are a time to celebrate our families and special traditions. While this year may bring changes to our usual traditions, we can still find ways to let our families know just how special they are.
In Charlie's words, family means that you care for each other and you share lots of different experiences together.
Charlie's favorite holiday memory is when his family ate all of his aunt's Hanukkah cookies. She makes some good cookies! He also likes going to holiday parties with his family.
Charlie says this year may be a little different because of the pandemic, but his family will still find ways to celebrate together. Even if they have to use zoom!
Adaptive Pause Update: On November 24th, superintendent Michael V Simeck announced that Lake Forest Community High School District 115 will continue with fully remote learning through Winter Break.
The week of December 14th, we will be following the Finals Schedule. The school days will begin at 9:00am and end at 1:10pm on Monday through Thursday.
Friday, December 18th, is a Non Student Attendance Day.
Monday, December 21st, will be the start of Winter Break.
School will resume on Wednesday, January 6th, 2021.
This is Luke's first year in the Lake Forest Transition Program. We wanted to get to know him a little better so we decided to ask him some questions about the things that interest him the most. Here is how he answered.
What are two of your favorite things about Transition?
My two favorite things about Transition are Book Club and Community Prep.
(Author's note: We are currently reading the book "The One and Only Ivan" for Book Club. Community Prep is what we do each week to discuss where we would like to virtually travel to learn about different parts of the state, country and world.)
What is a challenge you are working to overcome at Transition?
I am working to overcome the challenges of staying on track or focusing when we are learning remotely. Very difficult.
What are some things you are learning at Transition?
I am learning patience during this time of learning remotely.
You had a job pre-covid. What did you do?
I worked at Eggsperience in Bannockburn folding forks, knives, and spoons into a napkin.
What is your favorite sports team? Do you prefer watching college or professional sports?
My favorite team is the Seattle Seahawks.
We have heard that you are a very good swimmer and have competed in Special Olympics. How long have you been swimming competitively?
I have been swimming since I was 4 years old and swimming competitively since I was 6 years old.
Thank you for sharing, Luke. You are a ray of sunshine and a perfect addition to our program!
For one of our cooking days this month, Alissa's class chose to make a recipe that will feed an entire family!
Baked Ziti was definitely a crowd pleaser as we discovered that many of us share a mutual love of pasta. We learned about the different sizes and shapes of pasta and we actually used a variety of noodles among the class. We ranged from Caleb's long, flat Lasagna noodles to Robin's tiny, tubular Ditalini noodles along with several noodle variations in between.
Everyone did a great job executing this recipe and improving their kitchen skills. We highly recommend including Baked Ziti into your dinner rotation!
Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Sweet Potato Casserole
Sweet Potato Casserole
Tuna Melt
Ginger Glazed Salmon
Baked Ziti
Ginger Glazed Salmon
Baked Ziti
Chicken Stir Fry
Baked Ziti
Beef Stir Fry
Chicken Stir Fry
Our staff psychologist, Karen Lapinski, offers great advice to help us cope through the many challenges we are faced with everyday.
On November 12, Dr. Doug Bolton, school psychologist and clinical psychologist, spoke to the Lake Forest community on Cultivating Resilience During Covid-19. Dr. Bolton is an engaging, inspiring speaker who offers both practical tips and new ways for us to think about the current situation. His presentation was recorded and is well worth the hour long watch.The link is available on both the LFHS website and also here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2F7UjSwaTQ&feature=youtu.be&t=60
One of the things Dr. Bolton emphasized is that stress triggers our sympathetic nervous system, putting us into ‘fight or flight mode’. While this is good for an immediate, short-term danger, it’s also the mode where we’re less flexible, less empathetic, less able to talk constructively about our fears, less creative, and less patient. When stress continues over time, it’s important for us to be deliberate in ‘resetting’ our nervous system in order to feel more regulated and better able to engage with the world around us in the ways that we want to. Dr. Bolton offered some good ‘reset’ strategies. These are not new strategies, but are things that become even more important during stressful times. Many are strategies we work with our Transition students on as part of the curriculum, to help them navigate the challenges that can come with young adulthood and a period of transition. They are especially worth highlighting now so we can all help each other to be intentional in incorporating them into our lives.
Exercise: Our stress hormones were originally intended to help us with quick movement - so it’s no surprise that physical activity helps to reduce anxious feelings and releases mood-boosting endorphins. Transition students have been exploring new ways to get in some physical activity this year. The nice thing about physical activity is that it doesn’t need to be big to give benefits - a 15-20 minute walk outside can help to relieve stress and boost mood.
Diet: We’ve all seen the jokes going around about pandemic cooking involving stuffing pancakes with ice cream, and many of us also crave our favorite comfort foods in cold weather. Our diets don’t have to be perfect, but it’s helpful to remember that what we eat does impact our energy and mood. Transition students learn about food groups as part of meal planning and prep. When we are mindful of incorporating the different food groups into our eating, it helps to give us more stable energy as well as the nutrients we need to stay physically and emotionally healthy.
Hobbies: Hobbies give our brains a break from speculating and worrying about the future or ruminating on past mistakes. They help to keep us focused on the present moment and engaged in something that brings us meaning. As parents and teachers, modeling engagement in our own hobbies sets a positive example for our Transition young adults. If your child is struggling to find a hobby he or she enjoys, Transition staff can help.
Routines: Right now, the world can sometimes feel out of control causing us to feel helpless. Routines can help to give us a sense of control by focusing on those small things we can choose to do on a daily basis. Even on days when working or learning from home, keeping the same getting ready routine can provide a grounding start to the day. Transition students complete a daily morning check-in to help with this routine. While some of our routines have been disrupted, this can also be an opportunity to create new ones such as a family movie or game night, cooking dinner together one night a week (or having a night that your child is responsible for planning and prepping the meal with your help as appropriate), or creating a weekly ‘theme night’ around something of interest to your family (music, different cultures/places, vacation destinations, or virtual field trips have been some ideas suggested by students and families).
Connection: Being intentional about connection is important, especially as cold weather makes it difficult to engage in some of the same opportunities available in the summer. As health and weather permit, a meet-up with a friend or extended family member in the park or with a backyard bonfire are still good options. Phone and virtual options exist when in-person meet ups aren’t possible.
Gratitude: Studies have shown that focusing on gratitude can promote positive thinking and improve mood over time. It is most effective when the focus is on something specific that happened in your day, and you think or share about it in detail (i.e. a few thoughts or sentences). Some families have combined gratitude with a new family routine, by creating a thankful turkey, thankful wreath, or other holiday-themed decoration. Each day, each family member adds a new feather, leaf, etc. with a gratitude statement from the day.
Recognize Impermanence: Finally, it’s important to recognize the transient nature of our thoughts and emotions and to help our young adults do the same. During challenging times, we will have some days when we feel good and handle things well. Other days, we might feel more anxious, down, and have difficulty doing the same things we did easily the day before. We can think of it like surfing a wave - where sometimes we’re on top and other times we might temporarily ‘capsize’. On bad days, we can remind ourselves that we won’t always feel down. We can also give ourselves some grace for not always being ‘at the top of the wave’. Ups and downs are okay, and in fact a normal part of being human.
While temporarily feeling stressed or overwhelmed is common, experiencing these feelings over a prolonged period of time to the degree where they interfere with general life activities can be a sign of something more serious. If you or your young adult is feeling this way - please reach out. I can always be reached at klapinski@lfschools.net or 224-217-3253. Let’s support each other in taking some time for self care and to ‘reset’ as we move into the new year!
Play a board game. Board games are great mediums to practice social language skills such as turn-taking, eye contact, and giving complements.
Do chores. Chores are a necessary part of life. There are many opportunities to practice language skills such as following directions on a label when doing laundry. This is a necessary life skill.
Picture scavenger hunt. Kids these days love their phones. Ask your child to take pictures of various personal items around the house and describe them to you. Remember to encourage your child to give details (e.g., it's a TV vs. it's an LG flat screen high definition TV).
Diana Beckman, our Vocational Coordinator, has been working with our students to help build Career Self Awareness.
Understanding Self-Awareness and Self Advocacy leads to self leadership, and accountability for individual needs. Although we are in a remote setting, ALL students can be responsible for demonstrating appropriate and meaningful decisions about their individuality.
This month, students are understanding and growing their mindsets, by becoming creative for individual career/job planning.
Vocational Activities included:
Applied to community jobs
Attending a Virtual Interview Workshop
Participated in mock and real Interview experiences
Making cold calls to employers
Participated in vocational work at home and at community job sites
Connected with 16 Career Clusters
Identified individual attributes and abilities
Students were making real connections in and outside the classroom and were highly motivated when learning/exploring career clusters. Students were so engaged in each category it guided the group discussion into longer peer to peer dialogue. Students were able to describe and elaborate on personal experiences, which ultimately led to deeper thinking of each career field.
Overall, our students are doing a fantastic job self identifying with personal goals and career development. We continue to make meaningful engagement for post-transition success.
Great job everyone!!!
Budgeting
Reading Instruction
Conflict Resolution Game
Special Services Group
"Fan" Club
Morning Planning
Good Morning!
Book Club
CNN 10 - Trivia Question
Nick's Hybrid Classroom
Alissa's Hybrid Classroom
We held a surprise virtual celebration for Jake on his very last day of transition. Everyone joined in to sing happy birthday, share our favorite memories, and to wish Jake the very best as he begins the next chapter of his adult life.
We will miss you, Jake!
Each month we like to share various helpful resources for parents of our transition students. If you have any questions or know of a resource we may share for the next month, don't hesitate to contact your class teacher or the Transition Coordinator.