Lighthouse School, Inc.
October 30, 2020
“Unity is strength. When there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.”
--Mattie Stepanek (American poet)
“The nice thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side.” –Margaret Carty (American writer)
News & Announcements
Announcements:
- October is Bullying Awareness Month
- November's Bioeducational Theme of the Month is Teamwork: Cooperation and Family
- Grades Close: Friday, November 6th
- October Newsletters in Google Classroom Friday, October 30th
- We are pleased to announce that an initial 40 students have been notified about participation in our Hybrid Learning Model beginning November 30th. More details to follow.
A message from Jennifer Kamin, our Associate Director of Program Administration:
At Lighthouse School, we value our relationships with LEAs, parents, guardians, and community-based providers. United, we are a powerful force that enhances student outcomes and that reminds us all of the importance of cooperation and collaboration.
The annual team meeting is just one example of this process. It is an ideal opportunity for all of us to come together, share perspectives on the student’s functioning and growth and to explore on their behalf. It gives us such pleasure to talk about progress made and the successes each student has experienced, and to also work collaboratively as a team to develop goals for the upcoming year.
Staff at Lighthouse will present a comprehensive IEP draft and are prepared to talk about your student’s overall clinical functioning, which includes important biodevelopmental skills needed for success in all settings such as: affective expression, self-regulation, and their ability to interact with others. We also will provide an interdisciplinary update to review their skills, level of participation and the accommodations we provide to increase their success. The interdisciplinary update includes summaries from academic areas, as well as Speech and Language, Occupational Therapy, and Transition Services, if the student receives these services in their IEP.
One of Lighthouse School’s primary goals for all of our students is to generalize the skills learned with us to other settings. It gives us such pride to hear that they are sharing their feelings at home, working to resolve a conflict with someone, or using a coping skill when feeling dysregulated on a community outing.
Part of the team meeting is for each participant to share their long-term goals for the child. We welcome input from all members of the team as we look ahead and share our vision for the student over the next several years. This will help us not only develop goals for them, but also allow us to deepen our integration as a team as we share a common outlook for their future.
Although our Team Meetings are currently being held in a different format, our commitment to you and your child remains the same. We continue to be here for all of you to address any questions or concerns related to IEP goals and services, and the team meeting process. In these unusual times it is very much apparent that it takes all of us working together to help your children experience success, achieve their potential, and help them heal.
If you should have any questions about the Team Meeting process at Lighthouse School, please feel free to contact Amy Bassett, Supervisor for Team Meetings, at bassetta@lighthouseschool.org or Jennifer Kamin, Associate Director of Program Administration, at kaminj@lighthouseschool.org.
November Bioeducational Theme of the Month
Teamwork: Cooperation and Family
November's monthly theme is Teamwork: Cooperation and Family. At Lighthouse, our team includes staff, students, families, outside agency service providers, and the LEAs with whom we partner. We all work together to achieve the common goal of optimal success for our students, and this takes cooperation, open and honest communication and willingness to resolve conflicts as they arise. Throughout the month of November, we'll be focusing on helping our students understand the concept of teamwork and what it means to be part of a team and family. They'll have opportunities to explore their own roles as members of a team and identify the qualities that they bring to the teams and families of which they are a part. During a time when we are physically distant from each other, having a team for support becomes even more important to keep us connected to one another and we want our students to better understand that they are important members of that team.
Movies including theme of Teamwork: Cooperation and Family
Miracle
Stepmom
Stand and Deliver
Matilda
Remember the Titans
The Incredibles
Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey
Bioeducation:
You can find the current Cluster Notes by clicking the image of the folder!
Just a reminder that Halloween is Saturday, October 31st. For those whose communities are celebrating this very sweet day, here are some safety tips and guidelines from the CDC. Happy Halloween and please remember to stay safe.
A Note from the Nurses
We would like to welcome you all back to 2020-2021 school year and let you know how much we miss seeing your children in person during these challenging times of COVID-19.
We would like to share a few reminders on keeping your students safe and healthy and ready to learn in this new school year:
Schedule an annual physical with your child’s primary care provider and make sure to have any immunizations updated during the appointment if it has been greater than one year since their last physical
Schedule a dental cleaning if it has been greater than one year since their last dental cleaning
Follow the guidelines for social distancing and the use of facial covering/masks when outside of the home
Make sure your child covers their mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing and practices good hand washing to help to decrease the spread of germs
As cold and flu season is coming upon us, please remember to keep your child home if he or she is not feeling well or has a fever. Your child should be 24 hours fever free without fever reducing medications such as acetaminophen (Tylenol ™) or ibuprofen (Motrin ™) before coming back to school.
This would also be a great time to consider having your child receive the Influenza Vaccine as has been recommended for all students in kindergarten through college in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
As always, if you have any health-related questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us!
Technology Corner:
YouTube Short Cuts
YouTube has been and seems to remain the king of video content on the web, and teachers are using it more and more in their lessons. Here are some quick keys to help you navigate through those YouTube videos a little easier.
Note: Most of these shortcuts will only work when the YouTube player is in focus. If you are navigating other parts of the video page, then these shortcuts will not work. You can click on the YouTube player to gain back focus.
Spacebar: Pause/Play video (player focus required)
K key: Pause/Play video (doesn’t require focus)
↑ (Arrow key up): Turn up volume 5%
↓ (Arrow key down): Turn down volume 5%
M key: Mute/unmute volume
← (Arrow key left): Move backward 5 sec
→ (Arrow key right): Move forward 5 sec
L key: Move forward 10 sec
J key: Move backward 10 sec
0 / Home key: Restart the video
End key: Skip to the end
Num keys 1,2,3..9: Move playhead to the respective percentage, 10%-90%
F key: Enter or exit full screen
Esc key: Exit full screen
Ctrl + →: Move to next video (only in playlist)
Ctrl + ←: Move to previous video (only in playlist)
Tab key: Move forward in player control buttons
Shift + Tab: Move backward in player control buttons
Enter: Execute select player control button
C key: Turn on/off CC (closed captions)
+ key: Increase CC font size when it’s turned on
– key: Decrease CC font size when it’s turned on
B key: Change CC background color
> key: Increase play speed
< key: Decrease play speed
Shift + P: Play previously played video
Shift + N: Play next video in recommendation/playlist
/ key: Place text cursor in search field to start typing
Esc key: Focus away from search field if text cursor is there
, (comma): Move backward per frame when video is paused
. (period): Move forward per frame when video is paused
To our LEA's
Thank you for your continued partnership as we work to support our students and their families. We are here for you. If you need anything, please do not hesitate to contact us:
Dorothy Pepin
Director of Program Administration
Pepind@lighthouseschool.org
Jennifer Kamin
Associate Director of Program Administration Kaminj@lighthouseschool.org
Amy Bassett
Supervisor for Team Meetings
Bassetta@lighthouseschool.org
Sandra Muldowney
Supervisor for Enrollment Services
MuldowneyS@lighthouseschool.org
To our Families
Our therapists are available to offer clinical support to families and students 24 hours a day.
If you are in need of assistance, please call our support line, starting with Line 1.
Line #1: (978) 821-1351
If you are not able to connect with a therapist or do not get a response within 10 minutes, please try Line 2.
Line #2: (978) 821-0316
Resources
Click the icon for up-to-date information regarding COVID-19 from the Mass General Hospital website
October is Bullying Awareness Month
covid-infographic-elementary.pdf