Lighthouse School, Inc.

Dear Parents & Guardians,

Welcome Back! We hope this newsletter finds you all well and hope you had the opportunity to enjoy a safe summer break. Also, we would like to welcome new students and families into our Lighthouse community.

We wanted to take a few moments to share with you our thoughts and hopes for the school year ahead. We recognize that the most effective means to deliver our unique treatment and educational services is through direct interpersonal (i.e. onsite) services. From this perspective, onsite services are our first choice. That said, as proud as we might be of our services, we are prouder still of our reputation for placing the safety of our students and our team as the highest priority. We have never compromised the priority of safety. Therefore, we will not jeopardize safety by rushing to return to onsite services or by accommodating more students (and staff) than conservative safety standards indicate. We recognize the challenges that remote services present.

We are very excited about the work that our team did over the summer in preparing engaging and effective lessons and activities across the full spectrum of IEP services. As you have seen with your students schedule we have a full day (8:30 – 3:00) every day (Monday – Friday) of live instruction and services. High frequency family contact will also be continuing and special attention will be paid to maximizing student participation and engagement. To this end, considerable time and resources were used this summer to develop expanded student motivation systems along with other treatment interventions to help your student be successful in the challenging world of remote learning. The early feedback from students is very positive and they have already demonstrated an investment in working together with us through these challenging times.

Please continue to check our website often for valuable information including school year scheduling and announcements and let’s go forward together!

Warm Regards,

Peter Lang, M.Ed., Principal

Bioeducational Theme of the Month: Self Care & Healthy Choices

September has two monthly themes-Self-Care and Healthy Choices. Self-Care is the act of taking an active role in protecting one's own well-being, health, and happiness, particularly during periods of stress. We all make daily choices that affect how we feel and experience the world and some of these choices are healthy for us and some are not. Although making the healthy choice may not always be easy, it is important that we prioritize doing things that make us feel good and lower our stress. Given the multiple responsibilities and stressors we all currently face, making self-care a priority may seem unimportant, too challenging, or even selfish, but it only takes a few minutes to practice self-care.

While we are adjusting to remote learning in the new school year, self-care could mean making time to get up from the computer, stretch or take a minute outside to refresh during the day. It may also mean making sure we get enough sleep each night, are staying hydrated throughout the day and are finding time to do things that make us happy, such as reading a book, watching a favorite TV show or calling a friend. Self-care and your health are closely related to each other and if we don't make the time to focus on our own mental, physical, spiritual and emotional health, it can be easier to feel unwell. Throughout the month of September, staff at Lighthouse will be weaving the themes of self-care and healthy choices into their lessons. We encourage you and your child to make time each day, even if it is just for a few minutes, to do something that makes you happy and helps you feel healthy!