Celebrate
Lilly's winning bookmark
Library Bookmark Winners
Congratulations to 8th grader Lilly Moghadam on her 2nd Rockwood School District win for the Middle School Bookmark Contest!
6th graders Quincy Dean and Valeria Martinez de Pinillos earned honorable mentions for their designs as well.
Stop by the library to pick up your favorite today!!
Quincy's bookmark
Valeria's bookmark
Poetry Month At Lasalle
LaSalle Springs Middle School is having poetry month. To celebrate it they are having some teachers write poems about why they teach or why teach their subject. Teachers are allowed to ask students to help them with their poems. Some of these poems will make it onto the announcements, but these poems aren't the only ones Mrs. Thompson is getting student are also sending them as well.
Bryce Boudreau won 2nd place in a writing contest
Bryce, an 8th grader at LaSalle Springs Middle School, won second place in a composing contest at Mizzou held for middle schoolers all around the country. Bryce wrote this piece by himself with help from help of Mr. Padwan and Mr. Sakowski, the band teachers at LaSalle. The LaSalle band family is proud of Bryce and his work and is exsited to see if he continues to grow as a composer.
In The Castle - Bryce Boudreau (1)
Autism Awareness Month
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a disorder of broad challenges with things such as; speech and verbal communication, social skills, and behaviors that are repetitive.
Autism is found in 1 in 36 children. Research from the CDC suggests that even though autism can be found in any person regardless of age or sex it is most commonly found in boys as early as the age of 5.
Autism Spectrum Disorder isn’t the same for all people diagnosed with ASD, this is why it’s referred to as a spectrum disorder. One with autism might have fewer or more challenges than someone else diagnosed with ASD. It Is important to know this because autism is a common disorder. We have Autism Awareness Month to spread this information and help autistic people get the support and understanding they need.
An interview with Lindsey Meinhardt, LSMS Special Education Teacher -
Do you feel as if students with autism are supported here at school? If so, how? If not, what could be better?
As with all students, individuals with Autism can struggle with relationships. LaSalle is a great place that is always driven by inclusion and it is always becoming more inclusive. Students are always engaging and trying to include the individuals. Even when they do not understand why a student may complete a task a certain way or may speak differently, they are curious on the why. I have been asked many times about students so that peers are able to gain a deeper understanding of how and why things are a certain way for the specific population.
2. Is it easy for students with autism to make friends? Why or why not?
The relationships with peers can vary. Every individual with autism is unique in the same way everyone else is. Some individuals with autism are verbal and some are non-verbal. For some students, it can be easy to create relationships with peers, but for others, it can be difficult. Autism affects a person's ability to communicate and can make it difficult to have social interactions with familiar and unfamiliar people.
3. Do you feel students with autism have a hard or easier time at school? Can you give us an example?
As well as communicating with peers being difficult, there are other factors in the day that can be difficult for individuals with Autism. Some struggles that students may have include obsessive interests and repetitive behaviors. When something is of interest, it can be difficult for the individual to not focus on the topic, object, or person. This can make it difficult for students at school. When there are schedule changes(assemblies, field trips, switching lunch shifts) or staff changes(a teacher being absent) it can make the day difficult because it is outside of their regular routine.