This week, our students continued exploring their interests, strengths, and future career opportunities! We combined the results from three different surveys—the Personal Interest Survey, Multiple Intelligence Survey, and Career Interest Survey—using a career cluster generator to identify areas that best matched our interests and strengths. Our results aligned with the Human Services and Hospitality career clusters. Students then explored these career areas through reading activities, videos, and classroom discussions to build their understanding of the different opportunities available within each field. Next week, we will take this a step further by selecting a specific career within one of these clusters and researching the position, including job responsibilities, skills, education or training requirements, and other important information.

In math, everyone has successfully completed our Back-to-School Shopping unit! Students practiced functional math skills including reading prices, considering quantities, comparing costs, and staying within a budget. We will now build upon those skills by introducing sales tax. Students will learn when tax is applied to purchases, explore Pennsylvania's sales tax, compare how sales tax can differ from state to state, and then extend our shopping activity by applying tax and using the correct operation to determine the final cost of their purchases.

In reading, we began creating our very own classroom cookbook featuring healthy recipes! Students are working on reading and following recipes while practicing important vocabulary, comprehension, sequencing, and functional reading skills. We are excited to put everything together into our very own cookbook. Be on the lookout for our finished recipes sometime next week!

Yesterday, we had our second round of our Skills and Spoons Cafe. We rotated jobs and menus this week. Grilled cheese was the most loved option! Our lead cook learned how to use a basic sandwich press which led to conversation about what else could be made in a sandwich press. (Ask your student about a s'mores sandwich 😋)

To finish the week we celebrated National Cooking Day! We read a recipe for English Muffin Pizzas, created the steps, sequenced the steps, and then made them to devour them! EVERYONE liked them which is amazing in itself. 

Overall, we had a VERY busy week. Prepare for a busy weekend with the football game and HOCO. I can't wait to see everyone there!😁

IMPORTANT >>> PLEASE watch your emails closely. With the potential of rain tomorrow evening, Homecoming may be moved indoors. A decision will be made morning/mid-day tomorrow. Homecoming begins at 6:30 and ends at 9:30.

SHOUT OUT >>>  HUGE THANK YOU to Tait Towers for our new Leisure and Puzzle Cart. We have a room full of students that love puzzles and we only had one puzzle board. We now have 7 puzzle boards along with storage space to rotate through leisure items - YAY!

Some ideas to spark conversation about the week:

The Living Room work experience

Skills and Spoons Cafe (What was your students job - Lead Cook, Busser, Server, Cashier or were they a customer?)

What was their groups healthy recipe choice?

Did they have to redo their Back to School Shopping because they went over budget?

Homecoming

PAL's Club- We did a Bingo board to get to know everyone!

A classmates 21st birthday! 

Are they doing The Living Room rotation or Stauffers grocery shopping?

Upcoming dates to remember: 

September 29th Picture Day! 

October 1st: PA Ren. Fair Field Trip (Forms came home today - pay close attention to the lunch options. The food (in my opinion) is very expensive. I would recommend packing/getting a pack lunch from school.

October 5th: Warrior Coffee Crew begins

October 6th: EFL clubs begin (Tuesday/Wednesday ONLY)

This is all informative. I repeat - this is all informative 😅 

Homecoming is this Saturday. At this point in time, everyone I have been made aware of has a ticket. There will be at least 3 food trucks on site that will accept cash or card. There will me multiple staff members that your student knows (specifically Mrs. Beatty/Ms. Reedy) on site to assist throughout the evening. IF your student is planning to wear heels, please remind them they will have to "check their shoes" because they are not allowed to wear heels on the turf. 

We have an upcoming community event at the high school. Please see the attached flyer for more information in regards to the event. I bring this to your attention because we have been asked if we would be willing to serve (Warrior Coffee Crew) during the event. Because it is after school hours, there is no priority (or pressure!) to have your child attend. I will be sending a seperate email in regards to Warrior Coffee Crew (in general) and a possible sign up sheet for those who may be interested in attending the event.

Picture day is quickly approaching. Please see the attached information from the High School Newsletter.

Lastly, our Essentials for Living (EFL) club rotations are about to begin. Students will be mixed into groups amongst their special programs peers (Autistic support, Multiple Disabilities, and Life Skills) and rotate (every two weeks) through thematic units that will cover core academic and functional skills through a stacked approach. The club themes are Drama, National Parks, and Science. We attempt to align trips outside of the building with the themes so students are able to generalize and transfer skills from the classroom to the community. Our first trip to the Renaissance Faire (October 1st) will serve as an introduction to drama club. Please look for infomation tomorrow afternoon. 🙂

RRTA training was a complete SUCCESS. While I was unable to be there due to a sudden family emergency our awesome staff and job trainer kept me there in spirit and informed with pictures/phone calls/ and Facetimes! 

Students practiced using public transportation by learning how to track bus stops on their phones and estimate pick-up and drop-off times. They also practiced waiting appropriately and patiently around large groups of people, scanning bus passes, and using other forms of payment when boarding. Students also learned about reduced-fare options available for public transportation.

When arriving at Central Market - the world was their oyster. Students were able to make requests and move around market as they wanted while in their small groups - (this field trip was great because it allowed students to be in pairs with an adult) Overall, it was a WONDERFUL day and I hope your student felt the same! 

Also - those good vibes were felt. Our Skills and Spoons Cafe "soft opening" went amazing. We will continue to practice this simulation on Thursday's during period two through four, maybe one day we would have parents join us 😁

IMPORTANT >>> Tomorrow begins The Living Room job rotation. If your student is participating, you will receive an email. AND It's Homecoming week - make sure to send in money for tickets! 

Upcoming dates to remember: 

September 21st-September 25th: Spirit week! Students are welcome to participate. M: Throwback HOCO shirts T: Boho/Beach day        W: Wild West Th: Denim F: HOCO shift day

September 26th (Homecoming) TICKETS WILL NOT BE SOLD AT THE DOOR. If you would like your child to attend they will need to buy a ticket during the school day. Tickets are $20 and will be sold the week of the 14th - 25th during lunch. We are happy to support your student in purchasing a ticket. UPDATE - ALL FOOD TRUCKS WILL BE ACCEPTING CASH! 

September 29th Picture Day! 

This week we've continued working through our core and functional units from last week, including Career Exploration, Back-to-School Shopping, and Healthy Choices, and we are making some great headway.

Our Career Exploration unit is really starting to take shape! We have almost narrowed down the career clusters that have captured our greatest interest. Once we finalize those clusters, we will begin exploring the different careers within each one, researching what those jobs involve, and eventually narrowing our focus down to one specific career that really sparks each of our interests. We are excited to see where their interests take them!

Back-to-School Shopping has certainly been an adventure! Students are learning that shopping within a budget can be challenging, and determining the difference between a need and a want can sometimes be even trickier. We have had plenty of opportunities to problem-solve, make choices, and even start over when our shopping plans didn’t quite work out. Some students are restarting their shopping challenges, while others have moved on to calculating sales tax and tackling an extension “project” to take their skills a step further.

Our Healthy Choices unit is moving right along, and everyone is nearly at the same point! That means we are getting ready for the fun part: finding healthy recipes and beginning to create our very own class healthy cookbook. Students will have the opportunity to practice reading recipes, making healthy choices, and thinking about the foods they can realistically prepare and enjoy.

Today, we took a break from our regular units and put a heavy focus on real-world transportation skills and RRTA. Our job trainer pushed into the classroom and provided a WONDERFUL hands-on lesson on reading basic bus schedules and using Google Maps to plan transportation. Students then put those skills into practice by completing their RRTA applications. It was a fantastic opportunity to connect classroom learning to the independence and transportation skills our students will need beyond high school!

We are continuing to work hard, problem-solve through the frustrations, and build those important functional skills that will help foster independent both in school and out in the community!

Tomorrow we will be trialing our Skills and Spoons Cafe - send us some good vibes! 😁

IMPORTANT (PLEASE READ!) -------> IF YOU COULD SEND YOUR CHILD TO SCHOOL WITH A WATER BOTTLE MOVING FORWARD, EVEN IF IT STAYS HERE AND WE WASH IT DAILY, WE WOULD APPRECIATE IT! 

Some ideas to spark conversation about the week:

Shredding

Bus schedules (What's the yellow cord on the bus for?)

Pedestrian safety

The Living Room work experience

Lancaster Central Market

Timeclocks (Ask them what their Coffee and/or Cafe ID is)

Signatures (cursive)

Homecoming

Upcoming dates to remember: 

September 18th: RRTA Field Trip 

September 21st: The Living Room job crew starts (Rotations will be shared via email)

September 21st-September 25th: Spirit week! Students are welcome to participate. M: Throwback HOCO shirts T: Boho/Beach day        W: Wild West Th: Denim F: HOCO shift day

September 26th (Homecoming) TICKETS WILL NOT BE SOLD AT THE DOOR. If you would like your child to attend they will need to buy a ticket during the school day. Tickets are $20 and will be sold the week of the 14th - 25th during lunch. We are happy to support your student in purchasing a ticket. UPDATE - ALL FOOD TRUCKS WILL BE ACCEPTING CASH! 

September 29th Picture Day! 

To end out the week we continued with our healthy living unit and dove deeper into our "Back to School Shopping project. Today was obviously "Fun Friday" which honored 9/11 and "American Flag Day." But, before getting to the FUN! we had to do our job of recycling. This was a first time for quite a few. Each group thankfully had a "veteran" that could lead the groups in looking at the lists, creating a route that limits obstructions, and navigating the building successfully. 

After recycling, students got into the FUN! The first hands-on American flag activity incorporated both academic and functional skills. Each student was given 2–3 pieces of the American flag and was responsible for following a color key to correctly color their assigned sections with the given tool. Students then worked together to read and interpret a provided grid, use visual-spatial skills, and communicate with their peers to assemble the individual pieces into a complete American flag. This activity provided practice with reading directions, following a visual system, problem-solving, teamwork, and attention to detail. (Cutting seems to be the end-all-be-all 😅)

Students then transitioned into two groups for the "Great Life Skills Bake Off!" and created an American flag using a fruit pizza recipe. While all of the ingredients were provided, students had limited tools available, requiring them to independently identify which tools were needed and locate them before beginning. Students practiced functional reading by following the recipe, identifying ingredients and measurements, and sequencing steps. They also worked on practical math skills, including measurement and measurement conversions when the recipe called for multiple measurements but only a 1/4 measuring cup was available. Throughout the activity, students practiced independence, organization, problem-solving, kitchen safety, communication, and working cooperatively with others. It was a great opportunity to connect academics to meaningful, real-world skills! AND it was tasty! 😋

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAVE SENT IN PAPERWORK!! I KNOW IT MAY SEEM ENDLESS AT THE MOMENT - I PROMISE IT WILL SLOW DOWN!

Some ideas to spark conversation about the week:

Recycling

Shredding

The Living Room work experience

Homecoming

What are carbs, protein, and fats? 

Career Categories and Career Clusters

Warrior Coffee Crew - monthly specialty drinks

Upcoming dates to remember: 

September 18th: RRTA Field Trip (A field trip form will be coming home Monday!)

September 21st-September 25th: Spirit week! Students are welcome to participate. M: Throwback HOCO shirts T: Boho/Beach day        W: Wild West Th: Denim F: HOCO shift day

September 26th (Homecoming) TICKETS WILL NOT BE SOLD AT THE DOOR. If you would like your child to attend they will need to buy a ticket during the school day. Tickets are $20 and will be sold the week of the 14th - 25th during lunch. We are happy to support your student in purchasing a ticket. Food trucks will be at Homecoming and some may be cashless. 

September 29th Picture Day! 

This week, we began our new Healthy Choices unit in Reading! Students practiced reading a level-appropriate text while building important comprehension and vocabulary skills. We worked on identifying our core vocabulary words, defining each word, and making connections between the vocabulary and the information presented in the text.

Next (beginning tomorrow), we will extend our learning by exploring common nutritional labels. Students will practice identifying important information on food labels and sorting different food items into categories such as “Healthy” and “Not So Healthy.” We will also begin exploring simple recipes and discussing how we can make healthy choices when preparing food. (The motivator here is that they will actually be able to make the food and create a recipe book! 😋)

We also began our new math unit of "Back to School Shopping."Students will practice real-world math skills by “shopping” from a pre-created catalog featuring familiar stores such as Target, Staples, and Walmart. Students will be given a specific shopping list and a set budget. As they shop, they will need to carefully pay attention to quantity, unit price, and the total cost of their purchases. This activity will provide opportunities to practice addition, multiplication, comparing prices, making decisions, and staying within a budget—all while working on skills that connect directly to everyday life. Once students complete their shopping, we will take our learning one step further by introducing sales tax and taxable vs. non-taxable items. Students will learn how tax affects the final cost of their purchases and practice calculating a new total after tax is added.

Students came home last week with a job training information packet. I apologize that I did not give more information as I thought it was just informative in nature. If you have direct questions about job training for your student, please email Jenn at jennifer_pfeiffer@iu13.org This is a service we like to explore as students pass the age of 16 and families have a goal of employment. 

Tonight, students will be coming home with a flyer in regards to Yearbooks. 

Some ideas to spark conversation about the week:

Job training

Writing books - (Prompts: Write about a day on the beach. What is your favorite activity/class in school and why?)

Homecoming

Nutrition - what does it mean to them

Interest surveys

Multiple Intelligence surveys (This will tie into our career indicator project)

Warrior Coffee Crew (19 teachers signed up so far! Reading a GoogleSheets is HARD!)

Upcoming dates to remember: 

September 21st-September 25th: Spirit week! Students are welcome to participate. M: Throwback HOCO shirts T: Boho/Beach day        W: Wild West Th: Denim F: HOCO shift day

September 26th (Homecoming) TICKETS WILL NOT BE SOLD AT THE DOOR. If you would like your child to attend they will need to buy a ticket during the school day. Tickets are $20 and will be sold the week of the 14th - 25th during lunch. We are happy to support your student in purchasing a ticket. Food trucks will be at Homecoming and some may be cashless. 

September 29th Picture Day! 

To wrap up this week, it was a FUN-Thursday instead of Friday, and we celebrated National Bowling League Day with a fun, hands-on bowling-themed learning experience! Students participated in a bowling simulation where we created two classroom leagues and practiced what it means to work together as a team while participating in a friendly competition.

Our bowling activities incorporated so many important skills across multiple areas:

Students practiced basic operations, counting, adding and subtracting points, comparing scores, and understanding how math is used during a bowling game. We also learned and practiced bowling vocabulary such as strike, spare, frame, and score.

Students learned about the history of bowling and practiced reading comprehension by identifying and pulling out interesting “fun facts” from what they read, writing them down, and sharing with a peer.

Students worked on grasping, manipulating, and controlling materials while participating in bowling-related activities and completing classroom assignments.

Our bowling simulation gave students opportunities to practice coordination, balance, body control, aiming, and following through with a bowling motion.

Students had to think about their scores, determine how different rolls affected their totals, and apply what they learned about bowling rules and vocabulary.

Students practiced taking turns, following directions, working as part of a team, participating appropriately in a group activity, and demonstrating good sportsmanship.

Students practiced tolerating waiting, unexpected outcomes, changes in scores, competition, and situations where things may not go exactly as planned.

Students had opportunities to communicate with teammates, discuss scores, use new vocabulary, and share their favorite bowling facts.

Students practiced listening to multi-step directions, staying engaged, and completing activities from start to finish.

After our bowling simulation, students broke into smaller groups to complete additional math and reading assignments. We continued applying our bowling theme to academics by reviewing basic operations and discussing how addition and subtraction are used when keeping score and competing in bowling.

It was a fun day of learning that showed students how academic, social, motor, communication, and vocational skills can all come together through a real-world activity! 🎳

Some ideas to spark conversation about the week:

National Bowling League Day

What is a strike/spare?

How do we solve conflict in different situations?

Job Training

Cellphones (Could they live a day without technology?)

Upcoming dates to remember: 

September 21st-September 25th: Spirit week! Students are welcome to participate. M: Throwback HOCO shirts T: Boho/Beach day        W: Wild West Th: Denim F: HOCO shift day

September 26th (Homecoming) TICKETS WILL NOT BE SOLD AT THE DOOR. If you would like your child to attend they will need to buy a ticket during the school day. Tickets are $20 and will be sold the week of the 14th - 25th during lunch. We are happy to support your student in purchasing a ticket. Food trucks will be at Homecoming and some may be cashless. 

September 29th Picture Day! 

This week during math students were introduced to Warrior Coffee Crew and our classroom restaurant, “Skills and Spoons.” Students practiced basic operations while learning how math connects to real-life situations involving money, including addition and subtraction with regrouping. We’re excited to continue building these practical math skills throughout the year!

In reading we focused heavily on friendship and social skills. We explored:

• What is a friend?

• What isn’t a friend?

• How can you be a good friend?

Students had opportunities to think about kindness, making positive choices, and what it means to build healthy friendships. On the alternate, we talked about peer pressure, "fake" friends, and conflict. 

Outside of the typical content we introduced critical thinking, vocational, and fine motor task boxes. These activities give students opportunities to work independently, practice important life and job-related skills, strengthen fine motor abilities, and develop problem-solving skills.

REMINDER!!

Just a reminder that Back to School Night is tonight at 6:00 PM! I hope to see you there! 

Your students have also been busy making a sweet treat just for you. 💕 We can’t wait for you to see what they’ve made!

Some ideas to spark conversation about the week:

Task boxes

Friendship soup

30 Circle Challenge

Warrior Coffee Crew rotations

Skills and Spoons Cafe job rotations

Upcoming dates to remember: 

September 26th (Homecoming) TICKETS WILL NOT BE SOLD AT THE DOOR. If you would like your child to attend they will need to buy a ticket during the school day. Tickets are $20 and will be sold the week of the 14th - 25th during lunch. We are happy to support your student in purchasing a ticket. Food trucks will be at Homecoming and some may be cashless. 

September 29th Picture Day! 

First week ✅ Done ✅ Finished ✅ Complete ✅ Nailed it ✅

We had a great first week. We played many games and activities designed to help us get to know all of the new faces around us. From classmates and staff to familiar and unfamiliar adults throughout the building, we practiced introducing ourselves, interacting with others, taking turns (wait time is so uncomfortable!), and learning how to be part of our school community. We also did A LOT of exploring this week. Students practiced navigating the building, learning important locations, and figuring out where they need to go throughout the school day. We also worked on an incredibly important skill: What do I do when I’m not sure where to go? What happens if I somehow become disconnected from the rest of the class? Students practiced stopping, looking for clues (gathering information available to them), asking questions, and seeking out the right person for more information rather than simply guessing and/or freezing. We spent plenty of time modeling, practicing, and repeating our everyday routines. Things like unpacking, transitioning, getting materials, cleaning up, and moving throughout our day. This may seem simple, but mastering these routines helps everything run more smoothly! Our goal is to practice these skills until they become familiar and comfortable so students can move through their day with greater independence and confidence. (AS A WIN - STUDENTS WORKED THROUGH MORNING MEETING TODAY WITH 100% ACCURACY! IF YOU BREAK THIS DOWN INTO TEACHER/SPECIAL ED. LINGO - THAT'S OVER 7 STEPS TO SEQUENCE!) We also had the opportunity to get out of the classroom and have some fun in PE and Unified Tech Ed! Students are learning what these classes look like, meeting new teachers and peers, and discovering all the fun experiences that come with being part of unified at the high school. Our classroom jobs are officially underway as well! Students have been learning what their jobs are, what the expectations look like, and how to complete each task successfully. We are also learning an important real-world lesson: the expectations for a job can change depending on the setting. What might look one way in our classroom could look completely different in the cafeteria, office, community, or a future workplace. We will continue to discuss and reinforce real-world connections. 

As for today, it was NATIONAL POWER RANGERS day (FUN FRIDAY!). Our math and reading content focused on basic operations and comprehension to collect baseline data to work up from. We also took the opportunity to cook! Students were split into three groups: Team Cookies, Team MacNCheese, and Team Hot Dogs. Again, this was used as a "baseline" for independence within a simulated home-experience. While it may have been slightly chaotic and frustrating in the moment, students persevered, and in the end thoroughly enjoyed what they made! As a "fun" freebie activity while we waited for the cookies to bake, we looked at the history of Power Rangers. We looked at it through a lens of a timeline and talked about what a timeline is and when they are used. We had a few students that were interested in knowing if Ai was used in the newer series which led us to talking and charting what is Ai and what are popular movies/shows that we watch that contain Ai. Who knew Power Rangers could lead us down these paths! 

Quick Notes: 

Please try to send back the two manila folders as soon as possible! Thank you so much! 

Some students are still missing laptops, don't fret!, they do not need them currently, but we are hoping to have them by Monday. 

Some ideas to spark conversation about the week:

ChatChains (A game of response and questions)

National Power Rangers Day (Obviously!)

Math Word Problems/Real-Life Scenarios (What words help us identify what to do)

Unified PE/Unified Tech Ed. 

What was their favorite food to eat today and why?

What job rotation are they looking forward too? Or vice versa! 

How are they feeling about the high school?

Mrs. Reedys new grandbaby -Addy! (We made her birth weight a guessing game/math connector!)

Upcoming dates to remember: 

September 1st (Back to School Night) The High School operates BTSN on a "hybrid" model. Please keep an eye on the High School Newsletter for timing and information on the model. 

September 26th (Homecoming) TICKETS WILL NOT BE SOLD AT THE DOOR. If you would like your child to attend they will need to buy a ticket during the school day. 

September 29th Picture Day! 

WE DID IT!! It was a crazy day with an extended homeroom schedule, so the rest of the periods were quite wonky, BUT we did it! We spent a good chunk of the day talking about, modeling, and practicing our schedules and routines. The morning chunk of time (7:54-11:18) is definitely tiring for all as it requires them to be "hands-on/minds-on." We will continue to work on our mental and physical stamina. 

Some ideas to spark conversation about your students day:

Ask about morning meeting and their calendar (Hamburger VS Pizza? And what toppings??)

Logic Puzzles - How do we feel about them? What made them hard?

Math Warm ups - (As they all said to me "WHY IS THERE READING IN MATH!!!!)😆😅

What was their favorite part of the WHS TicTacToe board?

Upcoming dates to remember: 

September 1st (Back to School Night) The High School operates BTSN on a "hybrid" model. Please keep an eye on the High School Newsletter for timing and information on the model. 

September 26th (Homecoming) TICKETS WILL NOT BE SOLD AT THE DOOR. If you would like your child to attend they will need to buy a ticket during the school day. 

Today's professional development was focused around Standard Response Protocol. We will be reviewing this information (modified to be appropriate to our learners) throughout the year. I wanted to share the information with you as well. You will also be receiving information in the High School Newsletter that will go more in depth and what this looks like district-wide.  Please CLICK HERE to access the site. 

AHHH!! Summer is almost officially over! How crazy! 

I hope you all had a restful break and were able to enjoy some sunshine and kick-back from the hustle and bustle of coordinating schedules. Just a reminder- today is Link Crew orientation from 7:30-12:30 at the High School. I highly recommend sending your student so they are able to connect with Link leaders and become familiar with the High School. As always, if you have any questions, please send them my way! 

Remember to bookmark this page. I will update it weekly along with photos! 

Some of my favorite moments of summer: