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: