celebrate the children
TRANSCRIPT
Special points of interest:
•!Denville Campus
•!Around Campus
•!Upcoming Events
Inside this issue:
Halloween Bowl-A-Thon 2
Halloween Fundraiser 2
Used Clothing Drive 3
Profectum Conference 3
Celebrating 10 Years! Save the Date
4
A Peek into the Program 4-5
Parent Series
6
A Sad Goodbye 6
Gift of Sight 7
PTO Bits & Pieces 7
Info & Upcoming Events 8
Weekly Newsletter
September 23, 2013
Celebrate the Children
It’s official! Celebrate the Children is excited to announce that it will be relocating their schools to Denville, New Jersey in early 2014. Members from the Leadership Team gathered together on Thursday and closed on the new property! Beginning its program in Byram and Stanhope, Celebrate the Children began its journey with only 3 students. As the latest research identifies specific neurological and motor challenges that underlie the developmental weaknesses of individuals with ASD and related disorders, more and more families and school districts are recognizing CTC’s developmental approach as ideal for supporting the unique needs of ASD individuals. The response to the program at CTC that has resulted in Celebrate the Children’s quick growth and need for frequent expansions. Today, Celebrate the Children proudly serves over 115 students from over 70 different school districts. Celebrate the Children is happy to rejoin their schools and plant its roots in their new 70,000 square foot building located on Diamond Spring Road. The building, currently occupied by the New Jersey Foundation for the Blind, will not only allow them to share important resources, but provide their population with space needed to expand their educational programs to meet the diverse needs of their students.
Denville, New Jersey… Here We Come!
The new campus will be divided into three wings: Pre-school/Elementary, Middle School and High School. !There is also a separate building for the adult program, including 2 apartments on-site. !In addition to classroom space they will have dedicated art, music, science and yoga rooms, multiple sensory rooms and gyms, dedicated Floortime™ rooms, quiet work rooms, multiple life-skills training environments and much more. Please continue to check CTC’s website, Facebook and Twitter pages for frequent updates!
Page 2 Letter From the Directors
!"oo# $chools, like goo# $ocie%e& and goo# 'amilies, (elebra) an# (heris* diversi+.,--.ebora* /eier00
Bowl-A-Thon Halloween Style
Last years Bowl-A-Thon raised over $15,000.00 and was attended by over 250 people! The Bowl-A-Thon provides our students, families and friends with a great chance for socialization outside of school in a safe, judgment
free environment.! !All Proceeds of the event will benefit Celebrate the Children School (CTC), a non-profit, private school for children with special
needs. Currently, CTC has a small van and 1 sixteen passenger bus to transport over 100 students for Community-Based Instruction and to their
numerous job sites.! With the money raised the school is!hoping to purchase a new bus!to better serve the needs of their students.
Sunday,!October 27th 12:00pm
Circle Lanes Ledgewood, NJ
Each bowler is!required!to pre-register with a goal to raise at least $100.00! Awards will be presented for the most money raised, best costumes and more! Join us for this
"spooktacular" event for a "boo-tiful" cause!!
PTO Halloween Fundraiser
Make sure to check out the Halloween fundraiser flyer in your child's Weekly Folder! You can purchase your child's
costume online at a wholesale price and 15% will be donated back to the CTC
PTO! What a boo-tiful deal!
Creepy crawlers everywhere!are sure to bring a frightful scare...!
Ghouls and!goblins!will be there!join us, join us if you dare!!!
"
Page 3 Letter From the Directors Used Clothing Drive
There is still time! CTC will hold a Used Clothing Drive on October 2, 3, & 4. Items can be dropped in front of our Wharton Campus anytime during these three days or sent to school with your child. If your school or company is interested in collecting items for our clothing drive, please contact the school and we can arrange for pick-up. CTC will earn money towards our programs for every pound of clothing donated! Please see the flyer in your child’s Weekly Folder for a complete list of accepted items. Thanks in advance for your support!
Overcoming Barriers to Progress: Vital Pathways to Advance Development and Demystifying Floortime™
Profectum Conference
You will learn what to do when: ! •! The child won't play with you and
runs away instead •! When the child is flapping his hands
instead of paying attention to you •! When the child loses control and
has a meltdown or becomes your tyrant
•! How to help the child expand his symbolic play and common sense reasoning
•! How to respond when the child's theme in play or behavior is aggressive and you want him to be “nice”
•! When you want to discover what is going on in his mind, why and what to do
•! When you need to reflect on your feelings as you strive to co-regulate, play and climb the developmental ladder
This conference will help you understand the barriers to progress and “how to” move forward through case discussions, examining underlying processes, hands-on workshops, and the opportunity to learn how to interact and play with your child using the techniques of Floortime™ to promote progress. ! Floortime™ need not be a mystery! Learn the strategies to engage your child in play to help him relate, communicate, think and enjoy discovery and learning. Attend beginner and at school workshops during the conference. Prior experience is not necessary. Floortime™ can be added to all other intervention approaches.
This conference is different! Don’t miss this opportunity, attend this conference: ! •! To understand the challenges,
often hidden in plain sight, to thinking, feeling, communicating and functioning
•! To learn strategies and practical approaches you can implement at home, in therapy and in school
•! To help develop self-regulation and improve capacities to learn with less stress and greater relatedness
•! To integrate four thematic areas related to comprehension – language, visual spatial, sensory and emotional processes, and education
•! To meet and network with colleagues, friends and parents dedicated to the progress of everyone they reach
•! To hear a student panel discuss their experience of Autism
To register and view registration details visit, www.profectum.org
Sunday,!October 13 & Monday, October 14,!2013 New York's Hotel Pennsylvania
401 Seventh Avenue New York, NY
Tel. 212-736-5000
Page 4
A Peek into Student and Family Resources
Celebrate the Children Celebrates 10 Years
Annual Benefit March 14, 2013
Randolph, New Jersey
It was born out of a vision and passion for children with alternative learning
styles with 4 students in a small center. Now, we celebrate 10 years of
excellence and passion with almost 120 students from over 70 school districts.
Join us as we remember our journey and celebrate the past, present and future of
Celebrate the Children at our annual benefit!
Formal Invitation to Follow
The Student and Family Support Services (SFSS) Department staff would like to welcome you to the 2013-14 school year. We look forward to working with you and your children. This year, we hope to create more opportunities for parent involvement and collaboration. We will host monthly Parent Trainings on various topics as well as informational sessions, which encourage home/school collaboration. We will also be running the Small Group Parent Series a few times during the year at each campus. Also, back by popular demand – Sibling Day will be Friday, November 8th. This will be a special day for siblings of our students to come to CTC and learn/socialize alongside their sibling and their classmates. Watch for additional information in the weekly folder.
Page 5 A Peek into the Physical Education Program
CTC is now officially an “Active School” as part of our First Lady’s!Let’s Move!!initiative. Our school community is dedicated to the health and well being of our students. I’ve included important information directly from this website to help you get involved too! The ultimate goal is for students to be physically active for one hour or more each day and to fill up half of his or her plate at each meal with fruits and vegetables. Small changes to our activity levels and eating habits over a longer period of time are more realistic and more likely to lead to this goal with less resistance. Helpful nutrition and fitness tips will be included in upcoming newsletters. !Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need additional resources.!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! The information below is for parents from!www.letsmove.gov Everyone has a role to play in reducing childhood obesity, including parents and caregivers, elected officials from all levels of government, schools, health care professionals, faith-based and community-based organizations, and private sector companies. Your involvement is key to ensuring a healthy future for our children. Parents and caregivers can set a great example for the whole family by creating a healthy environment at home. Join the Nutrition Communicators Network for free information on how to incorporate!MyPlate!into family meals. Earn Presidential Active Lifestyle Awards with your kids to encourage active lifestyles at home. Get updates!from!Let’s Move Outside!on new!ideas on!what!and!where to play outdoors with your kids. Check out the following subscriptions for updates on fitness, health and outdoor fun: "!!!!!!!MyPlate "!!!!!!!President's Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition "!!!!!!!Let’s Move Outside Another great resource for students is the Centers For Disease Control's "BAM (Body And Mind)" website. Here students can find ideas on activities they might enjoy but never thought of, nutrition tips, bullying and much more. ! http://www.cdc.gov/bam/activity/index.html SuperTracker, a free website with more than two million users, can help you plan, analyze, and track your diet and physical activity. It lets you:! •! Find out what and how much to eat! •! Track foods, physical activities, and weight! •! Personalize with goal setting, virtual coaching, and journaling! Based on the!Dietary Guidelines for Americans,!SuperTracker!identifies how your personal dietary and physical activity choices compare to your recommended amounts. It was built by the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. ! For more information on health and physical activity, please visit Wendy’s Physical Education website at www.wendyspe.weebly.com
September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month!
Page 6 Letter From the Directors SFSS Announces the 1st Parent Series
Meditation for the Whole Family
October 2, 2013 2:00 to 3:00 pm
Presenting:
Glenn Ben-Ezra, Teacher of Healing and Meditation. Glenn will provide you with a series of practices that are accessible, easily
explored and supportive of each individual.
CTC Dover Campus
Student and Family Support Services Conference/Floortime™ Room
30 North Essex Street, Dover, NJ
Please RSVP to: Student & Family Support Services
Jennifer Mandato (973) 989-4033 x 413 or
A Sad Goodbye…
!
On Wednesday, AJ came back to CTC to say goodbye to the staff and all of his friends. He joined his former classmates during the Apple Festival for Community Based Instruction. Good luck in your new school AJ! We
will miss you!
Page 7 Letter From the Directors Give the Gift of Sight
PTO Bits & Pieces
Just a friendly reminder, anyone who would like to join Celebrate the Children’s PTO should turn in their form and submit their dues to the main office. ! Please keep an eye out for a small gift the PTO will be sending home soon as well as news about a “family fun event” the PTO will be organizing this Fall.
CTC’S Community Outreach Team is collecting gently used eyeglasses for people in need around the world.
How can you help? !By donating your old glasses!!
Place them in the drop box and we’ll collect them and distribute to LensCrafters. They will then send
an eye doctor to places in need. Your glasses will give another person the gift of “Sight”
Thanks for your support! Debbie’s class
Page 8
Celebrate the Children!A School for Children with Alternative Learning Styles
Phone: 973.989.4033 www.celebratethechildren.org
Upcoming Events
September 23rd After School Program Begins
September 26th
Back to School Night Wharton & Dover
September-October
PTO Halloween Costume Fundraiser
October 13th 14th Profectum Conference
NYC
October 27th Bowl-A-Thon Circle Lanes
March 14th
Annual Benefit Celebrating 10 Years!
Editor: Jenna hammond
October 2nd 3rd 4th Clothing Drive
October 14th No School
Columbus Day
Why Are we Using Social Media and Why Should You Follow Us?
!Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the United States and now affects 1 in 50 children.! More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than AIDS, Diabetes and Cancer combined.!
! We are at an important time in the field of special needs intervention as many people are beginning to recognize the need for
approaches that look at the overall development of a child and target areas such as abstract thinking, problem solving, independence, self-esteem, emotions, language, and social interactions in a natural and supportive setting. At this time, the
demand for this type of intervention is much greater than what clinicians and educators are able to supply. Therefore, it is crucial that we share the amazing programs we have to offer and the “how to” with others.!!
! To fulfill our mission, we need your help and ask you to participate with us in the development of work, in the sharing and building
of materials, and in the structure and growth of our organizations: Celebrate the Children and Profectum. Like us on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and spread awareness of progressive programs that support families and help individuals reach their highest
potential and find success in society.
Please share our pages and posts with your family and friends! !
Blog
This year, Celebrate the Children is introducing a BLOG! Contributions to the blog will be made by Celebrate the Children's!highly talented, interdisciplinary team, as well as some of our wonderful families. Posts will include personal stories, experiences or advice as it relates to our students and children with similar gifts. If you would like to contribute to our blog, please email [email protected], we’d love to share your story! Please visit our website to read our entries!