Special Education Update

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Montvale Public SchoolsSpecial Education Data
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• Our special education parent advisory group,
  composed of parents of special education
  students, special education teachers, speech
  therapists and the child study team have met to
  develop Transition Criteria for students
  transitioning from Pre-K to Kindergarten,
  Elementary to Middle, and Middle to High School.
• Continuing our efforts to develop a more
  meaningful IEP document with measurable data and
  skilled-based goals and objectives.
  
• Continuing to work on a study skills curriculum
  for the middle schools special education
  students.
  

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• Continuing to work with the Organizational Skills
  Committee in the elementary school, composed of
  regular and special education teachers, speech
  therapist, and our learning disabilities teacher
  consultant
• Continuing to provide highly individualized
  programs that meet the needs of our special
  education students
  
• Continuing to incorporate increased utilization
  of assistive technology for our special education
  students to help them access the general
  education curriculum
• Developing decoding procedures for special
  education teachers to utilize with specific
  students
  

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• Evening Workshops (2007-2008)
• Promoting Social Skills Within the Home and
  Community-(11/07)
  
• Generation Text Raising Well Adjusted Kids In A
  World of Instant Everything-(5/08)
  
• Day Workshops (2007-2008)
• Organizational Skills-(10/07)
• Why is Reading Important and How Does It Impact
  Students Across the Curriculum- (2/08)
  
• Assistive Technology-(4/08)

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• CST Presentation at faculty meetings- Memorial
  School (10/07)and Fieldstone (12/07)
  
• Assistive Technology-(9/07, 10/07, 3/08)
• Collaborative Training-(10/08, 11/08, 2/08,
  4/08)
  
• How to Develop Measurable Goals and
  Objectives-(11/07 and 1/08)
  
• GRADE/GMADE-(1/08)
• LindaMood Bell-(2/08)
• Sensory Processing Disorders-Fieldstone-(3/08)
• Positive Behavioral Supports- Fieldstone (3/08)
  and Memorial (4/08)
  
• What Do These Special Education Classifications
  Mean? Teacher Assistants-(10/07)

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• Extra Academic Enrichment Committee will have met
  three times during the school year
  
• Excellent parent newsletters
• Program brochures
• At-home Enrichment Projects for Grades K-4
• Monthly Brain Busters for Grades 1-8
• Guidance counselors met with all grade levels
• Self-reflection student questionnaire
• Activity binders at both schools
• Positive feedback from parents and students who
  have attended extra academic enrichment classes
  at Fieldstone five days per week for one marking
  period
• First grader project presentations to the PTO
• Four 4th grade students won Celebrate N.J.
  writing contest
  
• Six students selected for the National Sally Ride
  Toy Challenge competition
  

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• 1st Grade
• Quilt- Students learned about quilt making,
  geometric shapes, and symmetry to make their own
  quilt square.
  
• School Zoo- Students researched an animal, built
  a diorama depicting the animals habitat, and
  created a PowerPoint slideshow about that animal.
  
• 2nd Grade
• Innovative Introductions- Students came up with
  creative ways to introduce themselves to one
  another (Example scavenger hunt, baseball card,
  game show, etc.)
• Dino Show- Students were curators of a museum and
  had to research a dinosaur, build a diorama, and
  created a brochure inviting others to come to the
  museum and see their exhibit. 
• Travel Agency-Students were hired by a travel
  agency to research a location in the United
  States and create a travel brochure for that
  destination.
• I Spy- Students are creating their own I Spy
  books by coming up with a theme for their page, a
  list of materials needed, and writing riddles for
  their clues.  Students will create their display,
  take a photo of it, and use Word to create the
  book.

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• Innovative Introductions- Students came up with
  creative ways to introduce themselves to one
  another (Example scavenger hunt, baseball card,
  game show, etc.)
• A World Without Electricity-Students took an
  invention and altered it to operate by using a
  renewable source of energy.  Students created a
  PowerPoint slideshow to present their new
  invention to the class.
• Lego Digital Designer-Students took on the role
  of an architect and designed a building using
  Lego Digital Designer. 
  
• Space Webquest- Students became astronauts and
  designed a crew patch for a mission to another
  planet.  After gathering information about their
  planet, the astronauts wrote about an adventure
  they had on the planet and mailed it using a
  virtual post card.
• Simple Machines- Students are studying simple
  machines and will create an invention that will
  operate using all the different types of simple
  machines. 

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• Innovative Introductions- Students came up with
  creative ways to introduce themselves to one
  another (Example scavenger hunt, baseball card,
  game show, etc.)
• Celebrate NJ- Students wrote an article about New
  Jersey for a specific section of the newspaper. 
  The articles were entered into the Celebrate New
  Jersey Contest.
• Word Masters- Three times during the year the
  students were given a list of 25 vocabulary words
  to learn and then complete an analogy test.  The
  test results were entered into the Word Masters
  Contest. 
• Continental Math league- Students participated in
  5 meets during the year.  For each meet, students
  had 30 minutes to answer 6 math problems.  The
  test results were sent to the Continental Math
  League Company. 
• The Amazing Race- Students created passports and
  used clues to figure out what country to travel
  to next.  At each destination, students had to
  complete a task specific to that country.
• Kids and the Environment- Students participated
  in an environmental computer simulation. They
  were captains of their soccer teams and, during
  recess, they found that there was litter
  everywhere.  As students proceeded through this
  simulation, they discovered the consequences of
  their decisions and learned the importance of
  keeping our environment clean.

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• Mystery
  Festival
  
• 5th grade students read From the Mixed-Up Files
  of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and participated in
  a literary circle.
  
• 6th grade students read The Westing Game and
  participated in a literary circle.
  
• Lecture was given by a former NYPD detective
  regarding how detectives process a crime scene,
  do a grid search, and rely on forensic evidence.
  
• Students worked cooperatively to methodically
  process a crime scene in the IMC.
  
• Students completed 8 forensic lab tests, and
  charted and analyzed data.
  
• Students wrote their own mysteries to share with
  the class.

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• Puzzles and Logic
• Students worked independently and in pairs to
  solve puzzles and brain teasers.
  
• Students created their own logic puzzles and
  published them to use with younger students.
  
• Students learned about Rube Goldberg and created
  their own Rube Goldbergs in small groups.
  
• Students learned about how some popular
  inventions were developed.
  
• Students used their creativity to brainstorm some
  possible inventions for the future and made
  visual representations.
  
• Poetry
• Students were exposed to different forms of
  poetry, wrote poetry, and published and displayed
  finished products.
  
• Students learned 3 different ancient math games
  and some facts about the countries of origin.
  Students competed against each other and devised
  winning strategies.
• Sally Ride Toy Challenge
• This challenging project was enjoyed by all.
• Students researched popular games and analyzed
  what makes them fun.
  
• Students worked in teams to brainstorm a new game
  idea in one of three categories.
  
• Students followed the specific contest guidelines
  in creating a new and interesting game.
  
• Students sketched the game board and discussed
  engineering designs.
  
• Students wrote their 6 page preliminary entry
  papers to submit for judging.
  

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• Quadice Unit
• Students were challenged to take what they know
  about probability and number relationships and
  apply these skills in playing Quadice.
  
• Winning strategies were devised and probability
  outcomes were analyzed and charted.
  
• Math Around the World
• Students learned 4 ancient math games and solved
  the famous Konigsburg bridge problem. Critical
  thinking and creative problem solving were
  stressed.
• Poetry
• Students wrote, published, and displayed their
  own original poetry.
  
• Inventions
• Rube Goldberg was studied. Students worked in
  pairs to create their own Rube Goldbergs.
  
• Architecture
• Students researched types of architecture.
  Students worked collaboratively to create a
  3-dimensional floor plan for a 3-bedroom house.
  Plexiglas walls were used to delineate rooms.
• Students visited the Museum of Modern Art in NYC
  to see the special exhibit entitled 75 Years of
  Architecture. It was a fabulous learning
  experience and provided the students with more
  knowledge to use in developing their own 3 foot
  high model homes!
• Stock Market game
• Students were introduced to the stock market game
  so that they could continue to play during the
  3rd Quarter during recess.

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• We have revised the program for the
• 2008-2009 school year
• Grade 1-Book Club
• Grade 2-Math League
• Grades 3 and 4-All students will participate in
  enrichment activities

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• Revised the code of conduct and received board
  approval. (10/07)
  
• Presented at a state-wide conference on our
  character education program.
  
• Instituted school-wide assemblies on Be Your
  Best.
  
• Disseminated recommendations to parents on Be
  Your Best.
  
• Disseminated implementation guides to all
  teachers in the district.
  
• Integrated Be Your Best into the curriculum in
  both schools.
  
• Grade 1 and 2 music program highlighted Bee
  Your Best.
  
• Presented workshop on the student code of conduct
  to both faculties regarding implementation of
  social/emotional skill lessons.
  
• Met with parents/community members to review the
  revised code of conduct that includes our core
  ethical values.(4/08)
  
• Mr. Maire, Vice Principal, met with teacher
  representatives from each grade level to review
  the revised code of conduct.