NewtonPAC for Special Education

The meeting with Student Services Administrators scheduled for  June 13, 2012 9:00 – 10:00 AM  has been cancelled.  The next meeting will be scheduled for the fall.

4th Annual NewtonPAC for Special Education
Special Educator Awards Ceremony
June 11th
7:00 to 9:00 PM
Newton North High School Theatre
457 Walnut Street, Newtonville

Refreshments beginning at 6:30!  See you there!

All nominations for educators who work with our kids and go above and beyond to help them are due by May 28.

Please read full instructions here before sending in your nominations.  Thanks!

The next open planning meeting of the NewtonPAC Board will take place on Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 9 am., at Panera Bread in Newton Centre.  Everyone is welcome to attend.  Thanks!

Eileen Sandberg
Chairperson, NewtonPAC

We are now accepting nominations for the 4th annual Special Educator Awards, and would really appreciate it if you could do your nominations sooner rather than later (we get around 70 awards a year, which is great, but when they all come at the last minute…. )  The deadline is May 28.

These awards are designed to recognize the wonderful professionals who work with our kids and go above and beyond to help them.   You can nominate anyone involved in special education, including special ed  and regular ed teachers, aides, BTs, BCBAs, PE teachers, school principals, administrators, etc..  Honorees in the past years have been very happy to have the recognition in front of their peers, parents and the Superintendent.

The ceremony will take place on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at 7 pm. in the theatre at Newton North High School.  The ceremony is a very moving tribute.   Anyone can attend the ceremony, whether you nominate someone or not; we expect that Superintendent David Fleishman and Judy Levin-Charns will attend.

To nominate, please write a short paragraph about why this person is an exceptional educator.  Feel free to add personal anecdotes, but please try to keep it to a paragraph or two, or we will need to edit it as all nominations are read aloud at the awards ceremony.  We will not use your child’s name in reading the awards, but we give all the honorees a copy of what you write, unedited.

We also need to know the nominee’s full name, school and email address.  Please send your nominations to specialeducatorawards2013@gmail.com by May 28, 2013

Please don’t nominate anyone that you don’t feel has done a really excellent job.  We have sometimes heard that people feel they have to nominate their whole team or someone will feel left out- please don’t do this!  We have about 75-80 awards to read aloud each year and we want to limit it to the truly exceptional people who’ve made a real difference for you and your child.

In general we don’t do team nominations, but can make exceptions in special cases.  If you want to discuss a team nomination, or have any other questions, please email me at eileen.sandberg.newtonpac@gmail.com

Thanks!
Eileen Sandberg
Chairperson, NewtonPAC

Diagnostic Process of Speech & Language Evaluations and Therapy

Megan Rozantes, M.S., CCC-SLP

9:00 to 10:30 AM
100 Walnut Street, Newtonville
Room 210

Speech and language disorders affect one’s ability to talk, understand, read, and write. Such disorders have different causes, and may range from a few speech sound errors to a total loss of the ability to communicate effectively.  This presentation will provide an in depth look into the diagnostic process of Speech & Language Evaluations and Therapy for young children.

Megan Rozantes, M.S., CCC-SLP is the founder and director of Chatterboxes.  Megan’s passion for helping others coupled with her enthusiasm for working with young children as a Speech-Language Pathologist serves as the cornerstone of Chatterboxes’ core values and standards. Megan earned her Masters of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from The University of Tulsa.  She is a Certified Member of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA).

Networking beginning at 8:45 AM

Newton Parent Advisory Council (NewtonPAC) for Special Education meetings are free and open to all people interested in learning more about special education.

Join us!  Questions, contact Eileen and Lisa at info@newtonpac.org.

Thank you to everyone who voted, nominated and agreed to be nominated for the Newton PAC board!

Special thanks to our outgoing chairs and outgoing board members for your tireless efforts on all of our behalf.

Our new leadership is as follows:
Eileen Sandberg (Chair)

Board Members:
Christine Carey
Lisa DePalma
Betsy Hewitt
Lauri Perry
Joan Schulz

Betsy DiSciullo, Election Coordinator

NewtonPAC Board invites you to an open board meeting with NPS Student Services Administration

January 31, 2013 9:00 to 10:00 AM
100 Walnut Street, room 304

Agenda:

1. Brief overview of evaluation and creation of IEPs.  Q & A on process of accepting IEP, and the definition of a small change.
2. Brief update on Extended Year Services (ESY) 2013
3. Brief update on Elementary Special Education reorganization
4. Question and Answer period

Questions? Contact Jo-Louise, Eileen and Lisa at info@newtonpac.org

Meeting from 9:15 to 10:45 am
at Panera, Newton Centre

All are welcome to the NewtonPAC Board planning meeting. 

Jessica Minahan, NPS will present the workshop

Effective Strategies To Reduce Anxiety In Children

7:30 to 9:00 PM
100 Walnut Street, Newtonville
Room 210

This workshop will teach participants about classroom and home interventions for children (in preschool through Grade 8) with anxiety and related behaviors. Rather than respond with punishment- and reward-based consequences, it is important for adults to understand children’s challenges and teach them how to cope. This will allow children to improve their behavior by acquiring the necessary skills to make progress.

Jessica Minahan, M.Ed, BCBA is a board certified behavior analyst, special educator and co-author of The Behavior Code:  A Practical Guide to Understanding and Teaching the Most Challenging Students, with Nancy Rappaport (www.jessicaminahan.com).

Newton Parent Advisory Council (NewtonPAC) for Special Education meetings are free and open to all people interested in learning more about special education.

Join us!  Questions, contact Eileen and Lisa at info@newtonpac.org.