‘WE ARE ONE AWARD’ Presented to SWBOCES Consultant Teacher by New Rochelle SEPTA

Chris Bevilacqua is a 2010 “We Are One” award recipient for her work with a New Rochelle student who clearly has an autism spectrum disorder.  While working closely with this student Chris realized that he could use assistive technology devices. He was able to demonstrate his grade level academic skills in a non-verbal manner. With the assistance of Yvette Goorevitch , New Rochelle Director of Special Education, this student was allowed to take Regents exams using the assistive technology to read the exam directions to him and then he could answer the question with another device. In the typed words of this student, who nominated Chris for the New Rochelle SEPTA award:

 “Chris Bevilacqua has changed my life. With Chris’s support, I have experienced what it feels like to be a student who is part of a class, a school, and a community. She deserves to receive recognition for working so hard to allow me the chance to be integrated with students who are taking classes which I am now included in.”

 On the evening of April 26th Chris, her husband and daughter attend the annual “We Are One Awards Dinner” at the Greentree Country Club in New Rochelle.  Ana Reluzco, Assistant Director and Neil Manis, Supervisor joined them along with over three hundred people supporting this New Rochelle, Special Education Parent Teachers Association program.

Project AIIM at Wampus Elementary School

BOCES staff members Kathy Knudsen and Debbie Maas have worked closely with Wampus school staff to create a new peer mentoring program. A group of Byram Hills third graders were chosen to be mentors to a group of BOCES students at Wampus who appear to need assistance with the development of social skills.  The mentors meet weekly under the guidance of Byram Hills psychologist Dr. Ellen Medd and BOCES staff.  During the meetings, the students discuss positive aspects of their social interactions.  When difficulties arise, the students problem-solve solutions.  The peer mentors have been using "scripts" to help students on the spectrum implement conversation skills.  They are in the process of creating a new script to help one particular youngster as he is experiencing difficulties with transitioning from one playground activity to another.   The peer mentoring program has been very successful this year and we are looking forward to expanding it next year. 

Bhutanese Teacher Ends Her Visit to Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program

Chimi Lhamo, a teacher of the Deaf in the country of Bhutan, has been interning in our program in the Blind Brook School District for almost three months as part of her educational experience at the College of New Rochelle. Chimi has had quite an experience, learning about education in the United States and about our culture. Our students and staff, however, have had just as rich an experience having someone of Chimi’s personality and background in our classes every week. Chimi has worked directly with our students on projects and academic skills, has shared what a student’s life in Bhutan is like, and has spread her infectious smile throughout the program and the entire school. We are very sad to see her time with us end. Many of our staff will be attending a dinner in Chimi’s honor next week which will feature Bhutanese cooking and lots of great stories.

Blind Brook High School CD Student “Works” Hard

Ray Price is concluding his first year in Introduction to Career Trades at the BOCES Career Services Center in Valhalla.  Like many students, Ray receives his academic instruction in a district-based class and travels to Career Services for vocational training.   Ray attends our Communication Development program with teacher Mary-Ellen Quintana. The class is supervised by Will Guterman. Ray attends Blind Brook High School in the mornings and then goes to the BOCES Valhalla campus in the afternoons. 

 Ray has received many accolades and a great deal of praise for his participation and involvement in the Introduction to Career Trades (formerly BOE) program.  This also marks a first for our Communication Development program, as Ray is the first student from our program to attend vocational training at Career Services.   His success has generated a great deal of interest and desire among his classmates who are anxious to attend vocational training next year. At this time we are working on applications for four more students in our Communication Development program who will likely be attending Career Services next year.

American Dreamer Awards Ceremony Held

On May 12^th, members of the BOCES Special Education community gathered at the Career Services Center to honor members of the community and our host schools who have had significant impact on our students during this academic year. Honorees included teachers from Blind Brook, Scarsdale, and other districts, nurses from Hastings, restaurant owners from White Plains, a librarian from Tarrytown, a secretary from Valhalla and an administrator from Irvington. All honorees were introduced by the BOCES faculty or studentsly who nominated them, and many chose to express words of appreciation for the privilege of working with our students. The luncheon was hosted by the students and faculty of the culinary program at the Tech Center. The food was delicious and the service was excellent. Each culinary student was introduced to great applause.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students Participate in the 2010 Academic Bowl for the Deaf

Senior Internships Begin in May in Blind Brook and Scarsdale

Every year our seniors in Scarsdale High School (TSP) and Blind Brook High School (Hearing Impaired) participate in the host school’s requirement that all seniors participate in internships for the six weeks starting May 1^st. Some of the seniors are planning on assisting in other schools, working in businesses that fit their career goals, or within SWBOCES facilities. One of our students in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program will be working with the support of one of our sign interpreters in the law offices of Michael L. Lambert, Esq., a criminal defense attorney! Mr. Lambert will be conferencing with her before court starts in the court building and debriefing with her in his office in Port Chester after court is over.  She will be observing everything that happens in the court room with the Assistant District Attorney and other defense attorneys.

Rye Lake Campus TSP-DD

The Rye Lake Campus TSP-DD Program has been involved in a variety of transition activities.  Patti Tobin’s class recently participated in creating personal hygiene kits for a program in Peekskill that helps abused women.  In a workshop environment, each student in turn placed a product in a bin and then all the products were put in a bag by the last student.  Mayer-Johnson pictures were utilized so each student could match the product to the picture.  Eileen Byers, teaching assistant, arranged for the products to be donated from her church, which collects the items for the homeless.  Iris Gorodess, our speech teacher, brought the kits to the Peekskill program.  As these women often leave their homes without being able to take anything, the group was very appreciative.

Hastings High School and Farragut Middle School TSP

The Hastings High School Therapeutic Support Program students continue to integrate actively and successfully in the extra curricula sports activities that are open to them as students in the building.  We have had students on both the football and the basketball teams this school year.  For the first time, we have students playing on the outdoor track team and we have a student who has joined the newly formed fencing club.  These students take on the additional responsibility of managing themselves until practice and getting themselves home, often via public transportation, after school hours.  All of our students have done well working with their peers and responding to the coaches as authority figures.  We are justifiably proud of their accomplishments.

 In addition our Hastings High School students have been enthusiastically participating in the planning of field trips related to their curriculum for next school year or, for the seniors, post-secondary education goals.  Some students are planning to visit the Technology Center for an orientation to the courses available to them for next year.  The seniors will be participating in an escorted tour of Westchester Community College that will include a personalized question and answer period with an advisor in May.  Our four seniors all plan to apply to Westchester Community College and take their required placement tests before the end of the school year.

 Both the Farragut Middle School and Hastings High School Therapeutic Support Programs have had students involved in taking mainstream classes during their school days.  These students have been effectively integrated into these classes and they have managed their schedules so that they report to their classes on time and, in a 6 day scheduling model, on the correct day as well.  The students consistently earn A’s from their assigned mainstream teachers.  In some cases, their successes in these classes have facilitated discussion about exploring less restrictive educational environments for them either within BOCES or their own school districts.  We are very proud of all of their accomplishments and especially grateful to the host school administration and teachers for being open to providing this unique opportunity for them.

From BOCES at Irvington…

DJ, a senior in the Gifted Special Education program at Irvington High School from New Rochelle, has secured his senior internship working at Lyndhurst in the Museum Collections Department. DJ was offered admission to attend Iona College.  DJ is enrolled in AP Chemistry and is learning advanced topics concerning the periodic table and nuclear chemistry.  DJ's chemistry teacher has indicated that DJ is one of highest achievers in the class and has a special aptitude for the subject.

 Lisa Scarano’s eighth grade math students in the Therapeutic Support-Fragile program at Irvington are studying problems related to the economy, including going-out-of-business sales, new car sales, and gallon statistics. Ms. Scarano’s high school geometry students are studying isosceles triangle proofs and advanced algebraic proofs. Her pre-calculus students in the Gifted Special Education program have just finished a unit on advanced application problems.

 DH, an eighth grade student in the Gifted Special Education program at Irvington, will be mainstreamed into an Integrated Algebra class at Irvington Middle School for the third marking period. IB, a freshman in the Gifted Special Education program, is being considered for admission into a Scholars Program at Columbia University.  The program involves the study of topics such as nanotechnology and metaphysics.

Communication Development Students Pass State Tests in Math

We are thrilled and proud to announce that three of our students in the BOCES CD program at Blind Brook High School passed their Math RCT’s last month.  This is the first time they have taken required state tests at a high school level.  They applied themselves and not only passed the exam but passed with scores in the mid to high 80's.  It should be noted that one of these students was formally assessed through NYSAA (New York State Alternate Assessment).  Congratulations to our students.  Many thanks go out to the dedicated teachers and parents who supported their efforts and worked for their success.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program at Blind Brook Participates in National Discussion through Video Conferencing

On February 24^th our entire middle school and high school group participated in a video conference with over fifty schools for the Deaf from across the country, sharing information on programs and demonstrating distance learning that is already in place in some of the schools. The morning presentations were from elementary programs from Oregon, Kentucky and Florida; the afternoon presentations were primarily by high school students from other states. One of the more interesting things occurred during the break between sessions. The conference organizers from Kentucky School for the Deaf ‘bridged’ the video feeds from various schools to other schools, making it possible for students from two schools to communicate with each other in an informal way. Every few minutes, another school would pop up on our screen and we would pop up on theirs. Lots of fun!

 This project was made possible by the supportive collaboration of the Blind Brook School District and our own Lower Hudson Regional Information Center, with the leadership of Sarah Martabano, the Distance Education & Regional Coordinator. Sarah provided the energy, equipment and the expertise. The equipment is now permanently in Blind Brook and we have been introduced to 55 other schools across the country that have similar equipment. Over the next few months we hope to meet with them to establish academic, social and cultural ties to our students’ peers! Thanks, Sarah!!!

Project AIIM at Pocantico Hills Elementary

One of our students, Frank, attends the Project AIIM Applied Behavioral Analysis program at Pocantico Hills Elementary School. As a part of his schedule Frankie has the opportunity to participate in a mainstream literacy class held in the school library. When Frankie first started he experienced challenges with focusing on the reading lessons and sitting still with the group during story circle time. Frankie has shown a marked improvement since September. He is now sitting appropriately during instruction and attending to the teacher with minimal disruptions. Frankie is welcomed by the librarian and greeted by the other students before each lesson. He is included in each lesson by the teacher and given the opportunity to participate along with the other students in responding to questions. Our thanks go out to the district staff of Pocantico!

Rye Lake High School

In celebration of Black History Month, Rye Lake High School held a special assembly with guest speaker Ms. Crystyn Wright.  Ms. Wright works in the editorial department of American Legacy, a magazine of African-American history and culture. In addition, Ms. Wright is the owner and founder of NeoBlack Cinema.  NeoBlack Cinema is an online magazine dedicated to African-American film industry. Ms. Wright was contacted by teaching assistant Desirée Moore, a long time friend,  about coming to our campus to give a presentation to our students about working for American Legacy as well as what it is like being an entrepreneur.  Ms. Wright’s presentation was highly informative and engaged the student’s background knowledge and interests for entrepreneurism and black history.  The students participated in the “Legacy Game”, answering questions about black history, and formed teams to develop business plans for innovative entrepreneurial endeavors. Ms. Wright’s presentation was a thorough success and plans to have her return in the near future to give another are in the works.

 The second marking period Honor Roll has been announced and includes eight students.  Four of those students earned the distinction of High Honor Roll.  Students achieving the honors hail from the New Rochelle, Tuckahoe, Peekskill, Lakeland, Tarrytown, Yonkers, and Hendrick Hudson School Districts.