Thursday, November 21, 2013

personal invitation

                                                           today's blog
            i had a great day
            at independence high school at transition lab, I invited 4 principals to the fall thanksgiving festival tomorrow
     all the principals knew about it because it was on there calender
  so this is what i did: coach gave me a thanksgiving invitation script, and i read it in front of the four principals
there names were mrs.Anton, mr.campbell, mr.jones, and mr.mayfield
they knew, but i did it anyway
it was just practice
so i can talk to people and get rid of the shyness
i was nervous, but i did so well
i wasn't the only one that had to do it
some of the transition students did it to
i was so nervous that i was breathing heavily
it felt like a workout
I'm so glad i did it
and I'm so glad i got that over with
coach took me to the front office to invite all the principals
n.c.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Person Centered Planning


As a Transition II teacher , one of my responsibilities is to help parents begin to think about what is going to happen for their students after the age of 22 years.  For the last two decades, the school system has been a major player in your child's life and in his/her planning for the future.  Now, as they come to adulthood, all of that changes.  Now, it is only the parent and your "circle of support" members to plan for the growth of the individual with disabilities.  There will be no more annual IEP meeting to remind you another year has passed.  No teacher will recognize changes in your student and call together a group of specialist to discuss what should happen in response to this change.  This responsibility is for the parent to carry and lead. 
 
This can be a big shift, a HUGE step for a family to take on.  So to help you begin thinking about this new responsibility I want to introduce the PATH (Planning Alternatives for Tomorrow with Hope).  The PATH is a meeting held outside of the school setting and facilitated by Sharon Bottorff from Arc of Williamson Co.  She will help you choose a location that feels safe and inviting to you and your adult with a disability.  Then it is YOUR responsibility to think who supports you, who supports your adult with a disability, and whose support you want in the future, etc.  With these individuals, you sit down and begin to dream with and for your child with a disability.  You dream big dreams, without limits, for what you see your child doing with his/her time, strengths, learning abilities. . . life.  Then once a 'path' has been set out in front of the group, it will be easier to create milestones, reminders and check-ins to help you manage the next phase of life for your child with a disability. 
 
This process is also extremely helpful for me as a Transition II teacher as well.  If your vision for your student is to volunteer in a church then I WANT TO KNOW THAT!  If you expect your student to live independently I WANT TO KNOW THAT.  It is not helpful for me to find out in his/her last semester of school that you plan to enroll the student in a day program.  I could have used the years I had with the student preparing him/her for that setting.  Therefore, the earlier this PATH is completed the more effective Transition II will be and the more prepared your student will be for the next phase of life. 
 
For more information you may wish to contact Sharon Bottorff with Arc of Williamson County at sbbarc@bellsouth.net   or Marie Wicks at mariew@wcs.edu

 

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

a personal history

even at the hospital i was born as a baby
and my mom and dad came to my hospital and start to find me
and my mom and dad took me home and they named me Ben
after i got home i use to play with a toy piano
when i was a little older  i use grow up as a toddler when i was 4 and use to go to the day care place
and when i was a lot older i use to grow up as youngin' when i was 8 and i use to go to elementary school and i learned about science history Spanish and math
and when i was mighty older i use to go to middle school when i was 13 i use to watch bill Nye the science guy a long time ago
and when i was super older i use to go to Independence high school when i was 14 i use to go to
different classes a long time a go
and when i was a couple years older i use to go to campus when i was 18
i use to work at good will full life the Ag center and central office a long time ago
and now I'm already 21 years old
soon enough I'm gonna graduate in 2015  

Ben

Lip Dub

Independence High School

 
  Who  are  we?...  IHS      Welcome  to   Transitions  2  this   year
   on   November  22      we are   cooking    our FriendsGiving   Dinner
 in  the   Room.     Parent  are  invited   to  our    FriendsGiving    dinner
 
Today, Friday Nov. 15th, we're going  out  today  to  Target and Pet Smart
    we're going to eat  lunch at the  new store  called the  fire house subs.   
   we  are  having   fun  today!    When we come  Back TO school we will
  do  the school wide Lip Dub .
 
 Today, Tues Nov. 19th,  IN THE MORNING WE WENT TO CLEAN THE TABLES.      AT 8:15am WE GOT ON THE BUS AND DROPPED OFF JOSE AT THE HOTEL IN THE COOL SPRING EMBASSY SUITES.  THAN WE GO TO THE WALMART IN  COOL SPRING FOR MORE STUFF FOR US IN THE  CLASS FRIENDS GIVING dinner TO SHOP  WITH  COACH CHAD  AND  MRS. SARAH.

-NILA




Tractor Supply Co. - New Job Site

Yesterday a few of our students went to Tractor Supply Company in Thompson's Station. We are adding TSC to our job sites for the year. While they were at TSC they learned about the different jobs that they will do while working there this year. We learned about Fronting and Labeling, Clothes and Shoes and orgainzing the tool sections.
Today we worked in the cat and dog food sections with Fronting and Labeling:

We plan on going there on Mondays and work with the great staff there at TSC. The students really enjoyed their time there.


Thursday, November 14, 2013

FriendsGiving

On Friday November 22 from 11-1pm will be our Thanksgiving meal. This is open for all family members and friends from IHS to attend. The Transition II students are calling this their FriendsGiving day meal. All of our family and friends on campus have been invited to attend this great annual event.
 
 
To RSVP and / or donate gift cards to go towards the purchase of the food please contact Mrs. Huffmaster: lauren.huffmaster@wcs.edu.
 


Sprout Film Festival Event

Sprout Film Festival






First of all we would like to thank the ARC of Williamson Co and the Franklin Theater for hosting a viewing of the Sprout Film Festival winning films for this year and years past.

Here are some pictures from our outing to the film festival.  The film festival was held on the Friday before Veterans Day and so when the film festival was over we got to walk out and watch the parade.  It was a great outing for the class. 
It was also amazing to see the films written, produced and starred in by adults with disabilities.  It inspired our class to think about the possibilities of creating a short film of our own.  The following Friday our school is producing a LipDub which will allow us to participate in the making of a schoolwide film. 

After this major film project is complete the Transition II class will discuss with the media class the possibility of collaborating on making our own short film that reflects what we enjoyed in the Sprout Film Festival. 


 
Below is a picture of our Independence High School Marching Band at the 2013 Veterans Day Parade. They all did a great job. It was fun to honor our Veterans.

First Post

This is our first blog post!  This site will be utilized for posting pictures, stories, successes and creations of IHS' Transition II class. We hope that the students will utilize this site to learn about blogging and then will choose to create their own blog to express themselves. 
Our class discussed making a blog last year because I feel it is an age appropriate way for students to communicate with their Circle of Support.  Traditionally most Transition classes write a daily log at the end of the school day to take home to their parents.  I feel this is a routine that has been carried on since Kindergarten and with access to amazing resources like the internet, computers and free blog spots there is no reason why we cannot expand our tools for communicating.  Also, it is important for the students to begin thinking about a Circle of Support that is not limited to their parents/guardians.  The Transition II students are adults.  They are 18-22 years old and at this stage of life they need to learn to be comfortable accessing the community and they need to be a part of the community they live in.  Writing a short email to family to discuss their daily activities is no longer adequate. 
My students have lives to live and they are going to live these lives in their community, in Williamson County, TN.  So,Williamson County needs to know these young adults are here and that they need acceptance and support.  Once my students exit Transition II and the school system, there are not support systems available for them in Tennessee.  There are no real day programs, respite programs or supported living options available to most of them.  The state has forgotten the 8,000 plus individuals on the Medicaid Waiver waiting list.  My students will join the other 8,000 individuals waiting to be remembered.  So, because they are not cared for by the state, they need a community, a family, a circle of people around them to take hold of their goals. 
This blog, and the others that hopefully emerge from this exercise, will be sent out into the vast space that is the internet in search of listeners that are willing to help, willing to sacrifice time and resources, and are willing to make a difference. 
I expect at first our blog will just record the day to day of the class but hopefully over time it will expand to capture the thoughts, hopes and prayers of the unique individuals I call students. 
So please follow us on this journey, be patient as we find our way, read between the lines, and focus on the smiling faces.  These individuals are growing, changing, and like the rest of us, are moving toward a life of inter-dependence.