Together We Can

Where did October go? The month sure flew by and Thanksgiving is right around the corner. A few events that I would like to highlight is the upcoming SESS Family Literacy night on Tuesday, November 17 as well as the Greenwich Unified Sports Game day on Thursday, November 19. We hope that you can make it

This week, we celebrate National School Psychology Week and recognize the invaluable contributions of our school psychologists. Their dedication to supporting students' academic, social, emotional, and behavioral well being helps create positive, supportive learning environments where every student can thrive. Thank you for the compassion, expertise, and commitment our school psychologists bring to our school community each and every day.

Best,

Stacey

Stacey Heiligenthaler, Ph.D.

Chief Officer of Special Education and Student Supports

stacey_heiligenthaler@greenwich.k12.ct.us

Classrooms and programs portrayed in these summaries and photographs

represent the district as a whole, including students in

general education and special education settings.

The SESS team embraced the Halloween spirit. Each member of the SESS team across the district received a 'Boo Bag' to thank them for all of their work. Thank you to Community Connections for assembling the bags!

In preschool, one of the domains we focus on is social-emotional development. Our preschools implement the Second Step curriculum to support this learning. In Ms. Pellegrino's classroom at Hamilton Avenue School, students are using puppets to role play situations where they identify their own and others' feelings.

Students in Ms. LaRosa's preschool classroom at New Lebanon School are working on phonemic awareness. Depending on each student's readiness, they are working on blending sounds, recognizing ending sounds, exploring the "ch" sound, and practicing nursery rhymes. In this picture, a student is blending an initial sound with the ending pattern -at.

One of the permanent fixtures of our daily schedule in our preschool curriculum is the "Question of the Day." At Old Greenwich School, Ms. Warzoha asked her classroom helper to ask each of her peers if they had fun trick-or-treating. This student practiced using tally marks (very early stages) as she counted her friends' answers.

In Ms. Medico's preschool classroom at Cos Cob School, learning comes alive through engaging, hands-on activity centers tailored to the current theme and season. Guided by supportive adults at each table, students have the independence to choose their own activities as they rotate through the room. On this day, children chose from writing in their weekend journal at the literacy table, eating their snack, measuring pumpkins and leaves at the math table, and building creative structures at the construction table.

North Street School preschool classrooms invited emergency workers to visit this past week. Officer Vasquez, who is the Greenwich police officer assigned to North Street School, shared insight about his job and how he keeps everyone safe. Students had the chance to see some of the tools in the cruiser he may use during an emergency.

Ms. Castellano’s preschool class at New Lebanon School had a tree-mendous time branching out into science this week. The little learners turned into full-fledged detectives, leafing through piles of autumn leaves to compare their unique colors, shapes, and sizes then sorting those leaves by their attributes. It is safe to say their autumn curiosity is officially in full bloom—and we are fall-ing in love with their enthusiasm.

Ms. Pearson’s class at Old Greenwich School really stepped up their carve appeal this week. As a group, they planned out how to carve the pumpkins and what kind of faces they wanted. Everyone got fully scooped into the hands-on fun, rolling up their sleeves to touch the squishy insides and help out. To top off a gourd-geous project, the class learned how to transform the pulp into delicious pumpkin bread, which earned a unanimous thumbs-up from every little chef.

Cos Cob School’s fourth-grade students recently participated in an assistive technology (AT) session with Ms. White, the district’s assistive technology specialist, continuing the work they began in third grade. Through tools such as Co-Writer and Read & Write, students are developing greater independence, overcoming barriers to learning, and accessing their learning in ways that best meet their individual needs. It has been incredible to see their growth from third to fourth grade, with students independently using AT tools and confidently explaining how these tools support their learning. The picture dictionary remains a particular favorite. Ms. White’s expertise and dedication has been invaluable in helping the students build their confidence and skills to become more independent learners.

Paraprofessionals at New Lebanon School had in-person speech training during the school day. This multi-part series is helping paraprofessionals help students that have complex communication needs and support app training and give hand on support. The speech teachers are giving assistance to paraprofessionals so they can help carry out implementation of the students goals and objectives more effectively.

Students at North Mianus School got to have a festive assembly to learn about Diwali and the dancing done. The school had fun showing off their moves to each other. Dancers on stage were in festive-wear modeling the dances for the kids. It was a great way to celebrate a joyous time with different cultural activities.

Parents came together at North Mianus School for a Special Education coffee. Families got acclimated with the school staff and with each other. Several people attended and were excited to learn about upcoming opportunities for the school year. Assistant Principal Ms. Abby Anders discussed resources provided in the school and supports on the Greenwich Public Schools website to help families.

First graders at Hamilton Avenue School are off to a great start with our before-school morning math fluency program. Students arrive ready to learn, eager to participate, and excited to strengthen their math skills through engaging, hands-on activities. From rolling dice and using manipulatives to solving problems with task cards, students can choose from a variety of activities to practice independently or collaborate with a partner. These fun, interactive opportunities help build math fluency, develop problem-solving skills, and foster confidence while making math an enjoyable part of the morning.

On a beautiful sunny day, Julian Curtiss School had the amazing Parade of the Nations. All students and staff walked around the front circle a few times with the flags of a country the students are from. There were student speakers, dances, musical number and the chorus performed. As students marched, the community cheered the students on as all countries were announced. What a fabulous celebration of countries.

During Academic Lab at Central Middle School, Mrs. Cantwell and sixth grade students engaged in independent tasks tailored to their individual goals and objectives. The teacher conducted one-on-one conferences throughout the period to provide targeted support. Examples of student work and accommodations included incorporating transition words into a Chromebook writing assignment, identifying essential details within a reading passage, and solving math equations involving decimal addition. To promote positive work habits, students earned tickets for task initiation and completion.

In Mr. Grogan’s academic lab class at Eastern Middle School, four students worked on reading comprehension skills aligned with their individual IEP goals. While reading and discussing an article about the Titanic, students actively engaged with the text by underlining key details. During the follow-up question-and-answer session, students demonstrated understanding by using specific evidence directly from the article to answer prompt questions, such as identifying the mistakes made by the crew and explaining what the crew attempted to do.

Students in our Community Connections program put their math, research, and creativity skills to work with a hands-on pumpkin investigation. Students began by predicting how many seeds were inside their pumpkin. After opening it up, they carefully counted the seeds and used calculators to double-check their totals. The learning did not stop there. Students researched recipes to discover how they could turn their pumpkin seeds into a tasty fall treat. To top it all off, they put their creativity to work carving the pumpkin, which is now proudly displayed outside the school for everyone to enjoy. From making predictions and practicing math skills to researching, problem-solving, and creating, this activity was a wonderful example of learning that brings classroom skills to life.

What is Unified Sports? One of the most fabulous programs in our district. Our GHS students with special needs have support from students across GHS to participate in athletics. The Greenwich HS Unified Sports team has a new swag store where all of the items were selected by student-athletes. Head to the webpage to help represent inclusion at GHS. The store closes on Friday, November 13. And mark your calendars for a home soccer game, Red vs. White, on Thursday, November 19. Last year our Unified Sports basketball team played during half-time of our GHS Girl’s State Championship game. Go Cardinals!

Please visit the new Special Education and Student Supports Department webpage on the Greenwich Public School Website. Information about Special Education supports and services as well as contact information is provided

Email: stacey_heiligenthaler@greenwich.k12.ct.us
Website: https://www.greenwichschools.org/teaching-learning/special-education
Location: 290 Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich, CT
Phone: (203) 625-7493