Transition Newsletter October 2023
Welcome to our first monthly newsletter of the school year!
This year, we are facing and learning to embrace change with new leadership, new learning spaces, and new challenging opportunities. Ready or not, we are also transitioning from summer season to fall.
We are all continuously practicing flexibility, remembering what we have control over, and learning to find opportunities for growth when something new or unexpected happens.
Happy October from Lake Forest Transition!
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Emerson: I am excited for more bocce ball in the fall. I am excited to watch the Scouts play football! I am also excited for Halloween, I am going to be a cheerleader!
Jane: I am excited to go on walks and spend time with my family. I am excited to go to the pumpkin farm here in Lake Forest! I can’t wait to make hot chocolate as well!
Irving: I am excited to hang out with my friends more in the fall. I am also excited to watch more football in the fall.
Regan: I am excited to see my dad in the fall! I also get to hangout and have fun with my mom! I am excited for Halloween because I love the candy!
John: I like apple trees and caramel apples. I like when the leaves change colors.
Alex: I like wearing sweaters, seeing the trees change colors, and going to bonfires.
Elliana: I am looking forward to carving pumpkins, wearing sweaters, and seeing the colorful Autumn leaves. I am excited for Halloween and Thanksgiving, too.
Nicolette: I am excited to go apple picking, make candy apples, and go to a bonfire. I am also looking forward to Thanksgiving.
Hannah: I like jack o' lanterns and Halloween!
Julia: I am looking forward to seeing all of the pumpkins!
Tommy: I like football, pumpkins, Autumn leaves, bonfires, and Thanksgiving.
Tyler: I am excited for football games, candy apples, and bonfires. I really love the fall holidays, Halloween and Thanksgiving!
Everything is progressing with the construction of our new space. When we near the end of the construction, we will have a celebration to see the new space, and we’d love you all to join us.
I have loved getting to know the students and the team at our Transition Program. I was fortunate enough to go bowling with them and the Barrington Transition group in September. It was the highlight of my week! With such a dedicated staff, your students are in great hands.
Flexible Thinking
Hi Everyone - Welcome back to Transition! 🙂
The start of a new school year is always a great time to embrace change!
- Some students might be changing schools this year (moving from high school at East Campus to Transition at West Campus)
- Some students might be changing classroom teachers this year
- Some students may be changing employment sites this year
- And more!
At the Transition Center, we have also changed locations. Last year, we were on the first floor of West Campus; this year, we are in our temporary space on the second floor. When things change, it is a great opportunity to be flexible.
What does being flexible mean? When something is flexible it means that it can change. We often talk about being a “flexible thinker.” Being a flexible thinker means we can:
- Change our plan
- Think something different
- Change our minds
- Think about other people’s ideas
Flexible thinking can be challenging at times, but it is so important. Being a flexible thinker helps us persevere and adapt when things change around us.
Coffee Talk!
We started a new group in Dana’s class called Coffee Talk!
You can definitely give it a try at home.
Coffee Talk is when people meet to talk about their day and the things that are happening in their lives. When people have a conversation, some rules are easily followed by people and other rules are what we call the "unwritten rules" of communication.
AAC In October
October is AAC Awareness Month!
AAC stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. AAC is anything that adds to or is an alternative to verbal speech. This can include gestures, sign language, facial expression, body language, pictures, speech generating devices and more!
LAMP Words for Life & TouchChat, two AAC apps, will be 50% off October 11-17th! Purchasing information can be found here.
Please read further for useful tips and information to help support our AAC learners!
IT'S ALL ABOUT WORKING!
Students are working to get back to job sites, growing job hours, attending job fairs for paid employment opportunities, working events in our school enterprise, and working jobs for outside companies.
We are super proud of the work our students have completed this month. Every year there are about 50-60 colleges/universities that attend the CHOICES College Fair night in person. To help prepare for this night, our students were given specific responsibilities to make a “Thank You” gift as a special appreciation to each of our College/University attendees. All students showed leadership by shopping for materials, counting, and packaging specific items within a Thank You goodie bag. This in-school student job had purpose, gave the students an understanding of making a difference for their community, and allowed us to develop and/or practice new skills.
