SK CEC NEWS

In This Issue

Professional Development

Yes I Can Awards

CEC Expo 2016

SK CEC Scholarships

ID and Executive Function Disorder

Up coming workshop: PBS

Next Annual General Meeting: January 24, 2016 at 1:00 PM at Mano’s restaurant on 8th in Saskatoon.

Newsletter #6 December 2015

Saskatchewan Unit Council for Exceptional Children

Upcoming Workshop:

Positive Behaviour Intervention

Supports

Friday, May 13, 2016

German Cultural Centre in Saskatoon

9-3:30pm

New deadline for nominations: Mar. 18, 2015

Nominees may be recognized for achievements in one of

the following categories:

academics,

arts

athletics

community service

employment

extracurricular activity

independent living skills

Forms on the website @ www.saskcec.ca

Zones of Regulation and Mindfulness in the Classroom Workshops were held in October 2015. We wish

to thank Jonathan Koch and Gail Sajtos for their practical and informative presentations. Thank-you to

the participants for the great feedback. If you missed the workshop, below are some valuable websites:

Mindfulness in the Classroom

GoNoodle (free)

http://mindfulnessinschools.weekly.com

Yoga4Classrooms

Mind Up Curriculum

Books: Mindful Monkey Happy Panda, Moody Cow Meditates, Peaceful Piggy Meditates

Zones of Regulation

Zones of Regulation Pinterest

http://www.5pointscale.com

http://www.5pointscale.com/more_sweet_scalehtm

SuperFlex series

Positive Behaviour Supports

Creating, Improving and Maintaining Positive School Climate

The role of positive school climate in achieving academic and social/emotional/behavioural goals for students has become a major focus for many teachers and administrators, particularly in the light of competing pressures (e.g., cultural diversity, mental health) and increasing demands for accountability. There is a growing research and evidence base regarding the use of a positive behaviour support (PBS) approach, including specific steps that can be used class-wide and school-wide to focus on particular values and behaviours identified within the class or school. The PBS approach includes the creation of a common language, common expectations for students/staff, and explicit instruction of these values and expectations to students. It also includes the collection of data to guide planning so the resources available are used in most effective and efficient manner possible within each school and frequent positive support for appropriate behaviour.

This workshop will focus on the how-to’s in creating, improving and maintaining a positive school climate, with examples from K to 12, including strategies to address cultural diversity and mental health, in particular.

*Positive behaviour support (PBS) is a dynamic problem-solving process involving goal identification, information gathering, support plan design, implementation and, most importantly, the monitoring of subsequent student behaviour. Ultimately the goal is to act as a reinforcement tool for students to reduce inappropriate behaviour and increase positive behaviour. Further information regarding PBS may be found at:

This workshop will be presented by Jean Bacon, retired teacher, consultant, coordinator and superintendent of student services. Jean has experience working in urban and rural school divisions, K to 12, as well as with the ministry of education regarding Safe and Caring Schools She has over a decade of experience with PBS. Currently, she is the Saskatchewan education coordinator for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health as well as a member of the Saskatoon Preschool Foundation board, the Saskatchewan Council for Exceptional Children executive and the Positive Behavioural Interventions and Supports-Soutien au comportement positif PBIS-SCP Canada Network.

www.pbis.org

https://pbisscpcanada.wordpress.com

http://scp-pbis.com

Working with Students with Intellectual Disabilities

(PSSD Classroom Collaborators: Volume 5, Issue 1, February, 2015)

Intellectual Disability (ID):

Evidence of sub average intellectual development

Evidence of deficits in adaptive functioning (communication, self-help skills, interper-sonal skills, etc.)

Evidence that intellectual and adaptive skill limitations existed before the age of 18 years

ID are also classified along a range that indicates one’s level of impairment: mild, moderate, severe or profound.

Individuals with ID have the capacity to learn, to progress and to process the world around them, but their learning and behavior needs to be understood within a developmental context.

You can support student learning by...

1. Making information concrete. Simplify and personalize ideas. Don’t expect them to understand the abstract or to think hypothetically.

2. Provide extensive repetition: IDs take significantly longer to learn new skills and ideas and to master them. Repetition is an important expectation and teaching strategy. Once a skill is mastered and performed regularly, make sure to review and practice the skill often or it will be lost.

3. Emphasize the transfer or generalization of information: Do not assume because a student is taught a concept and seems to have understood and mastered the concept that he or she will know how to “use” this information. Transferring information learned from one environment or situation to the next is very difficult for individuals with ID. That is why is it so important to create practical opportunities for them to practice skills learned in different ways and settings.

Become a member for only $65US @ www.cec.sped.org

Executive Functioning

“Executive Functioning” is a term used to describe a set of mental processes that helps us

connect past experience with present action. We use executive function when we perform

such activities as planning, organizing, strategizing and paying attention to and remember-

ing details.

It affects:

Planning Organizing Managing time and space Working memory LD Online: National Centre for LD Article # 248802 Strategies: 1. Step-by-step approaches to work 2. Time organizers/visual calendars 3. Visual schedules 4. Written directions with oral instructions 5. “To do” lists 6. Break assignment into chunks 7. Minimize clutter 8. Checklist 9. Peer coaching

President’s Notes:

IIP time is done and everyone is probably exhausted. Having attended our Special Education Resource Teacher (SERT) meeting, we were able to review the changes to the iip and ask questions regarding ‘hot topics.’ Did you know that VTRA files are not kept due to confidential reasons however it will be noted if a student has had a VTRA assessment done? If there is an indicator that a past assessment has been done, make your principal aware that the student has gone through the process. If a student has a diagnosis regarding behavior or mental health and the behavior is typical, as stated in the Education Act, the student will generally NOT be suspended if this behavior pre-existed. Ensuring that you tap into what-ever supports your school division has to help manage these behaviours is crucial.

Our council will be bringing up a crucial topic at our next AGM (January 24th, 2016 @ Manos on 8th @ 1:00pm). With the Special Education Special Council no longer in existence to serve educators in SK, we are looking at the possibility of be-coming a special council with the STF (name is changing from special council to professional growth network). In order to do this, we must present a constitution and the relevant information then have all members vote. We need your input in this decision so welcome you to attend the AGM!

On that note, it is essential that we make use of resources, be creative with our thinking as resources seem to be cut, and take care of ourselves. The Mindfulness Workshop resonated with me in that we need to take care of ourselves and oth-ers. As your SKCEC executive, we are actively seeking out more information and PD for you!

Sincerely, Linda Balon-Smith SK CEC President

Helpful Apps and Web-

sites:

Happyfrog

https://learnwithesa.com/

index.php/login (phonics)

Headsprout Reading

Click ‘n Read Phonics