Francis Tabone, Head of School

Cindy Surdi, Assistant Head of School

Cooke Center Grammar School

Newsletter

Dates to Remember:

October 11th—Picture Day!!

October 14th—Columbus Day—

School closed

October 17—Medicaid Waiver

Workshop 6:30 pm

October 18th PTA meeting at CCGS

8:30am

In this issue:

Family Support Series 1

Botanical Garden 2

Curriculum night 3

Thank you to all who came out for

parent’s night!

Family Support Series—Attend and Learn!

Each month Cooke Center for Learning

and Development provides families with

a workshop regarding issues relating to

students and adults with special needs.

These workshops are intended to provide

you with essential information regarding

legal issues, areas of support, and infor-

mation about the services available for

students with disabilities.

Many of these workshops focus on the

transition services for those turning 21.

But as Ms. Chase (Chair of the Transition

department bchase@cookecenter.org)

the earlier you start to gain information

the easier the process becomes. The

system is ever changing and multi-

layered, thus having information makes a

huge difference. We hope to see you at

the next meeting.

Also visit:

UCP of NYC Family Connect services

and resources include:

Training workshops, lectures and

forums on a variety of topics (all ser-

vices and workshops are available in

English and Spanish)

Introductions to collaborative rela-

tionships in the community: liaisons

between schools, resource libraries,

demonstration centers and clinical

programs.

Up-to-date community resources

CCA FAMILY

SUPPORT

SERIES:

WHAT IS MEDICAID WAIVER?

Cooke Center Academy

60 Macdougal St

6:30 p.m.

Thursday 10/17/13

This months presenter, Michelle Lang from YAI Link,

will join us to discuss the services available through

the HCBS Medicaid Waiver. Ms. Lang will explain what

is meant by a “waiver service,” how these services can

provide support to your family, and the process of

securing these supports. With more than 450 pro-

grams that serve more than 20,000 people every day,

YAI is one of NYC’s largest service providers for individ-

uals with disabilities. Please join us for what is sure to

be a very informative evening.

Go Fly A Kite!- afterschool lesson plan Activity Description: Making a Kite

In this activity club members listen to a story about Benjamin Franklin

and his discovery of electricity flying a kite with a key attached to it in a

storm. Club members are given a safety lesson about how to safely fly

a kite and also how to make their own kite. The facilitator will show an

example of a pre made kite. Club members will be given the materials

to make their own kite (two sticks of wood and a paper grocery store

bag and string) the facilitator will demonstrate and supervise the club

members while they assemble their kite. Club members will work sep-

arately but alongside one another during the activity and after assem-

bling their kite they will decorate it. During the activity the facilitator

will answer questions and promote group conversation. After everyone

is complete with the assignment club members will be informed that

they have been asked by the city to send their kite on a secret mis-

sion, each club member will be given an opportunity to tell a story

One boy, many faces. A shining

personality, as he explores the

classroom.

Page 2

Cooke Students Lost in the Jungle!!!!

No they were not really lost. But

they did lose themselves in the

beauty of the Brooklyn Botanical

Garden on a recent OSE trip.

The Botanical gardens was just the

place to study the various climate

zones our middle school cohorts

are named after. If you didn’t know

our middle school groups are re-

ferred to by their group name: Rain-

forest, Tundra, Desert, Woodlands,

and Savannah. Each cohort travels

from class to class together for

much of the day (although groups

mix frequently).

At the Botanical gardens student

got a chance to visit the biomes

most closely related to their group

name.

But for the students it was mostly

just a fun time. The first OSE trip

of the year is dedicated to learning

the rules and procedures of field

experiences, something they be-

come quite familiar with over the

years at CCGS and CCA and espe-

cially SKILLS. Being out in the

world can never replace the smart-

board or reading about places. Our

students get first hand experienc-

es as often as possible.

In addition, they practice their

travelling skills. When they get to

CCA, they will participate in man-

datory travel training classes

which teach students how to navi-

gate the transit system, get to and

from locations safely, and even

what to do when they get lost. It is

never too early to start practicing.

Before being allowed to travel independently, students

should demonstrate a number of other skills. Specifically,

they should be able to:

* cross streets safely, with and without traffic signals

* board the correct bus or subway

* recognize and disembark at the correct destination

* make decisions

* initiate actions

* recognize the need for assistance and request help from

an appropriate source

* follow directions

* recognize and avoid dangerous situations and obstacles

* maintain appropriate behavior

* handle unexpected situations, such as re-routed buses

or subways, or getting lost

* deal appropriately with strangers.

Page

Parent Support Group

CCGS is offering a Parent support

group twice a month for those

seeking to work with our counselors

and other parents.

The group is designed to give sup-

port to parents of special needs

students on a variety of topics and

share information. This is an excel-

lent opportunity for those looking

for advice,

strategies or

share re-

sources.

When:

Thursday,

mornings at

8 am

October 10th and 24th

November 7th and 21st

December 5th and 19th

Please contact Nancy Wright—

nwright@cookecenter.org to RSVP.

We invite all family members to

join.

Curriculum Night We sincerely thank all the parents who came to curriculum night last

week. Teachers and staff are eager to talk to you about the work that

is happening in your child’s class. Teachers look forward to meeting

with you. In addition we hope you got to meet the other parents in

your child’s class. As you all know, meeting other parents is a great

way to continue the friendships that happen in school.

We realize that the night occurs right in the middle of dinner hour.

Perhaps we can pot luck it next time?

During curriculum night we hope you learned: Your Child's Sched-

ule: You should now know your child's schedule

The School's Rules and Expectations: One of the most helpful as-

pects of back to school night is learning how the school handles

discipline issues, unexcused absences, bullying, and even school

security.

How to Contact Teachers and Administrators: At some point during

the school year you'll probably have to contact your child's teacher.

You should now have contact information for all of your child's teachers administration.

Also, make sure you know how to contact them via the school's website. Ask teachers if

they prefer communication via email or phone.

This Friday is Picture Day!!!

Don’t forget!!

Comb your hair and wear a

smile!!

All Classes will be taking

class and

individual photos

throughout the day.