This week (May 1-5) is the start of Education Week being celebrated by school boards Canada-wide, and is a time of the year for students, teachers and parents to honor teaching excellence and student achievement. CHCH-TV’s Tim Bolen went to Mississauga, Ontario to highlight some initiatives that the Bristol Road Middle School is implementing and enabling all kids with all needs to learn and be successful, both inside and outside the classroom…
The Bristol Road Middle School is a diverse School offering a variety of programs that leverage innovative solutions from School Specialty to help all kids be successful.
Guest: Cheryl Streete, Principal, Bristol Road Middle School
Principal Streete believes the 21st century educational tools from School Specialty are helping all her students, of any age and with any learning need (beyond those with general learning disabilities), to be successful in life. Bristol Road’s objective is for kids to embrace self-regulation, taking the lead, working with independence, and being ready to learn.
School Specialty’s solutions also support parents at home, where some children may need special help, but most kids can benefit from these tools. The goal is for students to enjoy healthy, safe and productive environments – offering diversity and the opportunities of integration and collaboration with their peers, and community living.
School Specialty delivers modern learning solutions for students – tools necessary for some but good for all.
Guest: Rhonda Sharp, Business Development Manager for School Specialty
School Specialty is a leading provider of K-12 educational supplies and products for the classroom, including furniture, arts and crafts, sporting goods, and even our turnkey Projects by Design solution – we got it all! Being North America’s largest resource for students with special needs, we offer a wide assortment of items that help kids learn and stay focused in the classroom.
The Body Sox which is designed to stimulate awareness through balance and resistance is one example. It helps children experience their body in a new way by increasing awareness, strength and creativity. The Body Sox can be used for imaginative play and balance. Additionally, Deep Pressure Therapy is a strategy used for calming anxiety and stress, so the Weighted Puppy from School Specialty may be placed in the student’s lap to generate a level of pressure that can help calm them down and keep them focused. Pressure therapy is a way to ease anxiety and an overstimulated or frazzled nervous system. The Pea Pod provides the perfect “cocooning calm” in another instance of deep pressure therapy. School Specialty’s Fidgets are good for active hands, while Califone headphones can block out distractive noises.
All of these products are designed to assist children with special needs but in today’s classroom and home settings, they can be leveraged for the benefit of all. Other solutions utilize movement in classroom management, such as School Specialty’s NeoRok Stool which helps kids who can’t sit still, wiggle, slump, or tip their chair back. Many students with sensory processing disorders move around a lot, place their head on a table, or wrap their feet around a chair, so these specially-designed stools help children organize and calm their body, giving them better body awareness. The stool allows a child to move their torso around so they can still move and engage their body without disrupting the class. Lots of kids have anxiety and are looking for these types of solutions for self-regulation. We encourage parents and teachers to support their children with these innovative resources when they need it most.
School Specialty products demonstrated in the classroom.
Guest: Valeria Landa, Teacher, Bristol Road Middle School
Teacher Landa teaches in the (DD) room, which stands for “Developmental Delayed”. She has 10 students in her room, grades 6-8. Her students have a range of disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder, down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and moderate intellectual disability. Teacher Landa has a lot going on in her classroom and uses a variety of resources and tools from School Specialty. Solutions help her work towards giving students their independence.
See demo of Bead Sequencing Set: Matching colors and shapes can lead to students matching their socks and clothes; following a pattern may lead to them laying out a dinner table including placing a plate, fork and knife. Another student is using the slant board, pencil grip and the Go Talk from School Specialty, which helps non-verbal students have a voice to express their wants and needs, and kids learn colors, days of the week, planning, and more.
The Parent and Student perspective.
Guest: Aruna Subramanian, mother of Armaan
Aruna’s son Armaan has autism and a moderate intellectual disability. His verbal skills are a bit restricted; he will repeat a phrase or sentence he hears. Aruna works every night with Armaan, supporting the work he does at school so he can continue to learn, develop and succeed outside of the classroom as well. She has three things they do each day:
- To help his gross and fine motor skills, Armaan works with scissors – first, cutting straight lines then curved lines, then geometric shapes.
- Aruna does sorting exercises with him. Armaan loves cereal so she buys different kinds and puts them in containers to sort. His reward for this exercise is that he gets to eat some.
- She has three books from which they work on a page each day.
Aruna will also enable Armaan to practice copying things so that he learns to do work without supervision. She’s in touch with his teacher daily and through regular meetings. Aruna says it takes baby steps and her son’s efforts are her greatest rewards; he is the sunshine of their family!
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