OSS Newsletter: March 2017
Published on Mar 7, 2017 20:49

OSS Newsletter header
  MARCH 2017
women figures

Dear Cambridge Community,

I hope you enjoyed the beautiful weather during February vacation week. As I have been out in buildings this week and spoken with teachers, principals, students and families; many of you took some really great vacations both in-state, out-of-state and out-of the country. I know it was time well spent and rest that was well deserved.

As we enter this part of the school year, excitement begins to bubble as the weather is warming, students are preparing for prom and graduation, parents are planning summer vacations and activities for their students and teachers are continuing teaching and preparing their students to matriculate to the next grade; let’s not forget to reflect and refine our practice, support one another’s work and celebrate our successes.

Read more from Dr. Victoria Greer >>

Hot Topic- National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)
By: Jean Spera, Special Education Director
Home-School collaboration is an essential component of a positive school climate. Genuinely collaborative partnerships between families and educators are based on mutual trust, respect, shared goal setting and problem-solving, common access to critical information, and a focus on the needs of the child. Learn more >>
 

malala

Trailblazing Women
By: Christina Gavin, Inclusive Instruction Specialist
Thirty years ago, the United States Congress declared the month of March to be Women’s History Month. While this annual recognition is certainly an opportunity to celebrate the contributions of women in our world—it is also an opportunity to increase awareness. Hear more >>


Using Technology in the Classroom
to Promote Student Success
in the Classroom

By: Kate Jacobs and Robin Lewis
Student engagement and our instructional practices go hand and hand. We look within our own tool box to support our lessons to help all students be able to access as well as be engaged and motivated to learn. In Cambridge we are very fortunate to have technology resources at our fingertips. Here is a list of useful tools to keep in mind when creating your lesson plans and supporting your child at home. Learn more >>


fma art

Student Achievement

Ms. Lolly Lincoln and Mohammed Alghareeb, 4th Grade Student at the Fletcher Maynard Academy (FMA), pointing to his Lizard Sand painting at the Multicultural Art Center Reception 2017. Only 10 students from FMA were selected.



zauctioning

Vote for the Cambridge Calculators!

By: Paula Feynman
Voting is now open for the MATHCounts Video Challenge! Clicking here will take you to the site where you can watch and vote for ZAUCTIONING!! (*The first time you vote you have to set up an account which takes about 3 minutes. CPS staff members only: you will find it easier to use a personal acct rather than your school e-mail acct*)

Please do this every day through March 14 to help the Putnam Ave team advance to the next level of the competition. While you are there, watch some of the other videos posted by middle school students across the country. You’ll learn math while having lots of fun! More info about the Putnam Ave students and the video challenge >>

If you have a current 5th, 6th, or 7th grader who might like to engage in this kind of activity next year, contact Paula Feynman, Academic Challenge and Enrichment Manager, at [email protected].


summer services

OSS Summer Services & Programs 2017

Types of Needs Filled by the Program

summer services

11-Month Program
Students who need a longer school year and have a high level of need for predictability, structure, and familiar people and places.
LOCATION: 
Special Start: TBD
ASD Program: Students will continue in the classroom locations that they have been assigned to over the school year.


Extended Year Services
Students who need comprehensive services (academic tutoring, physical therapy, occupational therapy) during the summer months to combat learning less and loss of skills.
LOCATION: Martin Luther King, Jr. School

Structured Academics Program
Students who exhibit both internalizing and externalizing behavior that has an adverse impact on their ability to be regulated at school and at home.
LOCATION:
Camp Daybreak: 98 Bishop Allen Dr., Cambridge
Camp Triumph: 298 Haverhill Street, North Reading


Extended Year Academic Tutoring
Students with an IEP with demonstrated learning loss over long breaks and the summer, who require individual or small-group sessions but do not require a comprehensive, specialized program.
LOCATION: Martin Luther King, Jr. School

Learning Disabilities Program
Students who are currently placed in the self-contained Learning Disabilities classroom from grades 3-5 are eligible for this specialized program. Special educators deliver one hour of instruction in Reading, Writing and Mathematics for each student. 
LOCATION: TBD

Summer Services are Based on Student Needs
Individual Education Programs (IEPs) define the services a student needs to make effective progress at school. While some students' IEPs may include services beyond what is offered directly by OSS, our summer programs and services are designed to respond to students' most common summer programming needs. OSS also offers specially-designed supplement learning experiences for students who do not require summer services but would still benefit from a specialized program.
 

UPCOMING EVENTS
& PROGRAMS 2017

C-PAC Coffee & Conversation
March 10
Location: Kennedy Longfellow, 158 Spring St, Cambridge

Sensory Friendly Movie
March 18
*Monthly-Saturdays*
Title: The Lego Batman Movie
Time: 9AM
Location: Apple Cinemas, 168 Alewife Brook Parkway, Cambridge

Parent Support Groups

*Twice-Monthly*
Time (Daytime Group):
12-1:30PM *1st and 3rd Friday of the Month*
Location: 1 Broadway St, Cambridge 
Time (Evening Group): 6:30-8PM *2nd and 4th Friday of the Month*
Location: 85 Oxford St., Cambridge
More information and registration >>

Vision of Community 2017
March 4 | Seaport World Trade Center, Boston
More information >>

EXTENDED SCHOOL YEAR (ESY) 2017
The dates for Extended School Year (ESY) for the summer of 2017 are as follow: ESY Dates for 11 Month ASD and Special Start Classrooms June 28–July 31, 2017 

The dates for the Comprehensive Program and Services for the summer of 2017 are as follow: June 28–August 3, 2017

Please be aware that there will be no services on July 3 and July 4, 2017 in recognition of the July 4th holiday. 


OSS DEPARTMENT MEETINGS
Webinars:
March 20, 2017 (1 hr)
Topic: ESY
June 12, 2017 (1 hr) Collaborative Sessions:
May 1, 2017 (2 hrs)
 

MARCH PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
March 14
(Early Release Day)

–WJIV - Achievement Battery training, Early Release from 12:30-2:30 via GoToWebinar! Special Education staff should check their emails for the link this week with the information supplied by Katie Duffy from Houghton Mifflin.
–Autism Spectrum Disorder Self-Contained Strand training will be at the Fletcher Maynard Academy from 1:30-3:00.

March 20 
OSS Department Webinar 1 hour starting at 2:30 with the focus on Extended School Year Programs and Services


Baldwin

OFFICE OF STUDENT SERVICES (OSS)
Cambridge Public Schools
159 Thorndike Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
617.349.6500
www.cpsd.us

OSS LEADERSHIP & ADMINISTRATION

Dr. Victoria Greer
Assistant Superintendent

Jean Spera
Director

Karyn Grace
Coordinator

Shelagh Kelly-Walker
Coordinator

Desiree Phillips
Coordinator

Nerlande Mintor
Fiscal and Operations Manager

Baldwin

 

 
www.cpsd.us
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