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| Washington Center • 2 Betty Spencer Dr. • Greenville, SC 29607 • (864)355-0250 • Fax (864)355-0249 |
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| Washington Center • 2 Betty Spencer Dr. • Greenville, SC 29607 • (864)355-0250 • Fax (864)355-0249 |
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2009-2010..>> June 2011 NewsHappy Summer!
Graduation 2011
May 2011 NewsSpotlight on Mrs. Jean Ashmore's Class
Ted Mickens, 2011 WYFF Golden Apple Award Winner
Better Hearing and Speech Month
Craft Day
April 2011 NewsOccupational Therapy
At Washington Center many students travel to and from Occupational Therapy sessions by way of adaptive tricycles. Use of these tricycles provides a “warm-up” exercise for both muscles and the mind, raising levels of alertness and providing motivation to participate. Some students have reached a higher level of independence by using communication aids to ride to an assigned destination. Students experience a great sense of achievement in being able to use motor skills to accomplish levels of independence aptly demonstrating the school’s motto, “Those you think cannot…Can!”
Homebound Students
Fruit and Vegetable Art
Walk & Roll 2011
March 2011 NewsSpring Plant Sale
Spotlight on Mrs. Rhyne's Class
Mrs. Bruner's Class
Dental Health
February 2011 NewsUS Stamp Study
Valentine's Day Pageant
Spotlight on Mr. Mickens' Art Class
Spotlight on Mr. Riley's Class
January 2011 NewsWashington Center @ Hollis Pre-School Class
Bi-Lo Charity Grant Awarded to Washington Center
The 2010-11 Bi-Lo Charity Grant was awarded to the Washington Center Physical Therapy Department to purchase a variety of mobility equipment to benefit our students. Several adaptive swings were purchased to replace equipment on our accessible playground. The Chill-Out Chairs enable students with access to various activities on campus such as the multi-sensory room. An extra-large Rifton Pacer allows older students to participate in the vital activity of assisted walking. The Tractor Wheel will provide our students a multi-sensory experience and facilitate gross motor development. Thanks to the mobility opportunities provided by the Bi-Lo Charity Grant, remarkable student progress has proven the school’s motto - "Those you think cannot…Can!" Using Websites to Enhance Students’ Learning
Dog Therapy with Upstate Therapy Dogs
Christ Church School students are valuable Volunteers
December 2010 NewsMerry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Spotlight on the Daily Living Program
Let's Bag Hunger!
November 2010 NewsSpotlight on Mrs. Susan Fincher's Class
Spotlight on Mrs. Lorelei Crutchfield's Class
Book Fair at Washington Center, November 8th - 12th October 2010 NewsNew Technology in Mrs. Anita Davis' Classroom
Spotlight on Mrs. Julie Dail's Music Class
Spotlight on Ms. Ann Braylo's Class
Spotlight on Challenge Day 2010
September 2010 NewsSpotlight on Ms. Samantha Blair's Class
Sensational September
We're Grateful for our Dedicated Staff
Meet Mrs. Jean Ashmore's Class
August 2010 NewsBack to School
New School Friends
Teacher Grants
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Washington Center closes the 2010-11 school year on a happy note. Students celebrate a successful year, ready for the summer break. Staff anticipates a well-deserved rest. According to Principal Dr. Wanda Brownlee, next school year brings exciting innovations for programming and instructional strategies. The school’s PTA will be funding grants for classroom special projects. Families are invited to welcome the new school year at the Meet Your Teacher event Friday, August 12, 1:00-3:00. 
On June 1, 2011 five Washington Center students will be honored as graduates during the school’s annual Awards Day/ Graduation ceremonies. Families, friends and staff will recognize graduates Casey Gobeille, Adam Soto, LaToya Sullivan, Tatiana Taylor and Terrell Young for their achievement with a reception to follow. Rising seniors Joshua Brownlee and Brittany Downer will serve as greeters during the observance. Students Gregory Morgan and Paul Barnette will open the program with an invocation and the pledge. Classroom teachers have complied scrapbooks of the students’ years at Washington Center as departing gifts. Congratulations and best wishes to the Washington Center Graduation Class of 2011.
Mrs. Jean Ashmore's Washington Center class has been studying the letters of the alphabet this school year. Recently the letter "W" was studied. Students learned about the color "white" with the book White Rabbit's Color Book. They looked through tinted glasses during the reading and saw how colors can mix to form new colors. "Working" was another theme. Students practiced being a postal carrier, a fireman, and a police officer. With Weather as another topic, students recognized pictures of weather and matched the decorated weather hats to the forecast of the day. Types of clothing were identified for rain, sun, wind, and snow. Letters of the alphabet are never dull at Washington Center.
Washington Center proudly announces Art Instructor Ted Mickens as the 2011 WYFF Golden Apple Award Winner. Mr. Mickens is renowned for his creativity in providing meaningful experiences in Art for all students regardless of their mental or physical abilities. Each lesson is unique as he continually expands his instructional strategies to new and diverse directions. Whether students use a switch to drive a remote controlled car to render a tire tread collage, create an air-blown color display, or a mud finger painting, Mr. Mickens crafts instructional State Standards into exciting, motivational activities. This recognition is well deserved for “Mr. Ted” as a teacher exemplifying dedication, creativity, diversity, compassion and a passion for serving special needs students.
Washington Center students celebrate Better Hearing and Speech Month. The theme “Helping People Communicate” is addressed through activities provided by the art department and in collaboration with the speech program. Each classroom creates art work which reflects different ways people communicate. Washington Center students learn that people communicate using their eyes, hands, ears and mouths. Classroom posters are displayed to help with the school wide celebration. Although, May is designated as Better Hearing and Speech Month, Washington Center students celebrate communication all year. Each student is given the opportunity to participate in non-verbal/verbal communication activities through the use of augmentative communication/assistive technology daily. For more information see: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) 
Washington Center’s annual Craft Day Sale will be held Friday, May 6 from 9:30 until 1:00 on the school’s campus. The special needs students have been busy preparing items to sale just in time for Mother’s Day. Items include crafts, picture frames, T-shirts, aprons, decorated slates, gift tags, bracelets, bird houses, gift baskets and many other treasures. Delectable foods will be plentiful: Barbeque, snacks, pizza, nachos, and a variety of luscious homemade baked goods. The school’s greenhouse will be open for purchases of flowers, greenery, and garden vegetable plants. The proceeds from the sale will go to classroom funds to support student needs and activities. Teachers Brooke Timms, Anita Davis and Erin Sosebee head the project. Please come and join the students, families and staff for a day of fun! Call Washington Center at 355-0250, for additional information
From “Walking with Dinosaurs” to going on a Scavenger Hunt, Washington Center Homebound Students explore the world without leaving their homes. All activities are standards-based in the areas of English/Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies. Many of their activities are cross-curricular experiencing all four core areas at one time. “Walking with Dinosaurs” is an educational special program that features pre-historic life-like animated animals and their environment in which students experience plant life, animal life, and different areas of the world. Scavenger Hunt is an interactive book that allows students to “read” by pressing icon buttons to produce sounds and voices.Other activities include practicing gross and fine motor skills through reaching for and grasping objects, manipulating instructional objects to strengthen muscles and eye-hand coordination. Brightly colored objects are interesting and easily seen by students with vision difficulties.There are 12 Washington Center Students who are served by Homebound Service Delivery Model. They live in all areas of Greenville County and are served in their homes. These students are able to attend school without ever leaving home.
Washington Center high school students in Mr. Ted Mickens’ art class completed a fruit and vegetable art project for the school’s cafeteria. As students explored and used shapes, primary and secondary colors and repetition, vegetable shapes were decorated with small squares of construction paper to create the display. Art media was incorporated as students pasted and rubbed each pre-cut piece of construction paper onto the foam core board shapes. Academic standards were also addressed as students learned about nutrition as well as consumer and product use for fruits and vegetables. The finished artwork welcomes hungry students and staff into the serving line with a focus on nutritious foods.
On Saturday, April 9, the Washington Center PTA will sponsor the fifth annual Washington Center Walk & Roll at 9:00 AM on the ICAR campus. This one mile walk promises to be a very special event for some very special students with WYFF News Anchor, Carol Goldsmith again serving as the Grand Marshal. The event’s primary purpose is to raise community awareness for Washington Center as the district’s special needs school. As a secondary goal, the walk will serve as an opportunity to raise funds for the school’s unique instructional needs. Students from area schools will attend to give extra assistance and encouragement. Sponsors and participants are welcomed. Information and registration is available through the 
Once again it is time for the Washington Center's Annual Spring Plant Sale. The students have been working very hard to get the plants ready for sale. The greenhouse is full of bedding plants and hanging baskets. After this long winter and the dreary days we are ready for lots of color in the yard and garden. The Plant Sale will begin Wednesday, April 6, 2011. Please come visit us at, 2 Betty Spencer Dr. or call 355-0250 for more information. Thank You for the community’s continued support of our school, students and program.
Mrs. Kelly Rhyne’s Washington Center class has been studying the traditions around the world for St. Patrick’s Day. While exploring the United States traditions, students traveled to Chicago to see the dying of the Chicago River, to New York to see where the first St. Patrick’s Day parade was held, and to Northern Wales where St. Patrick was born. The students took a virtual trip to Ireland where they located Ireland on a world map, colored the country’s flag, explored Irish castles, and listened to Irish music. During the unit, students made leprechaun pudding, searched for four leaf clovers, and made leprechaun hats. Mrs. Rhyne’s class had “the luck of the Irish” when they found a four leaf clover. 
The young students in Mrs. Jarrell Bruner’s classroom are now settled in their new classroom at Washington Center @ Hollis. The 3 – 6 year olds have been busy enjoying their equipment and amazing assistive technology items available in their new environment. The students especially enjoy the net therapy swing. They are learning to press a switch to request “push me” when the swing stops. During the past few weeks, the students have been learning about their sensory systems, weather, colors, friends, the United States flag, and nursery rhymes. 
During the month of February, which was Dental Health Month, Gail Metcalf’s Washington Center class studied a unit on dental health. Mrs. Metcalf read books to the class about caring for their teeth and the dentist as a community helper. The students assisted in reading the books by activating voice output devices to provide the reoccurring lines of the story. The students enjoyed poetry and action songs presented in the lessons. Mrs. Metcalf demonstrated how to properly brush teeth with the assistance of a giant tooth brush and a model of the mouth including teeth. All of the students participated by providing the brushing motion. A fun craft activity which the students completed involved making styrofoam teeth and gluing them onto craft sticks. During this unit of study, one student went on a community based instruction outing to a local discount store and purchased toothpaste for the classroom. The culmination of the unit involved students brushing their teeth and practicing good oral hygiene.
Mrs. Erin Sosebee’s Washington Center class gathers for a collaborative lesson with Mr. William Chapman’s class each Wednesday. Recently the classes studied US stamps. Mrs. Sosebee introduced the topic with a technology lesson, from an on-line educational site “News2You” using the Promethean Board. Students were encouraged to take part in the learning experience by interacting with the projected information by choosing answers to text-related questions. Each student was then able to complete a stamp themed art project, ready to send to family and friends.
Washington Center's high school girls and boys were all smiles as they paraded down the red carpet during the school’s annual Valentine's Pageant and Dance. Escorted by Christ Church Episcopal volunteers and staff, the pageant participants were announced by Principal Dr. Wanda Brownlee. Students were exquisite in formal attire receiving applause during each presentation. Following the pageant, students, parents, staff, and guests enjoyed a fun filled dance with the assistance of guest DJ Randy Edwards.
Art teachers from Abbeville County School District recently visited Washington Center to learn instructional strategies from Art Teacher, Theodore Mickens. This group joins numerous educators who observe Mr. Mickens in recognition of his creative abilities in adapting art related skills for special needs students. For example, remote controlled cars with painted wheels produce a work of art. For ease of holding, crayons are melted and reshaped into cones. Bubble wrap doubles as a unique paint applicator. Mr. Mickens has presented workshops statewide sharing his inspiring ideas in making art accessible to all.
Washington Center students practice using life skills in the community to prepare for lessons in the classroom. McKenzie Riley’s class has conducted many community outings to local grocery stores this year to practice purchasing items needed to make class projects. Traveling to these stores provides many unique opportunities for learning that has aided in student awareness of where to locate items and how to buy them. Students are given a picture list of items needed to complete their cooking project, then sent out in teams to find each item. Once all items were found, each student was responsible for purchasing an item off the list. Students learn to hand money to the cashier then wait for the change and receipt. Once back at school, the students use the purchases for cooking. The projects made so far this year include baked pumpkin seeds, a chocolate cake, a Thanksgiving lunch, and deer tracks snack mix. 
Ms. Kristy Adams’ Washington Center @ Hollis pre-school class has been learning about winter. During circle time, students learn about what to wear in winter when it is cold. Students touch and feel objects in the season box to remind them of winter. The scratchy wool hat provides sensory feedback and assists the children in identifying winter clothing, for example: hats are worn on heads and the soft, fuzzy scarf goes on their necks- both to keep them warm. The children learn by accessing sensory objects for exploration such as cold snow, warm play-doh, cold lotion, warm water. Penguin finger painting, snowflake images on the light box, and snowman balloon prints were among some of the students’ favorite activities of the month. 
Washington Center's classroom teacher, Elizabeth Piper, uses many websites and computer software programs to keep her students motivated and focused during instructional activities. Currently, the class is studying winter weather and snow. Touch screen computers and interactive Promethean boards are used to provide student access to exciting learning opportunities. Websites are used to reinforce skills in all subject areas. For example, students practice the alphabet and learn how to build a snowman through website programs. Using the Promethean board, students are able to use the activation pen to choose from different hats, eyes, noses, mouths, and arms to create their own unique snowmen.
Students and staff at Washington Center have been receiving monthly visits from Upstate Therapy Dogs, a group of volunteers and trained dogs. The school’s speech therapists have created special communication books containing picture symbols that enable nonverbal students to ask questions, make requests and share their feelings. The visits have become times of fun, learning and sharing love.
Students at Christ Church School partner with students at the Washington Center in Greenville to provide meaningful peer support on an ongoing basis. Throughout the school year, Christ Church students serve as volunteers at events such as Boo at the school, the Valentine pageant and dance, and Craft Day. In the weekly literacy program, they read adapted books as the Washington Center non-verbal students use voice output devices to read repetitive lines in the books. This partnership has been extremely beneficial for both the Washington Center and Christ Church students.
Thanks to many friends and community supporters the holiday season was merry for the special needs students attending Washington Center. The Klaver Klub (a community sorority of Beck and Hughes Middle schoolers) generously purchased gifts for every child. Refreshments for the annual Santa Arrival Party were graciously provided by the Daughters of Penelope. Warm fleece blankets were supplied by the Furman Heller Service Corps. A festive gingerbread house was donated by the Kingren family. Elaborate trees and wreaths adorned the school compliments of the creative PTA decorators. Service Learning students from Christ Church Episcopal School were on hand to assist. No celebration is complete without Santa, enthusiastically sponsored by staff member Josh Kirksey. 
The students in Diane Lopez’s Daily Living Program have been learning about holidays celebrated in December. They have learned about Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa. Through use of the new Promethean Board now located in the Daily Living classroom, the students have had the opportunity to be more actively engaged in these lessons. They have identified the dates for these celebrations on a calendar projected on the board and have played holiday games. They have also had the opportunity to hear stories and facts about each holiday as well as listen to holiday songs. The students have especially enjoyed following recipes projected on the board to make special holiday treats. For Hanukkah they made Latkes or potato pancakes and dreidels made of candy. They also prepared sugar cookies for Christmas and Sweet Potato Tarts in celebration of Kwanzaa. After preparation of the treats, the students took the treats back to their classrooms to share with fellow students and their classroom teachers.
Students, families and staff participated in Washington Center's food drive. As part of the school district’s Let’s Bag Hunger initiative headed by the Social Work Department, the collection was purposed to provide meals for the needy families living in our district. The donated food items will complete a holiday dinner with turkeys supplied from local churches. Washington Center students participated in the joy of giving to others as the foods were generously delivered to the school’s donation boxes. 
Susan Fincher’s Washington Center class prepared for the upcoming flu season by studying about the flu and general health safety. The class studied a recent Weekly Reader issue about the flu and how to help prevent becoming sick. The students enjoy the Weekly Reader in its current high-tech format that can be read online. When projected on the Smart Board, the students are able to hear the articles read and interact with them, watch videos, learn vocabulary words, and take a self-correcting comprehension quiz. The issue on the flu compared the flu with a cold, gave health tips, and discussed what causes the flu. They learned that you should wash your hands often for as long as it takes to sing the Happy Birthday song twice. The class made Flu Survival Kits which contained tissues, soap, hand sanitizer, an orange (for Vitamin C) and salt for a salt water gargle for sore throats. The class is preparing for a healthy winter.
The students in Mrs. Lorelei Crutchfield’s Washington Center class have been busy learning about fall, pumpkins and Thanksgiving for the month of November. Students participated in various activities using the instructional Promethean Board for counting, sorting and coloring pumpkins. Circle time activities incorporated voice output devices for poems, songs and stories. As pumpkin painting is fun whatever age you are, teachers and students decorated their pumpkins using paint brushes and paint to sum up the fun and educational activities. 
The Media Center is bustling with fall activities. The students are involved in interactive stories and hands on activities. All of our fall, pumpkin, apple, and Thanksgiving books are displayed for our teachers and students to use. Remember, parents are welcomed in our Media Center. We want you to visit and use our library. Our Book Fair is this week, November 8th through November 12th. Teachers will have their Wish List displayed during the Fair. Please plan to stop by the Media Center and check out our great Book Fair. The Book Fair will open 8 am to 2 pm daily and during Family Night on Thursday, November 11 from 6:30 to 8. Remember books make great gifts for everyone! A big THANK YOU to our PTA for awarding the Media Specialist, Mrs. Cindy Gibbs, a $500.00 grant. The grant was used to purchase the SC Picture Book Nominees for the 2010-11 school year and puppets. Teachers and students will enjoy these wonderful books and the puppets!
Mrs. Anita Davis’ Washington Center class has been enjoying their new Promethean Board funded by a Greenville Women Giving grant. The large, colorful graphics, and music links, enhance each Circle Time and instructional lesson. The students take turns using the Activpen to flip the pages of the lessons, point to their picture for attendance, and answer questions about the weather, the days of the week, and their daily schedule. Everyone loves when Mrs. Davis uses the Hue webcam along with the Promethean Board so that they can see themselves. During the month of September, the students counted apples, learned where apples come from, and listened to songs about apples. In October, the students enjoyed fire safety lessons and books shown on the big screen. This class is looking forward to many more fun and educational activities in the future, while they enjoy this awesome new technology. 
There are always many activities to engage students in learning through the adapted music class at Washington Center. Students have opportunities for singing, moving, playing instruments, and listening to many kinds of music during each class period. To celebrate Hispanic Heritage, students have been covering South Carolina Music and Curriculum Standards with a Latin twist. Students have located many Hispanic countries in Latin America on the globe. They have learned that many people from these countries have come to the United States of America where they have made important contributions. Students have learned that Hispanic music has many unique sound qualities. Students have enjoyed singing songs with Spanish words such as, “Tingalayo.” They have learned that their bodies can make music by clapping “mis manos” or stamping “mis pies” in a Spanish folk song called, “Mi cuerpo.” In addition to singing and moving to the music, classes recently played instruments including maracas, a guiro, and rhythm sticks along with a piece of Latin music called, “Tabu,” by Margarita Lecuona. Students learned that Margarita Lecuona was one of the first women composers to write popular Hispanic music from Cuba. Studying music from other cultures helps students to learn to appreciate and accept differences among themselves and others. The music offers students opportunities to experience unique instruments and sounds and builds a better understanding of the global community where we live. 
Miss Ann Braylo’s Washington Center class has been hard at work with fall lessons. The main unit of study was Apples. Students participated in various activities using the Promethean Board and seemed to enjoy the counting apples activity best. Students cut, pasted, and glued apple trees choosing their favorite color apple during another class activity. The class will be taking a fieldtrip on October 21st to Fisher’s Orchard as a culminating event for their Apple and Fall units. The class will participate in an educational station, petting zoo, wagon ride taking home a bag of apples and a pumpkin. The students enjoy the trip to Fisher’s Orchard each year. 
Washington Center students, families and staff celebrated the annual Challenge Day Friday, October 1, 2010 on the Bob Jones University campus. Challenge Day is the Special Olympics Developmental Games designed specifically for Washington Center’s students. The Greenville County Recreation Department helps to coordinate and sponsor the event along with community support. Washington Center P.E. instructor, Cindy Brown, coordinates the program for the school. The audience was inspired watching the Washington Center students and their dedicated Bob Jones volunteers celebrating accomplishments and friendships during the day’s festivities. The rousing "Parade of Athletes" opened the event, followed by developmental athletic events and the carnival town game fun. Washington Center students participated in the opening ceremonies: Gregory Morgan lead the Pledge of Allegiance, Adam Soto repeated the Special Olympic Oath followed by the Lighting of the Flame of Hope by Van Cung, Taneda Brooks, Blake King and Terrell Young. Closing the event, the Awarding of Olympic Medals Ceremony applauded each student’s abilities and brave attempts.
Aliens have invaded Washington Center! Ms. Samantha Blair’s class has been actively engaged in learning about the Solar System during the first couple weeks of the school year. Students have learned about the nine planets, the sun and the earth’s moon. While studying the Earth, students got their hands dirty making Earth rice crispy treats which they enjoyed for snack one day. Students even learned about aliens and if they are real or not. Using the classroom Promethean Board, students compared and contrasted characteristics of aliens and humans. For the activity, each student got a chance to become an alien for a day by decorating and wearing an alien mask. 
The students in Ms. Claire Blouir’s class have been busy with a fall unit for the month of September. The Promethean Board was utilized to learn fun facts about squirrels, apples and leaves. A lively and comical game of “gourd and apple bowling” was enjoyed by all! Para-professionals Rhonda Dreher and Kevin McCrary assisted the students in cooking activities including mini apple pies and a delicious apple cake. The students accessed a mixer using a switch operated environmental control unit, and used voice output devices, GoTalk and Step by Step, to communicate the recipe instructions. 
Washington Center School is a very special place. The dedicated staff members find their joy in helping the special needs students. Each classroom is assigned at least two Para-professionals to assist with the daily routine and the individual requirements of the students. Throughout the day, Para-professionals assist students with self-help, sensory, gross motor, communication, and standards based activities. With the support and love that these Para-professionals provide, students are able to be successful and look forward to coming to school each day. Washington Center’s staff members deserve applause.
Mrs. Jean Ashmore’s class at Washington Center had a very busy first day of school! The students spent part of their first day traveling around the school grounds, greeting teachers and friends. One of their favorite stops was the Multi-Sensory Room….a fabulous place filled with manipulatives, swings, objects that light up, music, and much more. In the classroom, students are studying the letters of the alphabet. The letter “A” was the first featured letter with creative connections to subject areas. Students pretended to be Ants (Science), studied Addition (Math), reading literature works by famous Authors (Language Arts), and recognizing Authority figures in the school.
