School Messenger

March 20, 2015

We have had lots going on here at school this week with back to back IEP meetings and a very successful parent luncheon with Don Clardy on Wednesday.  Many thanks to Sharon Russo for setting that up, and if you were not able to come for lunch and would be interested in hearing what he told parents about establishing guardianships, trusts and Able accounts for children with disabilities as they  approach adulthood, you can see his presentation on our You Tube channel.   Just go to our website and click on the You Tube link.   Also this week Linda Thigpen and I attended the district’s recruiting event, Shining Stars, and we are very pleased by the quality of teacher candidates who have expressed an interest in Washington Center.  We will be starting with interviews next week.

Additionally, both SIC and steering committee met this week and we talked about a number of things, including emerging plans to establish a nature trail in the wooded area behind the school.  We know this is a big project, however, our PTA and the one at Sara Collins have agreed to collaborate,  and we think  this ultimately will be a great addition to our school, particularly for our older students who really need more outside activities than our current playgrounds afford. 

This week and next, classes continue to go out for shopping, bowling and restaurant experiences where they can practice many of the skills they have been taught in the classroom.  Also, alternate assessment and ESOL testing will continue with students who are age appropriate for designated grades.  

We have lots of important dates coming up.  Spring break begins on March 30 and we return on April 6.    April 8 is the day for Special Olympics at Furman, and on the 15th we will have the rescheduled breakfast session for parents with the Palliative Care group from Greenville Health System.  Of course, our Walk and Roll at Brookwood Church will be held on April 25, and we hope lots of you will plan to attend that event.   Craft Day and Community Day will be coming up in May, but we will send details about those a little later on. 

That sums it up for this week.  I hope everyone will have a great weekend.