Providing Multiple Pathways To Learning
Adam Rios @ our Townsend Harris High School site was one of only 12 NYC Samuel Stern Award winners. This award acknowledges a students perseverance and commitment. Many of you already know of his talents. I was mesmerized to see him perform ‘Landslide’ on the guitar. Adam reminded us that his success is shared by many of you, as he did not ‘get there alone’ . He gave a loud shout out to his current teachers Mr. Matt, Ms. Kathy, Mr. Kenny (his manager), and Ms. Jill. Adam also shared his love of music actually began at PEC, as he was supported to play music by Mr. Jon, his OT and Ms. Karen, his music teacher.
P255Q @ PEC celebrated Autism Awareness Month by making posters and spreading awareness about Autism Spectrum Disorders to our friends in General Education!
On Tuesday, May 21, our P255q @ 128 students were honored for their participation in the Mighty Milers program. We took a lap around the track, ran an obstacle course, and played with a giant parachute! In the end, the students were invited to parade around the track with their school banner! It was a fun day for staff and students!
A few of our P255@PEC student dancers had a wonderful opportunity to perform a dance with their general education peers in an Evening of Dance and Drama. This partnership with Queens School of Inquiry was funded by the Office of Arts and Special Projects as part of a Community Engagement Grant. We love our partnership with The Theater and Dance Department at QSI. The students will perform again for our May Spring Show!
Family Fun Night is an annual celebration of our P255q community. Our PTA works tirelessly to create a night where our school’s families and staff can come together for an evening filled with joy and camaraderie, reminiscence and creating new memories. Among the activities attendees were able to enjoy were dancing, a magic show, face painting, food, ice cream, and a raffle at the end of the evening!
April is Autism Awareness Month. Alison Brennan and the staff at P255q @ PS128 are conducting outreach to the General Education students that we share our school building with. Alison presented a brief introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorders, as well as a review of the supports we as a school use with our students. At this point, the 6th, 7th & 8th grade students were encouraged to ask any questions they may have about individuals on the Autism Spectrum, as well as share their own experiences. The resulting conversations were interesting, emotional, at times funny, and above all, enlightening. One student said that she did not want to leave to go back to class! The results were also quite astounding, as some of the General Education students immediately went out of their way to help out some of our students! This is what Autism Awareness – and Acceptance is all about!
Purple Day is an international grassroots effort dedicated to increasing awareness about epilepsy worldwide. On March 26th annually, people in countries around the world are invited to wear purple and host events in support of epilepsy awareness. Last year, people in dozens of countries on all continents including Antarctica participated in Purple Day! For more information, visit http://www.purpleday.org
On Purple Day, we took the opportunity to discuss Epilepsy, how it impacts our students, and the proper response when an individual has a seizure.
P255q@397 student Brooklyn Garcia and his parents celebrate Autism Awareness Day!
