Ivy Street School Nurtured Learning_ Expectional Futures

Fall 2016 Newsletter
In This Issue

Donate


Give the gift of opportunity
with a donation to
Ivy Street School!


 
Save the Dates


November 2

*HALF DAY*

Parent Meeting &
Support Group 
6-8pm

November 10

Ivy Street School Open House 6-8pm

November 23

*HALF DAY*


November 24-25

Thanksgiving Break

No School


December 7

*HALF DAY*


Dec. 26 - Jan. 2

Winter Break

No School

The Ivy Times
Student Newsletter


The cover of the Ivy Times issue 2

Ivy Street School students
have released the second
issue of their very own newsletter, The Ivy Times!

Packed with interesting
articles, reviews, opinion
pieces, fun facts, games,
and more, it's a must-read!
All content was created by students unless otherwise
noted, and we are very
proud of all the hard work
 they put into it.

Read Issue 2 of
The Ivy Times here 
 

parentmeetingNext Parent Meeting


Our next Parent Group will be held Wednesday, Nov. 2nd.

6pm-7pm
The topic will be a discussion around Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports that can be used for the home.
 
 Laura Miceli will also give a brief update.

7pm-8pm:
Kate Regal will lead a parent support group.

As always, a pizza dinner and drinks will be provided!
 

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Meet Deborah Turner: 
Instructional Technology Specialist 
Deborah Turner
If it is a Thursday night, you will likely find Deborah Turner participating in an online chat with other experts in the field of assistive technologies.

"There are always so many new tools being developed, I love seeing what's new and how it works," said Turner, who came to Ivy with over 23 years of experience teaching diverse groups of students, as well as delivering professional development and training to a variety of audiences.

Before coming to Ivy Street, she served as an Instructional Technology Specialist for Kennesaw State University's iTeach center just outside of Atlanta, Ga. She has a Master's Degree in Educational Technology (M.E.T.) from Boise State University as well as graduate certificates in Virtual Assessment and Technology Integration. Her primary role as Ivy Street's Instructional Technology Specialist is to instruct and support students and staff with hardware, software, and instruction-related technologies and practices.

To Turner, assistive technologies can be explained simply as "any technologies that are used to help a student meet their academic goals by teaching them how to use the different tools available."

Much of the assistive technology initiative at Ivy Street has been made possible through the long-time support of MAB Community Services board member David Root. 
 
When she's not busy training staff or assessing what tools may best help a student, Turner is also often busy working on other school-wide projects such as the Common Sense Media certification recently awarded to Ivy Street.

This honor recognizes Ivy Street School's efforts in teaching digital literacy and citizenship to young people. This recognition is provided by Common Sense Education, part of a national nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in a world of media and technology.
 
Ivy Street is now one of just five schools in Massachusetts approved as a Common Sense Certified School.

"This shows that Ivy Street School is truly up-to-date and in the 21st century," said Turner. 
Have You Met Cooper?


Students at Ivy Street have fallen in love with Cooper, a 5-year-old Golden Doodle therapy dog from the agency Dog B.O.N.E.S.

On Wednesdays, Cooper and his owners spend about an hour at Ivy Street, finding students and staff who want to hang out with him, usually spending most of their time on the residential floor.

Dog B.O.N.E.S is an acronym for Dogs Building Opportunities for Nurturing and Emotional Support. Established in June 2002, its primary purpose is to provide well trained, affectionate, obedient, registered, and insured therapy dog teams for visitation to nursing facilities, hospitals, rehab centers, schools, libraries, and any other Massachusetts location where they may provide therapeutic contact. Their mission is to bring a little fun into someone's day. 

Reasons Occupational Therapists Should Teach Life Skills in Your Community
Learn what matters, where it matters is not just the tagline for Skills for Life, it's the bottom line when it comes to realizing personal goals and gaining skills.  Skills For Life brings skilled Occupational Therapists to the homes and communities of young adults ages 16-26 who are struggling to execute the skills they need for young adulthood.   
 
Here are 4 reasons why Occupational Therapists should work with you or your young adult in your own home and community:
 
1)There's No Place Like Home
The home environment provides the kind of familiarity and personal context that other settings lack. This factor alone may optimize learning, increase engagement and support the integration of skills.
 
2) Individualized Independence
Clients and therapists collaborate to set client-centered goals which are individualized, relevant achievable and meaningful.  Goals are focused on increasing independence and young adult opportunities.  Personal goals such as cooking a meal, organizing a room, writing a resume, ironing clothing or seeking social opportunities warrant home and community based learning.  
 
3) Steering Your Own Ship - With Support
  Rather than having conversations about what a young adult could do at home once they leave the clinic or classroom, we are right there alongside them as they navigate the uncharted waters of their local grocery store, laundromat or RMV. We are there to support our client's ability to be an agent of change in their own lives and to facilitate opportunities.   As they build skills, we fade our support.  
 
4) Family Ties
Changing habits and routines in a family system can be hard!  In order to carefully support the shift in responsibilities from parent to the young adult, clinicians need to have a firsthand understanding of the expectations at home. This way, we can support the gradual transition in a manner that suits the family's needs.

Skills for Life is a program of the Ivy Street School and brings licensed Occupational Therapists to your home and community to support development of individualized life skills and emerging independence in young adults. We are based in Brookline, Mass., but work within a 40-mile radius of our office. Call 617-879-0305 for a free, 30-minute consultation.