Virtual Gatherings Bring our Extended Family Together |
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While we are unable to have visitors to campus, we want to stay connected and thank our families and community friends for what they are helping us to achieve. Our students inspire us every day and the recent Mission Moment virtual sessions were an opportunity to share that joy with our entire community. During the 45 minute sessions, guests toured our redesigned facilities, heard remarks from our board president, school and organization leadership, students, and a grateful parent. Participants were inspired by what we have accomplished together!
“As a new friend of the school, I came away impressed and inspired. I look forward to learning more and supporting you.” – Ronita Mathias, Community Friend
“I am so happy I joined you today. You say it is a happy place and that is one impression I got. The children all look so happy.”
– Joanne Carr, Community Friend
If you were unable to join us, you can view a recorded session by clicking the link below. Thank you for your partnership in all that we do to bring joy to our children and support their families.
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Principal Heather Gilliland gives a virtual tour of the school. |
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Matthew shares his excitement of being back at school. |
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Our successful hybrid Extended School Year (ESY) program made the transition a bit easier as we welcomed many more students back this fall. While back to school protocols, like temperature checks and social distancing, made things a little different this year, there was no denying that our staff and students were thrilled to be back together in-person. |
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L to R: Thomas, Aubrey, Emily, Efrain and Jayden, Jillian, Valentina |
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P.G. Chambers School students celebrated Halloween by singing songs, decorating, reading stories and playing “pretend” trick or treat.
Unfortunately, our long-standing Trick or Suites event, generously sponsored by the Embassy Suites in Parsippany, had to be cancelled. We were delighted to share this wonderful video message, from our friends at the Embassy Suites, with our students. They are our heroes and we are excited to return in 2021.
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Aubrey and Ava proudly pose in front of the Halloween display. |
Aminita is all smiles with her teacher, Joyce. |
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Our friends at Embassy Suites Parsippany |
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Students Celebrate Veteran's Day in Special Ways.... |
Elementary teachers, Sasha Bowman and Laura Fracella, shared the history of Veteran's Day and why we celebrate as a nation. While Middle school teacher, Erin Natoli, and TA’s, Brianna Funicelli and and Luz Marin, shared pictures of their family members who served with their students. One middle schooler proudly shared his grandfather’s medal of honor with his classmates. In addition, students read a story titled, Celebrating Holidays, Veteran’s Day by Rachel Grack.
Middle school teacher, Dina Alve, worked with her students to create the below acrostic poem in honor of Veteran's Day.
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Our children have been hard at work this Fall developing their skills. |
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Olivia and Nora work on motor skills. |
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Students develop early literacy skills during morning meeting.
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P.G. Chambers Community Services Program
Helping Students Find Their Voice
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The P.G. Chambers School Community Services Program continues to provide services and support to students in 15 public schools through related services and evaluations, PG RISE (our Collaborative High School Program in Randolph High School) and with Assistive Technology evaluations and consults. While the pandemic has impacted how we deliver services, our therapists have been extremely flexible and creative with treatment methods to make it work for the students we serve.
Kelly Bretz, a Speech Language Pathologist who works with students in the Roxbury School District, shared the value of a virtual environment for some of her students. “For one of our middle-schoolers, virtual services are a better option. He is more focused on his therapist which results in more focused and intentional language use. Teachers report that he is offering more spontaneous language in the classroom as a result. One of our high school students for an entire year, pre-Covid, could only write to communicate his thoughts, ideas and opinions. Once the pandemic began, he received special education services virtually. It was this environment that alleviated the anxiety and pressures to verbalize and as a result he began to speak verbally once again!"
Our commitment to helping every student find their voice is making a difference.
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Early Intervention Program Provides Service Options to Accommodate Families
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To meet the ongoing needs of our youngest children, the early intervention team is providing a hybrid model of services. Before the state authorized services at home in September, we were able to offer in-person services at our center beginning in late July. Today, we are providing services via telehealth, in the child’s natural environment (home and childcare), and center-based. Families are able to choose which method of service best meets their needs. Even with expanded options, many families have chosen to stay with telehealth because they have seen just how effective telehealth is in empowering families to help their children develop and learn. We remain committed and resilient in finding ways to meet the needs of our children and we thank our families for their ongoing partnership.
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Nurse Christie and Nurse Janet lead an in-service session on Covid procedures and protocols for our staff. |
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After 12 years of service to P.G. Chambers School, Nurse Janet Michalowski is "retiring" as the Director of Nursing. Upon announcing her retirement, Janet recently shared,
"I feel it is the right time to make this move for myself, and my family. This decision was made with much confidence in knowing I am leaving a well-organized, competent department with Christie Rule as the next director. She has the ability to bring the department to the next level of proficiency and excellence."
Janet's last day is December 11, 2020. We can't thank Janet enough for her dedication and commitment to our school and community. She will be truly missed, but we are fortunate that she will remain on staff as an "as needed" nurse.
Thank you Nurse Janet for your untiring commitment to our children and their families!
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Congratulations Nurse Christie |
Christie Rule has been with P.G. Chambers School for 2.5 years.
She received a BA in History from University of Rochester and a MA in Architectural Preservation. After 10 years, Christie decided she wanted to change careers and pursue a nursing degree. She began her studies at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, NJ and then received her B.S. in Nursing from Thomas Edison State University and is currently working toward her MA at Rutgers.
When asked what she is most excited about as the new Director of Nursing, Christie shared, “I am excited to work with the nursing team to strategize and implement new ideas to continue to help our students and families. I also look forward to working with our students whose bright smiles and happiness make our work all worthwhile.”
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P.G. Chambers School Board President, Jerry DeFrancisco, Earns Doctorate of Professional Studies from Pace University |
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Jerry leading a class at Siena College in Albany, where he teaches part-time. |
Jerry will join the faculty this spring at Seton Hall University. |
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Jerry discusses his latest degree and his love for sharing his expertise with others . . . |
“My degree is referred to is a “Practitioners’ Degree”. The DPS is similar to a DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) or an EdD (Doctor of Education). It is designed for people in leadership roles, and has a heavy emphasis on practical application. A PhD is primarily for research and teaching, BUT people with both degrees function in both fields, so there are no hard and fast rules.
I started this degree in 2005, finished my class work, and my written and oral exams in 2008 before joining the Red Cross in Washington DC. The thesis required practical research, and I found it difficult to juggle both (constant travel), so I restarted when I returned to New Jersey in 2015. The research included dozens of interviews, which were very time consuming, and I finally completed them in February. And thanks to COVID and quarantine, I spent a lot of time at my desk compiling the results and finally completed it. Then came the three-hour defense over Zoom, being quizzed by 4 PhD’s and 1 DPS; and that was it.
I consider myself a life-long learner, so I enjoyed the class work, and was determined to finish. Over the past three years, I have found it very rewarding to use the learnings in my work with students at Siena College, and also with the P.G. Chambers School LEAD program. Like most things, the journey was the important part…and arriving at the end and getting the degree was anti-climactic. I love working and learning from students and our dedicated PGCS staff. I am privileged to be part of the PGCS team, whose wonderful work is an inspiration to us all.”
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Physical Therapists, Tracie and Ashley, are excited to share the new wheel chair. |
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Thanks to the generosity of our Menus for the Mind virtual guests this past spring, we were able to purchase one of the two new powered wheelchairs needed to support our expanded Powered Mobility Program. The new bright yellow chair, aptly named Sonny, arrived last month and our children and therapists are thrilled.
“With this new training chair, our students will be able to access independent movement using adaptations like a head array, joy stick or a switch,” shared Holli Schult, Director of Physical Therapy. “We are so excited to introduce Sonny to all of our students and to bring the gift of mobility and motion into their worlds!”
If you would like to learn more about how you can help us complete the funding for this important program, please contact Kathleen DeSantis, Director of Development at desantisk@chambersschool.org.
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Alex graduated from P.G. Chambers School in 2016 and went on to Pillar High School in Livingston, New Jersey. We caught up with Alex recently by phone to see how she is doing. Alex was very excited to tell us that before school had to shut down due to the pandemic, she attended a First Responder Breakfast at her high school and was honored to welcome guests as the introductory speaker. Her pride was palpable.
Since the pandemic, Alex has been doing well at home with her parents and her sister, Tassia. Although their summer vacation plans had to be cancelled, Alex shared that she enjoyed attending virtual camp with her friends. Like any teenage girl, Alex also enjoyed meeting her friend Meghan, a P.G. Chambers School Alumna, for lunch, ice cream and some much needed girl time! Alex was not bashful about sharing her pride over her efforts to be an advocate for her needs.
It was so great to catch up with Alex and hear about her summer fun. Alex has certainly continued to shine and we are so proud of her!
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Community Partners Partners Making A Difference
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What did you do during your summer vacation? For one high school junior, his answer may surprise everyone.
P.G. Chambers School physical therapist, Nancy Altshuler, sent out a request this past spring to future engineering students to seek a volunteer who would create and engineer a device that would enable children with physical and cognitive impairments to participate in physical education class. The request asked participants to donate their time, expertise, and building materials. Daniel Collum, a 16 year-old junior at Seton Hall Prep, answered the call.
Daniel has always liked building and designing things and has a keen interest in engineering. Like so many students, Daniel knew that the summer would be different due to the pandemic and he would need to find something to do to keep him busy. This project seemed to be the perfect match. He loved engineering, he needed something to keep him meaningfully busy and he could help others. It was a win win! With support from Nancy Altshuler, Daniel decided to create an adaptive bowler. When he began, Daniel realized that he did not have any plans to follow and only a few instructional videos to watch. As a result, Daniel taught himself how to use a 3d modeling software, called Onshape, in order to create his own designs. These designs were made with the intention to help anyone who might want to create these adaptive bowling ramps in the future. Using this software Daniel could see his designs in 3d without having to physically build them, saving many resources and time.
"I’ve always liked building and designing things. When I was younger, I always asked for Legos and other building toys for my birthday and Christmas. My interest in engineering has only grown since then. When I heard of a project involving engineering that would help others and keep me busy, I couldn’t say no. That is really what motivated me to do this project." - Daniel Collum
It is truly heartwarming to see what can happen when we inspire students to help children with special needs. Daniel’s invention will bring joy to our students for many years to come and we are grateful for his creativity, commitment, and desire to help others.
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P.G. Chambers School was recently awarded an ENF Beacon Grant of $3,500 from The East Hanover Elks, Lodge 815.
Pictured below is Patty Sly, Executive Director accepting the donation from members of the Elks Lodge. P.G. Chambers School is so grateful for the long-standing commitment of this generous community partner.
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(L to R) Frank Petrucci, Nunzio Amoresano, Mario Barisciano, Alfonse Cataldo, Ronald Leonardis, Joseph Cavaclogiou (Exhalted Rular), Peter Dolasco, Patricia Sly (Executive Director- P,G, Chambers School), James Blasi, Archie Ferraro
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Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care Makes Generous Donation of PPE
SRLC is a holistic, multi-pronged community support and development initiative, powered by genuine empathy, love and care of highly motivated volunteers delivering high quality, charitable sustainable interventions for the welfare of mankind, animals and the environment. The non-profit organization supports charities in over 50 cities worldwide, with over 500 volunteers devoted to this cause.
This fall, SRLC-USA selected P.G. Chambers School to be a recipient of their generosity. Pictured below volunteers from the organization graciously donated much needed PPE to support our staff and students. We are truly grateful for this new partnership.
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(Lt to R) Nurse Janet Michalowski, Arpita Doshi and Riddhi Shah |
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