Special Education and Student Services Newsletter for September 28

Prayers and sympathy for the family, friends, and former teachers of
Cyanna "CJ" Goessel who passed away.  CJ was a courageous young girl
who used to attend school in Medford.


1. Early Release Day
Safety training (I.C.D.D.) and Appropriate Use of Seclusion and
Physical Restraint information will be shared.  If you are unable to
attend, information will be forwarded to you for your review and
reference.  Contact us with any questions.
2:15 to 3:30 = Paraprofessionals
4:00 to 5:00 = Certified staff, parents, and community members

Dr. Greg Drake will conducting a presentation for all high school
staff at 2:15 on Thursday.  All HS special education certified and
support staff should plan on attending.  He will be doing another
presentation at 7:00 pm for anyone else interested.  Medford Sports
Booster Club and Medford School District is offering this
opportunity.


2. Attendant Care Services
Attendant Care Services sheets should be completed and turned in on a
monthly basis for students who are medicaid eligible and have
attendant care needs.  If you have questions, please contact Luanne
Olson or I at the District Office.


3. Suicide Prevention Training
Taylor County Prevention Council had a Suicide Prevention Training on
Wednesday.  Community members and select school based student services
team members were in attendance. We learned about the QPR model which
can be found www.qprinstitute.com


4. Sign Language for Educators
Option 1
We have 33 parents and staff registered for the Sign Language for
Educators Class to begin on October 3rd. NTC is teaching the class and
CLC Community Education is offering this enrichment opportunity. I
have had one staff comment "I have never been more excited for a class
than this one!"  One parent commented "thank you so so much for
offering this type of class for staff and community." This is an
enrichment opportunity so you would not place the time on your time
card.

Option 2
NTC is offering this class again at NTC in Medford from 6:30 to 8:30
starting October 3 for anyone else interested. You would have to pay
the cost of the tuition and books for that class.


5. iPad/Educational Technology
We had 10 staff attend our monthly iPad/Educational Technology
training on Monday.  The agenda and links to all information covered
was previously sent out. Staff will be sent a copy of the applications
available for download through our school iTunes account.


6. Elementary Special Education meeting for Certified Staff
This will be held on Tuesday October 4 from 3:20 to 3:45 in the MAES
computer lab.


7. Autism Resource Team
Autism Resource Team will meet on Thursday October 6 from 4:00 to 5:00
in the MAES Media Room.


8. Taylor County EC Sub-Committee
This will meet on Friday October 7 from 1:30 to 3:30 at the D.O.


9. Taylor County Reality Fair
Taylor County Reality Fair will be held on Tuesday October 25 from
8:00 to 12:00 at MASH. This is our Fall workshop for high school
seniors.


10. Special Education and Student Services Calendar
We now have a Special Education and Student Services Calendar on
Google that can be shared with you if interested.  This highlights and
lists all of our upcoming staff meetings and trainings.


11. Transition of Staff
Staff this year have had to learn new positions, be in new buildings,
and/or teach different curriculums. Thank you for your flexibility in
your new roles. It takes time to learn something new, but all of you
are working hard and put in extra time.  If we can help you in any
way, please let us know.


12. Read Write and Gold
This assistive technology has been purchased for use at MAMS in 11-12.
If this is successful, then we will look to purchase for MASH in
12-13.  Read Write and Gold is placed on computers allowing text,
NWEA, etc to be read outloud to students and staff.  This are many
other pieces to this curriculum as well.  This can be placed on any PC
computers in a building as we have the site license.


13. Reading Assistant (Fluency) Program
We now have site licenses at MAMS and MAES for Reading Assistant.
Individual computer licenses at SES and MASH are available.  This is a
reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension program which has shown
great success for students. Contact Mrs. Lundy or I for more
information.


14. MADA
Medford Adult Diploma Academy is for adults 18 and older who do not
have a high school diploma.  If you have any parents or know anyone
who does not have a HS diploma, let them know about our program.
Cindy Gibson at 715-748-4620 is a good contact person.


15. Rosetta Stone
We are looking at options for Rosetta Stone at MASH to help teach
English to our ELL student.


16. W-APT and ACCESS for ELL
W-APT Screener should be administered to any new or transfer ELL
students prior to October 14.  We will need to administer the W-APT to
get results so we can order the appropriate ACCESS for ELL tests for
students which need to be submitted by October 21.


17. School Based Mental Health Counseling
Reminder that we now have school based mental health counseling for
students in school.  Our therapist is Marjorie Marksteiner and she
will be in district on Tuesdays.  We have no students yet referred for
services. If you have a student that has a need, please refer them
after discussion with the parent.


18. Long Distance Calling
We are able to put on your phones the ability to do long distance
calling for work purposes.  If you feel the need to have this option
on your phone, let me know. I have had the request in the past due to
teachers needing to call Marshfield Clinic for example on behalf of
their students.