Together We Can

Happy New Year! I hope that everyone had a wonderful Holiday Recess.

I would like to share that our new coordinator, Ms. Katie Natale, started shortly before the break. Ms. Natale is the coordinator for preschool, Old Greenwich, and for our students in out of district placements. She has replaced Mr. Joe Baynes. Welcome Katie, we are glad to have you with us.

I also wanted to provide an update on the PCG review. PCG will be proving their update from their review to the Board at it's regularly scheduled Business Meeting on Thursday, February 20 that starts at 7:00 PM. Please keep an eye on the Board of Education webpage for the log in information.

Best,

Stacey Heiligenthaler, Ph.D.

Chief Officer of Special Education and Student Supports

stacey_heiligenthaler@greenwich.k12.ct.us

This students at New Lebanon School read a story about spiders! Throughout the book, he has written down his “expert” words, which are key vocabulary terms. When asking what, “expert words are, he said, “Words that make you feel cool!”

Students in the Advanced Learner Program (ALP) at Julian Curtiss School collaborated using the Frayer Model to deepen their understanding of key concepts through definition, examples, and visuals. This versatile tool fosters critical thinking and helps students organize information for lasting comprehension.

A student in PreK engaged in learning with flexible seating and a First-Then chart, creating a supportive environment tailored to his individual needs. These tools promote comfort, focus, and structure, empowering students to take ownership of their learning.

Ms. Kathryn Natale, a former Special Education teacher at Glenville School and now a Special Education coordinator for the district, provided explicit writing instruction to a small group of fourth grade students using The Writing Revolution program. This program offers a structured approach to writing instruction, emphasizing its integration across all subjects. It scaffolds strategies to develop students' writing, focusing on foundational skills like sentence expansion and combining, which build toward more complex tasks. By providing clear, step-by-step guidance in sentence, paragraph, and essay construction, The Writing Revolution helps students to write with greater clarity and coherence.

Parkway School's Ms. Bardelli, a first grade teacher, began the school day with Morning Meeting. During this time, students participate in various activities, including choral reading of poetry. This practice helps improve reading fluency (accuracy, rate, and expression), boosts students' confidence as readers, and fosters a love for both reading and collaborative learning. Other activities include counting the days in school and graphing the weather. These exercises reinforce pattern recognition, data analysis, and number sense. Overall, Morning Meeting sets a positive tone for the day, strengthens academic skills, and nurtures a sense of community within the classroom.

Dr. Alina Boie taught first graders at the International School of Dundee about the importance of kindness and standing up for themselves when encountering mean behavior. Through interactive role-playing activities, the students developed assertiveness skills and practiced responding with confidence and respect.

The fifth grade Mindfulness Ambassadors at Cos Cob School showed leadership by helping all kindergartners start their day with a mindful breathing exercise, so everyone is ready to learn.

During their physical education class with Dr. Lynch, fifth graders at Hamilton Avenue School participate in a fun SEL lesson and work together to create posters with the norms and expectations for the PE class.

Kindergarteners in Miss Cutler's classroom at Hamilton Avenue are taught an SEL lesson on how to tame strong emotions using fun breathing techniques.

"EMS does Gratitude” was the theme for the two weeks prior to holiday break. Recognizing gratitude can significantly enhance the culture and climate of a school by fostering a more positive, inclusive, and supportive environment. When gratitude becomes more of a part of our school's culture, it encourages students and staff to focus on positive interactions and appreciate each other's contributions to the school community. During "EMS does Gratitude," students and staff engaged in activities centered around gratitude. They watched videos like LifeVest's "Boomerang, which illustrates why gratitude acts like a boomerang, returning positivity to those who express it. Students also received slips of paper with suggestions inspired by the video Kid President's 20 Things We Should Say More Often. Leading up to break, students and staff took time to reflect on what they are grateful for.

Western Middle School's Ms. Megan Fina, a school counselor, attended the orchestra concert in December. Counselors often work with students individually, in groups, or classrooms, but love to see their students in a different light and in their element performing on stage.

On December 16, the Unified Sports team held its first home basketball game. The day began with a team lunch and ended with an energy-filled, inclusive, and fun game vs. Norwalk.

Thanks for our friends at the Greenwich Free Press for writing such a wonderful story on Greenwich High's Unified Sports program entitled, "Greenwich High School Unified Sports: 'You’ve never seen a team more hyped up for a game!'” It is worth a read.

On December 9, juniors and their parents gathered with two of our school counselors, Ms. Jennifer Lynch and Mr. Brian Dayton, to launch their college search process. They were joined by Fairfield University Admissions Representative Margaret Morrell, who shared her knowledge and expertise on the college search and selection process with our community. At the same time, a similar session was offered in Spanish, with Ms. Patricia Contreras providing translation while Ms. Judy Nedell presented to our Spanish-speaking families. A recording of the evening’s session can be found on our College and Career Center's webpage in the C&C Webinar Video Archive section.

On December 18, Heidi Mangines, Counselor from Greenwich Youth and Family Resources, Liberations Programs, Inc., presented in the GHS Education and Wellness Center on vaping. Ms. Mangines spoke to students and staff about the ingredients in vapes and their effects on the body. Earlier in the week, two counselors from Laurel House were in the Education and Wellness Center, one counselor working with a student and family on post-secondary transition and the other counselor working with students on employment. Thank you to our community partners, Liberations and Laurel House. We look forward to continuing to work together for the students and families of GHS.

With Rachel Rubin

Accommodations, modifications, paraeducators oh my!

For students with learning differences or disabilities, there are so many personalized supports that can be implemented to help them access and succeed in an inclusive, general education setting. Some of these supports are best practices facilitated by the teacher such as creating a visual anchor chart for students to reference as they are learning new content. Other supports, like individual student accommodations and or modifications fall into the bucket of “Supplementary aids and services”.

Supplementary aids and supports play a key role in ensuring students with disabilities thrive in inclusive classrooms. These supports, ranging from assistive technology and instructional accommodations to additional adult assistance (paraeducators), are designed to meet the unique needs of your child while fostering engagement alongside their peers. For example, tools like speech-to-text software or visual schedules can help your child access learning in ways that work best for them. By using these supports, students can overcome barriers, build confidence, and achieve meaningful progress in academic, social, and extracurricular settings.

A key distinction in supplementary supports is the difference between accommodations and modifications. Accommodations are changes to how a student learns or demonstrates knowledge, without altering the learning expectations. For instance, allowing a child extra time to complete a reading test ensures access while maintaining the same academic standards. Modifications, on the other hand, involve changes to the learning expectations themselves (“the what”). An example might be simplifying a math assignment so the student focuses on basic addition rather than the grade-level standard of multi-step problem-solving. This document from The Progress Center offers an easy-to-understand summary/ breakdown of the different types of supplementary aids and services.

As parents and family members, you play an essential role in identifying and advocating for the aids and supports that will best benefit your student. Collaborate with your student’s team (PPT) to ensure these tools are aligned with your child’s strengths, interests, and address areas for growth. Remember, supplementary aids are not just about accommodations—they’re about opening doors to opportunities and empowering your child to realize their potential. Here is a great resource from Inclusive Schooling that lists a variety of supplementary aids and services to help identify which supports will be most impactful for your student.

with Jocelyn Bruchman

Happy New Year from the Reading Lab. What do Walt Disney, Albert Einstein, Whoopi Goldberg, Muhammad Ali, Picasso, Cher, and Steven Spielberg all have in common? Aside from being famous for various reasons, the group all has dyslexia! When some parents notice reading difficulties, dyslexia immediately pops into their mind. Watch to this quick video for some eye-opening information about dyslexia. See below for the definition and some Dyslexia myths that have been busted!

Please visit the new Special Education and Student Supports Department webpage on the Greenwich Public School Website. Information about Special Education supports and services as well as contact information is provided

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Email: stacey_heiligenthaler@greenwich.k12.ct.us
Website: https://www.greenwichschools.org/teaching-learning/special-education
Location: 290 Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich, CT
Phone: (203) 625-7493