• Our Grizzly Academy Grizzlies are AMAZING! It feels like almost every morning meeting we have someone or something to celebrate! From kiddos LEVELING UP, to 6 of our students having ALL GREEN DAYS in the month of September, to birthdays, and Thumbs Up Thursdays and Feel Good Fridays, every morning is filled with something fun! I hope that your kiddos share the good things happening each day!

• This week your child brought home their weekly data summary from 9.23 - 9.27 and their monthly data sheet from September. Please take some time to review these and CELEBRATE your child! They are working hard each day and it shows! I love meeting with the kiddos each week and seeing their smiles as they take in all the green on their weekly sheet and when realizing they met their personal goal for the week!

• Our GA Family will welcome a new member next week! Mrs. Jerri Shultz will be our new GA secretary and will begin in this role on Monday, October 7. We look forward to having Mrs. Schultz join our team and I know she will love our kiddos just as much as Miss Holly did!

• A BIG THANK YOU to our GA team for planning and hosting our first Family Event of the year and to our GA families for coming out for this event! Grilling and Bingo were a hit and I loved seeing so many families here enjoying the time together. Our next event will be in November.

We had a super special guest join us to take some group photos this week.

You know our GA Family loved the silly mode!

Thank you, Kristin Cole!

October

4 - Fun Friday!

10 - Lucas & Cook Team to WHS for Fine Arts Field Trip (WHS Choir Concert)

10 - Fun Friday on a Thursday!

11 - No School

14 - WCS Board of Education Meeting, 7:00

16 - Grizzly Academy Barricade Drill

18 - Fun Friday!

23 - Lucas & Cook Team to WHS for Fine Arts Field Trip (WMS Musical - Lion King Jr.)

23 - 3rd Grade Fall State ELA Testing, 9:45 - 11:45

24 - Grizzly Academy Picture Day!

25 or 31 (TBD) - Character Dress Up Day!

30 - Happy Birthday, Mrs. Lucas!

Our Grizzly Academy team is humbled and honored to have won the Wadsworth Area Chamber of Commerce Annual Rosie Award in the category for Outstanding Nonprofit Organization of the Year. This award is a testament to all of our families for believing in this program, our students for working so hard every day, and our staff who loves, supports, and educates our kiddos each day. We are all proud to be GA Grizzlies!

Be sure to watch the video below to see how our program was featured at the awards ceremony.

It has been a great start to the year at the Grizzly Academy! Our students are busy learning in their classrooms and have also discovered spaces intentionally made just for self- regulation and breaks, such as our sensory rooms; "quiet" spaces; the "heavy work" room; sand tables and reading nooks. Our students are also learning to utilize various fidget tools and have loved "shopping" for new items as they earn it. All of these things, along with the support from our staff, allow our students the opportunity to be successful. It has been a pleasure working with each student so far and I am so excited to see the progress they make this year!

The Parent Information Form is still available. If you have not yet done this, please use this link: https://forms.gle/DxB3KpSdWEw7JDhq9 to complete it at your convenience. Sara Kopacko, the district Student Well-Being/Mental Health Coordinator and I developed this survey to assist in connecting services and resources to our students and families. We have several partnerships with mental health agencies and community programs. If you have indicated a need on the Parent Information Form, I will be reaching out to you, if I have not done so already. If you think of something that I could help you or your child with otherwise, please feel free to email me at (lryder@wadsworthschools.org) or call (234) 217-4008 and I will be happy to help.

Positive reinforcement is the addition of something that increases the likelihood of a behavior happening again in the future. I occasionally hear from staff or parents that there is nothing that a child finds reinforcing... I encourage you to look a little deeper. This can look like earning things such as: playing a chess game during free choice with a staff member, dancing in class, extra recess, playing Pokemon with a friend, baking brownies with a parent and telling a joke of the day to the school. I personally rewarded myself this morning with a good coffee for meeting my goals this week!

Get those outfits and smiles ready! GA Picture Day is coming up at the end of the month. Ripcho Studios will be here on Thursday, October 24 to take individual portraits, class pictures, and a whole school photo. Order information will come home soon.

Our ONE Grizzly Academy fundraiser for the year runs through the end of October. The Grizzly Academy Champions Drive is the only request we make of families, friends, supporters, and businesses each year. This donation drive provides support for our program throughout the year.

If your family is able, please consider making a donation. We also appreciate the sharing of our drive with family, friends, and any connected businesses.

September brought many fun Fridays! Game Day & Floats, Mini Field Day Fun, Outdoor Adventures, and Apple Adventures! Congratulations to all of our students who have earned these rewards each week.

Our Character Strong trait for the month of October is Responsibility! Click below to read more about this month's topic.