Crossroads Monthly Newsletter

As we head into the final stretch of this academic year, it’s incredible to think about the journey we’ve embarked on together. This month, our focus on self-reflection aligns perfectly with Mental Health Awareness Month, encouraging our students and staff to look inward and prioritize their well-being. Recognizing the significance of self-care and emotional well-being is essential for maintaining a healthy balance in life.

This month we celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week to recognize our staff for their incredible dedication and hard work. The week was filled with thoughtful gestures, kind words, a delicious luncheon, and tokens of appreciation. We extend our deepest thanks to the families for their generosity in showering our staff with gestures of kindness, recognition, and support. Your contributions truly made this week memorable.

With less than a month of school remaining, it's astounding to reflect on the growth and achievements our students have made. We anticipate celebrating these milestones, starting with the Preschool Stepping Up Ceremony on June 5th, where we’ll commemorate our youngest learners' progress and readiness for the next chapter of their education. Following that, on June 12th, we'll proudly witness our 8th graders' commencement, marking the culmination of their middle school journey and the beginning of exciting new adventures.

Looking ahead, we’re also thrilled to announce the Crossroads Field Day scheduled for June 14th. This promises to be a day filled with fun for our students. Stay tuned for more details as we finalize plans, but expect an array of activities, including bounce houses, food, and more.

Let’s cherish these remaining weeks together, celebrating achievements, fostering growth, and creating lasting memories.

Warm regards,

Matt, Danielle, and Stacey

June 5, 2024 - Preschool Stepping Up Ceremony (1:00PM - 2:00PM)

June 12, 2024 - 8th Grade Commencement Ceremony (1:00PM - 2:30PM)

June 13, 2024 - Parent Education and PTO Meeting - 1:00

June 14, 2024 - Crossroads Field Day (10:00AM - 1:00PM)

June 17, 2024 - Early Dismissal (1:00PM)

June 18, 2024 - Early Dismissal (1:00 PM)

June 19, 2024 - Early Dismissal (1:00 PM)/Last Day of School

Congratulations to Victor, Daria, and Gloria on their recent graduation! Their dedication and perseverance serve as an example for our students, embodying the spirit of lifelong learning. We are incredibly proud of their accomplishments and grateful for the role models they are in our school community.

Crossroads BCBA Karly Barreto presenting her topic, "Social Validity Measures During Intensive Feeding Treatment" at the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) Convention in Philadelphia Pennsylvania.

During our visit to “Imagine That” our preschoolers had the opportunity to socially interact with age appropriate peers. This was an amazing and hopefully, a life long lasting experience. The children enjoyed imaginary play and for one day, they became pirates, dancers, builders, musicians and artists. Our field trip was the highlight of our month. Additionally the preschoolers have shown excitement at the rehearsals for our Stepping Up ceremony where we are hoping to see the familiar faces of our parents and other family members.

May is the speech-language therapy department’s favorite month of the year! It is Better Speech and Hearing Month (BSHM). In honor of BSHM, we attended the annual New Jersey Speech-Language Hearing Association (NJSHA) conference in Atlantic City, NJ. The conference was two (2) days of professional development courses, poster sessions, and an exhibition of vendor booths. Throughout the two (2) days, we attended courses about alternative and augmentative communication (AAC), executive functioning (a set of skills needed to plan ahead), as well as network with colleagues across the state of New Jersey. It was also a great opportunity for us, as a department, to collaborate and learn together! We are looking forward to turn-keying the wonderful information learned to the rest of the Crossroads staff!

Spring activities were blossoming throughout all of our therapy sessions. The middle school started creating neurodiversity shirts using the Cricut. Brianna and the middle school staff assisted the students in generating a design using the Cricut software, printing the design decals, and ironing them onto the shirts. Additionally, the middle school students sold the shirts as part of the school store. What a great way to get the creative juice flowing while targeting job skills!

Other spring activities highlighted in our therapy sessions this month, include creating Mother’s Day cards. Our students made Mother’s Day cards for their mothers, aunts, grandmothers, or any other special lady in their lives. We worked on using describing words, or adjectives, to talk about the most important women in their lives. Each student’s card was unique and creative!

As the school year winds down next month, we are looking forward to ushering in summer activities, like playing outside, cooking summer recipes, and celebrating the end of a successful school year!

May is among us! We have shifted gears in the art room as the weather gets warmer. We continue working on our fine motor skills while creating flowers, butterflies, birds, bees, and all things spring! I am also happy to announce that we are participating in the Artfully Abled Art Show next month. This event has been created to focus on abilities not limitations of people with developmental disabilities, which is absolutely perfect for our school! The students have been proving themselves while working very hard in the art room, and ALL of them will have a piece of their artwork displayed in the show!

Also, adding Art Club to the student's schedule has been a great success thus far, allowing students to explore their creative side while socializing with their peers. They have an opportunity during this time to choose which materials they want to use and experiment with. This is both therapeutic and fun for the students!

Don’t forget to check out our rotating Crafty Crossroads display, which features weekly artwork of projects completed in class. Every student will have a chance to participate to show off their skills!

8th Grade trip to Westlake School

Field Trip to Imagine That!

Crossroads School has a special visit from Commissioner Bette Jane Kowalski of the Union County Board of Commissioners to observe the progress made on our school garden.

Stem Event with former Crossroads Speech Therapist Hope

Website: https://www.ucesc.org/schools/crossroads_school
Location: 45 Cardinal Drive, Westfield, NJ, USA
Phone: 908-233-9317