January Newsletter

Happy New Year to the entire Westlake families! We hope everyone had a restful and rejuvenating winter break. As we dive back into the school year, we are excited about the learning and growth that lies ahead for our students.

We started the year with Parent/Teacher Conferences during the week of January 6th - January 10th. Whether you were able to attend in person, virtually or by telephone, there was much progress communicated and things learned in order to enhance this year with specific student needs and support.

Our Westlake Parent Organization ran a movie before the holidays and they are looking to expand supporting the school with other activities. Please check your email for an upcoming WPO meeting invite and let us know if you are able to assist with next activity.

As you can see, our staff can be competitive when sports are involved. The Superbowl will take place on Sunday, February 9, 2025! Eagles vs Chiefs! May the best team win!!

Respectfully,

Claudine, Bobby and Stacey

• Black History Month
• World Read Aloud Day: Feb. 5th - to celebrate reading aloud
• Yoga with Shannon - February 5th @ 1:00 pm
• School Spirit Day/National Wear Red Day: February 7th - wear a red/pink shirt

• Friendship School Dance/Valentine's Day: February 14th
• Presidents Day: February 17th

• Parent Virtual Workshop - February 19th on Guardianship with Josh Bornstein
• Creature Comforts Pet Therapy: February 21st @ 1:00 pm

L.W. is doing amazing job everyday! He is not only our Student of the Month, he is also the Sunshine Cafe Employee of the Month!

We are so proud of M.C.! He works hard everyday in the classroom!

Mr. Valerie was voted Staff Member of the Month for her leadership/courage. She is supports her students and the other members of her team!

We chose L.W. as our January Employee of the Month! L.W. was chosen because he is a hard worker and his skills have greatly improved. He is always polite, respectful, and helpful with our customers!

The Sunshine Cafe has a new special for January called the Berry New Year! It is a chocolate cake filled with mascarpone cream and 4 different berries!

Happy New Year from the Occupational Therapy Department!

Welcome back to school and Happy New Year! January is a great time to set new goals and engage in activities that support your child’s growth and independence. This month, we’re focusing on fine motor skills, visual motor coordination, sensory exploration, and daily living skills.

Developing fine motor and visual motor skills is essential for tasks like writing, cutting, and drawing. Winter-themed activities such as coloring and cutting out shapes offer fun opportunities for children to enhance their coordination and precision while being creative.

January is also a time for hands-on sensory play, like making snow! Following a visual recipe to create snow helps children practice sequencing, comprehension, and motor planning. Once the snow is ready, the tactile experience of molding and playing with it supports fine motor strength and sensory regulation.

We are also encouraging the development of daily living skills to foster independence at home and school. Activities such as zipping coats, buttoning shirts, tying shoes, good hygiene, housekeeping tasks, and helping with meal preparation build coordination, problem-solving, and confidence. These skills are not only practical but also empower children to take on age-appropriate responsibilities.

Wishing you a happy and productive start to 2025!

Warm regards,

Westlake OT Team

This was an exciting week for D.V.O., he started a new job site at Overlook Hospital. He will be selling snacks with J.B. every Tuesday! He had an awesome first day!

D.V.O. and J.B. are working on customer service and math skills!

Westlake & Crossroads School Behavior Departments Unite!

The Westlake behavior team and the Crossroads behavior team recently convened to exchange valuable ideas and resources aimed at enhancing student progress and behavior management.

One idea exchanged was making picture activity schedules, which serve as visual aids to help students follow their daily routines more independently. These schedules use a combination of pictures and words to outline each activity, enabling students to understand the sequence of tasks. By following the schedules, students can clean up after each activity and transition smoothly to the next one without relying heavily on teacher assistance. This approach not only fosters autonomy but also encourages responsibility in managing their own learning activities. Overall, the collaboration between the two teams was productive and emphasized a shared commitment to improving educational outcomes for students through effective strategies.

What better way to welcome 2025 than to celebrate our monthly topics of “Leadership and Courage”! Our class listened to the story of Sebastian's Roller Skates written by Joan De Deu Prats Pijoan. The primary theme is overcoming shyness in order to try new things. We spotlighted students and staff who found the courage to try new things. This included trying various activities, foods and situations just to name a few.

In addition we learned about the life and legacy of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Students gave examples of ways they could emulate him in their own lives. We now have a Kindness Jar in his honor where students can earn rewards for demonstrating acts of kindness, leadership and courage.

In science we learned about states of matter and how they are related to various weather conditions. The students also participated in a hands-on experiment where they generated predictions and observations based on making their own ice pops. They also learned how the first ice pop was created by accident when a young man left a sweet drink outside in the cold.

All students are making huge strides with both their ADL and independent work schedules. An extra task was added this month and they rose to the challenge with ease. In vocational, students received a pay bonus for successful holiday jewelry sales. They were also given their first opportunity to spend or save their earnings. As a follow up, they utilized their calculators to update their pay records.

In the month of January, the speech department focused on various themes including leadership, courage, and goal-setting for the new year. A key theme this month was leadership and courage, inspired by the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We explored what it means to be a leader, with a particular focus on the courage it takes to make a positive impact in the world. Through discussions and activities, students were encouraged to reflect on their own leadership qualities and how they could apply those in their daily lives. As part of the New Year’s resolution activities, we prompted students to set personal goals and aspirations for the school year. These discussions not only encouraged self-reflection but also helped to foster a growth mindset in students as they prepared for the challenges ahead.

Throughout the month, we incorporated sensory activities into our therapy sessions to support students in engaging more fully with their learning. Sensory play allowed students to practice language skills such as describing and sequencing in a hands-on, interactive way. These activities also helped to calm and focus students, particularly those who benefit from sensory input during therapy.

We read a variety of books that focused on winter themes. These stories provided rich opportunities for targeting important speech and language skills, such as describing, sequencing, and answering questions.

We also attended parent conferences to discuss students' progress and areas for continued growth. These conferences were an opportunity to share specific goals and strategies that parents can use at home to support their child’s speech and language development. By working together, we aim to provide consistent support across school and home environments, ensuring that each student has the best opportunity to succeed in meeting their goals.

The students in Mr. Carten's class have been working cooperatively in the areas of vocational tasks and food preparation. Students collaborated to bake a cake. They followed a recipe that provided directions in the form of pictures and words. Everyone was excited to taste the final product. In vocational, students worked as a team to fulfill a large order for more than 400 chocolate pops.This took a lot of teamwork to accomplish. Each complete Pop has many steps to complete. We worked together to melt the chocolate, pour the chocolates into the molds, put them in the bags, and tie them with ribbons. because we worked so well as a team, we got the job done efficiently and in a timely manner. Along with vocational and food prep, the class continues to make progress on their academic goals!

Website: www.ucesc.org/schools/westlake_school

Location: 1571 Lamberts Mill Rd, Westfield, NJ, USA

Phone: 908-232-4181

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