Crossroads Monthly Newsletter

October 2024

Message from the Administration

Dear Crossroads Families,

October has been an incredibly busy month here at Crossroads! We embraced our themes of "Empowering Every Voice" and "Respect" through events and activities that brought both fun and growth to our school. We kicked off the month with the Week of Respect, where students participated in lessons and activities centered on preventing harassment, intimidation, and bullying (HIB). Through these activities, our students learned the importance of respecting one another and creating a supportive school environment. Later in the month, School Violence Awareness Week offered students even more opportunities to explore conflict resolution, bullying prevention, and understanding diversity and tolerance. A special highlight was when members of the Westfield Police Department joined us to read to students, sharing a story about the role of police officers in our communities.

October was also Fire Prevention Month, and we were thrilled to welcome the Westfield Fire Department to Crossroads! Students loved seeing the fire truck up close, meeting the firefighters, and even sitting in the truck. This memorable experience was a wonderful opportunity for students to learn about fire safety. Adding to the excitement, we had a visit from the Boy Scouts of America, who assisted us in our Rain Gutter Regatta. Students enjoyed sailing their boats across water-filled rain gutters, making for an exciting event.

This month, we also resumed our Community-Based Instruction (CBI) Trips, with different classes venturing out to places like the Cranford Movie Theater, ShopRite, Costco, Trader Joe’s, Ponderosa Park, Wightman Farm, and Clark Commons. These trips are important in helping our students practice real-life skills and engage with the community. We closed out October with a fantastic Halloween Celebration. Students painted pumpkins in the garden and went trick-or-treating around the school. It was so much fun seeing everyone, staff and students alike, dressed up in their creative costumes!

As we look ahead to November, the excitement continues. On November 12th, our entire school will travel to Westlake School for the Holiday Express Party, an event organized by Holiday Express volunteers. This interactive holiday celebration includes music, themed activities, and some surprise guests, and we can’t wait to join in the festivities.

We’re so grateful for the opportunities we had this month to empower every voice at Crossroads and build a school community rooted in respect. Here’s to a wonderful November filled with more learning, joy, and thanksgiving!

Warm regards,

Matt, Danielle, and Stacey

Upcoming Dates

November 4, 2024 - Early Dismissal for Students ( 1/2 PD Day for Staff)

November 7, 2024 - School Closed (Teacher's Convention)

November 8, 2024 - School Closed (Teacher's Convention)

November 12, 2024 - Trip to Westlake for Holiday Express

November 13, 2024 - Parent Teacher Conferences (AM Session 9:00-11:30)

November 13, 2024 - PTO/Parent Education/Support Meeting (12:30 - 2:00)

November 14, 2024 - Parent Teacher Conferences (Afternoon Session 12:30 - 2:00)

November 14, 2024 - Parent Teacher Conferences (Evening Session 6:00 - 8:00)

November 27, 2024 - Early Dismissal (1:00 PM)

November 28, 2024 - School Closed (Thanksgiving)

November 29, 2024 - School Closed (Thanksgiving)

Crossroads Staff and Student Spotlight

Student of the Month - Rasheed

Rasheed first walked into my classroom during this past ESY. He has grown so much since those beginning weeks of July. Rasheed loves to join his classmates and friends during group work, and loves when Jill and Ashley come in for Speech and OT groups. His favorite thing to do is people watch, so any chance he gets to peek in the hallway or look out the window during a break, it brings a smile to his face. Rasheed has worked so hard to utilize sign language and symbol recognition to communicate with everyone in the school. He really understands that the clearer his signs are, the easier it is for us to give him what he wants and needs. Although our favorite thing in the world is the iPad (isn’t that everyone’s favorite thing?), we are exploring new toys and sensory items to find something new to enjoy. Rasheed is becoming increasingly independent during classroom routines, and is such an important helper with our morning chores like cleaning breakfast trays and filling up the water jug.

We are so proud of him in 105 and cannot wait to see what else he can do this school year!

Staff Spotlight - Elaine Liggeri - School Social Worker

1. How long have you been working at the commission?

I have been working at the Commission for 20 years. Crossroads School is a special place for me.

2. What would we be surprised to find out about you?

I love to dance. I have taken many dance classes and lessons. I have learned many types of dance styles.

3. What is your dream vacation?

I would love to travel to Italy, Ireland, and Scotland.

4. What is your favorite meal?

I like pasta with fresh tomato sauce and fresh basil from the garden.

5. What is your greatest accomplishment?

Having a wonderful career in Social Work and working at Crossroads School for a large part of my career. Also, raising two wonderful daughters, whom I love immensely. I also have a wonderful son in law and two adorable granddaughters who are keeping my very busy on my days off.

Staff Spotlight - Maritza Polynice- Teacher's Assistant

1. How long have you been working at the commission?

I have been working at the Commission for 8 months.

2. What would we be surprised to find out about you?

I really enjoy singing/songwriting.

3. What is your dream vacation?

My dream vacation would be a European trip/tour.

4. What is your favorite meal?

My favorite food is all Haitian food.

5. What is your greatest accomplishment?

My greatest accomplishment was training for an completing a 5K over the summer.

Classroom Spotlights

Ms. Gaby's Classroom

Happy October!

We got to do so many fun things this month and can’t wait to go Trick-or-Treating for Halloween. Our class has been moving along with our Alphabet Centers, and have made it all the way to the letter E. We have made alligators, butterflies, cake, dogs, and eagles to represent each letter we have worked on. Leo and London have been working hard on functional communication and asking new friends to play tag with them in other classes on the playground. Alaiyaa helps Miss Gaby set up the classroom every morning and makes sure everyone has the materials they need. Adriel and and Rasheed have been flying through activity schedules and practicing their fine motor skills. There was a big change in our classroom, our teaching assistant Thomas became an RBT for the school! We are so proud of all of his hard work and are looking forward to watching him flourish in the behavior field! We got to end the month by going on a school wide field trip to Wightman Farms in Morristown. We enjoyed the beautiful weather during our hayride, pumpkin picking, and picnic (yummy doughnuts and homemade apple cider!).

105 is so thrilled with the progress our students are making and Adriel, Alaiyaa, Leo, London, and Rasheed have had a fantastic school year so far!

Ms. Jennifer's Classroom

Happy fall from 110! October has been a fun and busy month for us! All the students have settled into their new routines and have been working hard on all of their individual and group goals. Each week, we have a theme and corresponding letter of the week in addition to our individual programs, and this month the themes have been Apples&Pumpkins, Fire Safety, The Farm and Halloween.

In addition to all the learning happening inside the classroom, we enjoyed our boy scout pack's activity of decorating boats and racing them with friends from other classes. We were also excited to have the opportunity to go out into the community for our first trip to Cranford Theatre where we got to practice our requesting, sitting and attending skills while watching Monsters Inc.

At the conclusion of our fire safety week, we loved our visit from the Westfield Fire Department and enjoyed getting to sit in the firetruck. We also had a great time on our hayride and pumpkin picking at Wightman Farm. As Halloween neared, we read the book How Many Sleeps Til Halloween each day as we counted down to the big day and when Halloween finally arrived, we had so much fun in our costumes, trick or treating and painting pumpkins.

We are looking forward to the upcoming holiday season and continuing to learn and grow together!

Therapy Spotlight - Ms. Dina, Ms. Sara, Ms. Ashley - Occupational Therapists

The month of October was focused around Autumn changes and Fall fun! It started with an activity tree in the OT room on which all the leaves have single step activities to perform on the back. The students were able to remove the leaf, complete the exercise and return the the leaf to the tree working on fine motor, visual motor and sensory motor skills. The tree will remain up in the OT room to use throughout the year.

We also had some Halloween fun this month, using fine motor skills to create mummies out of cardstock and wrap them in paper tape to look like bandages. An obstacle course using skeleton hands to carry fake eyeballs along the course was created to help the student practice balance, coordination, and bilateral integration skills.

Finally, the therapists accompanied the classes to Wightman Farm for a fun filled morning of hay rides, pumpkin picking and donuts with cider!

Nurses Corner - Nurse Lynn

Height/Weight and Blood Pressure Screenings will be occurring at Crossroads during the month of November. The purpose of this program is to measure the health and growth of the students.

Results will be sent home for your reference and review and also for you to share with your child's healthcare provider.

If you have any questions now or even after you receive the results, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.