❄️Winter is soon approaching, and the chill in the air is proof of that!❄️

This newsletter is here to keep you informed of the happenings in our school and provide you with helpful resources. You can also keep up to date through these channels:

• District website
• Backpack flyers
• District Facebook Page

We are here to support you and your family. Please let us know if there are ways we can accomplish this. We are so excited to see what this year has in store!

International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) is a UN day that is celebrated every year on 3 December.

• More than 1.3 billion people experience significant disability today, which represents 16% of the global population.
  
• "On International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we recognize and celebrate the equal rights and dignity of disabled people everywhere and reaffirm our commitment to building a world where people with disabilities are afforded the opportunities, independence, and respect they deserve" - JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.
  
• Here in the United States, people with disabilities are three times less likely to be employed, and those who are employed often earn less than their peers for doing the same work. Public spaces, including transit systems and voting locations, are still often inaccessible. And across the globe, disabled people routinely face violence, harassment, exploitation, abuse, and other barriers to their full participation in society.
  

“People First Language” (PFL) puts the person before the disability, and describes what a person has, not who a person is.

• PFL uses phrases such as “person with a disability,” “individuals with disabilities,” and “children with disabilities,” as opposed to phrases that identify people based solely on their disability, such as “the disabled.”
• The terms “developmental disability,” “cognitive disability,” or “intellectual disability” may be substituted as more respectful options.

1. Make a new holiday recipe. Cookies, pies, breads, or anything else! Trying a new recipe will challenge you and keep your mind active. You might even end up finding a new favorite treat!

3. Cross something off your to-do list. We sometimes tend to leave multiple responsibilities looming over our heads, especially during the holidays. Take the time to cross one thing off your to-do list, putting in the work now so you can relax later.

4. Control your breathing. If you’re feeling stressed, try to calm down by using breathing exercises. Breathe in slowly for four seconds, hold for four seconds, breathe out for four seconds, and repeat.