Starting Kindergarten This Year??

Hightower Trail has many exciting events for children and parents who will join our school for the 2010-11 school year. Spread the word! More info to come later. Questions? Speak with your child's PreK Teacher or call the counseling office at Hightower Trail (770-388-0751, ext. 112)

Kinder Camp (FREE!)
July 12-15, 2010 (Mornings Only)

Parents Helping Parents

I have found out about resources that can help parents of children with special needs. One impressive website has a lot of information about various disabilities (kind of a 'one stop shop')...cancer, arthritis, epilepsy, ADHD, mental illness, medically fragile children, etc., etc.

AtlantaParent.Com

It really helps to be with people who can identify with the challenges you may be facing!

Down Syndrome Association of Atlanta - Resource Directory

Autism/Asperger Resources
Walton County & Surrounding Areas...
FACES (Families of students with Autism or Asperger Syndrome)
http://www.georgiafaces.info/
(770) 356-6140 or waltonfaces@yahoo.com
They also have summer camp info and a group on Facebook!

Newton County/Covington
Family and Friends of Children with Autism
Contact: Glenda Gaither at 770-784-1492
Meets at the Washington Street Community Center, 4138 School St., Covington

Gwinnett County Autism Support Group (SPECTRUM)
(also Sibling Support Group, Social Support Group for Adults with HFA/Aspergers, Parents of Children with Asperger's Support Group, Dad's Group, and Grandparent Support Group)

Free Social Skills groups are offered during monthly meetings for those with autism ages 5-21 and childcare for those under 5- rsvp required.

Contact: Claire Dees at 770-904-2909
Aspergers group contact: Julia Massey at knightsmace@bellsouth.net
Meets the first Thursday of every month from 6:30-8:00pm at
First Baptist Church of Duluth, 2908 Duluth Hwy 120, Duluth, GA 30096
Website: http://www.atl-spectrum.com/

Henry County
Contact: Teri Castle at terri.castle@flukenetworks.com

Dekalb County/Atlanta
Sponsored by: The Marcus Autism
1920 Briarcliff Road, Atlanta, GA 30329
Contact: Moshe Manheim at 404-785-9491 or moshe.manheim@CHOA.org
Meets the 1st Wednesday of every month from 11:30am-1: 30pm at
The Marcus Autism Center in the Norman Shutters Learning Resource Center
(404) 785-9382
bring a brown bag lunch

Excellent Parent Workshop - FREE!

Parenting is hard stuff, isn't it? This is a wonderful opportunity to hear from a seasoned and highly respected professional. I'll be at the GAPT conference (Georgia Association of Play Therapy) and would love to see you there!




GAPT OFFERS A FREE PARENTING LECTURE

TRUDY POST SPRUNK (GAPT Co-Founder)

PARENTING WITH LOVE
SATURDAY MARCH 13, 2010 ROOM 201 12:15-1:15PM
THE HOLIDAY INN SELECT
5060 PEACHTREE INDUSTRIAL BLVD.,
NORCROSS, GEORGIA
770-448-4400

PARENTING INVOLVES GIVING CHILDREN
~LOVE AND LIMITS
~ROOTS AND WINGS
~SELF ESTEEM
~REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS
~CLEAR MESSAGES
~EMOTIONAL STABILITY
....AND MUCH MORE

TRUDY WILL
+ ADDRESS THE CHILD’S NEED FOR UNSTRUCTURED PLAY OPPORTUNITIES WITH PARENTS
+ GUIDE PARENTS TO LOOK AT REAL LIFE EXAMPLES OF HOW FAMILIES FUNCTION
+ PROVIDE SPECIFIC LOGICAL NO-NONSENSE STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE FAMILY INTERACTIONS

REGISTRATION IS BY EMAIL AT TRUDYPOSTSPRUNK@CHARTER.NET THOSE WISHING TO ATTEND NEED ONLY PROVIDE THEIR NAME AND THE NUMBER ATTENDING IN THEIR PARTY.

TRUDY POST SPRUNK IS AN LMFT, CPT, LPC, RPT, AND IS EMDR CERTIFIED. SHE IS ALSO AN RPT, CPT, AAMFT, LMFT APPROVED SUPERVISOR, AND IS ON THE LPCA REGISTRY OF SUPERVISORS. TRUDY HAS BEEN A PSYCHOTHERAPIST FOR 38 YEARS AND HAS PRESENTED AT INTERNATIONAL, NATIONAL, AND LOCAL CONFERENCES AND HAS BEEN INTERVIEWED ON RADIO AND TV. SHE IS PAST-PRESIDENT OF APT AND IS PRESIDENT AND CO-FOUNDER OF GAPT.

Free Puppet Show + Healthy & Safety = FUN!

It is Wellness Week at Hightower Trail - and I am thrilled to share the following opportunity with you. Safety, health and living a wonderful life are what we focus on during Wellness Week and this goes right along with that theme. If you haven't been the to the Center for Puppetry Arts - this is a great chance! Their productions are simply amazing.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

An Original Puppet Show
by the Center for Puppetry Arts
Friday, Nov 13, 2009
lst performance: 3:30 p.m.
2nd performance: 5:30 p.m.
First come, first served seating
Admission: FREE

Porter Sanford III Performing Arts and Community Center
3181 Rainbow Drive
Decatur, GA 30034

Call (404) 294-3700 to reserve special seating
for your after school or day care program.

When alien visitors land on planet Earth, they have fun sharing information with Earth children on ways to prevent the spread of viruses like novel H1N1 flu, as well as other healthy living tips. Get ready to laugh and be entertained.

You don’t want to miss this FREE puppet show for ages
2 to 10 years old.

* Free novel H1N1 vaccinations will be provided at the event along with other
health education and literacy materials. An administrative fee may be charged to Medicare, Medicaid and all third party insurance. Please bring your card with you.


Presented by CEO Burrell Ellis, DeKalb County Board of Commissioners, Center for Puppetry Arts, DeKalb County School System, The Humana Foundation and DeKalb County Public Library in collaboration with the DeKalb County Board of Health.

®

Free GED Class in Conyers - New Session Starts Soon

GED Preparation offered by Dekalb Technical College

Location: Rockdale Career Academy
1064 Culpepper Drive
Conyers, Georgia 3004

Information: (404)297-9522 ext. 3220
(this will list all of the information and dates to register)

The next registration session is November 2nd and 3rd, 2009, 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Basketball Loving Kids - Look Here!

Converse Open Gym provides young ballers the opportunity to show off their skills in a safe environment at a state-of-the-art facility. This is absolutely free and each participant receives a reversible jersey, ID card, posters and other special giveaways.

Saturday, October 24, 2009
Georgia Tech Campus Recreation Center
750 Ferst Street, Atlanta 30332

Two sessions: 10’clock to noon and noon to two o’clock for ages 11 to 14. Then 2 to 4 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. for ages 15 to 18. Registration begins 30 minutes before each session. Come early. Call Matt at 770-885-9844 to find out about waivers and registration or visit

Dealing with Girl Drama - Free Class - 9/23/09

I just heard about this through my weekly udpates from ASCA.

Free Teleclass on Diffusing Girl Drama: On Sept. 23, 2009, at 5 p.m. (ET) A Way Through, LLC is hosting a free teleclass for parents and educators of girls in grades K-8. This teleclass offers insights based on brain research and provides proven strategies you can use immediately to help girls solve their own friendship problems as they start the new school year.

Register by clicking this link.

Parent Survey & Upcoming Parent Workshops

We have had a tremendous response with the Parent Survey! Thank you to all of you who took time to fill it out. Your input is invaluable and your participation in your child's education makes an enormous difference in their lives. We're tallying the results right now and will be using that information to plan our parent workshops for the year and other counseling programs for your children.

If you misplaced or didn't get a survey, you can access it online by clicking this link. Look for "Parent Survey September 2009" on the list of shared documents. Email me your replies or print out a hard copy and turn that in.

We have set the dates for our workshops for parents. Mark your calendar! We'll let you know the topics when we are finished compiling the survey responses.

October 22, 2009
January 14, 2010
March 11, 2010

President Obama's Speech & Striving for School Success

Hi Everyone,

President Obama was made history yesterday by addressing the nations students. I know there has been controversy and discussion about this. All opinions and political persuasions aside, I really appreciated his comments about working hard, never giving up and going to school in order to discover what your special talents and gifts are. That is so true, and it is my pleasure to work with students on that journey of self-discovery and success.

My classroom guidance lessons this month are focusing on academic skills such as listening, persevering, managing time, setting priorities and knowing what your learning style is. My hope is that these lessons give children the knowledge, attitude and skills they need to be successful at school. It is sometimes thought that school counselors deal mostly with personal problems and feelings. That is true, but there is so much more we help with! If you see a student who is struggling, please let me know!

If you missed the President's Speech, you can watch it here. I've pasted the text of his speech below.

The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today.
I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.
I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.
Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."
So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year.
Now I’ve given a lot of speeches about education. And I’ve talked a lot about responsibility.
I’ve talked about your teachers’ responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.
I’ve talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.
I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working where students aren’t getting the opportunities they deserve.
But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.
And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.
Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.
Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper – but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor – maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine – but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a Senator or a Supreme Court Justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.
And no matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.
And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.
You’ll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.
We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.
Now I know it’s not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.
I get it. I know what that’s like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn’t always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn’t fit in.
So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I’m not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.
But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn’t have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.
Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don’t have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there’s not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don’t feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren’t right.
But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life – what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you’ve got going on at home – that’s no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That’s no excuse for not trying.
Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.
That’s what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.
Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn’t speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.
I’m thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who’s fought brain cancer since he was three. He’s endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer – hundreds of extra hours – to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he’s headed to college this fall.
And then there’s Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she’s on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.
Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren’t any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.
That’s why today, I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education – and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you’ll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you’ll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you’ll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you’ll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don’t feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.
Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.
I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you’re not going to be any of those things.
But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won’t love every subject you study. You won’t click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won’t necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.
That’s OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who’ve had the most failures. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
These people succeeded because they understand that you can’t let your failures define you – you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn’t mean you’re a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn’t mean you’re stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.
No one’s born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song. You’ve got to practice. It’s the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it’s good enough to hand in.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don’t know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust – a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor – and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.
And even when you’re struggling, even when you’re discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you – don’t ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.
The story of America isn’t about people who quit when things got tough. It’s about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.
It’s the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.
So today, I want to ask you, what’s your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?
Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I’m working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you’ve got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don’t let us down – don’t let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

Free Camp for Grieving Chidren (and Parents)

Camp Majik is a free camp for children who have experienced the death of a parent, guardian or other close family member. There are 2 upcoming sessions that happen over or right after the RCPS Fall Break (Camp Woodland, Temple, GA, 10/2-10/4; YWCO Camp, Clarkesville, GA, October 16-18.

Camp Majik Website
www.campmagik.org

Applications in English & Espanol can be found by clicking here.

The students and parents who have done these have said they were wonderful experiences! I'm happy to print and fax applications here at school if that helps you out.

Read Under the Stars and the Governor's Mansion for Pre-K

STATE OF GEORGIA
OFFICE OF THE FIRST LADY

Mary Perdue
First Lady of Georgia

For Immediate Release Contact: Office of Communications
Thursday, August 13, 2009 (404) 651-7774

First Lady Mary Perdue to Host Reading Under the Stars
Event to support Georgia's One Millionth Pre-K child campaign

ATLANTA - First Lady Mary Perdue announced today that she will host Reading Under the Stars at the Georgia Governor's Mansion on Tuesday, August 25 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. First Lady Perdue will host Georgia's Pre-K students for a live reading in the mansion gardens of Bedtime in the Jungle by John Butler.

Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning is celebrating a significant milestone this year. During the fall of 2009, the one millionth child will pass through the doors of a Georgia Pre-K Program. The program was established in 1993 to provide the state's four-year-old children with high quality preschool experiences. In conjunction with the Millionth Child celebration, Georgians are encouraged to read to children in child care programs, family day care homes, at home, in schools, in church, in public libraries, at fairs or anywhere there is an opportunity to share the love of reading. Readers can visit Bright from the Start's website to log the number of books read at www.decal.ga.gov

Families who wish to attend should RSVP in advance by calling the Constituent Services Hotline at (404) 656-1776. Only phone reservations will be accepted. Reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until capacity is reached. Due to space limitations, the number of chaperones must be limited to no more than one adult per two children. Each person will be asked to provide the name and Pre-K program the student will be attending this coming school year.

Activities at the Reading Under the Stars event will include face painting, music, giveaways and information on the Millionth Child campaign. Peachtree Publishers and the Junior League of Atlanta are providing books and volunteers for this event. Light refreshments will be provided. Families are asked to bring blankets for seating during the reading.

Participants are asked to arrive at the Governor's Mansion at 6:30 p.m. Guests with reservations should enter at the main security gate.

Pool Party for Rockdale Autism Support Group!

Meeting others that walk a similar path is so helpful. It is important for caregivers to remember to take care of themselves too!

You can see this and numerous resources at RCPS's Parents are Powerful website.




ROCKDALE AUTISM SUPPORT GROUP

Back to School POOL PARTY & Meet and Greet

Saturday, August 22, 2009
2:00 - 4:00 pm

Swimming from 2:00-3:30 PM

Johnson Park Pool/Recreation Center
1781 Ebenezer Road
Conyers, Georgia 30094


RSVP for Pizza (provided) and/or Attendance
If Possible, please bring snack to share

Contact: Sirena Graves
404-358-6253 or
Snicolette14@comcast.net

Free GED Classes In Conyers

April Fallon is the Director of Community Support for Rockdale County Public Schools and just shared this information with us!

GED Preparation offered by Dekalb Technical College

Location: Rockdale Career Academy
1064 Culpepper Drive
Conyers, Georgia 3004

Information: (404)297-9522 ext. 3220
(this will list all of the information and dates to register)

Fall Registration Session
This is a 2 evening process; you must attend both evenings.

Monday, September 21, 2009 and Tuesday, September 22, 2009
5:00 pm – 9:00 pm

16-19 year olds: Arrive at 4:30 pm

16 &17 year olds: You must fill out an underage packet prior to
registering (available in Room 1262) prior to the registration
session at 5 pm. Bring the completed packet to the registration
table along with your school withdrawal paperwork and your
state i.d. You must attend the GED preparation classes in order to
receive permission to take the GED test.

The next registration session is November 2nd and 3rd, 2009, 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.