by Cindy Williams
Coordinator of Student Programs
Welcome back to the 2021-2022 school year! I hope you are all adjusting well to your new school routine or soon will be! We are looking forward to working with your child/student this school year and are honored to be a part of your child’s/student’s educational team!
Before I discuss our upcoming school year programs, I want to share with you some information about our summer programs as students and staff were all so excited to be together and learn, grow, socialize, and just have some fun! We had the following programs occur this summer:
- Our Middle School/Teen Summer Program took place in the beautiful Lake Metigoshe area from June 6-9. The students experienced days filled with wonderful learning opportunities and experiences that incorporated nature and self-exploration.
- The students who attended NDVS/SB’s High School Summer Transition & Career Program June 20-23 experienced days filled with wonderful learning opportunities and experiences that incorporated lessons regarding college and employment readiness – including higher education access and employment skills such as those needed for a high school or college job.
- Our Tails and Tales Elementary Summer Program took place August 1-4th and incorporated
adventures with animals and stories!! Besides many expanded core curriculum lessons, we ventured out to some local field trips including to Triple M Stables (family-owned farm/ranch), Turtle River State Park with a presentation from the park manager, and the Wheat City Whiskey Jacks baseball game.
Regarding the upcoming school year, I am optimistic and excited about learning opportunities available through NDVS/SB. As we continue to adjust to the uncertainties of living in a world with COVID-19, at this time, I am planning on our programs occurring on-site at NDVS/SB. We may have masks on, but we plan to be in person and will adjust if necessary.
I would like to provide information and expectations for the process for attending and registering for our Short-Term Programs (STP). Our STP’s generally take place on-site at our campus in Grand Forks with occasional programs occurring off-site. Our Elementary and Middle School Programs will typically run Sunday evening through Thursday, while our High School Programs may run longer (through Friday or Saturday) depending on the program. A report is disseminated to parties involved following our program. Specific information for each STP will be emailed out about a month prior to the STP occurring. Please refer to our Short-Term Program Weeks schedule which is included in this newsletter for dates of programs for your child/student.
Our programs feature training sessions in the Expanded Core Curriculum or ECC. The ECC is a specialized set of vision-related skills for students who are blind or visually impaired and include the following:
• Compensatory Skills
These critical skills include concept development and organizational skills, as well as communication skills, such as speaking and listening, sign language, tactile symbols, braille or print reading and writing, and accessing recorded materials.
• Orientation and Mobility
Skills to help a child to know where she is in space and to move safely, independently, and efficiently in the environment
• Social Interaction
Skills needed to participate actively and appropriately in social situations
• Independent Living
Skills of daily living needed to care for oneself independently, including personal hygiene, food preparation, cleaning, clothing care, and money management
• Recreation and Leisure
Skills to promote the enjoyment of leisure activities, including learning new leisure activities and making choices about how to spend leisure time
• Sensory Efficiency
Skills that help students to use all of their senses, including functional vision, hearing, touch, taste, smell
• Assistive Technology
Skills to use computers and other electronic equipment to function independently and effectively at school, home or work
• Career Education
Skills that encourage students to explore career options and learn about the world of work
• Self-Determination
Skills that enable students to become effective advocates for themselves based on their own needs and goals
As a reminder, there will not be a mass mailing going out. We plan to communicate through email; however, information and forms can be mailed to families upon request. Forms and information will be sent through email and are available on our website in printable or fillable form at https://www.ndvisionservices.com/programs/registration-forms . Our goal is to conduct our registration electronically. Please feel free to contact me via email or phone with any questions or concerns as we work together to schedule your child/student for our Short-Term Programs at NDVS/SB. Also, please let me know if there is anyone to add to my email list.
Hope your school year is off to a great start and all of us at NDVS/SB look forward to being a part of student’s educational team!
For more information on student programs, contact Cindy at 701-795-2704 or ckwillia@nd.gov.
Reference: http://www.pathstoliteracy.org/expanded-core-curriculum