Community School

🌿 Plant seeds of happiness, hope, success, & love; it will all come back to you in abundance. This is the law of nature. 🌱
- S. Maraboli

🫶🏽𝙿𝙰𝚁𝙴𝙽𝚃 𝙰𝙿𝙿𝚁𝙴𝙲𝙸𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 𝙳𝙰𝚈

We couldn’t be more thankful for our parents & grandparents at CS. They collaborate, work, learn, fight, advocate, pray, & seek answers relentlessly for their children to have the BEST opportunities life has to offer. We’re so thankful they chose us to share in their journey.

Who’s excited about the Olympic Summer Games kicking off this week? We are!
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Paris organizers are focused on featuring sports that demonstrate youthfulness, reward creativity, & athletic performance. So bring on the new sports, like kayaking & breaking (aka break dancing)! And welcome back surfing, sport climbing, & skateboarding. We’re here for it!

CS parents & grandparents,
Did you know that you can schedule private sessions in the pool with your child & a specialized swim instructor? You can be an active part of your child’s swim journey by learning important strategies & techniques to employ when in water.

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Liz Murray is not only a behavior analyst at CS, but she is an incredible swim expert! She has taught countless people with learning differences to swim over the last 20 years.
Email her to schedule your sessions.
[email protected]

Feeling EXTRA this weekend.
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EXTRA grateful for our CS family.
EXTRA excited for the new school year.
EXTRA comfortable in our own skin. We are loving who we have become.

❣️model. (verb). A system or thing used to follow or imitate.

❣️ Don’t mind us. Just over here making sweet childhood memories❣️

✨No matter the circumstances, no matter the mood… show the world your sparkle today ✨

We strive for robust learning & authentic engagement. You can at home, too!

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The amount of time children engage with their environment in an age-appropriate manner. This includes grown-ups, peers, & materials.

🟨To do this, we need a balance of
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If there is too much predictability, it can squash excitement, anticipation, & creativity. However, without enough predictability, children do not feel safe & secure. They have an innate need for routine. We all do!

Maintaining a backdrop of predictability, try throwing in some NOVELTY today! One way to do this is to encourage
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◾️Create a DISCOVERY corner at home for playing with natural materials (rocks, parent-approved sticks, empty bee’s nest).
◾️Create a SENSORY box for sifting using rice, beans, shredded paper, or other safe materials.
◾️Play DRESS UP! Role play, too!
◾️Get MESSY with fingerprints, glue, paper, and writing materials. Throw in some glitter, pipe cleaners, & fabric scraps to spice it up.
◾️And don’t forget the classic MUD kitchen outside! Old bowls, utensils, a water faucet, and some dirt will do!

Have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes when carline ends?
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Cleaning. Organizing. Preparations. Debriefing. Program adjustments. Celebrating. Training. Debating.

After all…
❣️ 𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕤 ❣️

🫶🏽 Job well done this week.

Remember these beautiful faces. They will be well-known for doing incredible things one day soon (because they are already incredible). We love our unique learners at CS!

💎 DYSLEXIA? Well, you’re in great company. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, & Andy Warhol were diagnosed with reading differences. Look at their accomplishments!

💎 ADHD? Emma Watson & Simone Biles are familiar with your learning style. Creative geniuses, to say the least.

💎 Autism? Albert Einstein might be the most well-known genius on the spectrum, but there are so many others: Tim Burton, Elon Musk, Temple Grandin, Dan Aykroyd, Nikola Tesla, Emily Dickinson, & Isaac Newton… to name a few.

🌈 No matter the label, we love the PERSON. We love the unique creative brilliance you bring to the world!! Keep it up, kids. ❤️

Our swim instructors are making a splash this summer in our indoor/outdoor pools.
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💦 Instructors are Angelfish Swim certified, which provides expertise in specialized swim instruction, aquatic therapy, & water safety for those with developmental differences.

💦 Learners are overcoming common obstacles that prevent them from success in the pool, such as fear of water on their face.

💦 Parents are invited into the pool with their child to learn the techniques & strategies first hand! Siblings partake as well when appropriate. So as Dory says…

JUST KEEP SWIMMING 🐡

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Did you know that CS has 5 behavior analysts on staff who specialize in education, early intervention, childhood development, adolescence, & health-related complexities… to name a few.

Three more behavior analysts in training.
Countless passionate RBTs & gifted line techs. An incredibly creative & innovative team of educators. But there’s always room for more…

🌺 Feeling blessed & ready to bless others. Bring on Monday 🌺

🌳 We prayed for a schoolhouse with a crowded table. Prayers answered.

☀️ Daydreaming about things to come ☀️

Cheers to America. Fireworks. Hot dogs. Home of the brave. Summertime. Stars & Stripes. Liberty. Independence. Family.

🇺🇸 Freedom to be yourself. Happy Fourth.

CS kids,

We are really missing you this week, but we want you to know your teachers are hard at work building new learning spaces for YOU! We can’t wait to see the look on your faces when you see your classrooms. Enjoy the sunshine. Have all the fun. See you Monday.

❤️ Sincerely,
Your biggest cheerleaders

🎭 Playing the role of another character pushes us to see the world through someone else’s eyes. It promotes THEORY of MIND, which is essential for successful human interactions.

📸 Pictured: One of our amazing BCBAs, Nicki, with her little characters!

🌤️ Happy Friday.
Just a reminder that CS is closed next week! Enjoy the Fourth of July with your people 🇺🇸

Just a shout out to two of our favorite staff members, Joseph & Coach Mike!
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Coach Mike brings years of expertise in adaptive physical education to our students. Joseph brings great insight in individual & team sports, as well as how to adapt activities to include ALL learners.

These two help children develop many skills necessary for life:
🏀 motor skills: gross, fine, visual
🏐 listening & attending skills
⚽️ pro-social skills such as waiting, turn-taking, and communicating
🏈 language skills (Did you know motor movements evoke spontaneous vocalizations?!)
⚾️ expansion of interests
🎾 flexibility & tolerance
And so many more…

When therapy & education intersect, CHILDREN WIN! We are so blessed to have these two experts on our team!

Have you ever been so proud of a child that you want to shout it from the rooftops?!
🌟 Well, we have! DAILY! 🌟

We are so thankful that our students persevere! This girl is PROOF you can find joy in all things, even when those things are hard. We are PROUD.

🔆Enjoy the sunshine, but stay safe 🔆

🌈 We hope you’re enjoying this beautiful Saturday as much as this sweet girl enjoys the Snoezelen sensory room at CS! Just look at that smile!

🦫 Travel Tips from our CS experts:

Stop at Bucee’s whenever possible.
🛑 Need gas? Bucee’s.
🛑 Snack attack? Bucee’s.
🛑 Bathroom stop? Bucee’s.
🛑 Shopaholic? Bucee’s.

🔆 This is where the fun stuff happens 🔆

Morning Meeting is one of our favorite times together. This is how we breed a culture of care, safety, & celebration for one another. It establishes a climate of trust & fosters empathy.

🔆 We start the day off greeting one another (which is extra fun on Mondays).
🔆 We share experiences or ideas with our peers & grown ups; we learn to give feedback in encouraging ways.
🔆 We engage in parallel & shared activities through coaching & collaboration.
🔆 We listen for announcements & other important messages from our instructors.

So hurry up, children. Get to school! It’s almost time for Morning Meeting 💛.

We LOVE our weekend sessions at CS!
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One of the perks of Saturdays is our big sisters at Holy Angels riding over to check in on us! We love how they love our students. They are what makes this place so special.

💐 Tip of the Day: Surround yourself with people who live a life of gratitude, who CHOOSE joy on their best & worst days. Their energy is contagious.

Our secret to success at CS is to do all things big & small with a cheerful heart. It will make the most mundane tasks enjoyable. Love is in the details.