TOPSoccer program starting in Auburn!

AUBURN SOCCER

NEW PROGRAM BEING DEVELOPED

SEPAC Board Members,

My name is Dan Hastings. I am a coach and current Board Member with United Soccer of Auburn. I have been a coach and board member for eight years. We are currently in the early stages of developing a new soccer initiative within our community.

TOPSoccer – The Outreach Program for Soccer.

This is a community-based training and placement program for young athletes with disabilities.

The TOPS program is designed to bring the opportunity of learning and playing soccer to any boy or girl with a mental or physical disability. This could include Downs Syndrome, ADHD; any form of Autism, including Asperger’s and Cerebral Palsy. Each program is developed and structured to the specific needs of the participants.

Modifications are made to the game and training environment to allow full participation and enjoyment to each athlete that participates.

We are committed to providing the necessary resources to make TOPSoccer successful in every way. There are currently 28 successful TOPSoccer programs running throughout other parts of Massachusetts, with only two in this immediate area, Holden and Millbury. We are looking to join them in developing this program within our area.

However, at this stage of developing this program, we need your help. We are looking for your input and information on the number of athletes in our community that could utilize this program, as well as the various disabilities that we would be working with in order to create a successful program.

After the initial information has been gathered, we can have an open house meeting for all parents of athletes who are interested in participating in this program to answer questions and inform you of the next stages of implementation.

More information can be found at http://www.mayouthsoccer.org/topsoccer.aspx

Thank you,

Dan Hastings (508 721 9834)

cdhast@msn.com

United Soccer of Auburn

NOVEMBER 1, 2011 - MEETING CANCELED.

WOULD ANYONE LIKE TO RESCHEDULE?  If I don't hear back, we'll see you in January!

Cheryl

So what we gonna do?

NOVEMBER 1 is our next meeting - let's talk topics!

I've received an email from Dan Hastings of Auburn - Dan is starting a TOPSoccer program here in Auburn, and would like to spread the word.  That's really exciting - I know of other programs that have been really successful!  I'm going to ask Dan if he'd like to come and talk to us about it.

At the end of November, a few of us plan to attend a hearing at the State House in Boston, on the legislation currently under review to amend MA State law to require State programs to look at functioning level, instead of purely IQ, in its DDS eligibility requirements.  Our Director, Phil, talked about this important initiative at our September meeting.  If you didn't receive the handouts, I'll post them here this week.  Please consider joining us at the hearing - we can carpool, I've been there many times and don't mind driving.  The more who come in support of this bill, the better chances it has of passing.  Most importantly, it will have a tremendous impact on many of YOU.  We will hear an update about this at the November meeting from Phil.

We will also look at the remaining meetings this year and get some ideas from you about topics, so please don't make me do this alone!  See you on November 1 at 7:00pm at the APS offices at 5 West Street!

Cheryl

Excellent Bullying workshop tonight!

Bullying Prevention – A Community Presentation   As part of our effort to improve school culture the Mary Rowlandson Elementary School and Luther Burbank Middle School will be hosting a Bullying Prevention presentation by the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC). MARC offers presentations for parents, Parent Teacher Organizations, and community groups.  Information for parents is tailored to the needs and wants of the community and involves both an easy-to-understand update on typical online activities of children, internet safety (including cyber-bullying), and how parents can work with their children and their schools in both bullying and cyber-bullying situations.  The emphasis is on practical, concrete knowledge, and parents do not need to be computer experts to become more aware of how to help their children navigate the online world safely.  It is also imperative that parents understand how to approach schools for help effectively and how to assist school administrators successfully resolve bullying situations.  The presentation will be held on October 12, 2011 , tonight, in the Mary Rowlandson Elementary auditorium, 103 Hollywood Dr, Lancaster, MA 01775 from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. We hope to see you    Sean O'Shea  Principal

SHOUT OUT TO ALL AUBURN PARENTS - add your email to our list!

We're finding the most effective way to reach parents interested in the SEPAC and in connecting with others (our #1 priority) is through this blog and emails.  But we don't know who you are unless you tell us! 

We're working with the SPED Department to send a notice to all families of children on ed. plans, asking them to volunteer their email addresses and other contact information to our organization.

Help us help you and keep you informed - send your email address to auburnsepac@gmail.com (our new address!).  You won't miss a thing again, we promise!

GREAT TURNOUT AT THE RECEPTION - THANK YOU!

I'd like to thank everyone who came to meet & hear from our new Director, Phil Campbell, at the reception on September 27.  There were 12 people in attendance and Phil maintained a great conversation about his vision in the short-term, what he identifies as priorities within the Department, and how his career and life experiences brought him to Auburn.

It was discussed and suggested that this blog be a key place to share information about SEPAC and the Special Education Department among families and Phil's office.  Please continue to spread the word about this blog.  We will not rely on flyers going home in backpacks, or on mailings, although those will also be used when there is critical information.

One of the parents asked last night how to stay in touch with things going on here: you can subscribe to the feed of this blog by putting your email address in the text box on the right sidebar of this blog where it says "follow by email."  As soon as you've done that, whenever there is a new posting on the blog, you will be notified by email.

I will be posting the SEPAC calendar flyer that I passed out to those in attendance last night, here on the blog.  Please save the dates for our meetings this year: they are all on Tuesday evenings at 7:00pm, at the APS administrative building on 5 West Street unless otherwise posted.  The dates are November 1, February 7, April 3 and June 5.

As you will see in the flyer, I have left topic areas open to suggestion.  I will post a poll here on the blog for people to make suggestions about things they'd like to learn about; or, if they'd like to have a social opportunity instead.

Thank you again, everyone, for your support last night!  I am excited about the SEPAC this year and hope to see lots of participation!!

Cheryl

RECEPTION FOR OUR NEW DIRECTOR

Hi Everyone,

A few changes have taken place here in Auburn; first, we are no longer combining our PAC organization with Oxford. We may be partnering for speakers or individual resources, and we wish them the very best of luck!

IF YOU ARE AN OXFORD PARENT AND ARE ON THIS BLOG, PLEASE ALERT ME AT cherylrchan@gmail.com AND I WILL REMOVE YOU. THIS BLOG IS NOW DIRECTED ONLY TO AUBURN FAMILIES.

Second, and far more importantly, we have a new Director of Pupil Services! Please join me in welcoming Phil Campbell. I was on the search committee for the new Director, and I can tell you that Phil was absolutely my top pick, so I'm excited to have him aboard and I know you will be too!

The SEPAC will host a reception to welcome Phil on Tuesday, September 27th at 7:00pm, at 5 West Street (APS administrative offices). Light refreshments will be served.

Please help us spread the word to other families who may be interested in this event. Thank you, and see you on the 27th!

I hope everyone has a great start to the new year. If you have any questions please email me at any time!

Cheryl Chan
2011-2012 SEPAC chair

Lack of participation = shut down

Tonight's PAC meeting has been cancelled, as have all remaining PAC meetings for this year or until further notice. Karl and I have spent countless hours creating a calendar, finding and scheduling speakers, devising ways together with our Directors to do more outreach to our families - and other than the Christmas party, there have been a total of 3 other families besides our own who have participated in the other meetings since September.

We're busy people, ladies and gentlemen, and have given our time freely and without hesitation for the good of this group. If this is the response that we can count on, then we feel our time is being wasted. Further, it is embarassing to our districts to schedule speakers only to have them arrive and have no one show up.

No one understands the challenges we all face with our children better than we do; we get it! It is often impossible to find the time and the respite support to get out of our homes for any amount of time. When we do have the opportunity, we sure don't want to spend it at meetings. But we have also both seen over many years the benefits that groups like PACs can have to families and districts. We believe in the power of PACs when there is active participation and commitment by its members. Without participation, however, we have nothing. Even this blog has been virtually unused; a tool that we hoped would help assist us because you don't have to leave your home to connect with others.

We are both happy to assist families where we can and we wish you all the best for the remainder of the school year. If anyone would like to continue our efforts, please contact your district Special Ed. Director.

Thank you.
Cheryl Chan

HELLO NEW MEMBERS

Just added 8 new members to our blog, and hoping that will get the party RE-started, as we've been pretty quiet around here... first off, I'd like to thank my co-chair Karl for covering the meeting this week that I was unable to make. My apologies, Karl - it's so important to have at least a couple of folks who can take care of things, and I am the first to admit Karl takes the prize in this duo!

Hoping everyone is doing well, and that we can see you at the next meeting on February 8 in Auburn. I'd say it might be time to try to connect socially sometime in March anyway, perhaps (dare I say) without kids??? My, what WILL we talk about?! I'm going to put up a poll here on the blog with a few dates and see how many respond that they can make it, then we'll book something. Late March is about the time that many of us are getting ready for annual IEP reviews; maybe we can swap some ideas to assist each other in having successful meetings.

PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF here if you're new or if you haven't yet since becoming a blog participant. We all need each other's support at one time or another, and it's always a great thing to meet new people. See you soon! - Cheryl