Massasoit Community College, Latch Program Presentation this upcoming Thursday @ 7 PM.

Next Thursday January 10, 2013 at 7 PM,  Joe Harris, the Coordinator of the Latch Program at Massasoit Community College will be presenting in the SSVT library. This program is being held in partnership with the SSVT Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SPED PAC).

The Latch Academic Support Program is a one -to - two semester support and learning community that serves a diverse population of 150 students who are looking for help transitioning into college generally, and developing their reading, writing, or mathematics skills specifically. For 40 years, Latch's community approach to education has helped students establish successful independent learning strategies and set realistic academic and career goals.

The Latch Program offers a mix of tutoring, academic counseling, workshops, and courses that together create a tight-knit learning community in which students learn together and from one another. Moreover, professors of Latch courses maintain regular contact with the academic counselors on students' progress, providing a way for the support team to address academic issues as they arise. Since student engagement and participation are keys to successfully transitioning into college, students agree prior to acceptance in the program to participate in all of its aspects.

The Latch Program enrolls a remarkable variety of students, including, but not exclusively:
-  Students who have placed into two or more developmental courses
-  Students with academic potential who need added support transitioning into college
-  Students who have not maintained good academic standing and wish to develop their academic skills
-  Students who are returning to school after a long absence

The Latch courses are: College Experience, Intro to Writing, Fundamentals of Math, Prep College Reading I, Introduction to Algebra, Prep College Reading II, Intermediate Algebra & Trig, English Comp I, and English Comp II.

If you know of a student who would be good candidate for this program, please encourage them and their families to attend.. There will also be an opportunity for Q&A as part of the program to address any questions or concerns.

The SPED PAC also extends an invitation to any staff who would be interested in attending.

It takes a while to get a sense of an educational community and what the members value within this community. I have enjoyed the process of getting to know many of the various members of the SSVT family and I wanted to share some brief thoughts and observations.

A key component in the process of learning is to struggle. How we as educators manage this struggle when working with students is the important part .When listening to an NPR piece I immediately thought of the way business is conducted at SSVT. “In Eastern cultures, it’s assumed that struggle is a predictable part of the learning process. Everyone is expected to struggle in the process of learning, and so struggling becomes a chance to show that you, the student, have what it takes emotionally to resolve the problem by persisting through the struggle.” I felt that this quote encapsulated a key value held here at SSVT and one of the reasons that this school works for the students who come to us every day.

The NPR piece, “Struggle for Smarts? How Eastern and Western Cultures Tackles Learning”, speaks to how teachers in eastern cultures help students manage challenges. I thought this story highlighted many similarities between what you do on a daily basis as part of your practice, and how it is done in eastern cultures If you have a few minutes, take the time to listen, I think it will make you reflect on your daily efforts.

Here is the link if you would like to listen to this piece:

Spiegel, Alix. "Struggle For Smarts? How Eastern And Western Cultures Tackle Learning." NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts. National Public Radio, 12 Nov. 2012. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. <http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/11/12/164793058/struggle-for-smarts-how-eastern-and-western-cultures-tackle-learning>.

THANK YOU!
     Thanks to one and all for their patience and support as I get a sense of how things work here at SSVT!  I wanted to express my appreciation for the warm welcome and helpful staff who have made my transition go so well..  It has been a pleasure working with staff at  student's IEP TEAM meetings and consulting around student issues.  Please feel free to stop by my office, seek me out, or email me, if you have a question, problem or concern with a student in your classes.

SPED PAC ACTIVITIES
     In Massachusetts every school district is required by law  to have a SPED PAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council).  The following is an excerpt from Section 3 of 71B that pertains to PACs:
"...The school committee of any city, town, or school district shall establish a parent advisory council on special education.  Membership shall be offered to all parents of children of disabilities and other interested parties.  The parent advisory council duties shall include but not limited to: advising the school committee on matters that pertain to the education and safety of students with disabilities; meeting regularly with school officials to participate in the planning, development, and evaluation of the school committee's special education programs. The parent advisory council shall establish by-laws regarding officers and operational procedures. In the course of its duties under this section, the parent advisory council shall receive assistance from the school committee without charge, upon reasonable notice, and subject to the availability of staff and resources..."

     The SSVT SPED PAC website is www.ssvtpac.webs.com.

     The SPED PAC meetings and topics for 2012-2013 are as follows:

• October 18, 2012                        
• Meet and Greet SSVT's new Special Education Director, Ellen Witter-Harrington  
•           November 1, 2012   5:30 PM      
• Basic Rights Presentation: Ellen Witter-Harrington          
• November 15, 2012                     
• SSVT Social Skills Program: Eve Madden, SSVT Speech Language Pathologist and Social Skills Program Facilitator
• January 10, 2013                          
• Massasoit Community College LATCH Program : Joe Harris, Program Coordinator   
• February 7, 2013                               
• "Raising teenagers is like trying to nail jello to a tree and other facts about adolescent development" : Christine A. Darseney, Ph.D., SSVT Psychologist 
• April 4, 2013 
• Are you ready for life after high school? : Ellen Witter-Harrington

Unless otherwise noted all meetings will be held in the SSVT library from 7-8 PM.
Staff are always welcome to attend any of these SPED PAC meetings.

Abigail Adams Scholarships

KUDOS!

South Shore Vocational Technical High School congratulates our John and Abigail Adams Scholarship winners. Students received their award on Monday afternoon and celebrated with ice cream sundaes.  Many thanks to all faculty and staff members who contributed to the success of these students. When you see these students, please take a moment to ask them about their post-secondary plans, and as needed, make suggestions about appropriate next steps!

SSVT’s John and Abigail Adams Scholarship winners include:

Allen, Brendan
Ashburn, Connor
Balchunas, Robert
Barbosa, Felicia
Baxter, Ryan
Beasley, Emily
Beckwith, Andrew
Caparotta-Lagrant, Antoine
Connors, Meghan
Dacey, Nicholas
Darcy, Charles
Davis, Nathan
Desimone, Theodore
Difazio, Taylor
Fisher, Tyler
Gurney, Allison
Harte, Matthew
Holleran, Joseph
Kearney, Mitchell
Keyes, Miranda
Langley, Douglas
Lee, Jennifer
Long, Max
Marshalsea, Nicholas
McMahon, Kevin
McWilliams, Alyssa
Murphy, Allison
Penney  Jr., Thomas
Rapson, Randall
Saganetti, Vanessa
Savery, Douglas
Scott, Jessica
Whitman, Alex