Transition
Times
BCIU Transition House Happenings
June 2011 Newsletter
Job Skills Olympics a
Successful Event
On Wednesday, April 6, 2011
BCIU and its Transition
House Program held the first
annual Job Skills Olympics at
the BCIU Education Center.
Eleven teams from seven
school districts competed in
ten basic job skills events.
The events were bed making,
packing silverware kits, bagging groceries, sorting recycling, folding/hanging laundry, busing/setting tables, vacuuming, sweeping, assembling pizza boxes and counting cash.
Tracey Miller and her Gov. Mifflin team mates proudly display their ribbons and trophies.
Most of our event judges were retired BCIU and agency
friends who were willing to join us for the event. We
even recruited Stacey Cheeseman, Program Secretary to
leave the office and help out as a judge. The BCIU
MDS Class manned the refreshment stand. Transition
House students did not compete; rather they were responsible for gathering materials, event set up/tear down and
assisting the judges at the various events.
The first place contestant in each event received a trophy.
The Governor Mifflin team took home the team championship trophy and will be the defending champs next
year. The Reading and Antietam teams were a very close
second (by one point)!
Alex, Nick and Judge Schmoyer await the next c ontestant in
the sorting recyclables competition.
A good time was had by all as evidenced in the many
positive comments, letters and emails from our judges, teachers, parents and event participants. All are looking forward to next year’s event. A tentative date has been set for May 10, 2011. That should give everyone
time to prepare for Job Skills Olympics 2012. The staff and students of Transition House sincerely thank
EVERYONE who contributed to success of this event.
Dylan’s Furry Friends
At the invitation of Len and Jo Griffith Smith (parents of
Dylan Smith) we recently paid a visit to their home and alpaca farm in Mohnton. We started with a tour of their garden where they are growing heirloom vegetables.
We walked down to the pasture to get up close and personal
with the alpacas. The Smiths currently have 13 alpacas with
two more on the way. (Two females were just about ready
to give birth). Len and Jo informed us that one of their alpacas is the offspring of the highest priced alpaca every sold
(hundreds of thousands of dollars)!
Alpacas are prized for their wool. All the alpacas had reDylan shows his classmates and Mr. Teller how to give treats to cently been sheared with the exception of the two pregnant
females. There are many factors taken into consideration
one of the alpacas.
when breeding and evaluating the quality of alpaca fiber.
Some of the animals were friendly (or nosey) enough to allow us to pet them and feel the marvelous softness of their fur.
Unlike sheep, alpaca fur does not contain lanolin.
As it was a very warm day Len brought out the hose and was immediately surrounded by alpacas all wanting a little
shower to cool down. He recently bought the alpacas a kiddie pool but they haven’t worked up the nerve to try it out just
yet.
We went indoors where Jo and Len showed us some of the equipment they use to prepare the fibers for weaving—a
picker, a carder, spooler, spinning wheel, drop spindle and loom. Students had an opportunity to try out some of the
equipment. Len showed us a beautiful rug that he wove that was way too nice to put on the floor! He also showed us a
shawl that he is working on—also very beautiful.
Students were treated to lemonade and cookies before we had to say goodbye and head back to Transition House. We
would like to thank Dylan and his family for inviting us to their home. It was one of the best and by far most interesting
field trips we have ever taken.
If you would like more information about this alpaca farm visit their website at Take2Alpacas.com.
Tom tries his hand at the carding machine.
Mr. Smith draws a crowd with the promise of a cooling spritz.
Transition House Picnic/Class Reunion 2011
Transition House held its annual picnic/class reunion on
Thursday, May 26, 2011 at
Red Bridge Park along the
Tulpehocken Creek. Although
it was a very hot and humid
day, the weather didn’t dampen
anyone’s enthusiasm.
We had a nice turnout of
alumni from all six years of the
Transition House Program.
Everyone had an opportunity
to reconnect with classmates
and meet new friends.
Alumni and current students gather for the “picnic picture.”
Several attendees are
missing as they had to leave in time to get to work.
Mark Angelisanti (’05) presented Mrs. Colosimo with a
plaque thanking her for her encouragement to start his own computer repair business. Mrs. Colosimo is now a
2011 ACSP Hall of Fame member. (ACSP is the name of Mark’s business). He was happy to report that he
has a growing clientele. We are all so very proud of Mark and wish him continued success.
We would like to extend special thanks to everyone who brought covered dishes, assorted snacks and desserts.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
On Thursday, June 2, the Reading Phillies
played a morning game at First Energy Stadium.
The stands were packed with lots of other school
groups. We met up with several of our friends
from different classes.
Thanks to Mr. Teller’s son, Scot and his baseball
connections we got free tickets. Our seats were
excellent—right behind home plate! It was a
beautiful , sunny day. We couldn’t stay for the
whole game but the R-Phils were winning 3-1
when we left.
Mr. Teller and the AM Transition House students enjoyed
a beautiful day for a baseball game.
Congratulations to the Class of 2011!!!
It’s Yard Sale Time Again
Preparation for the yard sale involved students gathering all the goods that we had been collecting in the attic
and bringing them downstairs to be priced. Once priced the items were taken to the front porch staging area.
Several students got first dibs on items before they went up for sale.
The day of the sale, Friday, June 3 gave us beautiful weather. We drew lots of customers from our great location on Lancaster Ave. Every time a bus stopped in front of the house we got a whole new group of customers. Students collected money and bagged sold items.
At the end of the day, we boxed up the leftover items and we’ll offer them again at our fall yard sale. Proceeds
from the yard sale are used for students’ recreation and leisure activities.
Josh and Amanda examined, sorted and priced
tons of merchandise.
Jared hauled all the boxes and priced items to the
front porch “staging area.”
Dear Transition House Students,
The year has come to an end. We hope you enjoyed the time you spent at Transition House and hopefully you learned some new skills that will help you to be successful in your adult life. We would love
to have you come back and visit us from time to time and let us know what you’re doing. We wish
you all good things as you move into the next stage of your life.
Mrs. C. and Mr. Teller
Transition House AM
and PM Student of the
Quarter
Transition House is pleased to
announce it’s June 2011 AM
and PM Student of the Quarter. This award recognizes
positive interaction with
peers, good attendance, cooperative attitude, good work
habits, mature behavior and
personal responsibility.
Congratulations to:
Alex Saez
Brandon Stewart
Wilson High School
Boyertown High School