The Calais Courier
2014 Extended School Year
Program Announced
Winter 2014
MOVE
FORWARD.
Providing students
with the academic
and behavioral skills
to reach their fullest
potential, becoming
life-long learners and
socially competent
members of their
communities.
Megan LoBue
We are currently accepting applications for our Extended
School Year (ESY) program. The ESY program provides
academic and social integration through a variety of
academic and social activities and will run from July 1st
through August 12th, 2014.
The ESY program features the same safe, nurturing
environment that students experience at Calais throughout
the year. Highlights of last year’s ESY program included
“mad” science presentations, music and dance performances, and field trips.
The Calais School Talent Show featured excellent dance, music, and comedy
acts performed by students. High school students also benefitted from college
placement test preparation and career exploration programs in movie making,
digital arts, floriculture/landscape design, child care, general office
occupations, & culinary arts.
Classes are taught by special education teachers
and are enhanced by additional support services, including speech
classes, occupational therapy, counseling, and school nurse services.
For more information on how your student can participate in this
program, contact Kristy Hartman at 973-884-2030 ext. 265 or speak
with your case manager at your child’s IEP meeting. Students do not
need to be current Calais students to enroll. We look forward to your student joining the fun!
Top left: The ice cream man helps students beat the heat. Bottom left: Anna hopes for a strike at Hanover Lanes.
Top right: Elliott and Matthew present their summer projects. Bottom right: High school students work hard in science class.
Internships Offer Students Hands-On Work Experience
Nancy Jenkins
The Calais School Structured Learning Experience Program enables students to experience a
supervised, in-depth learning experience that offers the opportunity to explore career interests within
one or more Career and Technical Education clusters. This year, The Calais School has partnered with
local businesses—including Sunnyfields Learning Center, Gogel Tire & Auto Repair, Loehmann’s,
Petals of Pine Brook Florist, and the Marriott Hotel—to offer our students real-world work
experiences through career internships.
45 Highland Ave
Whippany, NJ 07981
(973) 884-2030
Students have responsibilities in their career internships to follow
through on commitments, adhere to workplace guidelines and
procedures, and maintain the behavior, respect, and social interactions
expected for the workplace. Students who participate in Structured
Learning Experiences benefit from the opportunity to identify career
interests, skills and abilities. They develop employability skills, form
good work habits, and build their self-esteem and self-confidence.
Carlie and Lizzie pose outside Sunnyfields Learning Center.
(continued on page 2)
Visit our Websites: www.thecalaisschool.org and www.calaisfoundation.org.
Internships (cont. from page 1)
Student Nathaniel B. shared how he has benefitted from the program: “I have
learned about what’s expected of me in the workforce in the SLE program. I’ve
learned that the skills I use in that class are skills I need to use for the rest of my
life…. Without taking SLE, I don’t know how I could do anything involved with
office work to get me prepared. ”
Career internships are overseen by SLE Coordinator Nancy Jenkins and students
are chaperoned by Calais staff. Job coach Adam Maturo had great things to say
about the program and the success of our students: “The internship experience
gives students a great deal of confidence and self-esteem knowing that they can
succeed in the ‘real world.’ It is remarkable to see how Michael and other students rise to the occasion and
take pride in their work. He has become a part of the team where he works and has been given even greater
responsibilities because he has proven that he is a reliable and thorough employee.” We are so proud of the
hard work and dedication our students bring to area businesses!
Above: Students work hard at local businesses, including Loehmann’s and the Marriott.
It’s Snowing Synonyms in Speech Class!
Lauren Palmisano
This winter has been busy for speech students! During the month of November, students worked on using vocabulary terms to
compare and contrast items. We utilized Venn Diagrams to visually represent both similarities and differences and learned about
idioms and their meanings. Students completed Thanksgiving-themed Mad Libs, which was a great way to review different parts of
speech! In December, students read winter-themed stories. We worked on summarizing information, making inferences, and
identifying the main idea. In addition, we have been working on using problem solving skills in social situations.
This month, it is Snowing Synonyms in speech! Students are working on providing synonyms and using them in writing. We have also
kicked off our third round of Animal Assisted Speech Therapy. We are thrilled that Tracy and Nadia from Creature Comfort Pet
Therapy in Morris Plains are joining us again!
A Day in the Life of Cali, Our School Service Dog
Casey Butler
Cali has been very busy with her training these past few months! As she is getting older, we are able to teach
so many more techniques to add to the list of therapies and interventions she performs with the students. She
even works on the staff! Each day we have a routine, yet are flexible to the needs of the day as it unfolds.
In the morning, Cali greets the students as they enter the school and performs an
evaluation on each student by detecting their overall energy and the levels of the
stress hormone, cortisol, in their breath. She has also been using cortisol levels to
evaluate a child after a meltdown or outbursts. After a meltdown, Cali is called in to
evaluate the student by smelling their breath. If the student has successfully self-regulated and come out of a
meltdown state, they will get to spend a few minutes with Cali and often she will walk them back to class.
Cali is also helping the students improve certain social skills and recognize respectful personal space. We
regularly work with the counselors and several students on anger management and prevention. The students
are very receptive to working with Cali on this skill and are very
respectful of her signals and her feelings. There has been a lot of progress.
In addition to many interventions, we have been creating individual behavior plans with the
counselors and the students together and incorporating Cali as a reward if a certain goal or skill is
reached or practiced. She has also been successfully mirroring emotions, offering a calming
environment for anxious students, and providing emotional support.
Cali has come a long way since day one and she continues to learn and grow each and every day.
The bond she has formed with the students and staff here is amazing and the possibilities are
endless. We look forward to meeting and welcoming new students and creating new therapies for their individual needs. We are so
Top left: Cali relaxes in the PreK room. Bottom left: Cali works in the Crisis Resource Center. Above right: Nina and Cali.
happy to be a part of our Calais family!
The Calais Courier
Winter 2014– Page 2
www.thecalaisschool.org
Calais Students Get Moving in Gym
Vinnie Femia
The Calais School’s basketball team has been practicing to prepare for upcoming games. The basketball team is
made up of students from 8th-12th grade and currently has 9 members. We
practice weekly and the team is very excited about the challenges ahead.
Through our basketball team, students are building friendships and learning
about the principles of teamwork. These principles can lead to the leadership
characteristics that are important in the classroom and in our careers. Our
team eats, sleeps, and breathes basketball and loves to play at any
opportunity they get. Along with their hard work and dedication, what
separates them from other team is their love and passion for the game.
We look forward to our upcoming challenges and will continue to
improve each day.
We have also begun our dance unit in physical education.
Dance is an excellent form of artistic expression and a great
form of exercise. We enjoy doing dances such as the cha-cha
slide, the cotton-eyed Joe, the electric slide, and many more.
We have also enjoyed incorporating technology into our dance
unit with PlayStation 3 Move and Nintendo Wii which helps
make dancing fun!
Top left: Players practice the fundamental skills of basketball. Bottom left: The basketball
team warms up. At right: Mr. Femia learns some dance moves with students from class 201.
Cheerleaders Prepare for Home Game
Maryann Braen
The Calais Cheerleaders are putting their best foot forward in 2014! Captains Joy and Marisa demonstrated their
leadership skills by preparing the Cheer Team for Calais’ home basketball game in February. The Cheer Team
has focused on working together as a group to learn all of the cheers and are eager to show their spirit.
I am so proud of all the students involved for showing outstanding cooperation. A special thanks to Ms. Heinen
for co-coaching this amazing team. Ms. Heinen brings her professional cheerleading experience to Calais.
Left: Cheerleaders show their Calais Cougar spirit.
GO TEAM GO!!!
Year-End Appeal Raises $3500 for Special Needs Kids
Jennifer Tedeschi
For the first time in 2013, The Calais Foundation conducted a year-end appeal. The tremendous generosity and support of our donors
helped us raise $3,500 for programs to benefit special needs kids throughout northern New Jersey. The Calais Foundation helps
children with serious learning and behavioral problems overcome their disabilities by providing grants, programs and services to
families and organizations that serve the special needs community, including The Calais School. Since 2006, The Calais Foundation
has raised over $500,000 to help special needs children and their families and have been able to award grants to organizations such as
America’s Special Kidz, The Paper Bag Players and Merlin’s Kids. The Calais Foundation has also been able to provide The Calais
School with new iPad technology and initiate the successful Animal-Assisted Therapy Program.
Proceeds will help expand The Calais School’s technology initiatives and will provide a grant to Merlin’s Kids to help them rebuild
after their facility was vandalized in December. For more information, please contact Jennifer Tedeschi at (973) 884-2030 ext. 222 or
via email, [email protected]. Thank you to our donors for your continued generosity and support! A Note From the Main Office
Due to inclement weather, our school calendar keeps changing. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation
during this snowy winter! We look forward to seeing you at Parent-Teacher Conferences on March 11th & 12th.
The Calais Courier
Winter 2014– Page 3
www.thecalaisschool.org
The Calais School
45 Highland Ave.
Whippany NJ, 07981
p: (973) 884-2030
f: (973) 884-0460
www.thecalaisschool.org
www.thecalaisfoundation.org
Learn more about our programs by scheduling a visit or attending an open house.
Contact Admissions Coordinator Kristy Hartman at (973) 884-2030 x265 to schedule your visit.
THE CALAIS COURIER
The Calais School
45 Highland Ave.
Whippany, NJ 07981