On Saturday, April 30th, The New Frontiers School Board’s Special Needs Advisory Committee held its second annual parent outreach event, Spring Into Acceptance.
Thirty parents of NFSB students gathered for a day of informative and inspiring lectures from the conference organizers and workshop presenters. The event occurred from 9am to 3pm at Saint Willibrord School in Chateauguay.
The goal of this day was to bring parents together for workshops about a range of issues and challenges facing students with special needs. Last year’s event was particularly aimed at students with special and unique needs; this year’s workshops were intended for everyone—with discussions on issues that touch all parents, such as cyber bullying and dealing with oppositional behavior.
In the morning, Greg Anber spoke about dealing with adverse and challenging behaviours. Greg is a former NFSB Behaviour Consultant who currently is a Student Teacher Supervisor at McGill and is the CEO of Anber Enterprises International, offering workshops on Oppositional Defiant Children and Adolescents, and Students with Attachment Challenges. After a lunch break, the Technology and Health teacher at Mary Gardner School, Christina Gonzalez, presented on internet safety and on how to prevent cyber bullying. She explained that safe internet use is an issue that all parents need to be involved in and she discussed why navigating online has particular challenges for kids with special needs, such as interpreting the accuracy of information and reading social cues.
Committee Member and Special Education Technician at Mary Gardner School, Candy Champagne then spoke about the learning software called WORDQ. She explained how she uses the program to work with students who are struggling with their reading and writing skills: “It can help students to identify and use words correctly through a series of cues, e.g. pictures, syllabification, and pronunciation.” The afternoon concluded with a presentation from Maureen Hunt, parent advocate and parent advocate coach, and her son, Joe, a Lester B. Pearson graduate. Maureen and her son Joe shared their personal journey from diagnosis to the educational process to life’s experiences.
The day’s events were organized by a sub-committee of the Special Needs Advisory Committee, which is made up of four dedicated parents of children with special needs. Special Needs Commissioner and chair of SNAC, Shannon Keyes was very happy with the participation at the event, up by ten parents from last year. Her job as chair of the committee is to work with parents to determine needs and then advise the board. “We give recommendations to the school board,” she says. “The board really listens to, and acts upon, our input. This event is really to reach out to the parents and get everyone involved.”
All parents of students of the New Frontiers School Board are invited to attend this annual spring conference, which is scheduled to continue next year.
