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A hearty welcome to the ‘07-’08 school year and to
the Mamaroneck- Larchmont Special Education Parent Teacher Association
(SEPTA)
I am very excited about this year. Last year, I had
an amazing co- president, Nancy Pierson, who now, I am very proud to
say, is a member of our school board. We, as individuals and as SEPTA
co presidents, had a great year. Last year we had a huge surge of
interest that I hope to continue. I have no co-president this year
nonetheless I am committed to leading the charge but I NEED ALL OF YOU.
Our mission statement guides us: Recognizing
that students have a broad range of learning styles and abilities, SEPTA
works to promote a quality leaning experience for all children. SEPTA
aims to promote a better understanding of children’s learning
differences and to be a resource for all parents.
We raise our entire year’s funds by 3 means:
·
Your membership. Everyone is encouraged to join: Board
members, Administration, all faculty, all parents (those with children
who are classified and those with children who are not).
Click here for membership
form.
·
Your purchase of our in-demand ‘mini’ calendars (and ‘maxi’calendars),
sold at Back to School night and other events, or by our SEPTA school
reps.
·
Your consideration in making a donation.
Thank you for supporting us!
Our resources go right back into serving our
constituency. As SEPTA has grown and matured, we have diversified our
offerings to increase the depth and breadth of our “reach”. In addition
to our program series we have reinstated our newsletter and added
parent networks and workshops. Also we are so pleased we can give
back to the faculty, who work so hard to support our kids, through our
grants program.
All our programs are open to all. Please mark your
calendars for the following dates:
·
The first is our Welcome Back Breakfast slated to take
place on September 19th at 8:45 am in the HMX cafeteria. Dr
Fried and Dr. Minotti will say a few words, members of the school board
and district administration will be in attendance as well as faculty
members that are free at that hour. Many thanks to Carleen Kizer, for
arranging the hospitality for this, and subsequent SEPTA programs.
·
On October 23, Dr. Anthony Minotti, our new Assistant
Superintendent for Student Support Services, will introduce himself and
discuss his background, philosophy and goals.
·
On April 17, we will co sponsor with the District-wide
Parent Speaker Series, Dr Mel Levine, head of All Kinds of Minds
institute.
The remaining programs for December 10, February 13th
, and May 29th are not yet finalized. Feel free to contact Nancy
Gardiner and Beth Mullaney with any suggestions. Please look for updates
by email blast and/ or by
checking our webpage.
We will continue to publish our Special EDition
newsletter. We envision 2 publications this year: fall and spring.
Feedback has been great, we need your help to keep it going! If you
would like to suggest or submit an article or help with editorial work,
kindly contact the undersigned.
We will offer networking meetings under the able
guidance of Wendy Weiner. We have found when SEPTA facilitates a
discussion around either an age group and/or around a specific challenge
– bonds form and individuals feel less isolated.
Along these same lines we will be trying something
new. A number of our members have expressed interest in topics that seem
too specific to address in our broadly aimed speaker series. We are in
the midst of arranging some evening workshops which will bring together
a specific group such as might attend a network meeting with experts to
address pertinent topics. An example might be along the lines of life
planning as an adjunct to Transition planning.
As it relates to faculty grants, our Grant chair,
Lori Stevenson is
looking forward to disseminating information to the faculty and
convening a sub committee to evaluate and approve grants to support
creativity in serving our kids. Grant review represents a very limited
commitment in terms of time and is a great way to support and be
involved in SEPTA. If you are a member of faculty reading this, (both
general and special ed) your expertise is particularly valuable and
we would love to have you help us with the grants. Please click on our
grants section on our webpage to see a list of grants awarded last year.
We have an awesome
Executive
board
We are all volunteers. The guiding thread is our
passion for ‘our’ kids. As a team, we will be more successful than any
one individual. We strive to make incremental growth, step by step-
action by everyone.
In my view, the following are requisites for
success: Communication, passion and partnership!
·
Dr. Minotti and I, in my capacity as President of SEPTA,
will be meeting monthly , continuing a long tradition of dialogue
between SEPTA and administration. This year, a perquisite for those on
the SEPTA Board, is that one member will be invited to attend each
meeting on a rotating basis.
·
New this year, we are planning for Special Education
Directors Gail Boyle and Roni Kramer to attend our monthly SEPTA
executive Board meetings. This enhances dialogue and brings us more in
parallel with other PTAs in our district, whose principals sit ex
officio on their boards.
·
If you have a passion, please pursue it with us. We
encourage you to let us know what is on your mind. Please trust us to
partner with you and call upon us with your suggestions and concerns.
Your goals are our goals.
In closing,
I thank the entire SEPTA Board for their hard work,
their dedication.
Let’s enjoy the year and work together.
I’m motivated, excited, challenged and I have faith
that this will be a productive year for our kids.
On behalf of the entire SEPTA Board,
Thank you
Amy Lieberman
Pres. SEPTA
dashdoar@aol.com
NB We are always seeking new CSE parent members to
attend CSE/CPSE meetings as required by law. This is a terrific
opportunity to give back while gaining valuable knowledge! For more
information about Parent Members and their training please
click here. |