SPECIAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

2009-2010



Department Members: Mme L. Golden (Head of Department)

                                     Mrs. C. Swanson (Semester 1)

                                     Ms. C. Brown (Semester 2)


The Sir Winston Churchill Special Education Team is committed to supporting all students in a variety of ways. We pride ourselves in advocating for all students, identified or not, that may need a helping hand.


The staff in this department will communicate important information to subject-specific teachers regarding all identified students. As a team we will update the Individual Education Plan (IEP) which lists accommodations that are put in place in order to help support these students in class. This department also provides intensive support directly to students, either through a scheduled Resource Period or on an informal basis as students’ needs arise.



 

WORKSHOPS

 

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

We will be offering a workshop for students who feel that the use of assistive technology may benefit them. The program called Premier Tools is available to all students and is installed on every DSBN computer. It may be used for daily work, on tests and/or exams. It reads, summarizes, and a whole lot more. This hands-on workshop will be held in October. Students can sign up in the Resource Room.

 

Numeracy

We will be running some workshops to prepare the grade 9 students for the EQAO math test. Resource staff in conjunction with the math department will run prep sessions starting in late October, every other week over the lunch period, (lunch will be provided) to review key concepts and testing skills in order to build confidence prior to the test.

 

Literacy

We will be running literacy workshops to prepare our students for the literacy test. Anyone who has met with a challenge last year, and is taking the test again is encouraged to sign up. Lunch will be provided and we plan to meet every other week from late October on.

FYI...

 

EQAO TESTING

 

          GRADE 9:      All grade 9 students will be writing the Math EQAO test during their scheduled math class near the end of the semester.

Students who have an IEP are entitled to write this test with the specific accommodations

            listed in their Individual Education Plan.

 

          GRADE 10:    All grade 10 students will be writing the OSSLT (Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test) in April/ 2010

                                    Students who have an IEP are entitled to write this test with the specific accommodations listed in their Individual Education Plan. 

 



 ENRICHMENT BEYOND THE CLASSROOM


A variety of enrichment activities are available for gifted and/or academically strong students in order to provide alternative experiences to the classroom. These opportunities are aimed at enhancing critical and creative thinking skills. The activities offered this year are as follows:


 SEMESTER I, 2009

ACTIVITY

DATE

INTENDED GRADE LEVEL/SUBJECT 

Peer Tutoring

Sign up in the Resource Room. Start earning “Community Service Hours”!

on-going

All grades

Chess Club

Meet in the Resource Room every Tuesday after school

Scheduled meetings will begin Sept. 22

All grades


The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award:Students participate in four program areas and may achieve Bronze, Silver and/or Gold Medals.

www.dukeofed.org

Information meeting in October for those interested

All grades

An Adventure in Genomics and Biotechnology @ Brock University

September 24 10 am-2:30 pm

Senior Science

Reach for the Top

See Mr. Robineau for more details.

on-going

All grades

Rock’N’ Roll @ Canadian Stage Company, Toronto

(with Mr. Sayliss) 

October 7th

Gr. 11-12/

Arts

McMaster Engineering & Science Olympics

(further information: see olympics.mcmaster.ca)

October 15th

All grades/ Science, Math

McMaster Online Math Competition

November 26




All grades/

Math

Jake’s Gift (comedy-drama about a WW2 Veteran’s Journey back to Juno Beach) @ Brock Centre for the Arts

October 28 @ 12:30 p.m.

All grades / History, Arts

Body Worlds & The Story of the Heart at the Ontario Science Centre

November or December

Gr. 11-12 Science

DNA Fingerprinting at the Ontario Science Centre

November or December

Gr. 11-12 Science

Pascal, Cayley, Fermat and Euclid Math Contest Preparation Session:

Professors from Waterloo will be coming to help students prepare for upcoming math tests.

November

Gr. 9-12 /Math




AGO(Art Gallery of Ontario) & ROM (Royal Ontario Museum)

Morning @ AGO: King Tut

Afternoon @ ROM: Dead Sea Scrolls

(with Mr. Daniels classes)

December 10th

All grades/Latin, History

Essay Contest: “Lives That Make a Difference” (Essay Submission in 300 words or less on who, in the student’s opinion, made the greatest impact on Canadian society in 2009)

December 15



All grades

 

SEMESTER II, 2010

 

Optimist International Essay Contest: “The Internet: Today’s Evolution or Tomorrow’s Menace

*See us for more details

Deadline to submit essay is yet to be determined (before February)

All grades /English

Opera Atelier-Step 1Lectures and demonstrations include historical perspectives of the 17th and 18th centuries, set and costume designs, wigs and makeup, careers in the arts, music, dance, and stage fighting. This informative and hands on learning experience culminates in attendance at the dress rehearsal performance.

 Mozart’s: The Marriage of Figaro.

Workshop is held the week of March 1st-5th

(specific date to be determined)

 

Evening performance is April 23rd.

All grades/Arts...

Math Day @ McMaster University

March 2

 

DSBN Chess Tournament

March

Chess Club Members

Step AFRIKA! (Rhythmic combo of clapping, body slapping, stomping, and shouting) @ Brock Centre for the Arts  

March 31 @ 12:30 p.m.

All grades / Arts

Black Violin (trained violinists and a DJ merge jazz, hip-hop, funk and classical genres)

April 16 @ 12:30 p.m.

All grades / Arts

Opera Atelier- Step 2

Attend the dress rehearsal of Mozart’s: The Marriage of Figaro.

April 23

All grades/

Arts...

High Ropes Leadership (Full day at Brock University)

May

All grades

Creating Leadership Among Youth (CLAY).

A 4-day, 3-night leadership conference for youth at McMaster University--www.msu.mcmaster.ca/clay

May

All grades/ Leadership

Wonder Coaster Contest combined with the Science/Physics/Math Day at Canada’s Wonderland

Build a roller coaster with your friends!

May

All Grades/ Math, Science, Tech

 

E=MC2

Queen’s University Mini- Enrichment Course (one week!)

A challenging and rewarding alternative learning experience. Students study a subject of their choice and live in residence for one week.

http://www.queensu.ca

May 9-14, 2010

 

 

All grades/ Student choose a subject of interest

i.e. Business, Robotics, German, Biology, Pathology, Archeology, and many more!


Along with the above activities, there are a variety of additional enrichment opportunities offered through the classroom teacher, as well as various institutions.


Public speaking, writing contests, Encounters with Canada, Research and Development Toshiba/NSTA Project, Shad Valley etc... I’ve put together a list of enrichment opportunities such as these that are offered outside of SWC for your information. I am presently updating the information. It will be attached to this site as soon as I have the dates/times for this school year. In the meantime, feel free to call and I will share the information that I’ve gathered thus far.