12 June
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The financial help that was given by GRADS to the Sisseton School District-Transition Class was spent on the materials for coffee making and some tools for carpentry lessons.

For the carpentry, the class bought tool boxes, nails, hammers, screw drivers, rulers, and fliers.  Each of the students will have their own toolbox with tools inside which they can bring home to finish some carpentry assignments/job especially during distance learning or snow days in Winter time.

For the coffee making skill, sugar, coffee, and creamer were purchased to accomplish the training ang practice of such skill. 

The whole class is grateful to this grant.  May your organization continue to support us, the teachers. 

May Amodia, Sisseton School District

On Friday, May 5 Milbank hosted special Olympics. We had 290 athletes from 13 different school participate.  We were able to feed all athletes, coaches and families for free.  We used the 100.00 to help cover the expense of the food.

Abbey Trapp, Milbank School District 

 

Hello Mary Lou and the Grant Roberts Area Disability Supports,

I want to thank you and your group for the Boost for Teacher grant that I received.  

The funds from this grant were used for buying food for our transition program.  Students in this program enjoy going to the store to purchase food and other supplies for the apartment.  They learn how to make a shopping list, find items in a store, comparison shop, and live within a budget.  They also work on decision making skills and sometimes need to compromise with their peers before making a purchase.  After making a purchase, students enjoy using the food to make meals. 

Grocery shopping and meal making is a favorite activity for these students.  Most meals are decided upon by the students and allowing them to decide what to make encourages their enthusiasm and participation in the activity.  The students chose to use this money to buy groceries to make monster cookies, tater tot hotdish, biscuits and gravy, sloppy joes, and chicken fettucine alfredo.  The students did an excellent job learning how to make these meals and everything tasted delicious!  Since staff and students are the only individuals that use the apartment, students with the guidance of the staff members, are responsible for making sure that they clean up after themselves doing daily and weekly housekeeping tasks.  

This was my first year with the Milbank Transition Program. It was great to work with these students and help them develop their independent living skills.  I greatly appreciate the support your group gives to individuals with disabilities.   

Michele Benike, Milbank School District

I would like to thank GRADS for the support that had been extended to us. Initially, the proposal submitted was intended to buy materials for cricut machine so we can make cards, wall decorations and many more. However, I did not go with the plan since I still need to give more time studying how to run the cricut machine that the school has provided for my class. 

Fortunately, I was able to use the money to a more memorable way that I assumed my students would love to do. I let them do chocolate bouquets for Mothers’ Day celebration. They did not only make bouquets for their mothers, but also for their teachers in 8th grade as well. 

It was really a very timely project and a memorable one. Their mothers and even the teachers who received it expressed their gratitude and made good comments about the project. 

I will be sending some pictures for you to see. 

Again, thank you GRADS for having $100 Boost for Teachers support. 

More power!

Karen Siriban, Sisseton

20 October
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Boost for Teachers Award Recipient 2022

Left to Right: MaryLou Bullert-GRADS Board Member, PAES/Transition Program participant, May Amodia-Transition-PAES Supervisor/Teacher, PAES/Transition Program participant and Colleen Siegel-Paraprofessional.

Boost for Teachers, a brand-new yearly GRADS initiative, is a grant program that will award $100 to a middle or high school special education teacher working in the Grant or Roberts County area.

To be considered for the award, teachers must submit a proposal for empowering students with disabilities to learn occupational skills.

This year’s recipient is May Amodia, a teacher and transition-PAES supervisor from Sisseton. She earned the $100 award for her work on a lunch project.

The project she developed instructs students how to prepare, cook and serve food. In addition to those concepts, students also learn planning, budgeting, and marketing skills that help them prepare for jobs and independent living.

Congratulations May!

24 March
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The National Center on Education Outcomes is releasing a series of videos on various aspects of learning support for children with significant cognitive disabilities at home. The videos are now available on YouTube.

In addition to parents and educators, other audiences will find the videos useful as they work with parents and families. Each video focuses on three key questions:

  • Why is it important to focus on this with my child at home?
  • How can I do this at home?
  • What support can I ask for from my child’s school?


Additional videos will be added to the series over the next several months. Future videos will be on supporting the learning of reading, writing and math at home, as well as one on monitoring progress.

24 November
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Parents and Educators, GRADS understands how difficult it is to prepare for traditional learning, distance learning, and having lessons ready if you, a family member, or a student is quarantined. We want to offer our support through our website. Our listings will change throughout the pandemic, but here are some resources to begin our support. Pinterest has some fantastic distance learning ideas. Many provide free materials:

-Webcam Field Trips
-Boom Cards for Distance Learning
-Google Classroom
-Free History Videos for Kids
-Free Downloadable Resource Guides
-Free education workbooks, activity books, and art kits from Adobe Stock
-Free printable cursive worksheets
-Free Typing Games for kids
-Color Code and Organize your Google Drive
-150+ Educational shows to stream on Netflix (HomeschoolHideout.com)
-35 Animal Webcams to watch with your kids (SoCalFieldTrips.com)
-Learning Games and Activities (theeducatorsspinonit.com)

17 November
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At Home Learning Success

Source: Good Housekeeping, October 2020 article, At-Home Learning Success, written by Mary Sauer and Marisa Lascala. Summarized by Mary Lou Bullert

1) Stick to a Routine
Inconsistency makes distance learning more difficult. Work for 45 minutes and then take a 15 minute break. Keep materials organized in separate in files or baskets. Kids move materials from the in-box to the done-box. Kids can visually see their accomplishments.

2) Build Independence
Instead of hovering and becoming a helicopter parent, let kids share what they’ve completed. This will build confidence. It will also allow you to work from home. If you have more than one child, you can have divide your time. Follow your school’s benchmarks. At school, students aren’t on task all day. They transition between classes, a teacher has to work with 20 to 30 students not just your child, there’s recess, lunch, gym, and other activities besides sitting in their desk all day. Remember to focus on reading and math.

3) Give Yourself Credit
Be realistic. From time to time, kids will push back at home and at school. Give yourself and your kids some space.

Virtual Learning Resources

Khan Academy provides exercises, quizzes, and videos as well as downloadable curricula for free. Khanacademy.org

Exploratorium includes tools to help kids become active explorers in science.
Exploratorium.edu

Hippo Campus offers 7,000 videos in 13 areas, from middle school to college level.
Hippocampus.org