Transitions Banquet!The Transitions Banquet, our graduation ceremony, will be held on Monday, June 14 at 11AM.
We hope that you will join us in celebrating our AMAZING graduates! Graduation Preparations!Graduates are busy preparing for the end of the school-year!
Transitions Community DayOn Thursday last week, all of Transitions participated in a Community Day! This was a Transitions first and the weather was PERFECT! Students had a firsthand, educational experience learning about the surrounding Cooke Transitions community with scavenger hunts, safe social distancing procedures, and for those that were in person, lunch outside. Both remote and in person students learned fun facts about four nearby neighborhoods including: Chinatown, Tribeca, Greenwich, and Meatpacking District. Students got to dive into learning about restaurants, libraries, historical sites, and even iconic movie locations. On top of connecting our students to the community around us we also wanted to foster a connection amongst the Transitions community. The day after community day remote and in-person students had the opportunity to meet through zoom to share their experiences with one another. Students looked forward to this day and came into school prepped with shorts, sunglasses, and eager minds! The excitement was in the air! Enjoy this wonderful slideshow of all the fun we had together!
Transitions Anti-Racism Day of ActionLast Friday, Transitions rallied together for their first virtual protest hosted by the Counseling, Humanities and Art Departments. Students and staff that opted in came together to take a stand against racism. Drama Therapist, Adam Stevens led the protest, spotlighting student work and centering their voices. During the protest students expressed themselves by sharing art, posters, poems, and lists of demands they created. There was even a dramatic enactment highlighting how your skin color influences and impacts how you experience the world, bringing light to the need for empathy and understanding of others. Common themes echoed throughout the protest were acceptance, justice and peace; demanding an end to violence. It was a powerful moment in Transitions history, transforming conversations students have had in small groups all year to a unified movement. The protest closed with a call and response as all participants chanted "It's okay to be... different" in unison. Conferencia LatinaTransitions Graduation Ceremony Save the Date! The Transitions Banquet will be held on Monday, June 14 at 11 am. Graduates are invited to attend in-person or participate remotely. Due to COVID restrictions, graduates are allowed a maximum of two guests for the in-person ceremony. All students and family members will be able to watch the ceremony on our live-stream! We hope you will join us to celebrate this exciting accomplishment! Community Day Next Thursday, May 20th Cooke Transitions will have a Community Day! In-person students will go out in small groups with their staff members and do a community scavenger hunt. The community scavenger hunt will comprise four neighborhoods that surround Cooke Transitions. In-Person students will need to wear comfortable clothing and sneakers for the day, and bring a water bottle and a bagged lunch. In-Person students will leave at around 10AM and return by 1:40PM, so lunch will be in the community. For remote students, we will have a virtual field trip! Remote students will explore the four neighborhoods of Cooke Transitions. Remote students will join in during Period 1, P2, and P6 for a virtual field trip! You will go on a virtual neighborhood tour, and answer clues about these specific neighborhoods. We cannot wait for all students to be part of Community Day! -Andrea, John, Ari Transitions Anti-Racism Day of ActionThe Counseling, Humanities and Art departments invite ALL Transitions students and staff to join the Anti-Racism virtual protest. What: A virtual protest at Transitions rallying against racism Who: Open to all Transitions students and staff When: Friday, May 21st at 1:00pm-1:45pm Where: On Zoom Why: Let’s come together as a Transitions community for racial justice. Together our voice is powerful! If you are interested, here’s how students and staff can participate! HSBC Partnership Event This afternoon we will have our final event with HSBC for this school year. Remote and in-person students will participate in a Job Exploration panel discussion. Students will learn about different job tasks, co-worker relationships and common workplace daily activities. Each student will have the opportunity to ask a panelist a pre-determined question and participate in the panel discussion. We have been grateful for the experience this partnership has given Transitions students! Ideal School Event Last week Johnson Pod 2 participated in another social event with peers from the Ideal School. Students shared about themselves and made personal connections about their preferences. Students then had a virtual dance party with songs chosen by both Ideal and Transitions students! On June 24-25, 2021, we are hosting the seventh annual University of Youth Power via Zoom, a for-youth-by-youth social justice conference that is modeled after a college experience. UYP is the premier youth peer leadership conference that provides Youth Peer Advocates and change agents the opportunity to build skills and expand their professional network. Young people ages 16 to 30 will be able register with a major of Peer Advocacy or Systems Advocacy. UYP 2021 will take place via Zoom.
APPLY NOW! QUESTIONS?
Cooke School Transition Workshop Series Event Special Needs Trusts Tuesday May 25, 6:00pm Please RSVP at the following link or Email Vanessa Nash [email protected] Zoom Link Join us this month to learn about Special Needs Trusts, an important topic for all Cooke families. Special Needs Trusts: The Essential Estate Planning Tool for Individuals: Building financial security is an important consideration for family members and friends of individuals with special needs. Amy O’Hara, Esq., of Littman Krooks LLP, will discuss various aspects of special needs planning, including special needs trusts, the ABLE Act, coordination of government benefits, letters of intent, advance directives and guardianships. Amy C. O’Hara, Esq., is a partner with the law firm of Littman Krooks LLP. Her practice is focused in the areas of estate planning and administration, trust administration, guardianships, special needs planning, personal injury settlement consulting, and elder law. Amy is Certified as an Elder Law Attorney (CELA®) by the National Elder Law Foundation. She lectures frequently to advocacy organizations and families on the importance of proper planning for families of children with special needs. She also regularly publishes articles relating to estate and special needs planning. In addition, Best Lawyers in America® has recognized her for excellence in Elder Law and Trusts & Estates. EmpoweredNYC will be hosting an EmpoweredNYC information session for clients and families on May 21, 2021 from 10 AM to 11:30 AM During this info session you will learn more about EmpoweredNYC, free financial counseling for New Yorkers with disabilities and their families, how this service is beneficial to clients and families and how to make appointments for EmpoweredNYC financial counseling. EmpoweredNYC Financial counselors can help clients with the following:
To request reasonable accommodations, please contact Abby Mayerhoff at [email protected] or 212-788-2963 by Friday, May 14th. DOCUMENTARY ON INCLUSION
“It’s not okay that almost 60,000 NYC students with disabilities learn in completely segregated settings.” -Lori Podvesker, INCLUDEnyc Policy Director and parent In this documentary titled, "Forget Me Not," parents and filmmakers Olivier and Hilda Bernier share the personal impact of NYC's segregated education system as they fight for their son's Emilio's right to be educated alongside his peers. Watch the film Wednesday, May 19 on opening night of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival at 6:45 PM and join us for a free panel at 8:30 PM. Buy tickets Use promo code CHANGEHERE21 for $1 off your ticket. To request a free ticket, email [email protected]. First come, first served. Transition's Got Talent!Thank you for joining us, cheering us on and supporting us at our Virtual Talent Show! We hope that you had as much fun watching it, as we did making it! As of now over 400 people have viewed the Talent Show! A special thank you to our Talent Show Committee: Andrea, Devin, John, Lauren and Bobby! HSBC PartnershipLast Wednesday, 24 remote and in-person students participated in a virtual problem solving event with HSBC volunteers. Students prepared for the event in Vocational Skills classes, with their CIAs, paraprofessionals and occupational therapist. During the event, the HSBC volunteers role-played different work place scenarios. Then our CIAs helped to facilitate discussions and in the moment problem solving. The event helped to further build important vocational, communication and social skills. The volunteers provided students with feedback and gushed about how much they enjoy working with our students! Way to go participants! From the Desk of the Academic Department Teaching in itself, although quite rewarding, can also be very challenging, especially in the midst of a pandemic and social unrest. While these factors may be daunting to some, the instructors at Cooke Transitions have embraced the challenges and managed to keep students engaged and motivated with lessons that not only reflect their interests but also acknowledges the current climate, to prepare them for the world outside of school. Math Explorations The Math teams are taking the expression ¨Minding Your Business¨ to a whole new level. Students are busy wrapping up the final semester learning about Businesses and what it means to be an entrepreneur. They have delved deep into the world of consumerism and how businesses vie for the patronage of customers through targeted marketing. From those memorable taglines to unforgettable lyrics or that favorite celebrity crush, students are learning how to attract buyers for products and services. Remote students have been working on developing business plans as a way to provide virtual experience with entrepreneurship while in person students have been operating a snack delivery service, modeled off what is happening in our current climate. Math skills targeted at money management and understanding profit, loss, revenue, and expenditure are among some of the concepts students are being exposed to. The next great business idea might be coming out of your own homes! Humanities Students are busy wrapping up the academic year exploring Poetry. They are being given the opportunity to create pieces that reflect their interests, stimulate their creativity and feature the world around them. Cohorts are learning about word associations, rhyming, point of view, tone and many other factors that make poetry unique and exciting. Nature walks have provided an abundance of creative ideas. Students intend to conclude the year by producing a Digital Anthology of the poems they have created. Can't wait to see this! Art & Artists What gives you a more warm and fuzzy feeling than the thought of your favorite quilt from childhood made by that sweet grandma or smiling aunt? Students have been studying quilts in their Art classes and looking at how various artists are inspired to make remarkable creations. Working to create digital portrait quilts has been quite a thrill and students have generated some noteworthy pieces which you can check out below. Maybe you could think about making physical creations of students´ digital ideas with your loved ones! Digital Life Skills Students have been busy learning about how to build websites so that they can develop their own G-sites for Transition Portfolios. Staff assist students by providing samples of important documents that will become useful for students as they move on from Cooke. The hard work students are doing would make any Tech genius proud! Transitions Anti-Racism Day of ActionComing in May, the Cooke Transitions community will be holding a virtual Day of Action. This will be a space where students and staff can opt-in to join together in a statement of what we believe in and stand for. Students will have the opportunity to submit art work, photos and/or personal statements to be shown during a virtual protest. This is an optional opportunity for students to change feelings into action, practice real-word advocacy, and stand up for justice. Stay tuned for more information on submission dates and locations! Community Resources and Upcoming Workshops You can register for the YAI Workshops HERE. Self-Direction Conference The first-ever Self-Direction Virtual Conference Series will be held this spring! Click here for more info. VIRTUAL TALENT SHOW! We hope you'll join us for our Virtual Talent Show on Thursday, April 22 at 6PM! Throughout this week remote and in-person performers have been filming their acts for the upcoming show and they are looking GREAT!
We hope to see you there! NYC starts to reopen! Are you ready!?As COVID cases continue to decline, NYC has started to peel back some of their restrictions. Curfews have lifted, capacity restrictions are decreasing and entertainment and leisure opportunities are reopening (Yay, movie theaters and Coney Island!!). Students have been utilizing the CDC website to stay up to date on current guidelines for vaccinated and unvaccinated people. Check them out here! While guidelines are changing, our comfort levels may not be able to keep up! Our world has changed significantly over this past year and so have our mindsets. It is important to take time to set goals, reflect and communicate with your family as we slowly start to return to "normal". Here are some questions to start the conversations: - What are some activities you are excited to start doing again? - What are some activities you feel comfortable trying? What would be hard? - Do our routines/safety procedures follow the current guidelines? - Can any of them be changed or adapted? There is no better time to start these conversations. For additional support or suggestions please reach out to your child's Counselor.
Community ResourcesPlease use this link to register for the events at the Guggenheim.
Returning from Spring Break Given the recent exposures and the possibility of travel over the Spring Break, we are asking all in-person families and staff to provide a negative COVID test or proof of being fully vaccinated before returning to school on Monday April 5th. In-person families please complete THIS FORM prior to returning from break. We realize this may cause an inconvenience; however, we also know how disruptive the closure and quarantine process is. We feel that this additional testing is the safest action at this time to prevent additional exposure and ensure that we can remain open after the break. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Covid Vaccinations Many families have reached out to us about students receiving their Covid vaccination. Parents, please complete this form if/when your child is fully vaccinated. We have continued class conversations about the vaccine as we receive new information. Here is the updated presentation that has been used in classes and it is a great resource for families too! Additionally, here is a social story and fact sheet about the vaccines. Nursing News Nurse Liz Dufort has moved on to a new role outside of the Cooke Community. We are diligently seeking a new full time nurse and we continue to have a nurse onsite at Macdougal St daily during this time. Below please see updates from Nurse Ramjeet (from the Upper School!) Mock Interviews with HSBC Throughout this school year we have continued our partnership with HSBC Bank to help develop our student's vocational skills. This past Wednesday, 23 remote and in-person students participated in virtual mock interviews with HSBC employees! Students prepared for the interviews in Vocational Skills classes, with their CIAs and speech therapists. Whether onsite or remote, students dressed professionally for a job interview and they really had the chance to shine! The interviewers were very impressed with our students preparedness and we are very proud of the courage that they showed while participating. Additionally, part of our partnership provided funds for vocational items (a portfolio/resume holder and two employment skill activity books.) These items were shipped to ALL remote Transitions students and will be distributed in school today. Please keep an eye out for them! Art and Artists: Virtual Quilt MakingThis semester in Art and Artists we are learning about the history and the art of quilt making. Students are learning about various quilting styles, from traditional quilters to contemporary textile artists. During class discussions students explored the use of quilts as a form of storytelling(Faith Ringgold) and as a way to carry on traditions(Gee's Bend Quilters). We discussed how quilts can make people feel, continuing our discussions on perspective and empathy from Semester 1. The image above is our Transition's Virtual Quilt. Transition Department UpdateLet's Speak Up! This semester, students in Transition classes are discussing the importance of self-advocacy and learning the different characteristics that make up our identities. In our classes, we talked about examples of interpersonal advocacy, group advocacy, and system-level advocacy. Students were able to relate current events, and our recent changes in government. In addition, students delved into discussions about system-level advocacy, and understanding what that may look like through different perspectives of people and experiences. ACCES-VR Applications Underway With the end of the school year coming up in just 3 months, graduating students have been working on completing their applications for ACCES-VR. ACCES-VR, or Adult Career and Continuing Education Services- Vocational Rehabilitation, is a job training and placement service for individuals with disabilities in New York State. During the application process, students have worked hard to fill out and answer questions in regards to detailing what kinds of supports they might need at work. In addition, students received support in filling out their personal information like their mailing addresses, previous work experiences, and personal health assessments. We applaud all the students on their hard work and look forward to prepping for their upcoming intake appointments. NYC Siblings and Family Members Panel Discussion |
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