The Explore.Act.Tell. Program is ready for the 2022-2023 school year! 

It is time to renew for the new school year!  Renew here now by answering two multiple choice questions!  

A welcome packet will be mailed to you after registration.

Please share with colleagues!   New registrants can register here:exploreacttell.org/registration. 

As a refresher, here are a few details:

• FREE program for grades 6-12 fully funded by Albertsons Companies Foundation Nourishing Neighbors Program.

• Experiential learning program that teaches students to understand and act on solutions to hunger insecurity in their community

• Consists of four interactive lessons with ready-to-use student and teacher lesson plans 

• Enter projects into the student challenge for a chance to win a $5,000 grant for a hunger focused charity of choice

Visit our website for more information:  exploreacttell.org

Questions - please email Stephanie@fill.foundation or call 317-443-2954

Schools within PA can receive free training on Tourette Syndrome for Educators and/or Peers:

Provided in-person or virtual, through a Department of Health grant, this training is provided by the PA Tourette Syndrome Alliance.

Educator Training:  Misunderstandings can occur and discipline can happen especially for symptoms of this complex condition. Educators need to fully understand this disorder so they can provide appropriate support and accommodations to the student in their classroom. This important training can help reduce discipline, increase access to education and create a supportive classroom environment with helps all students.

This training provides full review of TS symptoms and helpful accommodations that can assist the student. Presenters provide real-life examples of tics, symptoms and accommodations that have proven effective with other students. Educators leave with a better understanding of the frustration and struggles of their students with these disabilities. Providing this training helps to head off problems before they occur.

Training includes handouts and access to our online Tools. Training is 2 hours but a one-hour training can also be arranged. Training is Act 48 accredited.

Peer Training/Assembly:  Teasing and bullying can be a constant issue in our schools even when we do everything right! It is a fact that children with special needs are victims of bullying twice as often as typical children. For children with Tourette syndrome this is especially true. They can easily become the focus of teasing, ridicule and exclusion because they may have tics that are loud, distracting and even down-right rude. When the other children have no understanding of Tourette syndrome it is easy to conclude that the sufferer is making faces on purpose or shouting out to get attention.  

It is imperative that the other children understand that Tourette syndrome is a medical difference and causes them to say and do things that are out of their full control. When children are given a basic understand that Tourette syndrome is a medical condition, their reactions often change. They offer support, rush to their aide when others tease them, and often create friendships with these children rather than exclude them.  

This is where the PA Tourette Syndrome Alliance can help your school and the students with TS in your midst. We provide a free, age-appropriate training that gives the other students basic information on TS. This can be done for a classroom, grade level or the entire school.  This presentation is effective whether the child with TS wants to be included or if they wish to remain anonymous. We would be happy to discuss those options and how we make it work so the child is comfortable with whatever option they choose.

If you are in need of a peer training or an Educator Training either in-person or virtual, please reach out by calling 1-800-990-3300 or by email to sherrie@patsainc.org. We would be happy to work with you to help your students and staff get this important training.

Here are some comments regarding trainings provided by the PA Tourette Syndrome Alliance:

Supervisor of Special Education 

“...With TS being such an unknown disorder to the majority of people, it is crucial we have experts like the staff at PA-TSA to educate us about its etiology, its characteristics, and how it impacts a student’s life, especially in the schools.  The knowledge brought to us can be applied directly to our students living with TS in order to support and effectively teach each of them as valued & respected members of the school community.  The trainings have been a great asset to both adults and classmates over the years in which we have utilized PA- TSA." 

Guidance Counselor 

 “I am a school counselor working with an eighth-grade student who has Tourette Syndrome. In January of this year, she bravely agreed to participate in an assembly, with the help of the Alliance, to better educate her peers to what she goes through having this disability. (The Consultant) of the Alliance worked with the student to prepare her for the assembly. The presentation was a complete success and it has empowered the student to better deal with comments she may receive from other students. It was particularly impactful for the mother of the student who got to see her daughter as a strong young woman who could face her peers in a difficult situation. Students have been much more supportive of the student since the assembly."

Mother

"Prior to PATSA's intervention, Isaac was being bullied by his peers and repeatedly told to stop his tics, which were annoying others or perceived by his teachers as deliberately disruptive. The response to the in-services from the faculty, staff and students was overwhelmingly positive. Several of the children who had bullied Isaac in the past came up to him and personally apologized."

Thank you,

Sherrie Myers Wivell
Administrator/Consultant
PA Tourette Syndrome Alliance, Inc.
1-800-990-3300 ext. 2
www.patsainc.org

Hey #ICANHELP Family,

School is almost back in session, and we’ve got several exciting new initiatives and events lined up at #ICANHELP! Feel free to share these announcements with your connections and school community. 

#ICANHELP’s Students4Good Webinar is coming up soon! Mark your calendars for Sunday,August 7th, 4PM PST—our student panelists will be leading a discussion on humanitarianism and reform in honor of World Humanitarian Day and International Youth Day. Learn more, recruit a student from your organization to present, and register for all eventsHERE! 

Easy for you to copy and paste the above into your newsletter. See below for more:

• Student Meet + Greet with Aaron Judge - Now is your chance to have your students meet Aaron Judge of the NY Yankees, get a photo op, enjoy some live baseball action, a tailgate party, free prizes, and raffle drawings, all while supporting student recognition programs and our mission of deleting negativity from social media! Get tickets HERE.

• Students4Good Webinar: Humanitarianism - “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are we doing for others?’” On August 7th, 4PM PST, our student panelists will discuss how to promote humanitarianism during the digital age. Learn more and sign up HERE

• #ICANHELP is looking for Students4Good Speakers! - Know any students who are involved in important causes or using social media to make a positive impact? Invite them to sign up to be a panelist HERE!

• Social Media Emergency Plan - Our important new resource will educate students, staff, and administrators on how to monitor, investigate, and respond to campus threats. We will be posting a sign-up link on our website that will allow you to get the full Emergency Plan when we officially launch it in September. Click HERE to view a free sample.

To learn more about the Social Media Emergency Plan or any of our other events or resources, book a meeting with me on TidyCal HERE!

Thanks for being a part of the #ICANHELP family!

#YouRock,

Kim Karr

Ready. Set. Enter Horace Mann’s #BackToSchool2022 Giveaway! Starting Monday, Aug. 15, they’re giving away one Apple® product per day through Friday, Aug. 19. That’s five chances for you to be a winner! Enter the giveaway and view full prize details and official rules right here! #EnterToWin #Prize #CelebrateTeachers #BackToSchool #Teachers #Educators

Please share this information with families!

As children experiencing homelessness begin to prepare for the school year, they may feel anxious and unprepared. ECYEH’s Build Your Best School Year! virtual summer camps for middle and high school students are designed to provide the skills and self-confidence children will need to start the school year on a high note.

Download and share our digital flyers and sample social media posts!

Middle School Kids Camp (grades 6-8) Aug. 8-12, 2022, 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. High School Kids Camp (grades 9-12) Aug. 15-19, 2022, 9 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Each camper will receive a Welcome to Camp kit including a free Amazon Fire 7 tablet, supplies for camp activities, school supplies, and a special surprise to kick off the start of camp! Help us reach the children who can benefit the most from this experience. Host a “campsite” where children can participate together. Your school or program will be responsible for the supervision of children during the camps. Please contact Melissa Turnpaugh, 717-763-1661, ext. 120 to host a campsite. Share our digital flyer and social media posts with families in your school or program. Post information on your website or in your parent portal. Help to ensure participants have reliable, daily internet access for the duration of the camps. Share this information and link to the registration page with families and your colleagues who serve children experiencing homelessness. Let us know if there are any barriers for prospective students to participate. We will assist to remove those barriers as much as possible. Want to host a campsite or have questions? Contact Melissa Turnpaugh, 717-763-1661, ext. 120. Thank you!

This series is brought to you by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Education for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness (ECYEH) program.

Center for Schools and Communities, division of Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit 275 Grandview Avenue, Suite 200, Camp Hill,PA,17011

We can help you BREAK the Forgetting Cycle! (For Grades 3-11) Do your students remember the skills that were taught weeks or months ago? We provide individualized spiral review for students and realtime actionable feedback for teachers. GMM is compatible with all curriculum and is aligned to state standards. Complimentary school-wide pilot until July 31 2023.* (*FIRST TIME CUSTOMERS ONLY, NO OBLIGATION TO BUY) FREE ONE YEAR PILOT LEARN MORE MAKE 30 DAY ACCOUNT BROWSE 3,000 SKILLS Long-Term Math Skill Retention Math practice sessions include both new material and review of old concepts. More problem types may be selected by the teacher as students progress.  More Personal Student Interaction GMM is designed to complement instruction, NOT replace it. Opportunities for personal teacher-student interaction are built into the system. Automate Grading & Custom Tests Grading is automated, giving more time for instruction prep and individual student instruction. Custom cumulative tests can be created quickly with built-in follow-up on missed skills. Real-time Student Data Instant feedback to students on correctly answered problems. Real-time reporting offers current analytics for timely intervention opportunities. LEARN MORE Copyright © 2022 GMM, All rights reserved. Educators of Mathematics (209) 288-5550 info@getmoremath.com Our mailing address is: GMM 905 Mono Way Sonora, CA 95370-5206

Hey Digital Changemakers,

Just wanted to update you on the exciting new initiatives and events we’ve got in store. Stay tuned for our Social Media Emergency Plan, which includes a place to Report all issues in one place. Feel free to share these opportunities with your connections and school community! 

Don’t miss #ICANHELP’s upcoming Students4Good Webinar! Join us on Sunday,August 7th, 4PM PST, as our student panelists lead a discussion on humanitarianism in honor of World Humanitarian Day and International Youth Day. Learn more, recruit a student from your organization to present, and register for all eventsHERE! 

Easy for you to copy and paste the above into your newsletter. See below for more:

• Students4Good Webinar: Humanitarianism - “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are we doing for others?’” On August 7th, 4PM PST, our student panelists will discuss how to promote humanitarianism during the digital age. Learn more and sign up HERE.

• #ICANHELP is looking for Students4Good Speakers! - Know any students who are involved in important causes or using social media to make a positive impact? Invite them to sign up to be a panelist HERE!

• #ALLRISE2HELP Power Band Giveaway - Do you know someone who’s been spreading positivity and uplifting others online? Nominate them HERE, and we’ll send them a free gift!

Are you available for a call? To catch up and talk about how #ICANHELP can support you, your schools, and students, book a meeting with me on TidyCal HERE!

Thanks for being a part of the #ICANHELP family! 

#YouRock,

Kim Karr

The PA Tourette Syndrome Alliance is offering professional training for Educators by webinar this summer. This 2-hour training provides in-depth information about Tourette syndrome, the co-occurring conditions, classroom accommodations and more. Offered on 3 separate dates, one is sure to fit into your schedule. 

Presentation includes: 

• Power point presentation  
• Excerpt of a TS film  
• 1 Year access to Educator materials at www.patsainc.org  
• Attendees experience “having a tic” –one of the most eye-opening parts of this training and should not be missed! 
• Successful accommodations for TS in the classroom  
• Question and Answer Session 
• Act 48 credits 

Webinar Training Dates: (each date is a repeat of the same training) 

• Tuesday, July 26, 2022 9:00am-11:00am
  
• Thursday, August 4, 2022 12:00noon-2:00pm
  
• Wednesday, August 10, 2022 6:30pm-8:30pm 

To register, go to https://patsainc.org/resources-and-support/support-for-schools/ then click on the button for the date you wish to attend. For Act 48 Credits, please have your PPID available. This number is listed on your teaching certificate (lower left) or look it up here: https://www.perms.pa.gov/Screens/wfProfessionalPersonnelID.aspx)    

PATSA also offers these trainings directly to school teams and for school nurses (all ACT 48 accredited). If you would like to set up an exclusive group in-service training, whether in-person or virtual, please reach out to get your training scheduled. You can call 1-800-990-3300 or by email to sherrie@patsainc.org. We would be happy to work with you to help your staff get this important training. 

Here are some comments regarding our past trainings: 

Behavior Consultant 

“Thank you for providing so many strategies within the training as I feel like this empowers teachers who may be working with a student who has Tourette syndrome, and really any student who may have a disability.  I really thought that much of what you said could be applied to ALL students so I'm hopeful that this training gave the group ideas to work with other students as well.  I felt that the pledge exercise was very powerful as well and could be adapted to demonstrate the sensory difficulties that some of our students with Autism experience or the difficulties some of our students with other disabilities go through. I had a teacher express to me that she felt like this was the best training that she had participated in throughout our in-services for the beginning of the year.  She felt like the movie clip was very powerful and that everyone in our building should at least see that piece, if not participate in the whole training.   I feel like that is pretty high praise coming from teachers at the beginning of the school year who have thousands of items on their to-do lists, and, in general, are typically just craving time to get their classrooms ready. You had us engaged and wanting more!!!!   Over zoom nonetheless!”  

Supervisor of Special Education  

“...With TS being such an unknown disorder to the majority of people, it is crucial we have experts like the staff at PA-TSA to educate us about its etiology, its characteristics, and how it impacts a student’s life, especially in the schools.  The knowledge brought to us can be applied directly to our students living with TS in order to support and effectively teach each of them as valued & respected members of the school community.  The trainings have been a great asset to both adults and classmates over the years in which we have utilized PA- TSA."  

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is offering two FREE educational outreach programs in September or October of this year. 

TRAC™ (Transportation and Civil Engineering) & RIDES (Roadways In Developing Elementary Students)

Both programs designed by the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) for use in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) classes.

TRAC is for students in grades 7-12, and RIDES is for students grades K-8. The hands-on activities in both programs introduce students to the work world of transportation and civil engineering and inspire them to consider careers in those fields.

Both programs are aligned with national standards and currently being aligned with the Core Curriculum Standards of Learning. These programs are flexible and can be customized to best suit your school’s requirements.

The purpose of this survey is to determine whether your school is interested in participating in one of these two-day programs and if so, on which of the following dates:

September 20 & 21, 2022

or

October 3 & 4, 2022

Both trainings are being offered at the same time, and will take place at PennDOT’s Riverfront Office Center located at 1101 South Front Street, Harrisburg, PA 17104

PennDOT will provide schools with the applicable curricula and resources for each program, which include technical advisors to serve as guest speakers, teach hands-on activities, and/or talk to students about the importance of math and science in preparing for their future.

Those who choose RIDES (K-8) will receive training in units titled Transportation and Energy, Roadway Geometry, Humans and Nature, and Designing Ways. (Please see the attached information)

Those who choose TRAC (7-12) will receive training for the Bridge Builder and Connected and Automated Vehicle modules. (Please see the attached information)

Please use the survey at this link to respond to this initial inquiry.

More information about TRAC™ & RIDES is attached and located on AASHTO's website at tracrides.transportation.org. Specific questions about the programs may be directed to Jan Huzvar at jhuzvar@pa.gov.

Click here to read more!