Parent Weekly Update 02/24/17

Hi parents,

Here is the weekly update.

This week we have the following groups;

• 6-8 year-old group meets on Tuesday, February 28, from 4 to 6 PM.
• Please note that, for the 8-11 year old group, we announced last time there would be a raffle. Instead, we took them for appetizers. The raffle will still occur during March.
• There are no meetings for the 11-13 (Wed) and 13-17 (Thur) year old groups this week. We normally would have met, but I am away at a conference (see below) For this month, the older groups are meeting on the 2nd and 4th weeks of March.  For details, look at last week's update by clicking here or consult the group calendar.

Upcoming Parent Meetings for March

• Webinar: 3/8 7:30-8:30pm. If you have not registered for the webinar, click here to sign up and you will automatically receive reminder notices.

• Drop In Meetings: We will be holding drop in meetings on the following dates in February (remember, these are held at the office):
• Thursday, 3/9, 10:30am to 12:30pm
• Saturday 3/18, 10am-noon
• I am happy to conduct a third meeting this month, but attendance at the evening meetings has been very low the past couple of months. If you are interested in attending a parent drop in meeting and neither of the two dates listed above work for you, please send me an email indicating when you would like to attend. I will announce a third date in an upcoming weekly update.

Laser Tag (UltraZone) is Coming

Our first community outing is coming up for the older groups (younger groups will go in April). Drop off and Pickup will occur there. I will send more details a week prior to our outing.

• 11-13 year old Group meets on Wednesday, 3/22 at UltraZone. 
• Teen Group meetings on Thursday, 3/23, at UltraZone.
• The younger groups will go to UltraZone in April (See Group Calendar). They will not have a second outing because we are providing them with an extra raffle instead.

Important Announcements

Dr. Gale away at a Conference:  Many of you know that I am one of the training leaders for the Department of Education's PENT program (www.pent.ca.gov).  Our annual conferences are coming up at the end of February and again in mid-March. Dr. Mazor will run the 2/28 6 to 8 group as planned (there are a total of three staff so we've covered).

That's it for now. Please contact me if you have any questions. Be advised that, between February 28 and March 2 my response time may be delayed.

Parent Weekly Update 02/17/17

Hi parents,

February is sort of a funny month. Everything finished up a bit earlier, except for the group below.

Groups for This Week

This week we have only one group:

• 8-11year-old group meets on Tuesday, February 21, from 4 to 6 PM (Raffle Group)

For 11-13 and 13-17 March meetings only, please read:  

I am away at two conferences in early and mid March for a couple of days. As a result, we have moved the March meetings to fall on the 2nd and 4th weeks of the month. Since there are 5 Wednesdays and 5 Thursdays in March, this shouldn't be a problem. You can see the current information on the LUNCH Groups calendar. The scheduled dates for our March community outings appear below.

Laser Tag (UltraZone) is Coming

Our first community outing is coming up for the older groups. Drop off and Pickup will occur there. I will send more details a week prior to our outing.

• 11-13 year old Group meets on Wednesday, 3/22 at UltraZone. 
• Teen Group meetings on Thursday, 3/23, at UltraZone.

The younger groups will go to UltraZone in April (See Group Calendar). They will not have a second outing because we are providing them with an extra raffle instead (occurring this month).

Thanks it for now. Let me know if you have questions.

Parent Weekly Update 02/10/17

Hi parents,

I guess it's time for truth in advertising. I am producing this weekly update on Tuesday, Feb 14th, at 3 PM. So, even though it says that it's from the previous Friday, I just forgot. My apologies.

Groups for This Week

This week we have the following groups:

• 6 to 8-year-old group meets on Tuesday, February 14, from 40 6 PM
• 11-13 year-old group meets February 15 from 4:15 to 6:45 PM
• Teen year-old group meets February 16 from 4:15 to 6:45 PM

For 11-13 and 13-17 March meetings only, please read:  

I am away at two conferences in early and mid March for a couple of days. As a result, we have moved the March meetings to fall on the 2nd and 4th weeks of the month. Since there are 5 Wednesdays and 5 Thursdays in March, this shouldn't be a problem. You can see the current information on the LUNCH Groups calendar. The scheduled dates for our March community outings appear below.

Raffles

We are doing raffles this week. Sometimes, parents will comment that their child made a rash decision or felt rushed. Please be aware that we do give them plenty of time to choose their prizes. My advice to you is that, if your child complains that they didn't like what they got, let them know that there will be other opportunities. The purpose of this activity is to help them practice making effective decisions. Also, we focus on them not making too big a deal out of something ("letting go," emotional control) when they make decisions that, in retrospect, they're not happy about. Finally, we focus on "good sportsmanship." Of course it's disappointing when you don't win, but that's how things work at times. We encourage group members to congratulate others or, at least, to keep their negative thoughts private when someone else wins.

I would advise against lengthy discussions at home about this, mainly because that turns the topic/subject into the "bigger deal" we were trying to avoid in the first place. I would suggest that, if your child expresses unhappiness about the raffle that you both thank them for telling you and let them know they are welcome to bring it up in group at the next meeting. If you feel this advice is ill-conceived or have different views, please feel free to share them with me.

LUNCH Points

Some of you are using LUNCH Points regularly. If you haven't given your child a LUNCH Point recently, please consider doing so. It takes just a couple of minutes and is part of our program. Keep in mind, it has nothing to do with rewards and everything to do with your child's emotions and social behavior. There is one password being used by all parents, just email me if you forgot it.

Parent Meeting Attendance

Parents seem to be falling into two groups regarding the parent meetings. Those who come regularly and those who have not attended. The parents who do attend continue to consistently report they find the information discussed and shared to be valuable. Especially for those of you who reported your child is not showing progress in many areas, coming to the meetings would provide you with an opportunity to discuss strategies, view videos, and solidify your use of techniques to use at home or in the community. We have 3 months of parent meetings left. If you haven't made use of them yet, please consider attending. We have finished our parent meetings for February. I will be announcing March meetings in next week's parent update.

Upcoming Community Events

March and April are laser tag months. Here are the details

• 11-13 Group will be attending Laser Tag on Wednesday at 4:15pm, March 22
• 13-17 Group will be attending Laser Tag on Thursday at 4:15pm, March 23
• 6-8 Group will be attending Laser Tag on Tuesday at 4pm, April 11
• 8-11 Group will be attending Laser Tag on Tuesday at 4pm, April 18

We will send you maps, directions, as well as provide telephone reminders for the weeks your children are going. Please remember: drop-offs and pickups occur at the UltraZone on that day.

Other News

• Additional Community Outings  - We also are planning to go bowling the first sessions in May. More information about that will occur around the time we go to Laser Tag.
• Parent Meetings for February - We are done with parent meetings for February, however you are welcome to contact me by email if there is anything that you would like to discuss.
• Upcoming Summer Program - Information was posted back in the 01/20/17 Weekly Update. Click here if you missed it and wish to learn more.

Parent Weekly Update 02/03/17

How can it be February already?  

Just to put it in perspective, the school year program is half over. October may seem like a very long time ago, but actually, we're at the halfway point and still have four months to go. This matters, because up until now, you have been learning and gaining skills to be able to help your child and support him or her in working to improve social skills. For some of you, this has meant working to improve attention, instructional control, or better manage your child's environment/setting. With that out of the way, or well on the way to being under control, it's time to focus more on helping your child improve and increase skills.

Mid-Program Progress Reports

In the next few days, we will begin sending out our midsession reports. We do them  mostly in the order that we received your Rapid Screener®  surveys. So, if you completed them right away, in early to mid January, you should be receiving your reports in the next week. If you didn't do it until the end of January or more recently, you will receive the report in about two weeks.

Upcoming Groups and Parent Meetings

This Week's Groups

The only group meeting this week will be the 8 to 11 year-old program, which meets on Tuesday, February 7.

This Week's Parent Meetings

Webinar: 2/8 7:30-8:30pm. If you have not registered for the webinar, click here to sign up and you will automatically receive reminder notices.

Drop In Meetings: We will be holding drop in meetings on the following dates in February (remember, these are held at the office):

• Wed, 2/8, 5:30-7pm (just before the webinar)
• Thu, 2/9, 11:30am-1:30pm
• Sat, 2/11, 10am-noon

Important Announcements

• Community Outings: We are beginning to plan our community outings.  Our first outing will be to Ultrazone in either March or April. I will publish more details in a couple of weeks and it will go up on the group  calendar later this week. The main thing to remember is to not listen to what your child says about when the outing is going to occur, but to confirm by looking at the calendar or contacting us.  Some of the kids get very excited about going and think that it is happening sooner than it is. Also, remember that when we do have an outing, that's where you will drive your child and pick them up on that particular day.
• Dr. Gale away at a Conference:  Many of you know that I am one of the training leaders for the Department of Education's PENT program (www.pent.ca.gov).  Our annual conferences are coming up at the end of February and again in mid-March. Dr. Mazor will run the 2/28 6 to 8 groups as planned
• However, the March dates for the 11 to 13-year-old groups has been changed. There will be group meetings on the second and fourth Wednesday of March, 3/8 and 3/22 (psst, We're going to UltraZone on 3/22, details to follow).  Just giving you advance notice.

Summer Program Details

In last week's blog, I presented initial details  regarding our summer programs. There are some significant changes compared to previous years and you can click here to read the details.

Signing Off

 That should be just about everything for now. As always, please contact me with any questions.