Monday, June 10, 2019

Thank you!!

As we begin to close on another fabulous year in the ALC, I want to take a moment to thank some of the people that have made this growth and learning possible...

My amazing instructional assistants.  As most of you know, this is the hardest-working, most loving and devoted group of women you could ever find. These unbelievable women came in every day with more passion and devotion than they did the day before. They demonstrated ceaseless creativity in helping our students overcome challenges to be successful in their classes. They laughed with your children, cried with your children, bandaged their wounds and at times even helped change their clothes. There is nothing that they would not and have not done for our kids, and they deserve more than I could ever give them. Thank you all.

Our phenomenal speech pathologist. So many times in the last few months, Mrs. Twain and/or I would be engaged in a conversation with a student and turn to one another with sheer amazement. Our students are TALKING...A LOT! This is the result of their hard work, your hard work, and the relentless dedication of our amazing SLP that insists that language be expected in every moment of every day. This is such an amazing and exciting time for all children, and it is such a wonderful feeling to KNOW how they feel about everything...because they tell us! Thank you Mrs. Twain!

Our enthusiastic APE teacher.  Mrs. Johnson is truly one of a kind. In such a short time in the course of one school year, she molds are excited little friends from balls of energy into routine-following athletes. Her carefully planned, expertly executed PE lessons help each child learn the gross motor and social skills they need to play on the playground, be healthy, and play sports. Thank you Mrs. Johnson!

Our unbelievable principal and special education facilitator. Without your never-ending advocacy, our children would not have experienced the success that they have. Please know that your efforts have never gone without notice. We are all so grateful for everything that you do.

Mountain View's secretaries. These women do it all. Mrs. Sutton and Mrs. Reiken answered every question, healed every wound, and praised every effort. All with a smile and tremendous love and understanding for our kids. You guys are amazing!

Mountain View's custodial and cafeteria staff. Each and every day, our wonderful staff made our children feel a part of this community. They each took special care to address our children's sensory needs, and always made time to say hi to our kids. To Mr. Julio, Mrs. Belle and the rest of their staff, thank you for all you do.

Mountain View teachers, support staff and students. Thank you all for making us feel welcome in this school. We are home. A special thank you to Mr. Mitcham, Mrs. Sazima, Mrs. Mevis, Mr. Grant, Mrs. Bauer, Mr. Erion, Ms. Holm, Mrs. Acosta, Mrs. Butero, Mr. Lent, Mrs. Holland, Mrs. Dunn, Mrs. Goldberg, Mr. Robinson and Mrs. Robinette for going the extra mile to be a part of our student's lives.

And, of course....all of you. Thank you for your love and support of your student and our program. Your children are thriving because you work with your school team to support and reinforce skills across environments.

I hope that you have an amazing summer. I look forward to seeing you in the fall!

Monday, April 29, 2019

End of the Year Activities!

It’s amazing to think we are in the final stretch of the 2018-2019 school year! This year has been so jam-packed with fun and learning and it has just flown by! I know this time of year gets a little crazy, so I wanted to give you a bit of a heads up about some big events coming up, and what we will need from you!
Special Education Track and Field- Friday, May 24th- This is the day where all the students in the district who are in a self-contained special education classroom get to showcase their athletic skills! Students will have the chance to run, jump, throw and win medals! There is also a school spirit competition, and this year’s theme is Emojis! We’re making individualized t-shirts based on our theme as well as some inspirational sayings. You are welcome to come cheer your student on from 10am to 12:30pm. 
8th Grade Roll Ups - Friday, May 31st - 8th Graders will have the chance to meet their new teacher and tour their new high school! :-) I will be sending out more information about time slots as we get closer to the date.
Dairy Queen Field Trip- Thursday, June 13th- Our class will be going to Dairy Queen across the street to celebrate the end of the year together as a class! I will be buying everyone a small sweet treat, but if they want to buy something for lunch or as an extra treat they can bring extra money. We will be going in the afternoon from 2:30-3:30pm. It should be a ton of fun! 

Sunday, March 31, 2019

Important Dates

Wow! This year is just flying by! It’s amazing to think that we are in the final stretch of the school year :-) Here are a few important dates coming up:

April 5th - Grading Day, No School
April 22nd to May 3rd - Final Health Unit for Mr. Mitcham's PE classes
April 16-19th - Outdoor School for 6th graders
April 22nd - No school for 6th graders
May 3rd - School Social!
May 6th-10th - Teacher Appreciation Week!
May 6th-24th - SBAC Testing for all grades
May 10th - 8th Grade Photo
May 24th 10am-12:30pm - Special Education Track and Field at Mountain View! :-)
May 27th - Memorial Day, No School
June 14th - Last Day of School and Field Day!!! :-)

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

"How Can I Help?"

Hello Families and Friends! 

Over the last several weeks, I have had many parents and friends ask how they can help support our classroom. In these uncertain economic times, we have been fortunate to maintain such a skilled staff, supportive administrators and creative solutions for lack of funding for supplies. However, this year has presented new challenges. With the funding being reduced district-wide, we are being asked to do more with an already limited classroom budget, including purchasing sensory supports for our students with Austism. Some of these supports are simply outside the realm of our classroom budget. 

One easy way to help out is to check our class Wishlist, which is posted on the side of this blog. It includes some basic items that we're always in need of, such as hand sanitizer, tissues and Clorox wipes. Occasionally, I'll also list items that we need related to a specific activity, such as cooking items or art supplies. I try to update it as things come up.

I also have a DonorsChoose website to ask for assistance in purchasing various supplies, supplemental activities and curriculum, as well as classroom technology that we can use during both small and large group instruction. In case you aren't familiar with it already, the concept of DonorsChoose is simple. Teachers create a page, requesting specific items for their classroom. Donors from around the world read about the need, and donate money. DonorsChoose then purchases the supplies, and delivers them to the classroom. My experiences with DonorsChoose  have been very positive in the past, after I saw the positive impact it has made on many of my fellow teacher's classrooms both at Mountain View and other schools in the Beaverton School District. I am asking that you spread the word about our page to friends and colleagues who may be willing and able to donate. Here is the link: 

Mrs. Z's DonorsChoose page 
Thank you for supporting our classroom!!
Mrs. Zaworski

Friday, February 8, 2019

Spirit Week!

Next week is Spirit Week and the themes are:

Monday - Comfy Clothes Day
Tuesday - Twin Day (dress up like your friend)
Wednesday - Superhero Day
Thursday - Wear pink or red Day
Friday - Athletic Gear Day

I look forward to seeing how your student dresses up :-) 

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Important Dates!

Welcome Back and Happy 2019! We have a lot of fun things coming up! Here are a few important dates...

Friday, Jan. 18th - PRIDE Assembly Day
Monday, Jan. 21st - No School, MLK Jr. Day
Friday, Jan. 25th - 8th Grade High School Visits (permission slips coming home soon)
Monday, Jan. 28th - NO School, Grading Day
Thursday, Jan. 31st - 6th Grade Outdoor School Parent Information Night @ 6:30pm
Friday, Feb. 1st - All school Social! :-)
Monday, Feb. 18th - No School, President's Day
Wednesday, Feb. 27th - Conferences 4:30-8pm
Thursday, Feb. 28th - No School, Conferences 8:00am-8:00pm
Friday, Mar. 1st - No School

Monday, December 3, 2018

Celebrating fun times and new challenges in the ALC!

Hello Families!


I hope that the holiday season is going well for your family. Things in the ALC are forever changing and exciting! Below is some information about the new and exciting things your student has been exploring this month:


New challenges - These first few months of school are PACKED with exciting learning! In the beginning of the year, we spend a lot of time helping students learn (and often re-learn) their new school routines. Now that we've been in school a few months though, we are increasing our expectations for independence. It has been so amazing to see the challenges our students are rising to!
Many holidays and celebrations - This season brings many diverse reasons to celebrate for the many families that make up our Mountain View and ALC communities. In class, we talk generally about lots of holidays that students may participate in or be exposed to. While the holiday season is filled with joy and merriment for many people, it can also be a stressful time--particularly for kids, and most especially for kids impacted by disabilities. Sometimes it is easy to forget that while decoration or celebration is fun and exciting, it may also be overwhelming or just too different for some kids. In no way do I suggest NOT celebrating or NOT exposing kids to the holidays. I just like to make sure kids are prepared. This season is fun, and even if your family celebrates in non-traditional ways, these mainstream traditions are something they are potentially going to be exposed to in their community for many years to come!

Fun times before Winter Break – This is a very fun time at Mountain View and in the ALC. We have a few activities coming up in the next few weeks that your student will have the opportunity to join. Here are some of the fun activities you can expect to hear about:
Thursday, December 20th - Holiday Party in the ALC! We will enjoy hot cocoa, popcorn, cookies and a holiday movie as we ring in the end of the school year for 2018!
Friday, December 21st - Bowling Field Trip!!

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Important Dates and Spirit Week!


Spirit Week is coming up next week! J

Monday - Future Career Day
Tuesday - Twin Day (dress up like your friend)
Wednesday - Costumes for Halloween (No masks, full on face paint or weapons, please)
Thursday - PJ/Comfy Day
Friday - Crazy Hair Day

Important Dates

October 26th – PRIDE Assembly
November 8th – Choir Concert
November 9th – No School, Grading Day
November 12th – No School
November 16th – Picture Retakes
November 21st, 22nd, 23rd – No School, Thanksgiving Break
December 21st – ALC Bowling Field Trip! J (Permission slips coming home soon)
December 22nd through January 6th – No School, Winter Break


Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Off to a great start!


Hello Families!

I can't believe we're already in October! 

We have a few different areas of focus this month that we'll continue working on over the next few weeks…

Literacy Skills

In literacy skills, we are working on creative writing pieces as well as elaborating on our writing. In addition to composing paragraphs about various real-life subjects in our writing folders every day, we also write to thematic or picture writing prompts.

Math Skills

In math skills, we’ve been working on a variety of things, including addition with regrouping, identifying fractions using visual representations, and learning counting strategies that we can use either with basic addition or when trying different upper-level math equations.

Life Skills

In life skills, we’ve started our school-wide recycling program, which we use the profits from in order to supplement our weekly cooking budget for our Friday cooking lesson. We have plans to make cheese quesadillas, bagel pizzas, and homemade applesauce with leftover apples from our school breakfasts in the next few weeks. Yum!

Science/Social Studies

In science, we're starting off learning about the weather and how it affects our world. We're learning about a variety of different types of weather, and how it changes the shape of our world. Once we get rolling, we will start using our Chromebooks to make Powerpoint presentations on our favorite topic related to our theme and then do presentations in front of the class!

In social studies, we are focusing on current events. We regularly watch student news broadcasts and discuss the topics as a class. We are learning how to agree and disagree appropriately so that later in the year we can do some class debates J

Weekly Special Activities

Monday- APE
Tuesday- 
Wednesday- Early Release and APE
Thursday- Shopping and Makerspace
Friday- APE, Library and Cooking

Important Dates

October 10th and 11th – Parent Teacher Conferences
October 11th and 12th – No School
October 18th and 19th – Dental Sealants at school
October 26th – PRIDE Assembly
November 8th – Choir Concert
November 9th – No School, Grading Day
November 12th – No School
November 16th – Picture Retakes
November 21st, 22nd, 23rd – No School, Thanksgiving Break