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 | | Issue 3 | January 24, 2011 |
| |  | | | | | Black History Month Celebrates Famous Georgians In February we will celebrate our 4th annual Black History Month, and we are excited about the opportunity to recognize the rich history and diverse contributions of African Americans during this school-wide celebration. On Wednesday, February 2, we will kick-off the celebration with Storytelling by Mama Koku a perennial favorite of the students and staff of the Speech School. Additionally on Feb. 2, we'll enjoy a Cafe Concert Series by one of our favorite bands, Unknown Lyric , and students will participate in movement classes in yoga--A Journey to Africa. In our classrooms we will welcome parents, friends, community members and leaders as Guest Readers. Again this year, alumni parent Yolanda Head will organize artwork to adorn the walls of the School, and classes will enjoy the art as they go on guided tours and learn from student projects about the lives of famous African American Georgians. Please visit the School during our Black History Month Celebration. For more information, contact Ling Olaes.
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Focus on Stepping Stones When you visit a Stepping Stones class, you notice that our three and four-year old children do what children do best—they play. While our students think they’re coming to preschool to have fun, they are working on developing skills that previously have been very challenging for them.In Stepping Stones, a “typical” preschool activity is anything but typical—what may look like children and teachers playing with playdoh is really a strategically planned activity that may target any number of language and learning concepts such as vocabulary development, social language, word retrieval, and replies to questions. Reading a story to children is not just about giving them the opportunity to hear a new story, it becomes an activity in which children are working on vocabulary development, story retelling, and sequencing skills.Often, our children are not “hard wired” for language and our teachers help pave the pathways in a child’s mind that allows them to learn new communication skills. Their lack of appropriate language development could include: 1) difficulty with the listening or receptive part of language; 2) putting words together to form thoughts and comments; or 3) making or articulating the sounds that come together to form words. Typically, our students’ language skills are at least a year below what would be expected for their age level when they begin in Stepping Stones, and they are unable to thrive in a mainstream setting due to communication difficulties.What makes Stepping Stones a special place—and the first of its kind in Georgia—is that language development and remediation is infused into absolutely everything we do. Unlike other specialized or mainstream settings, a Speech Language Pathologist is the lead teacher and an Occupational Therapist, Special Education teacher, and Assistant form the team that targets the needs of the “whole child.” Team members are charged with delivering language enrichment and development while guiding the child within their specialty area.Through the guidance of our team of education specialists, we begin to see our young children blossom as they overcome early communication difficulties and are able to reveal more of their unique personalities as they gain new language skills. For more information contact Melissa Schmoker or click on the photo to view a video of some language and learning activities in Callie Henderson's three-year old Pebbles class and Amy Lambert's four-year old Boulders class. | |
| | | | | | | Getting to Know the Board of Directors
The Atlanta Speech School's Board of Directors is a very dedicated group of volunteers that oversees all aspects of the School. The Board sets policy for the School, but remains at the “big issue” level allowing the staff the flexibility to implement programs based on their collective knowledge and experience. Members of the Board continually marvel at the work of the School and the positive impact upon children and families.
This diverse group of individuals represents a wealth of combined knowledge and includes many different leaders from our local community such as doctors, lawyers, architects, accountants, and consultants. They all come together to help us reach our mission—helping each person develop his or her full potential through language and literacy.
Serving on the Board requires a significant time commitment. In addition to the five meetings of the entire Board, members serve on numerous standing committees. The standing committees help formulate the direction the School will take not only this year, but for years to come. Current areas being addressed by the standing committees include looking at the possibility of adding a kindergarten class to the Stepping Stones program, investigating the viability of making the Kenan Preschool 3-year old program five days instead of three, maintaining and updating the building and grounds, studying ways to best deal with uncertain financial times, and exploring what the School will look like in the future. We will keep you updated on actions by the Board of Directors.
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| | | | | | |  The Gala was a Huge Success!
Thank you to all those who attended and supported the Gala this year! The event was a great success, and we are grateful to all the committee members, patrons, sponsors, and attendees for their support. With more than 750 people in attendance, the Guild raised more than $100,000 during the online and live auctions. Clare and Eric Ranney are the proud new owners of the sweet puppy and Noni Southall will be sporting around in the brand new MINI Cooper that she won in the raffle. Of course, the sentimental favorites in the auctions were the Steve Penley children's art work! Thank you again to our generous Gala corporate sponsors, including: Russell Lands On Lake Martin – Presenting Sponsor, Jerry Dilts & Associates-Patron Party Sponsor, Printpack, Inc., The Coca-Cola Company, Brand Banking Company, SONS Automotive Group, Barking Hound Village, Achoo Allergy and Air Products, Publix Super Markets Charities, Round Hill Capital, Lighthouse Financial Partners, Wells Fargo Insurance Services, Harrison Design Associates, Inc., Wynden Capital Management, St John Boutique, Equifax, Advanced Bionics, Shepherd Foundation, New York Prime, and Sherlock’s Wine Merchant.
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3160 Northside Parkway NW, Atlanta, GA 30327 • Phone: (404) 233-5332 • Fax: (404) 266-2175 | |
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