School Community Based Program

School Community Based Program
Grades K-3

Ms. Allison Castel

Our Special Education Instructional Assistants


Ms. Hackett	Ms. Moron	Ms. Thomas

In the K-3 School Community Based program; the students spend part of the day in our room learning functional life skills and part of the day in their regular homeroom classes. In our class, we are constantly working on various skills such as, communication, functional academics, self-help, fine and gross motor skills, etc. Our team consists of the Special Education Teacher - Ms. Allison Castel and three Instructional Assistants - Risa Hackett, Liliana Moron, and Imalia Thomas. The students also benefit from a Speech Language Pathologist - Rebecca Dickinson, Physical Therapist - Carmel Kalunga, and Occupational Therapist - Anne Duignan.

Please feel free to come by and meet our dedicated staff and great students! We love visitors!

Mission Statement
We will provide a meaningful inclusive environment that ensures every child maximum opportunities to learn and be an active member of the school community.

Math
We will be working on functional math skills this quarter. The students will be identifying numbers, counting using manipulatives, matching numbers to concrete objects, and working on new skills - few vs. many, big vs. little, etc.

Reading
Our class will be reading a variety of books focusing on “Fall” and “Pumpkins.” We will be learning about Fall Colors - Red, Yellow, Green, Orange and Black. We will read books about Apples, Pumpkins, and Halloween in the month of October. The students will learn new functional words and Picture Communication Symbols that they will be able to use and recognize in various environments. In addition to reading, we will be cooking many delicious treats using Apples and Pumpkins as the main ingredients!

Functional Words
Our class will be working on using and recognizing new functional words that they have learned from our various Reading units. Additionally, each month six new words and Picture Communication Symbols will be introduced. These words will be well-known with the holidays and seasons in mind that are a part of that particular month. The students will also be working on identifying signs in our community and name recognition.

Science/Social Studies
Our class will be studying Butterflies this quarter. The students will be participating in hands-on science lessons in our classroom and in their homeroom classroom. For this science unit, we will be reading “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle.

Community Trips
Our class will be participating in Community Based Instruction on Friday mornings. These trips enable the students to use various functional life skills in a natural environment. The students will be focusing on good communication, travel safety, social skills and money skills.

If your child is going to be tardy on a Friday morning, Please keep in mind that the community bus leaves school at 10:00 AM.

Birthdays
Please feel free to join your child for his/her classroom birthday party! We will send home a notice a few days in advance to let you know what day and what time we will be celebrating. If you are unable to attend, feel free to send in goodies with your child to school.

Instructional Learning Sites

Learn to sign the American Sign Language alphabet.

SERI Special Education Resources on the Internet

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Ms. Castel would love to receive your email. If you have questions or concerns about your child and would prefer to correspond electronically, please email:

Ms. Allison Castel