Community Exploration: Picayune TV

 
Today staff and students of the Transition Training Facility went to a local media outlet called Victory Publishing, which produces the newspapers River Cities Tribune, The Picayune and multimedia component called PicayuneTV. Students had a chance to meet the Editor of both newspapers and to also explore the set of Picayune TV. They had a great time playing with the prompts and one student really got into the reporting aspect.
This was such a wonderful experience for our students and we look forward to doing more things with Victory Publishing in the coming months and years.

It's happening!

Today was our ground breaking for the Transition Training Facility. Our house is already taking shape and we're so excited to watch this process unfold. Thanks to everyone who came out today!

Merry Christmas from Transition

Please watch our Christmas Card video from the MFISD Transition Training Facility students!

Merry Christmas from Transition

A dream comes alive

A dream comes alive

Please click on "A dream comes alive" to see our intro video.

Thanksgiving Luncheon

The students took time out of their day to write their list of Top 10 Things to be Thankful For....they were very sweet and funny!

 Since we are trying to find new and inexpensive ways to decorate, we decided to make tablecloths from butcher paper and decorate them with various things and sayings.

Our awesome interim Superintendent and Special Services Director surprised us by coming to the feast. We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful support team at MFISD!

 Lunch with parents was so much fun! It's nice to have them in the room and observing their adult students hard at work!

One of the best parts of Thanksgiving is the leftovers! I am so proud of all my student chefs today for the love and dedication they put into making this luncheon a success!


Happy Thanksgiving to all of our wonderful friends, family and neighbors. We hope you feel as blessed as we are and thankful for the many gifts we have be given.

Funday Friday: Wimberley Glass Works

Making a vase- approximately half-way through the process at this point.

The pit area where the magic is created. Such a neat place to visit!

Our trip to Wimberley Glass Works was nothing short of amazing to say the least. We were able to sit in and watch a glob of hot, liquid material be molded into a beautful vase.

Cooking lesson: How to make flour tortillas

One of my awesome class parents offered to come up and show my students how to make flour tortillas. It was an awesome activity that everyone enjoyed participating in and also consuming! We'll be having her back soon to teach us how to make many other tranditional mexican dishes.

Where does it go?

My students have been challenged this year by where the food we buy really goes....the fridge or the freezer? After finding canned biscuits in the freezer and frozen dinners in the fridge, I decided it was time to pull out the Velco and picture cards to help guide them through the process of putting away the groceries. Boardmaker can do this for you, but I bought mine online through a vendor on Ebay.

Happy Halloween from LIFE Transition

My students wanted a creepy poster of themselves...so they got one thanks to some Picnik options!

My students put so much love into decorating and baking for our 1st Ever Transition Halloween Party, that I teared up a little with pride. Our hallways were frighteningly awesome, as was the academic room and the kitchen area.
The party was an overall success! We had approximately 25-30 students and 10 teachers/paras rovering between rooms. Pizza was served, then later came the dips/chips and desserts. Maybe next year we'll get to decorate and plan a party at the new transition house. Fingers crossed!

Funday Friday: Longhorn Caverns

As part of my initative to have student participation, good attendance and positive behavior both in the classoom and on their job site, my class receives the bonus of enjoying activities on "Funday Fridays."

Every Friday students will get to participate in an activity that is not only fun, but enriching in some way or another. This week the students were rewarded with a field trip to Longhorn Caverns. Some of the favorite parts of the tour were the crystals, formations that looked like things such as SpongeBob and the bats!

2010-2011 class photo

I would like to share an updated photo of my awesome group! If you would like a copy of this picture, e-mail me and I'll be happy to share it with you!

Go Mustangs!!

A housing tour

A special thanks to Mr. Bob Tueter of ReMax Marble Falls for giving my students a tour of some rental properties in the city limits. They enjoyed finding out what things cost and what you get for the amount of money you spend. It was very enriching!

Scavenger hunt for pumpkins....and information!

My students seem to get very bored by walking into a location and listening to a person discuss their services. I learned this the second week of school and decided to re-vamp my lessons. This lesson takes a lot of pre-planning, but is worth every ounce of effort!

Objective: Teach students a component of residential life planning by having them engage local utility companies for clues and information about the business.


I had the students engage in decorating a set of pumpkins, which they LOVED! They spent an entire morning deciding what to draw on them and then actually doing the art work. That afternoon, I took the pumpkins to a local restaurant and asked them to hold the pumpkins for us and put them on the tables the following day, for the students, when we came in.
The next morning the students came in to find the pumpkins missing and a note from "the bandit" with a clue as to where the pumpkins might be. The students loaded our program vehicle and we went on a scavenger hunt.
Each business was given a clue and asked to tell the students what services they provide when preparing to move into a residence. At each stop, students would inquire about the pumpkins, receive information about the services, and then get another clue.
Doing any more than 4 or 5 stops would lose their interest, so we had a limited number of stops before the final clue sent them to the restaurant.


I was so excited and happy that my students were eager to learn and gain more information about housing expenses while also having fun.

Gaining insight through others

I am so impressed with the number of districts who are creating Life Skills Transition Programs. In fact, I came across one today that was called "Transition Academy" which made the program seem more like a trade school....and really it is on many levels.


Finding the various ways to teach a student something, in an appealing manner, has become the true task. My students seem to enjoy learning in the most informal manner (having fun and learning without knowing it). I have enjoyed finding other Transition program teacher's blogs and gaining new ideas. I hope I can provide the same in return.

Price comparison shopping

Our students have requested a television for the classroom. As part of a life lesson, students went out to three local businesses and found prices on televisions. Green is our pick for the best deal!

	Brand	Size	Price
WAL-MART
	VIZIO	32"	$358.00
	VIZIO	37"	$468.00
	VIZIO	42"	$548.00
	SONY HD	32"	$428.00
	SONY HD	40"	$798.00
	SONY HD	46"	$998.00
	LG	42"	$598.00
	SAMSUNG	32"	$398.00
	SAMSUNG	40"	$624.00
SEARS
	SAMSUNG	32"	$399.99
	SAMSUNG	40"	$700.00
	SAMSUNG	46"	$1,569.99
	SHARP	40"	$629.99
	SONY	32"	$404.99
C & D
	LG	42"	$720.00
	LG	47"	$970.00
	SONY	46"	$970.00

Work Attire: Part of the "Getting Hired" lesson

Transition students will be learning about the various stages of employment, starting with "the job hunt" and ending with the creation of resumes, which they can keep in their Transition Portfolios. The video above discusses what to wear and what not to wear when applying or interviewing for a job. It also discusses fashion and school attire.

My new blog!

Welcome parents, administrators, friends and community members,


    I started this blog to showcase all of the neat things we are doing at school. If you aren't familiar with what I'm doing this year, my first assignment as a classroom teacher, is within the Special Education department, in an awesome program called "Transition."
   The purpose of this program is to transition special needs adult students between public school and the community. We work closely with our local MHMR and each one of my kiddos has a job that they work at every afternoon.

     I'm going to post a photo of my crew here because they really are such a vital part of this program and I feel so fortunate to have them. Thank you Renee and Cathy!!