MORNING ANNOUNCEMENTS
4/22/24
Have you ever wanted to help make a difference in schools. Would you like to improve the educational experience of all students in Massachusetts. Then the State Student Advisory council is for you! Please see Ms Wilder in Guidance by Friday April 26th for more information!
Any junior or senior interested in working as an intern at a courthouse over the summer, please come to Guidance for more information. The hourly rate of pay is $17 per hour.
Video Club has been canceled for today.
Volunteers are needed for the Opening Day for baseball/softball this Sunday, April 28th. Here is a great opportunity to get those community service hours for our seniors, but anyone who is interested in helping out, please see Mrs. MacMillan in Guidance.
The Photo Club is pleased to announce the winner of this years “Best in Show” photo contest. Before we did a big thank you to all that submitted work and all that voted - we had over 100 votes for 9 entries.
Coming in as honorable mentions are Anthony Davidson and Mrs. Oliveira. This year's 1st place winner was Avrey Cloutier. Avery, come see Mr. Ennis for your prize!
4/22 Today’s hot breakfast is a mini waffle and sausage sandwich with tots. Other choices include a variety of pastries, soft pretzels, uncrustables, assorted breakfast sandwiches, smoothies, yogurt parfaits and the “pick 2” snack rack. For cereal lovers, check out the new cereal varieties at the speedy cereal display in front of the milk chest.
For lunch, the hotline is serving mac and cheese with chicken nuggets. Big daddy’s cheese pizza is at the pizza station and bacon cheeseburgers are on the grill. Freshly made grab and go’s include chicken caesar salads and wraps, Chicken bacon ranch wraps and salads, vegetarian mediterranean wraps, bagels w/ yogurt, tuna subs, ham subs and uncrustables.
Remember that uncrustable P&J grab and go lunches are now in brown paper bags in the grab and go fridges and check out the new summer flavors of seltzer waters!
Tuesday, April 25
Today is Neurodiversity Tuesday! Did you know that each person with autism is unique? Approximately 25 percent of individuals with ASD are nonverbal but can learn to communicate using other means such as sign language and/or a communication device. With that said, many of those on the autism spectrum have exceptional visual skills, music ability and academic skills. Only about 40 percent have an intellectual disability, but many have normal to above average intelligence. Never assume that someone with autism is not smart! No two people are the same. We are all a little bit different. Today’s challenge is to notice yourself: what’s different about you? Today’s notable neurodivergent is NASCAR Driver Armani Williams. Mr. Williams is just 22 years old and the first NASCAR driver to be openly diagnosed as autistic. Don’t forget to come tomorrow dressed in something that shows your passion!
Wednesday, April 26
Happy What’s Your Passion Wednesday. Today we hope to help you understand a little more about why many people on the autism spectrum struggle to socialize and make friends. Many autistic people will choose a few, sometimes seemingly random, things to be interested in. Sometimes this is one of the only topics that the person feels comfortable talking about. You might find this intense focus on their interests and hobbies to be a little awkward, but this interest can lead to great things! Did you know that famous actor Dan Aykroyd is autistic? Mr. Aykroyd loves all things paranormal and law enforcement. He even carries around a fake police badge! This intense focus on his interests helped to create one of everyone’s favorite movies: Ghostbusters! Be open minded and when you meet someone who may seem quirky or different, give them a fair chance. Your challenge today is to start a conversation with someone else about their passion! And don’t forget: wear red or hearts tomorrow to show appreciation of autistic individuals!
Thursday, April 27:
Today is Thankful Thursday! Most people with autism
are just like you when it comes to wanting friends. Some kids find it hard, while others don’t. One hurdle is that many people with autism struggle to make direct eye contact when having a conversation. Eye contact could be making them uncomfortable or making it hard to focus on the other person’s words. This lack of eye contact has people missing important facial expressions. Facial expressions say just as much as words! It doesn’t help that reading facial expressions and body language doesn’t usually come naturally to people with ASD. Your patience and understanding when chatting with a person with autism is kind and can help that person to practice their social skills. Today’s notable neurodivergent is environmental
activist Greta Thunberg. At just 15 years old, Greta became famous for challenging Swedish Parliament to take action against the climate crisis. Take the challenge today and include someone that you normally wouldn’t. See you tomorrow as we start the weekend early with a Sensory-Friendly Pajama Friday!
Friday, April 28:
Happy Sensory-Friendly Friday! This is NAME. Imagine for a minute that the loud cheering of a
basketball game is ten times the regular volume. Would you cover your ears? Imagine that all your clothes have itchy tags! What about the bright lights of a school dance seeming 100 times brighter to you and only you? This would make enjoying yourself in many situations really hard. Many people with autism have sensory challenges. This increases the perception of
volume, touch, brightness, etc. of things by huge amounts. This often results in people covering their ears, wearing headphones or leaving a situation when the volume becomes unbearable to them. It would be like someone throwing you in an almost frozen lake and then not understanding when you are too cold and want to come out. Today’s notable neurodivergent is Temple Grandin. Because of her experience with sensory challenges, Dr. Grandin is more in-tuned and understanding of the experiences of different animals. This has helped her to make big changes in how to make farm animals in the agricultural industry more comfortable and taken care of. What makes you feel more comfortable and taken care of?
Your challenge today is to notice what habits you have that calm you down. Thank you for being so open and awesome in learning about Autism with us this week. I will leave you with a quote to think about this morning: “Autism is not a choice, acceptance is. Imagine if the opposite was true.”