Well things have been quiet in the mainstream - which is actually a really good thing. It means that the school has continued to do what good schools do - cater as best they can to the kids they have. The sport of the term is basketball which Hannah doesn't like as much as gymnastics - but otherwise she is continuing on her merry way... She has a couple of gorgeous little boys who are her 'besties'. When I ask her who she played with she says their name - it is so cute. She is starting to understand about Year 1 because the teachers have been talking about it and in fact we will be meeting the principal and the kindy teachers to discuss planning for Hannah for next year soon - sigh - another transition. I am hoping that there won't be any issue with her going into Year 1 - but what supports she will need and which class she will be in and who gets the jackpot of teaching her - that will bbe up for grabs I guess. I have been trying to check out the grade 1 teachers - I see the Year 2 ones more often as I help with Multilit each week - so I know that either of them would be fine - the current Year 1 teachers sound like they'd be fine - I just don't know them as well. Her funding for support is unlikely to change so they may want to consider a bit more withdrawal time as an effective way to help develop her literacy and numeracy skills. Or of course they may consider keeping her with the same teacher which would be great. Who knows - I'll have to wait and see what comes out at the meeting when it happens.
Kit has been chosen for the school's enrichment program - which we are very proud of him for - they gave him some maths assessment and he scored well enough in it to go into the program. He has been a couple of times now (it is once a week) and he just loves it. I am glad that they have used a standardised test to decide who accesses the program - sometimes it looks to me like school simply use G&T as a marketing device - I like to see a school who genuinely wants to address the individual needs of its students and one that promotes BOTH it's learning supports and it's extension programs as of equal relevance/importance. You'd be surprised how many high schools mention G&T but make NO mention of 'special needs' - yup so to those schools I say - "you lose one if you don't welcome the other - cos I can give you the best of both worlds..."
Both twins got awards at school assembly yesterday which was nice - Han for participation and interest in a learning activity and Kit for his attitude towards his learning.
Han's reading is coming along beautifully - last night she brought home a new reader and she had such a big grin on her little face as she clearly 'read' the title "We Dress Up". Gorgeous.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Vision
Last night I watched Q & A on the abc with some excitement - as a political junkie to have the PM front up for a round of unscripted questions from the public - too good a viewing opportunity to miss. I went to their website and lodged an online question - they didn't use it - what happened was way better - quite close to the end of the show (48:55 minutes in to be exact! - you can see it on the iview) a woman stood up to give her question. She began with a courteous greeting - here is her question:
"You spoke about your own education opportunities earlier. I have a five year old daughter with Down Syndrome who has just started mainstream school. Do you share my vision of a fully inclusive education system where children with disabilities can thrive and succeed at school? And if so what are you doing to make it happen?"
Whoo Hoo - that was pretty much exactly the wroding of my own question although I had also said how pleased I was to see the government's policy on improving funding for EI services.
The PM answered:
"Yes I share your vision and yes I understand we are some way from achieving it. We've got more to do but we have as a government increased the amount of money going to support children with special needs in our schools but there's more to do. And one of the things I want to do as we review school funding is make sure we are taking into account the needs of children with disabilities better than they are taken into account now. So we're a government that's almost doubled the amount of money going into school education it's a start but there is more to do.
One of the things we've announced in this campaign is rolling out better packages of assistance. We've started a system for dealing with children with autism that enabled families to get early intervention, speech therapy, the kinds of things that can make a difference early on. We want to roll that out for more children with different forms of disabilities so that will help make a difference too.
But the vision of inclusion is a good one and we want to keep working to get that vision working in schools right around the country."
I hung on her every word. Now I could focus on what the response reveals about the state of the current system but I won't - instead - YAY for JB the special needs Mama who stood up and asked the question (cos yes we are still at that point in the discussion in this country! When you embark on the inclusive journey it feels like you are finding your way along a dark and murky path that few have gone before. The way is steep and tricky with occassional blasts of light and fresh air and fortunately if you fall down you'll probably find the clues, the red cloth swatch left behind as a clue or as comfort by the even braver souls who have gone before you). JB gave us and our kids a voice. We got a mention on national tv. How cool is that? On a show that must have blasted the ratings. We got a response from the PM that I believe was honest and heartfelt. From what I have read I think that JG and Bill Shorten 'get it' by and large - and that tey are willing to try and improve things. The introduction of a National Disability Scheme is another area that I am glad to hear them working on. So for now - I am basking in the 'face' that was given to Hannah with that response. Now to the callenges of structuring the funds, meeting the individual needs of a significant and diverse group of students - they like all the other kids there - are our future ...
"You spoke about your own education opportunities earlier. I have a five year old daughter with Down Syndrome who has just started mainstream school. Do you share my vision of a fully inclusive education system where children with disabilities can thrive and succeed at school? And if so what are you doing to make it happen?"
Whoo Hoo - that was pretty much exactly the wroding of my own question although I had also said how pleased I was to see the government's policy on improving funding for EI services.
The PM answered:
"Yes I share your vision and yes I understand we are some way from achieving it. We've got more to do but we have as a government increased the amount of money going to support children with special needs in our schools but there's more to do. And one of the things I want to do as we review school funding is make sure we are taking into account the needs of children with disabilities better than they are taken into account now. So we're a government that's almost doubled the amount of money going into school education it's a start but there is more to do.
One of the things we've announced in this campaign is rolling out better packages of assistance. We've started a system for dealing with children with autism that enabled families to get early intervention, speech therapy, the kinds of things that can make a difference early on. We want to roll that out for more children with different forms of disabilities so that will help make a difference too.
But the vision of inclusion is a good one and we want to keep working to get that vision working in schools right around the country."
I hung on her every word. Now I could focus on what the response reveals about the state of the current system but I won't - instead - YAY for JB the special needs Mama who stood up and asked the question (cos yes we are still at that point in the discussion in this country! When you embark on the inclusive journey it feels like you are finding your way along a dark and murky path that few have gone before. The way is steep and tricky with occassional blasts of light and fresh air and fortunately if you fall down you'll probably find the clues, the red cloth swatch left behind as a clue or as comfort by the even braver souls who have gone before you). JB gave us and our kids a voice. We got a mention on national tv. How cool is that? On a show that must have blasted the ratings. We got a response from the PM that I believe was honest and heartfelt. From what I have read I think that JG and Bill Shorten 'get it' by and large - and that tey are willing to try and improve things. The introduction of a National Disability Scheme is another area that I am glad to hear them working on. So for now - I am basking in the 'face' that was given to Hannah with that response. Now to the callenges of structuring the funds, meeting the individual needs of a significant and diverse group of students - they like all the other kids there - are our future ...
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