B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Has a Fang-tastic Halloween!
The B.R.I.D.G.E.S students let the ghoul times roll this past Friday evening celebrating Halloween as they dressed up in costumes and decorated their parent’s car with spiders, ghosts, and goblins. To add to the spooky fun, we also had balloons, candy, and music! Facilitators Donna Mansolillo and Kathy Gorman-Gard, Intern Caesar Falcon, and HDS Foundation Program Manager Liz Falk all participated in the event to make it a fun evening for the students. This year trick or treating took a different turn. Students drove through the bus loop at Cypress Bay where they stopped at four different stations and teachers came up to the car window to give their treats.
Prior to coming by to the school, students were given the fun task to be resourceful in figuring out how to decorate their car. Depending on their costume, many decided to keep the theme as they decorated their car. Vincent dressed up as Darth Vader and had Star Wars car decals all over the sides. On the back of the car he wrote, “May the Force Be with You”. Many of the other students decorated the cars with the traditional spooky decorations.
This event was yet another great opportunity for the B.R.I.D.G.E.S. students to show off their creativity! Lots of smiles were shared this fun evening! The students were delighted to be able to celebrate Halloween with their friends in a safe, yet fun way.
Homestead Parent Meeting Was a SUCCESS!
Last night, the HDS Foundation hosted a successful Parent Meeting with our Homestead Senior High School BRIDGES (Self-Determination Class). We were happy to have the opportunity to meet the parents and share the programs and resources the foundation has to offer.
The mission of the HDS Foundation is to provide services and resources to the families of teens and young adults on the Autism Spectrum. The goal of the BRIDGES program is to promote and support initiatives that create independence, employment, and the ability to access safe, affordable housing opportunities as the students transition from high school to post-secondary education.
President and Chairman of HDS Foundation, Cristina Miranda-Gilson shared important information that will help parents plan for their son or daughter’s journey as they prepare for their transition. A few hot topics that parents wanted more information about were: Legal Guardianship, Vocational Rehabilitation, Supplemental Security Income and Technical Schools.
It is important for parents to keep in mind that they play a main role in their child’s success when planning for their transition. Cristina encourages parents and students to create their own Toolbox for Success that includes skills that will benefit them as they move towards independence. These tools can be found by visiting the HDS Foundation resource page.
We look forward to a successful year with our Homestead Senior High School BRIDGES (Self Determination Class)! If you would like to watch the meeting, click on the video below.
We Look Forward to Tonight’s Homestead Senior High School B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Parent Meeting!
HDS Companies Come Together On National Unity Day 2020
HDS Companies recently came together for National Unity Day 2020 and wore orange to promote kindness, acceptance, and inclusion in our world. By doing this, employees took a stand that no child should ever experience bullying. PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center started Unity Day, October 2011 as a signature event of National Bullying Prevention Month. On this day, people all over the country would wear orange or display orange to raise awareness against bullying.
In 2006, PACER’s National Bullying Prevent Center partnered with a variety of national parent organizations, schools, parents, and students which have provided an abundance of resources to help bring awareness to how bullying has become widespread among children 8-17 years old. According to 10 studies across the United States, children with disabilities were two to three times more likely to be bullied than their nondisabled peers because they may find it hard to “read” social signs.
HDS Companies rises and stands up against bullying! To read more information on National Unity Day, click here!
Say No To Cyberbullying
In a digital age, teens have constant access to their electronics whether it is a cell phone, tablet, or computer to communicate and socialize with their friends. This makes them an easy target to be cyberbullied. Cyberbullying is the use of technology to harass, threaten or embarrass another person using aggressive or rude texts, tweets, pictures or videos, posts, or messages.
According to the Center for Disease Control, 1 in 6 high school students reported being cyberbullied. To protect yourself from cyberbullying, here are some tips for teens to follow while using electronics:
*Protect your password
*Pause before you post
*Set up privacy controls
*Never open messages from people you do not know
*Log out of your personal account on public computers
(10 Tips for Teens to Prevent Cyberbullying by Brooke De Lench-Moms TEAM)
National Bullying Prevention Month
In 2006, the PACER Center-Champions for Children with Disabilities founded PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center. Through various partnerships with national parent organizations, PACER was able to provide schools, parents, and students with an abundance of resources to help bring awareness to how bullying has become widespread among children 8-17 years old. This campaign was started to help shift the original thinking that bullying was a “childhood rite of passage” and that it helped to “make kids tougher”.
According to 10 studies across the United States, children with disabilities were two to three times more likely to be bullied than their nondisabled peers because they may find it hard to “read” social signs. Teachers, parents, and caregivers must take action to help their child from being bullied and prevent this from happening again.
(Disabilities: Insights from Across Fields and Around the World; Marshall, Kendall, Banks & Gover (Eds.), 2009.)
HDS Foundation Welcomes the B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Class Back!
Last week, the HDS Foundation had the pleasure to virtually attend the B.R.I.D.G.E.S. class. Over the past years, we have visited the students to introduce ourselves and tell them about how HDS Foundation is involved in the B.R.I.D.G.E.S. program. A special lunch and dessert treat is always part of our visit with the students. One of our favorite parts of the visit, is spending time talking to the students and getting to know them.
This year, things were a little different as we made our plans for this school year. After our meet and greet last Tuesday, we had the students come to the school to pick up a goodie bag that we prepared for them to feel extra special. Each student received, hand sanitizer, water bottle, journal, pens, but the best of all was a gift card to Cold Stone Creamery.
It was great to see the students, as they drove by to receive their goodie bags at the high school. We look forward to attending more classes to see the students and the progress they are making this school year.
HDS Foundation Recorded Zoom Parent Meeting
If you were not able to attend the parent meeting, or if you would like to learn more about the HDS Foundation mission and the programs we provide, please watch the video above. The video is a recording from our most recent Zoom Parent Meeting with the Cypress Bay B.R.I.D.G.E.S. parents. You can also find the PDF Version of the PowerPoint by clicking here: Link to PowerPoint PDF
B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Parent Zoom Meeting
The HDS Foundation B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Parent Meeting was a SUCCESS! Our board members kicked the meeting off by introducing themselves and sharing their overview on how the program has grown over the years. After the introductions were made, our President and Chairman, Cristina Miranda-Gilson, took over and lead the meeting by diving deep into our mission of the HDS Foundation.
Cristina shared that as a non-profit organization, the HDS Foundation was started in support of her daughter, Kate Gilson-Miranda, and individuals who also have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The primary focus of the organization is to support a three-prong approach to transition. Cristina emphasized that in order to successfully achieve our mission and vision statements, families, friends and the community must help create awareness. She describes how teens and young adults can be better prepared to meet the demands of transitioning with the help and participation of the B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Program. This program is structured in a form of a grant and supports the development of school-based social and community life skill activities designed to meet the needs of high school students with ASD.
Although COVID has changed our in-person community-based instruction activities to virtual, our goal continues to make this year as meaningful as possible while providing the needed support to parents, teachers and students.
Cristina continued the presentation by going over the additional programs we offer: College Mentors and Social Activities Program (SAP). These programs provide guidance and social support to enhance the lives of older teens and young adults.
She concluded the presentation by informing parents about the importance of our Toolbox for Success. Each student and family will create their own toolbox that includes family resources, skills that need to be worked on, experiences that will benefit the student and family, and planning for their post-secondary journey.
As we wrapped up the meeting, Cristina opened the floor for parents to ask any questions. It was amazing to see how engaged all parents were, and the variety of questions being asked. We were able to go through each question with an in-depth answer to guide the parents. We loved being able to have this opportunity to share, support and encourage the parents as they go through this journey with their child.
Make sure to stay informed and engaged by following our social media platforms on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter!
@hdsfoundation
HDS Foundation and B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Parents Kick-Off the New School Year
The HDS Foundation is super excited to meet our parents in tomorrow’s B.R.I.D.G.E.S. Parent Meeting! We look forward to sharing what our program is all about along with creative ways we will continue to achieve our mission in our “new normal”.