It’s Official
The Cypress Bay H.S. Social Skills students are on their way to being good money managers. This week, the entire class went to the Bank of America branch at Weston Commons to officially activate their bank accounts. Earlier in the month, Bank of America staff met with the parents of the Social Skills students at school to open up their accounts. The trip taken this past week was scheduled as a follow up to actually activate the previously discussed accounts and to make sure the students knew exactly how to deposit funds. Many of them seemed quite excited upon arrival at the bank, and all of them left informed. This is because the bank staff kindly took the time to completely and comprehensively explain banking procedures. As a result, each of the students left with the understanding of how to deposit their own funds and why they would and should do so. Equally as important, they had the opportunity to work with the tellers, one-on-one, to make their first official deposit, thus seeing exactly how the process works in real time. The students have been learning, and will continue to learn, money management through various activities, in which they will be paying for their own meals, supplies, etc. Today, actually, the students had lunch at Panera Bread, where they ordered and paid for their own food.
With that, it is clear that today was quite a helpful and eventful day for the class. They not only met with bank workers and learned, firsthand, how the world of banking operates and why it operates that way, but they also practiced independence – taking care of themselves with respect to both money and food. It is events like these that truly give the students insight into what successful independent living requires on a daily basis.
Bank of America Visits the Bay
Saturday, October 3 was an exciting day for our Social Skills Project class students. Most of them visited and met with Bank of America executives who were kind enough to give their time to Cypress Bay’s ESE department on a Saturday. These executives sat with the students, and their parents, and aided greatly in helping the students understand more about the functions of bank accounts and how they are useful on a daily basis. Through a grant from the HDS Foundation, each student had the opportunity to open a bank account and will be depositing funds in it to use during class daily living activities. The students will be going out in the community to work on and further develop everyday living skills needed to successfully and smoothly carry out activities like going to restaurants and paying for their meals, or shopping at local grocery and drug stores to purchase food, drinks, and other essential items. Their new ATM accounts will allow them the opportunity to deploy some of the skills they are learning in class and see how those skills truly play a part in the real world. So, the accounts will essentially help the students master the daily living skills needed to ensure successful long-term independence. Understanding practical banking and how to manage money are vital components of living independently.
Thank you to Ms. Mansollilo, Ms. Gard, Dr. Rizzo-Weiner and the Bank of America staff for taking time on Saturday to do this for the students – the activity was helpful and largely impactful on these students’ lives.
JAFCO 2015 In My Shoes Lunch
JAFCO’s Children’s Ability Center kicked off the season with its most successful fundraiser, the 5th Annual In My Shoes luncheon at Boca West Country Club on October 2, 2015. With 750 people in attendance, the organization raised close to $200,000. 100% of those proceeds will directly support family enrichment and respite programs offered at JAFCO’s Children’s Ability Center for families and children with developmental disabilities. The HDS Foundation was honored to attend this year’s In Your Shoes recognition lunch, as it is hugely impactful on the lives of many in that it immensely aids in the funding of helpful and necessary programs. Meagan Bouscher-Miranda, Board Member, and Anthony Caruso attended this year’s event as representatives of HDS.
The program this year focused on introducing to families and extended families, who have a developmentally disabled child relative, what exactly it is like walking in said child’s shoes. In other words, the event paid homage to and acknowledged the struggles endured by developmentally disabled children. It was a meaningful and heartfelt, as well as an incredibly educational experience for all. Those in attendance participated in the event’s traditional ribbon ceremony, in which the guests hold onto a yellow ribbon around the tables and stand in support of any guests who have children or other relatives with developmental disabilities. In addition, the guests watched a video about the center that opened just over one year ago. Next year’s In My Shoes luncheon is already scheduled for September 23, 2016. The committee will begin planning in late February, 2016.
Money Management
On September 25, 2015 the HDS Foundation, along with executives from Bank of America, hosted a lunch workshop related to bank accounts, ATMs, and learning to manage money for students. Bank of America collaborated with the students, explaining the types of accounts, security, the benefits and responsibilities of managing a bank account, and other important information. The students had many questions about a number of the facets of banking, including security, how and where they could potentially use their accounts, and other important points about money management. This experience proved to be quite beneficial for the students, as they were able to get a better understanding of money management and banking. And, this newfound understanding is key for activities to come, in which bank account usage will be involved. Each student was presented with the option of creating a bank account, which will be used during class activities whilst in the community. This is an area of independence skills instruction that both Ms. Mansollilo and Ms. Gard will be focusing on. There will be a follow up activity in which Bank of America will be coming to the school to meet with the parents, and bank account applications will be processed. The students are very excited about this new venture – it takes them one step closer to being fully prepared for successful independent living.
Neighbors and Friends
This past month, the HDS Foundation had the opportunity to collaborate with the ESE Social Skills project class in a ‘getting to know each other’ lunch event. Cristina Miranda, President of the HDS Foundation, together with Ms. Donna Mansollilo, Mrs. Kathleen Gorman-Gard (both co-teachers of this project class), and Dr. Sandy Rizzo Weiner of Customized Interventions coordinated this activity. A custom map was created in order to aid the students in familiarizing themselves with the Weston area, specifically with the locations they frequent, including restaurants, grocery stores, and movie theaters. Additionally, the students engaged in informative “friendship interviews,” in which they were able to find out more about each other. Following each interview question, the students rotated and partnered up with a new classmate to make sure they each had opportunities to interview different classmates, making for a wholly diversified experience. Through this activity, they learned a great deal about each other, including their favorite foods, what kind of movies they liked, and which of them was their neighbor.
Although this experience seems simple and introductory on the surface, it nonetheless is vital for the development of the students’ social skills. Possessing the ability to talk to somebody unfamiliar is a huge component of socializing and making new friends. The students gained exposure to this through the asking of questions they carried out. Even more, though, is the understanding of where a person comes from and how he or she lives on a day-to-day basis. This knowledge of a person’s background gives insight into the lens through which that person views the world, otherwise known as their own perspective. And, in socializing, perspective is key. Understanding where a person is coming from and how they may be feeling is vital to having successful conversation. The exposure the students got to this concept from this lunch event has brought them one step closer to feeling comfortable and ready to converse in social situations.
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