Another Random Post

There is a huge problem with starting school as early as we do.  Yeah, well, there's the whole heat thing, and the whole "starting school in the middle of summer" thing, but there's another problem.  Transfer students that receive any kind of special education services will often come to school without  a current IEP (Individual Education Program).  An IEP is the child's program.  It includes the student's certification, date of re-evaluation, present levels of performance, accommodations/modifications that the classroom teacher needs to incorporate, goals/objectives, and how much time the student is suppose to be in special education.  If a child transfers in during the year, it's not that much of a hassle to get the needed information.  However, since we start so early, most of the school systems that the students are transferring from haven't started back yet.  Therein lies the problem:  We aren't able to get records.  So, we have to take the parents' word that they were receiving services, write a "30-day IEP" so that we can evaluate and determine if the student is eligible under the state's guidelines.  More work for us, more meetings for the parent, teacher, and principal  to attend.  Word of advice:  If you're the parent of a special  needs child or have a child who goes to school speech therapy, take a copy of your child's IEP, evaluation report, and eligibility report to the school when you register.  That would be a current copy, not one that is more  than a year  old.  If you can't find it, contact the school and let them know you need a copy.  They are bound by law to give you a copy.
*climbing off of my soapbox now*

It was too hot yesterday to even think about turning on the oven or even the stove.  We had flat bread sandwiches for dinner.  They were delish!  And they didn't heat up the kitchen!  Lemonade Cheesecake was just the right thing to top it off.  This recipe came in my e-mail from Kraft today:

Lemonade Cheesecake
1 pkg. (8 oz) fat free cream cheese, softened
1tsp. Crystal Light Lemonade Flavor Drink Mix (1 packet of the "On the Go" mix was 1 tsp)
1/4 cup milk
1 tub (8 oz) Cool Whip Free Whipped Topping, thawed
1 ready to use graham cracker pie crust

Beat cream cheese and drink mix in bowl with mixer until well blended.  Gradually add milk, mixing until well blended.
Stir in Cool Whip; spoon into crust.
Refrigerate 4 hours or until firm.

It has just the right amount of lemon in it for me.  I'm guessing if you want more of a lemon taste, you could add some more Crystal Light to it.


Speaking of  lemonade, did you hear about the 11 year old in the big city next to where I live who raised $12,000 for an organization who feeds families in the area?  Last year he raised around $4500, but got started a little earlier this year.  Restaurants in the area allowed the boy to put jars near the cash registers, and a bank agreed to match up to $1386 that was collected on one day.  Good for him!

The head football coach at UT  (that's the real UT- Tennessee!) talked to the press Wednesday after practice.  I don't know how great of a football coach he is (his dad is the legendary Vince Dooley of UGa fame), but I really like what he says!  The heat must've been the topic of the day, because he addressed it and said something like:  "It's hot.  So what?  It's hot in Louisiana (where he was the head coach at La. Tech), Tuscaloosa, Gainesville, and Athens.  So what?"  I think he was tired of everybody talking about it.  He did mention that he didn't notice it was hot; he thought it was rather pleasant.  Here's a clip  of his talk.  It's kind of long (a little over 5 minutes), but if you don't watch all of it, at least watch the first minute.  I don't think he's going to coddle these boys!  LOVE HIM!

10 comments:

  1. I was so organized with our IEP. We have 2 copies :)

    I didn't think about how starting early would be an issue with that, but it does make sense. Some schools don't even start until Sept.

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  2. I have worked with children in sp. ed. if a child transfer and there is no paper work indicating Se Ed. services this delays setting a plan for the child until either papers are available or testing. The young man who got all of that money for a sp. cause, is a great salesman. we need more children like this tke care Rose

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  3. Football time in Tennessee!! Can't wait!

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  4. So hot to cook . . . we had waffles with fresh strawberries last night-pretty tasty and didn't heat up the house!
    Taylor
    Lumberjack's wife)

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  5. I can't imagine a parent caring enough to get an IEP but not caring enough to ensure the transfer of the information when they move. I mean, it only benefits their child, so what's the issue?

    But then again, I grew up in a military family where you constantly kept all records at hand because you might move very unexpectedly!

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  6. Bless the teachers in this country - underpaid, overworked, and frustrated!

    Registration was yesterday at the (Tennessee) school where my daughter teaches. Out of 17 students on the roll, 12 showed up, and 11 of them have ESL. Daughter called the parents of the other children and was able to reach only two - one told her she "forgot" about school, and the other said that she didn't know if her child would be going to that school, she was "thinking about maybe moving somewhere else."

    Don't get wrong - I am not making a political statement about illegal aliens in our country; I'm merely trying to point out teachers have a lot to deal with and deserve better salaries.

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  7. I can't wait to get home and do the lemon cheese cake. It sounds yummmy. I agree about the transfer in problems...especially when kids come from up north....where they don't start until after Labor Day...and by then they have missed two weeks.

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  8. I thought Derek Dooley did an awesome job at LA Tech. I was sorry to see him go. That is my local college!

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  9. YUM! Flat bread sandwiches and lemonade cheesecake sounds delish even at 9:30 in the morning!! :p

    Have a wonderful weekend!

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  10. Hi Mary, thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Tea is easy peasy..All you need is a cup or mug, a tea ball which you can buy at a grocery store or department store (holds the loose tea) and loose tea! Put some of the tea in the tea ball...drop in the cup and pour boiling hot water over. Just leave the tea ball in the cup for about 5 minutes, which is steeping it..remove the tea ball and drink! easy!

    Stop by and see me anytime!
    Barb

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