Higashi Highlights Summer 2019

Higashi Highlights

Summer 2018-19

The little things that makes you feel better are like the happy sprinkles you add on top of your life. - Nouf Alfadl Challenge | Believe | Together www.bostonhigashi.org ǀ

Helping children with autism exceed expectations since 1987

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THE PRINCIPAL’S PERSPECTIVE Every school year seems to move through its own seasons and stages at quick speed while giving us multiple opportunities to learn more about autism, the world around us, our students and ourselves. The 2018-2019 school year with its theme, ‘Be Brave,’ was no exception. This theme proved to be more than just words on a page. It did its of job focusing and uniting our efforts across all divisions. It is no secret that it takes courage to learn and work at Boston Higashi School given the challenges that autism brings and the high expectations we have for every student. Every day we do indeed “run where the brave dare not go.”

Being brave may start as a solo act but it becomes far more powerful and sustainable and even joyful when it is practiced by the entire crew. It takes guts and glory, grit and grace to be Higashi strong!

Throughout the course of this past year there were multiple examples of courage and bravery demonstrated by all members of Higashi on any given day or night. We were honored to introduce and tour many visitors to our campus. From athletes to astronauts, journalists to corporate executives, researchers to practitioners, physicians to politicians, students and scholars from local, national and international venues; all came and experienced Daily Life Therapy® in action. Our students and staff were very gracious hosts and their generous spirits brought so many smiles, affirmations and genuine respect from our guests. No one ever leaves our campus without a personal memory or an experience. These are the souvenirs given from the heart, that our students impart that all of our guests they take with them.

Boston Higashi School is a strength-based learning environment. We take great pride in providing a physical environment that is conducive to learning that accommodates the individual and group learning needs of children with autism at various developmental stages. Our predictable routines encourage and support student progress both emotionally and academically and are facilitated by strong bonds with peers and teachers across all subject areas in both our day school and the residence.

All staff continues to develop and promote our shared mission, vision and core values for high quality schooling for each student in tandem with their respective individual educational plans and areas of interest.

The ongoing efforts to maintain and improve our campus buildings and grounds are always notable. The residential living rooms have all been updated and renovated to add to the ambience of home away from home for our students. We have created a new motor room on the first floor to enhance the service offerings for our youngest learners. The clinical team will play a key role preparing and engaging students in both movement and sensory based activities. This will enable them to develop readiness skills that will enhance their ability to learn both in and outside the classroom and master their own bodies in space which helps to regulate behavior and reduce anxiety. Plans are underway to renovate the special subject classrooms and also the classrooms on the second floor.

One year equals twelve months equal fifty-two weeks equal three hundred sixty-five days equal eight thousand seven hundred sixty hours equal five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes equal three million, one hundred fifty three thousand, six hundred seconds. Time has a way of accumulating at a rapid pace. I can attest that we occupied every moment in well-directed educational activities for the benefit of the students entrusted to our care. I remain engaged and energized by my role as the principal of this remarkable school. I am ever grateful to all my students, staff, parents and extended family members for all the times you made me ‘Be Brave’

Blessed, Resilient, Appreciated, Valiant and Empowered.

HIGHLIGHTS Higashi School Store Handmade items by our students Open weekdays during school hours A great place to shop for those holiday gifts!

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PG 4-5

RESIDENTIAL NEWS COMMUNITY TRIPS

PG 7

HIGASHI’S SPECIAL MOMENTS

PG 11

PARENT ASSOCIATION

CLASS NOTES

Our friends in Elementary have turned Shark Week into Shark Month! Their classrooms are covered in an array of ocean-themed activities, and summer seems to be the perfect time to learn about all things under the sea. They read a mixture of fiction and non-fiction texts, including student favorite “Clark the Shark.” What happens when a shark is just too excited at school? He invents some rhymes to help him remember to follow the rules of course!

The Middle School Division is learning all about thunderstorms in Science class. Fittingly, the featured book this month is “The Cloud Book” by Tommy dePaola, which talks about the different types of clouds, what they look like, and their names. What could be more perfect for this time of year? They played with rainsticks, watched a video about tornadoes, and even made some thunder sounds of their own by shaking a giant metal “thunder sheet!”

Younger High School is practicing their leisure skills,

Older High School is learning all about the beach, and

the physics behind building sandcastles. Science and Art classes have never been such fun! They visited Wollaston Beach and the Neponset Park and tested out their hypotheses with some hands-on fun. What’s the perfect ratio of water to sand to get that ultimate sandcastle shape to hold? Older High School knows!

Emergence Program has been hard at work learning

to ride bicycles for their Annual Bike Race. Each year the competition gets fiercer as students pick a theme and group up with wacky and fun names! This year’s theme is Disney, with silly team names and special t-shirt designs, students went racing around the track to bring their team the glory of winning! Students zoomed around so fast with the support of their familes and friends, it was a blast for everyone at the event. We can’t wait to see what they come up with for next year!`

YHS

learning all about summer fun and games through the featured book Jumanji! Summer means more time outdoors with friends and family, and they recently went to Forge Pond Park to enjoy some nature and play some cooperative outdoor games. Learning while enjoying some sunshine? The summer schedule at Higashi is truly the best!

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S U M M E R T I M E

The day of our Open Door Rehearsal is a very busy one!

Students are performing for the first time with an audience of parents and that can be a tough thing to do for anyone. So every year this day is a half day and in the residence it turns into Fun Day! Students are encouraged to kick back and relax with fun music, activities, swimming, ice cream and more! This year was no exception as all students enjoyed the happenings and danced the evening away.

This summer we shared a multiweek PE program for Older High School & Emergence Divisions with our ongoing partners with Access Sport America in Canton, MA. Located at the Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children, our students had the opportunities to try canoeing, paddle boards, kayaks and sailboats! Needless to say our students had a lot of fun with these activities! We had some crazy weather this summer but on those hotter days, there was no other place our students would rather be than on the water with Access Sports.

Summer time is all about relaxing and having fun. High School A was a prime example of that as they went out on bowling trips.

Our students got very competitive with staff, making everyone strive to do their best at a classic pass time activity.

We had the pleasure of having two New England Revolution players visit our students. The team sent Goalkeeper Brad Knighton and Midfielder Wilfried Zahibo. The players came in and showed off their skills before helping to referee our student matches. Each residential division sent student representatives to win glory for their friends! After some intense matches it was time for the Higashi Staff to strut their stuff. Staff were invited up for a juggling contest, shootout, and a dropkick contest. Winners of each contest walked away with some great NE Revs gear! Before all was done, Brad and Wilfried jumped into a big group picture and autographed photos for each student!

During PE classes for Elementary, Middle, & Younger High School Divisions, students are commuting to Central Rock Gym to overcome some fears and try their hands at indoor rock climbing. Groups were taking turns going to the gym and climbing the walls that are up to 20ft tall! We had a mix of the adventurous type, the nervous and the brave but at the end of each session, every student was able to climb and showed a sense of self pride after doing so.

Other trips during the summer included our Emergence Girls Division going for walks at Island Grove Park, out for picnics or even at our own pool! What better way to spend a hot summer weekend than to throw a pool party? We had the pool open to celebrate holidays and birthdays all summer!

C O M M U N I T Y

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SAVE THE DATE Boston Higashi School 5th Annual Gala Building Dreams Honoring Sean O’Brien President of Teamsters Local 25

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Granite Links Golf Club Qunicy, MA RSVP by September 27th to Marilou Wilkinson 781-961-0800 x139 or wilkinson@bostonhigashi.org

On an overcast morning this past July 11th, a giant tractor trailer adorned with a giant Teamsters Local 25 logo pulled up to the rear of the school. To the surprise of everyone, none other than Teamsters President and CEO, Sean O’Brien was behind the wheel. Sean got his start with the Teamsters as a driver, eventually becoming a Driving Instructor, before working his way up to his current position.

The truck was here as a gift from the Teamsters, so that all our Elementary, Middle and Jr. High School students would have the opportunity to sit in the driver’s seat, explore the cab and parade through the trailer which was set up as a conference room for union meetings. Although the weather was cloudy, it appeared like the sun was out, as for the second year in a row, the students were able experience such a unique opportunity . Thank you Teamsters for all you do for us and for families and kids all across New England impacted by autism.

Most of the time the summer months are looked at as a window of relaxation during a busy year. At Higashi we never stop moving but we do take a step back and relax in our own way. This summer we have had so many special visitors and little moments that really make us proud. We’ve been visited from friends all over the world, had numerous cultural experiences, received gifts from supporters and had our stories shared in the news. Our summer has been very busy, but we wouldn’t want it to be any other way. Thank you to all of our guests, past, present and future.

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a. Musashino Higashi Visitors b. 4th of July Randolp Parade c. Ms. Yuko Handa (Managing Director of Japan Society of Boston) & Mr. Eita Kitani (General Manager, Boston Branch of Mitsubishi Corporation)

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d. UMASS Dartmouth Kekeli Ensemble e. Delegation of J.H.S Students (Ota City Tokyo Japan) f. Michael Kiss & Dad, alumni, now family business employee g. Saxophone Donation from Yamaha Corporation of America

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SPECIAL MOMENTS c.

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ANNUAL CELEBRATION

Students and staff worked so hard for so many months to make this yearly event happen. From the moment winter break ends, BHS begins their Annual Celebration planning. It takes a lot of dedicated hard work from our students to shine the way they do on stage. Each music lesson, each PE class, every practice gets them ready for the big show! We say it every year but it always holds true, this show was bigger and better than the last! The students absolutely stunned the crowd with their incredible talents. 32 years strong and it gets better and better!

Wasshoi! Wasshoi! Wasshoi!

Bon Dance could not have been more perfect this year! We’ve been growing so much in recent years that we had to change the format a little this year to better accommodate our families. We could not have asked for a better day for it to happen though! On a Saturday morning, the weather was absolutely perfect! Each division made a Mikoshi that were all pieces of art to marvel at! We had booths full of fun games and competitions, singing and dancing, it was just an overall fun blasted morning!

BON DANCE

VACATION Vacation programs are always a great time at Higashi. This summer we had two camps, one in July and another in August.

For our students who love being outside and enjoying the summer weather, these camps are especially fun. Students get the opportunities to try new and fun activities.

Many of these camp sessions are planned by non other than our Residential Activity Leaders! These special subject teachers change up their academic lessons for more relaxing and entertaining activities.

This time our staff had outside yard games, drumming sessions, summer themed arts & crafts, slackline fun and special desserts like worms in mud! As if that was enough fun, our vacation programs are full of field trips too! We’ve had students exploring Forge Pond Park in Hanover, visiting animals at the WWI Memorial Park. Sometimes the field trips come to us in the form of horseback riding or a special visit from “A Fire truck for All” for a special learning moment and fun with spraying a fire hose.

The weekend of Family Day was hotter than usual, but that didn’t stop Higashi from having a good time! On Saturday July 20th, our Residential students hosted their families on the Higashi campus. We had the pool open, a giant inflatable water slide, lots of ice cream, music and games! Staff love this day each

year because they get the chance to relax and be with the family members of our residential students. It's a very special day for students when they can show off their friendships with peers and strong bonds with teachers that they have made at school in such a fun environment.

Hopefully next year won't be so hot!

PARENT ASSOCIATION Another great school year is coming to a close. It was a busy year from staff appreciation, to fundraising sales, and the monumental task of updating the PA Bylaws - and yet it all went by so fast. On behalf of the Parent Association, I would like to thank all the Higashi families who gave us their support. Together we accomplished so much! Thanks to the staff who worked so hard to take care of our kids. Whether an administrator, a teacher, or a member of the support staff, your dedication is why we parents choose Higashi.

FAMILY DAY

The CAEP Summer session was held on Saturday, July 27th. A record thirty eight former students signed up and enjoyed swimming, outdoor games, jazz band, and a cook-out! It was another successful session with the perfect summer weather!

ALUMNI NEWS

I personally would like to thank my fellow Parent Association Board Members for their commitment: Diane, James, Pam, Whitney, Lisa, Kate, and Christine. Your efforts were only outweighed by your humor and sense of fun!

We will welcome our elected and newly constituted board in September for the 2019-2020 school year.

Here's hoping for a new school year that's just a great!

Jill Gichuhi BHS Parent Association President

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BOSTON HIGASHI SCHOOL 800 North Main Street Randolph, MA 02368 (781) 961-0800 www.bostonhigashi.org

UPCOMING EVENTS SEP 25 OCT 10 OCT 19

PARENTS NIGHT 6pm - 8pm

BHS GALA 6pm - 9pm Granite Links Golf Club Qunicy, MA

SPORTS DAY 9:30am - 1:30pm

SEP 5 First Day of School Year Breakfast 8:30am - 9:45am Opening Ceremony 10am Meeting 10:30am - 12pm SEP 11 Iron Workers Golf Tournament 8am start time OCT 11 Open House / Guided Tour 10am - 12pm

OCT 30 Residential Costume / Dance Party 6pm - 7:30pm OCT 31 School Costume Party (EL, MS) 1:30pm - 3pm

For latest news and events visit our website at www.bostonhigashi.org