Higashi Higashi Highlights
Spring 2015
Challenge
Believe
Together
Rites of Spring Springtime brings forth new growth and opportunities for our students. Life at Higashi is always in bloom. www.bostonhigashi.org • Helping children with autism exceed expectations since 1987 • (781) 961-0800
The Principal’s Perspective
A Message from th
I would like to thank everyone for joining take this opportunity to welcome all of ou
“The heart and soul of teaching is inspiring This is a special year as the Boston Higashi S passed quickly so please allow me, on others to achieve and be more than have they appreciation to all staff, past and present, School’s establishment, growth and succe think they can.” part of this organization and it is a pleasu
have faithfully served the Boston Higashi S
Our staff has worked with great diligence
overcome many April has been deemed National Autism Awareness Month. At Higashi, we take things beyond awareness tochallenges to perform in their performance and look forward to th autism in action. It is no coincidence that our Formal Dance, Beauty Day, Graduation and the Emergence Brunch breaking the barriers of autism and achie all happen in April. The school theme for this year is “Together Everyone Achieves More.” Our traditional rites of tion to our supporters and benefactors, f spring provide the evidence of the power of collaboration. Sustainable growth does not happen mere chance schoolby and our mission. or solo act. It takes the skills and talents of everyone working passionately and consistently across all contexts. Please enjoy the 25th Annual Celebration! Sincerely,
The Class of 2015 has demonstrated that working together brings out the best in everyone and makes the tasks at hand more fun. We are grateful for all the opportunities that we have had through the years to work in tandem with each of our graduates and their families. They leave indelible footprints in our hearts and minds. We wish them continued promise and possibilities as they become alumni and enter the adult world.
A Message from th
Our expectations for every student are grounded in our steadfast belief and commitment to teaching and learning. We are ever mindful that possibilities for growth and achievement are contained in every moment. These are not you to the 2012 A It is my joy to welcome gether. It is the 25th Annual Celebration confined only to our students. What makes Higashi real and unique is that teaching and learning is reciprocal. Just for this school year is CELEBRATE. We hav as we instruct students, they too inform and inspire us.
legacy of our founder, Dr. Kitahara, and th to the enduring and sustaining friendship Our Annual Road Race was an amazing display of courage, true grit and pride. For fifteen students it was our theiralumni and their familie acknowledge first one. All of our families turned out to cheer not only for their child, but also for everyone’s It our wasstudents, a Wechild. cherish families and frie
crowded field for the Family Race. We had marathoners, sprinters, novice and veteran runners and hale and hearty performance today will touch your h walkers. One grandmother wowed the crowd as she danced across the finish line! After the Our presentation of awards age, and talents. You will not only be en and medals, our talented staff treated us to stellar music and dance performances. How theymotto foundinthe time to action. We challenge our stude practice together to deliver such professional renderings will remain a mystery. potential and know when we all work tog
Thank you for being with us today. On wi
We look forward to our upcoming Annual Celebration on June 21st. It will be another specialBest time for that Higashi Regards, pride to shine. Deborah Donovan Principal
JUN 21 JUN 21 JUN 21 - JUL 6
UPCOMING EVENTS ALUMNI BRUNCH 11am-12:30 pm Lombardo’s
ANNUAL CELEBRATION 2:30pm - 5:00 pm
King Philip Regional High School
SUMMER PROGRAM June 21st - July 6th
JUL 6 | Parent’s Collaboration Meeting 9:30 am - Noon JUL 18 | Family Day 11:30 am - 3:30 pm JUL 31 | Sibling Day 9:30 am - 1:00 pm AUG 9 | Bon Dance Festival @ Higashi (Open to the Public) 3:00 pm - 5:30 pm For the latest news and events, visit our website at www.bostonhigashi.org
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Class Notes THE CIRCLE OF LIFE This semester in High School we are learning about life cycles. The students are planting a variety of flowers and vegetables to track their growth and practice caring for them. High School D Class has adopted a tadpole! The class voted on a name, and they are very excited to watch their new friend, Kermit, grow!
A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS This semster Junior High welcomed a new friend, Matty! As we have been working on identifying personal details and communicating with peers, C-class put those skills to good use. They had a great time getting to know Matty by asking him questions, and creating a bulletin board to introduce him to everyone! WHERE IN THE WORLD?
Middle School has started an “Around the World” unit in Language Arts during which they are learning about various countries. Each class is focusing on one country, and will teach the other classes about their chosen country during our very own “World Fair” at the end of June. Middle School D class got to celebrate Cinco de Mayo while learning about Mexico. (The food was a big hit!) MEET THE COMMUNITY HELPERS The Elementary Division learned about community helpers in Language Arts this term. We finished the quarter by taking a field trip to the post office to see some postal workers in action! Students enjoyed buying stamps, sending a package, and putting letters in the mailbox.
GENERALIZING OUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS TO THE COMMUNITY Our High School Girls’ Social Group went on a recent field trip to South Shore Plaza. In our Communication classes we have been practicing using wallets and making purchases during “special snack.” We helped the girls to generalize these skills in a natural setting by taking them to purchase purses to carry their wallets and personal items. They were each able the choose a purse of their liking, and complete the purchase process with minimal support. They also purchased their own lunches in the food court using their new purses. The trip was a great success and fantastic social learning opportunity. We would like to thank High School student Adrienne’s mother for making this trip possible!
Residential Reflections GIRL ON THE TOWN In April, Hayley put her community skills to good use, representing BHS (and the Girls Division) at the Japan Festival on Boston Common. Along with her friends and teachers, Hayley had the chance to sell Higashi soaps, ceramics and t-shirts, and enjoy some Japanese music, dancing and food! Great job, Hayley, we’re proud of you!
LET’S GO FLY A KITE Spring is finally here, which means the Emergence Girls can frequently be found on the beach or out in nature! Kite flying on a sunny day has been the favorite outdoor activity of our most recent addition to EP Girls, Andrea. Welcome, and “Together” let’s shine!
OUTSIDE ADVENTURES
OUT AND ABOUT
Exposure to community activities begins in Middle School, and with the warmer weather comes more opportunities for hiking trips to the many parks around Massachusetts. Some recent favorites were our trips to Franklin Park, Borderland State Park, and Houghton’s Pond for a scavenger hunt! Hooray for warmer weather!
Our young men in Emergence and Young Adults have worked so hard this year to show their skills and generalize them in the community, from selling items at local festivals, to participating in community races. As we bid our graduates goodbye as they transition to their next stage of life, we send our congratulations for all of your accomplishments, and wish you much happiness in the future!
CHEFS IN TRAINING The High School A students are ready to cook! We are eagerly awaiting the completion of the culinary arts room to do what we like best on Wednesdays, making our own dinner. (We are also proud to wear our personalized aprons!) One of our favorite meals is Italian night with hand-rolled meatballs. Yum!
LETS CELEBRATE! The Junior High Division had a great time celebrating our monthly birthday party! It was also a great opportunity for our newest member, Nathan, to get a “taste” of how sweet Higashi Residential life can be. Welcome, Nathan!
PARENTS IN THE POOL We kicked off Autism Awareness Month in April with a training for parents in our brand new Pool Complex! Parents and family members enjoyed a structured but relaxed session of pool activities, including diving for rings, kicking practice while sitting on the edge, and even a game of tag called “Avoid the Shark.” The session concluded with some “free swim” time, a student favorite.
READY TO ROLL High School B always enjoys heading out into the community, but a favorite destination this semester has been bowling at Westgate Lanes in Brockton. From working on our form, to timing our ball release, our bowling skills are improving, and it shows!
We are happy to announce that plans are currently underway for “Family Swim” sessions on a more frequent basis. Our first session was held May 16th, and we hope to continue our “Family Swim” offerings throughout the summer. Registration is a must, so visit our website, www.bostonhigashi. org for future dates and times, online registration, and photos from past events. See you in the pool!
Greetings from the Parent Association! As we say goodbye to winter, it is a true Parent Perspectives pleasure this year to welcome spring and look forward to summer, with opportunities to swim in the new pool! Saturday, May 9th, we had the annual BHS Road Race. Congratulations to all the children who work so hard year round to prepare for this school event. We would like to thank Paula Baldassini, the BHSPA recording secretary, for her continued hard work in organizing Staff Appreciation events. From pizza to breakfasts, Paula coordinates everything from the meals to the volunteers. On Sunday, June 21st, we will celebrate the 28th Annual Celebration in Wrentham, MA. This is an amazing day of performances by our students. This would not be possible without the tremendous hard work and dedication of our staff. The Paw Sox fundraiser happens on Sunday, June 28th, at 1pm, McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, RI. Tickets are $9 and ½ the proceeds go to the BHSPA. Tickets will be available at school by calling Maryellen Paradise at x109 or emailing her at mparadise@bostonhigashi.org . The last day tickets will be available will be at the Annual Celebration, on June 21st. Now is a good time to begin to think about elections for the coming year for the Parent Association Board. If you are interested, please contact Maryellen Paradise by email or phone. The BHSPA could not do what it does without your donations, whether volunteering for an event or financial contributions. Like our theme for this 2014-2015 school year, “Together,” we all make a difference. It is an honor to serve as President of the BHSPA. Please feel free to contact me by phone at 508-813-0587 or email me at lisa_burgess@comcast.net Warm Regards, Lisa Burgess President – Boston Higashi President Association
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f o ass
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5 1 20
Zevi William Borlam
William James Dunn
“The future belongs to Kevin Huang
Michael Mark Kiss
those who
Eliezer Levin
believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
Matthew E. Mitchell, Jr. Abigail Catherine Parsons Ryan Michael Scanlon
-Eleanor Roosevelt
Photos courtesy of Lifetouch
April always brings special rites of passage and treasured annual traditions for Boston Higashi. Our Formal Dance, Graduation and Emergence Brunch are always poignant times of great reflection and joyous celebration. These events make us take time from our busy schedules to pause and ponder how swiftly time passes. Over 400 members of the Higashi Community gathered at Lombardo’s in Randolph on April 9th, to celebrate the next phase of the journey for our eight graduates, at the 2015 Formal Dance. The graduates arrived in style in two limousines, graciously donated by Veteran’s Livery in Weymouth. Although the weather was rainy, the smiles of all inside brought hopeful rays of light even the sun could not match! The ballroom was awash in blues and purples as our graduates made their grand entrances, pausing to present flowers to their mothers or a special staff member. After receiving their well-deserved diplomas, it was time to celebrate with food and dancing. And what a celebration it was! The presence of so many alumni at our Formal Dance, and at so many other Higashi events throughout the year, is a true testament to the community that continues to thrive, even after graduation. We hope to see our new graduates at many events to come, and know that even as they embark on their separate journeys, they will always remain stiched together, a part of the fabric that makes up our “Higashi Family.”
Together
Ladies’ Day of Beauty
Congratulations Class of 2015
Formal Dance
le! y t S n i g n Celebrati e
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Emergence Brunch
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Development News Thanks to the efforts of so many kind and generous individuals, businesses, and corporations, the level of activity in the development department continues to grow. We continue to make new friends, create new partners, strengthen existing relationships, and expand our outreach; all in a strategic effort to bring greater opportunities to our students. We would like to thank the following individuals and companies for their unwavering commitment and generosity to the Boston Higashi School over the past few months: • Bose Corporation for donating a generous supply of Sound True Headphones for our computer labs. • Zildjian Corporation for hosting our Jazz Band and donating a gong, cymbals, drumsticks and other equipment to our music program. • DRL Architects for donating countless hours of design, site work and consulting to our Culinary Arts Kitchen Project. • The Schwartz, Dandrow and Whinnery families for donating snowshoes. Snowshoeing is now a favorite winter sport at Higashi. • Moving Stories Consultants and Engine Room Edit who are currently working on a new video for Higashi and have been here week in and week out filming. • Marathon Sports and Saucony for their generosity in donating gift certificates for the Road Race. • Bradshaw International for donating all the necessary pots, pans, utensils and cookware for the new kitchen.
Above: The Culinary Arts Kitchen Project is moving along nicely and should be completed in the next few weeks. Students at Higashi will end up with a state of the art kitchen that will be second to none.
If you know of anybody you think may be able to help, there are numerous opportunities at Higashi to do so. Please feel free to contact Paul Fanning, Chief Development Officer, at 781-961-0800 x146 or at paul.fanning@ bostonhigashi.org. You may surprise even yourself to see who in your world might be able to lend a hand. Our Culinary Arts Kitchen Project is nearing completion, and the First Floor Classroom Renovation is moving forward with plans to begin work this summer. Stay tuned for more information about the exciting changes on campus!
. . 2015 GALA . . SAVE THE DATE
OCTOBER 15TH
Continuing the Experience:
Creating lifelong opportunities for individuals with autism
Granite Links Golf Club 100 Quarry Hill Drive Quincy, MA 02169 Cocktail Reception 6:00-7:00 p.m.
Dinner/Presentation 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Our “Blueprints for the Future” campaign seeks to strengthen our existing programming, while expanding our reach to include adult program offerings. To learn more, please visit www.bostonhigashi.org.
self-reliance
self-expression
self-esteem
DID YOU KNOW? Our new website now features a “For Alumni” section! On it, you can find news about upcoming events, registration information, and listings of future continuing education opportunities at Higashi. Check back often as content will be updated regularly. You can also subscribe to our Calendar to receive emails about upcoming Higashi events. Hope to see you on campus soon!
Transition Planning: Raising Awareness for this Growing Need Transition planning after students “age out” of federally funded programming at age 22 has become a hot topic in the media in recent months. Although there has been an increase in awareness for the growing need for quality programming and services, for Higashi, transition planning is nothing new. When our Emergence Program was developed in 1999, our focus was on vocational opportunities, community involvement, and ultimately a successful transition for our students into their future living arrangements. During a recent trip to New York City, Joe Murphy, Director of Transition, and Jamie Marshall, Division Director of the Emergence Program, presented at Columbia University to a group of graduate students who will soon be entering the world of autism as future educators. The presentation was titled “Education to Life Long Inclusion,” and it highlighted our Emergence Program as well as the transition process that we have implemented at Boston Higashi School. The students and professor were highly motivated to learn about transition preparation and services, but also how transition planning happens specifically at the Boston Higashi School. The students had many questions and comments, and stayed well beyond the conclusion of the class. Maybe we will even see some of those students as future Higashi staff members! While in New York, we also had the privilege of attending a reception hosted by Terresa Liu and Richard Snyder for current and former parents/ students from the New York area. It was a great night to catch up with all who attended, and it was especially great to see 2011 graduate of Boston Higashi School, Arthur Yagudayev.
Collaboration Fosters Smooth Transitions The Boston Higashi School is proud to collaborate with adult service programs to provide the best outcomes for our former students after they transition from Higashi. We have provided on-site training about best practices, our methodology of Daily Life Therapy®, and how elements of our model can be incorporated into both day and residential programming at our students’ new placements. This past year we were priviledged to work with The Charles River Center in Needham, EMARC in Wakefield, and NUPATH Inc. in Woburn, impacting over 30 Higashi graduates in the next phase of their journey. We hope to continue to collaborate with adult service programs in future, to provide the smoothest possible transitions for our graduates for years to come.
Above: Our gracious hosts in New York, Richard Snyder and Terresa Liu, with Executive Director Mike Kelly. Right: 2011 graduate Arthur Yagudayev (center), and his grandmother (left) with Dr. Ann Roberts.
Left: Presenting at Columbia University. From left to right, Principal Deb Donovan, Jamie Marshall, Joe Murphy, Asst. Professor Hsu-Min Chiang, Executive Director Mike Kelly.
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Community Connections The International Meeting For Autism Research (IMFAR) provides Autism Spectrum Disorder researchers from around the world the opportunity to share their findings in the rapidly changing field of scientific investigation. The conference attracts many of the most lauded scientific minds to the cause of helping people with autism. Mike Kelly and Deb Donovan represented Boston Higashi School at this year’s annual meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah. Pictured below are Dr. Richard Grinker and Dr. Stephen Mott, who both sit on our Advisory Board. Higashi was proud to attend the Japan Festival Boston, held April 26th on Boston Common. Students Hayley and Kyle represented the “face of Higashi” at our booth, selling rosemary soap and Higashi Studios ceramics, while showing off their vocational skills. It was a great opportunity for those in the community to learn more about our programming, and we received much positive feedback about our booth and our fantastic student representatives!
We Are Champions Our annual Road Race was held on Saturday, May 9th, and we could not have asked for better weather, or a better turnout this year! The paths were lined with cheering families and friends, and the runners were clearly motivated by the clapping and accolades from the crowd. Our students proved that champions are not born, they are made, through hard work, dedication, and a drive to succeed. Congratulations to everyone who participated in the various races, from the students’ races, to the Day Care and Family Fun Runs. More photos from the event can be found on our website, www.bostonhigashi.org. Higashi once again gave a strong showing at the 15th Annual Evan’s Run, in support of the Evan Henry Foundation, on May 17th. Eleven students and nine staff competed in the 5K race, ranging in divisions from Elementary to the Emergence program. The race not only supports a great cause, but is a wonderful opportunity for students to generalize their acquired running skills to the community. Great job, everyone!
Fundraising Spotlight: The Paw Sox Our famous Higashi Jazz Band showcased their talents at Ryles Jazz Club (a favorite performance spot), on May 2nd. Their set was followed by a performance from the Milton Academy Jazz Combos, who host some of our students during integrated music rehearsals at Milton Academy. Keep an eye on our website for upcoming gigs!
Summer is quickly approaching, and the Parent Association is making plans for it’s annual Pawtucket Red Sox fundraiser! This year’s date is Sunday, June 28th at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Each year attendance has increased, and if you haven’t yet been to a Paw Sox game, now’s your opportunity! Tickets are only $9, and half of the proceeds benefits Boston Higashi School. Mark your calendars for some summertime fun! To purchase tickets, please contact Maryellen Paradise at mparadise@bostonhigashi.org. Hope to see you there!
e! t a D e h Save t , 2015 8th June 2
Congratulations to our Special Olympics athletes this year! Ryan, Hope, and Emily represented Higashi at the aquatics qualifier on May 3rd, competing in the 25 Yard Freestyle. Ryan and Hope received gold medals, and Emily took home the silver. Congrats to students and supporting staff. We’re proud of all your efforts!
The beautiful McCoy Stadium, home of the Pax Sox.
Mark your Calendars for
Sunday, August 16th This page: Standing proud after a long day of competition, wearing our hard-earned medals! Far left: Finishing strong in Higashi’s Road Race. Left: Out in support of Evan’s Run on May 17th.
10am - 4pm
A day of fishing, boating and FAMILY FUN to support autism awareness. Mystic Wellington Yacht Club 451 Fellsway, Medford, MA Adults $30 donation, Kids entry is FREE! For more information, please visit: www.mylittlebuddysboat.com
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BOSTON HIGASHI SCHOOL 800 North Main Street Randolph, MA 02638 (781) 961-0800 www.bostonhigashi.org
NEW
&
NOTABLE
PG 6
CELEBRATING OUR GRADUATES
PG 8
DEVELOPMENT NEWS
PG 9
For the latest news and events, visit our website at www.bostonhigashi.org, or subscribe to our online calendar
IN THIS ISSUE PG 2 | Principal’s Perspective
NEW ALUMNI WEBSITE PAGES
PGS 3-4 | Class Notes, Residential Reflections PG 5 | Parent Association
PG 9
TRANSITION PLANNING: A GROWING NEED
PGS 10 - 11 | Community Connections