What’s Cooking? The Cooke Center For Learning and Development Fall 2011 Cooke Center News:
In this Issue: Cooke Alumni Success Stories
1
CCMS Club Day
2
CCA Urban Farm
2
Trip to the Transit Museum
3
Tsunami Foundation Gift
3
New SKILLs Building
4
Cooke Alumni: Where Are They Now? A Look at Two of Cooke’s Many Successful Alumni Stories As we embark on our 25th Anniversary year, we’d like to take a look at two of our former students, David and Alexis, and share their success stories.
A Letter from Cooke President Dear Parents and Friends, Recently an alumna called to catch up. She shared that she is married, the mother of two children, and a medical assistant. I was delighted to hear about her success and equally happy with her desire to reconnect with classmates and to help in any way she can. It reminded me that our Cooke Community is important while a student is with us, as well as long into the future. At our recent “Back to School Night,” parents happily reconnected with old friends and enthusiastically welcomed newcomers. This reminded me that the Cooke Community plays a critical role in the lives of our parents as well as our students. As we prepare for the celebration of our 25 th anniversary, what we celebrate is the establishment and growth of a community of families, faculty and friends who come together to ensure that children with special needs have access to high quality education. Working together, we are changing the lives of the children we serve. Sincerely, Michael Termini, PsyD
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David is a recent graduate of the SKILLs program. As part of his transition plan during his tenure at Cooke, David connected with Ken’s Krew, an organization which provides vocational training and job support services to individuals with developmental disabilities. In 2010, David began a part-time job at CVS, where he is responsible for managing store inventory. This is a position he thoroughly enjoys as it allows him the opportunity to flex his considerable muscle! David is also an active member of the Cooke Center Alumni Association. He especially enjoys getting down on the dance floor during the Annual Halloween Dance and Valentine’s Day Formal. He is looking forward to participating in many more alumni events in the future.
Since graduating from the Cooke Center Academy in 2009, Alexis has been busy exploring her interest in theatre. Her interest blossomed when she performed the roles of Mrs. Gulch and the Evil monkey in the Cooke Center Academy’s presentation of the Wizard of Oz in 2009. Recently she was cast as a Zombie in the Nicu Spoon Theatre’s production How the Day Runs Down. Alexis plans to continue to act and share her talents with the world. When she isn’t acting, Alexis is busy at her job at Whole Foods Market, where she is responsible for managing inventory on the store floor. Alexis credits the Transition Team at CCA with connecting her with ACCESVR (formerly VESID), who helped her access job coaching services from Contemporary Guidance Services. Alexis also enjoys participating in Alumni Association activities. During the 2010-2011 school year, she especially enjoyed catching up with former classmates over dinner at a local BBQ restaurant and is looking forward to many more activities in the future.