
From Our Psychology Department
Just For Kids:
A Comic Exploring The New Coronavirus
in English: https://5il.co/f7im
Espanol: https://5il.co/f7in
Chinese: https://5il.co/f7io

Our Psychology Department would like to share information on:
“Fear of Getting Sick and/or Dying, Fear of Someone
You Love Getting Sick and/or Dying“
Link: https://5il.co/f6yo

***Important Update***
The Governor just extended New York Pause to May 15. The Westchester School will re-open on Monday May 18, 2020. Our Distance learning plan will remain in effect until we re-open.

Resources For Feeling Isolated, Feeling Helpless, Feeling Sad/ Depressed From our Psychology Department
Link: https://5il.co/ew8l

**Important Update**
Today the Governor extended the Executive Order closing schools. The Westchester School will re-open on Wednesday April 29, 2020. Our Distance learning plan will remain in effect until we re-open.

A short read with some great Resources for Social Skills/Acquired Skills from our Psychology Department.
Click this Link: https://5il.co/eblb

***IMPORTANT UPDATE ***
The Governor extended the Executive Order closing schools. The Westchester School will re-open on Monday April 20, 2020. Our Distance learning plan will be in effect through April 9, 2020.

From our Psychology department---
Individuals with ASD are uniquely impacted by the many changes that have come with the emergence of COVID-19. This webinar will focus on practical tips for parents in supporting children with ASD during this time. We will discuss strategies for designing and implementing new routines, ways to approach explaining changes in daily life due to COVID, and how to maintain social skills virtually. We will also share resources specific to individuals with ASD.


Please READ this Great Find From Our OT/PT Department! —
This is great for our kids! Amazon canceled subscription of books and audio stories for children of all ages as long as school is closed! Kids everywhere can instantly stream incredible collection of stories, including titles across six different languages, that will help them continue dreaming, learning, and just being kids!
All stories are free to download on desktop, laptop, phone or tablet using the link below.
https://stories.audible.com/start-listen


Attached are various activities that are fun, easy, and most importantly targets different levels of developmental milestones. If you require further clarifications on any of the activities listed, please contact the primary Occupational/Physical therapist servicing your child.
Adjunto encontrarán varias actividades que son fáciles, divertidas y lo más importante diseñadas para las diferentes etapas del crecimiento. Si necesita explicación acerca de las actividades por favor comunicarse con el terapeuta ocupacional o físico de su hijo.

Our Speech and Language Distance Learning
English- https://5il.co/dysp

Please take a moment to look through this important information from our Psychology Department...
Managing Anxiety & Stress: https://5il.co/dwst


Our Distance Learning for Occupational & Physical Therapy in English and Espanol found in Documents section. Also, linked below...
English: https://5il.co/dwoh
Espanol: https://5il.co/dwr0

The Child Care Council of Westchester will distribute food on behalf of Feeding Westchester!
This Friday afternoon, March 20th, from noon until 4 PM, volunteers will distribute 14-pound bags of shelf
durable goods to those in need at no cost.
The distribution will take place in the parking lot in the back of the Child Care Council's office at 313 Central Park Avenue, Scarsdale. Those arriving to pick up food should drive up the hill to the back of the building and follow posted signs.
In the interest of proper social distancing, we ask
those arriving to remain in their car and open the trunk for a volunteer to place a bag inside. We will
need to know the size of the family for which you are picking up the food, but we will not be asking for
names or identification.
If you have any questions, please call the
Child Care Council of Westchester at (914) 761-3456 x104.


Plan de aprendizaje a distancia de la Escuela Westchester para niños especiales
Para continuar satisfaciendo las necesidades educativas de nuestros estudiantes durante este momento difícil, la escuela ha tomado numerosos pasos para garantizar que el proceso educativo continúe para nuestros estudiantes. A medida que el programa brinda servicios a estudiantes de una amplia área demográfica y geográfica, nuestro método más efectivo para proporcionar materiales educativos a nuestros padres ha demostrado ser la utilización del sitio web y la aplicación de la escuela que están directamente vinculados.
• En nuestra aplicación / sitio web, publicaremos varias hojas de trabajo y actividades que abarcan los niveles de funcionamiento para todos nuestros estudiantes, con un enfoque especial en las metas del IEP asignadas a nuestros estudiantes.
• Publicaremos una lista de varias actividades para que los padres implementen en casa, que no requieren hojas de trabajo, pero son más prácticas, basadas en los sentidos y permiten la práctica de las habilidades de la vida diaria.
• También publicaremos una lista de sitios web a los que los padres pueden acceder desde su casa de forma gratuita.
• Para brindar más apoyo a nuestros estudiantes y padres, los maestros se pondrán en contacto con los padres por teléfono y correo electrónico de manera regular para proporcionar trabajo, responder preguntas y brindar la asistencia necesaria.
• A cualquier padre que no tenga acceso a una computadora o teléfono inteligente se le indicará que se comunique con la escuela y se le enviarán por correo los paquetes informativos.
• Para preguntas sobre cómo trabajar con su hijo en sus objetivos terapéuticos; comuníquese con el Coordinador de área por correo electrónico y recibirá una respuesta inmediata.
o Terapia ocupacional y física: Ruma Choudhury en RChoudhury@westchesterschool.org
o Terapia del habla y lenguaje: Leanne Lucia: LLucia@westchesterschool.org
o Servicios psicológicos: Vasilios Lagos: VLagos@westchesterschool.org
o Para asistencia con servicios externos, contacte a Elisa Pacewicz en EPacewicz@westchesterschool.org o Diane Gaetano DGaetano@westchesterschool.org
o Servicios educativos: Corinne Safarowic CSafarowic@westchesterschool.org o
Jonathan Remeny JRemeny@westchesterschool.org o
Louise Bolduc LBolduc@westchesterschool.org
Sabemos lo importante que es la escuela para nuestros estudiantes y esperamos que regresen a la escuela tan pronto como sea seguro hacerlo. Mientras tanto, continuaremos trabajando juntos para proporcionar formas de trabajar en la implementación de sus IEP utilizando un formato de aprendizaje a distancia.

The Westchester School for Special Children Distance Learning Plan
In order to continue to meet the educational needs of our students during this difficult time, the school has taken numerous steps to ensure that the educational process continues for our students. As the program services students from a wide demographic and geographic area, our most effective method for providing educational materials to our parents has proven to be utilization of the school’s website and app which are directly linked.
· On our app/website, we will post various worksheets and activities spanning the levels of functioning for all of our students, with special focus on IEP goals assigned to our students.
· We will post a list of several activities for parents to implement at home, which do not require worksheets, but are more hands-on, sensory based and allow for the practicing of daily living skills.
· We will also post a list of websites which the parents can access from home free of charge.
· To further provide support to our students and parents, teachers will be in contact with parents via phone and email on a regular basis in order provide work, to answer questions, and provide any assistance needed.
· Any parent that does not have access to a computer or smartphone will be directed to contact the school and informational packets will be mailed home to them.
· For questions about how to work with your child on their therapeutic goals; contact the area Coordinator via email and you will receive a prompt response.
o Occupational & Physical Therapy: Ruma Choudhury at RChoudhury@westchesterschool.org
o Speech & Language Therapy: Leanne Lucia: LLucia@westchesterschool.org
o Psychological Services: Vasilios Lagos: VLagos@westchesterschool.org
o For assistance with outside services, contact Elisa Pacewicz at EPacewicz@westchesterschool.org or Diane Gaetano DGaetano@westchesterschool.org
o Educational Services: Corinne Safarowic CSafarowic@westchesterschool.org or
Jonathan Remeny JRemeny@westchesterschool.org or
Louise Bolduc LBolduc@westchesterschool.org
We know how important school is to our students and we look forward to having them return to school as soon as it is safe to do so. In the meantime, we will continue to work together to provide ways to work on implementing their IEPs utilizing a distance learning format.

Please see the news feed section for information regarding our distance learning plan and the document section for materials you can use for at home instruction.
Por favor vea la seccion de noticias para informacion de el plan de documentos,y materiales para uso en la casa.

Yesterday, March 16, the Governor issued an Executive Order stating:
Notwithstanding any prior directives, every school in the state of New York is hereby directed to close no later than Wednesday, March 18, 2020, for a period of two weeks, ending April 1, 2020. The state shall reassess at that time whether to extend such closure beyond this date.
As of today we will re-open The Westchester School on April 1, 2020
Distance learning instruction will be forwarded to the parents/students by the end of today.
If you are viewing this from our Website.. Please download The Westchester School App if you have not done so already. Turn on Notifications so that you can see all Important Updates as they are posted.