Welcome!
Our department encourages students to self-advocate their strengths, needs and accommodations to their teachers at HHS. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to ask our staff or myself. We will be posting newsletters, resources and information on this page to keep parents and students informed.
Looking forward to a successful 2023-2024 school year,
Jill Klodnicki (Currently On leave), Teresa Patterson
Head of Specialized Services, HHS
705.789.5594, Ext. #35027
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Specialized Services Department
Staff and Programs
We have been busy looking at Activated Learning as a skill to be directly used in many classes across HHS. This learning involves supporting students with strategies for executive functioning skills – 10 Essential Skills.
We are supporting students with:
-Working Memory – holding in information while completing complex tasks
-Metacognition – noticing how you are doing, thinking about your thinking
-Sustained Attention – paying attention, even if you aren’t interested
-Organization
-Response Inhibition – Thinking before you act
-Flexibility – seeing many sides, adapting to change
-Emotional control – managing feelings
-Time management
-Planning and prioritizing
– Task Initiation
-Goal directed Persistence
The team works with students to learn effective strategies. Fixed mindsets, helplessness, and hopelessness simply have no chance in a classroom focused on self-understanding, self-compassion, resilience, and solving problems together.
http://activatedlearning.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Activated-Learning-Teacher-Look-Fors.pdf
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Student Resources: 
Test Strategies
Technology
Supports
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IEP’s ~Your Unique Learning Profile
Individual Education Plans are read by teachers the first day of the Semester. They are mailed out during the first Semester of the year. We encourage your feedback and your families, as knowledge of your own/son/daughter’s IEP is paramount in order to make it a successful and individualized document. Please call with any concerns, questions or changes to the document. An IEP only works well if the student is involved and understands why it is needed or helpful.
**New this year! We have a new databases for IEPs that we will work hard to transfer manually over the next two months. Teachers have access to pdf versions, but the working documents will be up and running asap!
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Are you in grade 12 and hoping to take your IEP to College or University?
Please visit the following sites and resources to support your goals.
http://www.transitionresourceguide.ca
Financial Aid presentation for students (and their parents) heading to Post Secondary School are usually held in May.
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IPRC’s ~Review Meetings
Individual Placement and Review Committee meetings take place for grade 8 feeder schools between February and March 2024 at the feeder schools or virtually and in the Spring 2024 for students of HHS. Please email or call if you have any questions or if you have missed making your appointment. An identification from another board does not follow a student and is not always necessary to provide accommodations. We must refer them to the IPRC in TLDSB, to see if a student meets criteria. We can always arrange a meeting with families, Case Conference, to discuss student need, transitioning as well as post-secondary options.
Learning Strategies Courses for Credit
Life Skills Programs
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Family Resources: 
Cheers to 2023-2024 School Year!
Every few months we post a newsletters for students and families. We have these resources as part of our MailChimp newsletter. If you wish to subscribe, please click the following link.
Or if you would like to view our recent newsletters, please click:
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Learning Strategies Courses for Credit
Life Skills Programs
Transforming Together
Transforming Together last year, April 2023, was group workshops with our Community Partners: Community Living Huntsville, Health Nurse, etc. We worked with students in grade 11+ on several areas in their journey towards independence and graduation.
Transforming Together in 2021, was a unique series of workshops that were done live in April and May to support students with more complex profiles to navigate their own journey. We also did in school sessions in April 2022. Here are the recorded versions.
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Other Seminars, Workshops, Information…
I’ve come across a great resource from some other schools. I’ve linked some of the information below regarding Sara Dimerman. She has been a Therapist for over twenty years. She is one of North America’s most trusted parenting and relationship experts. Visit HelpMeSara.com and follow Sara on Twitter. She has numerous links that are helpful for families:
Screen Time:
https://www.parentscanada.com/preschool/help-me-sara-why-screen-time-needs-to-be-screened/
https://www.verywellfamily.com/strategies-limit-your-teens-screen-time-2608915
Exam Stress:
http://www.helpmesara.com/2019/06/exam-stress/
Holiday Stress:
https://www.parentscanada.com/family-life/how-to-get-a-handle-on-holiday-stress/
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Other information that may be helpful for families with links below:
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