Following are notes by students and a parent chaperone on the middle school field trip to Camp Speers-Eljabar in Dingmans Ferr, PA. Intro and photos courtesy of Michael Piacenza. – Ed. From Michael:  In place of a weekly academic recap, what better way to understand the fun and learning opportunities we enjoyed at Camp Speers this week.  Here is what the students and adults have to say… Who could not like camp?  Who could not like to go camping at “Camp Speers?”  Camp Speers was a great place with all of the fun activities and more.  Some of the things we did were very amazing like the rock climbing, canoeing, and commando.  Everyone helped everybody in facing fears, confidence and support. 

The first general assembly of the 2012 – 2013 school year will be Monday, 22 October at 7 P.M.  Please join us in the multi-purpose room.  The Board of Trustees will present goals for this school year and review progress with its five-year strategic plan.  In addition, the board will summarize last spring’s community survey and school climate survey. In addition to hearing from the board, the assembly is also a milieu for all members of the commUnity – parents, staff members, students and concerned citizens – to ask questions, and give input to the board. The board organizes three general assemblies each year.  They are an avenue for the commUnity to participate in democratic governance of Unity Charter School.  At the March assembly, the board will present the 2013-2014 proposed budget to the commUnity for approval.  In the June assembly, commUnity members will elect trustees to the board.

[This is the first in an occasional series on Unity Charter School’s staff.  Stay tuned for forthcoming articles from Ronni. – Ed.] Michael Piacenza has been in the field of education for 14 years.  He spent the first twelve  years of his teaching career in grades 3 – 5.  He earned his MA in Educational Administration in 2008, and this is his second year as Assistant Director of Unity Charter School. When not at Unity (which isn’t very often!), Michael is an actor and musician.  He is also a huge NY Giants fan, and you can sometimes catch him at Monday morning drop-off talking with parents and students about the game. 

On Wednesday, an outdoor Fall Picnic Lunch was planned for students at Unity Charter School.  This was a follow up to the outdoor Picnic Lunch held in the spring in conjunction with the Healthy Kids Eco-school pathway.  The Picnic Lunch was such a success with the students that we brought it back again for the fall.  Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate, forcing the students to remain inside because of the rain.  However, spirits were not dampened for long, because another special treat had been planned for the children:  Apples! While it might take more than “an apple a day to keep the doctor away,” fresh, local apples are certainly a step in the right direction.  Besides tasting delicious, apples are easy to carry for snacking, low in calories, and high in both soluable and insoluable fiber.  

The Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) is Unity Charter School’s forum for parents to provide input to the district on issues concerning students with disabilities.  We welcome the participation of all parents. Please note that this is not the forum for a discussion about individual students or your child’s IEP.  Topics are limited to those that impact all students or a group of students.  If you have concerns that you would like to share with the Director of Special Services prior to that meeting, or a specific concern about your child’s program, please contact Trudy Dunham, LDT-C at 973-292-1808 x15.

There is a significant statistical relationship between the level of family involvement and improved outcomes for children and young adults.   (Parent Reaching Out, 2006)

Special Education Parent Advisory Groups are required for all school districts in New Jersey. The purpose of these groups is to provide opportunities for parents and community members to offer input to their districts on critical issues.