this is i think the first year we've had a program do you like she has she has branded the film a special education advisory council which is awesome so we have three special appreciation awards the first appreciation award and i might get a little teary eyed with this one heather and i might both might get a little teary eyed with this one but this one is going to get me to peg hamilton and head is our early childhood coordinator peg have to come been with the he's coordinated the early childhood basically the integrated preschool for that lot and she's just done a phenomenal job so raise your hand out the audience if you have had your child goes through the integrated preschool so many of you out there probably have worked with peg or have had your child go through this program it's a wonderful program and peggs done a phenomenal job over the years perhaps retiring this year and i'm so weak i have to give her a special appreciate special belmont special education advisory council appreciation award to recognize her for the years of service that she has has given to this preschool in my own personal i just remember when we assessed and she was my little child was all over the place at the time and we were wondering issue's going to be an integrated preschool or not i remember  many years later my lovely daughter is still in the lab program at seven years old but have phenomenal experience with the integrated preschool and we're so so happy to give this award to peg and i don't know if  want yet so i always found you so approachable and so open and helpful i had such a wonderful experience with an aunt from you know age three until she went to kindergarten getting into the preschool program when we were early intervention education this is one of those wars that parents don't get to see that often because it's behind the scenes the one thing that i really appreciate that darky instance since he's been here as our superintendent is he special committee we have have a special education voice because of dr king stand and just about every major decision that is getting made in the ground and i hope and and i assume that the next superintendent will do that same will follow that same path but we are very grateful to have been included in the what was the i can blanking out the committee mockingbirds i knew it was see thank you so much and i don't know if you want your picture or not that's right and then the last special appreciation award that we're giving tonight is that laurie graham raise your hand if you know laurie gra laurie grande is well known in the belmont community and the reason we are giving more grant a special special education appreciation award special ward is because lori just completed her chairperson tenure as the school committee chair so she is now past school committee member and during her reign as the chairperson large grant has been incredible and again she has included us she has educated us because she used to be in this role many years ago and so lori grant knows everything about special education when she became the school committee chair i was throw it was like a sigh of relief because she's been here and done and parents who were in the room know what i mean when she's been there done that that's a sigh of relief in other words knows she's had a child she knows what it takes and so i have always felt like we we would basically she would have our back in special education through all of the school committee and she would have to care at all the school committee meetings i remember she would announce our parent info sessions and i said to mary to tell you the she's like no i get the e mails and i want to make sure parents know about it so she would actually promote us just on her own initiative it was it was and i support so we are very very happy and now we're going to move on to what i would call the potential teary are a part of our ceremony tonight this is the wonderful ceremony where we get to recognize this individual teachers student services and so i am so excited to announce our our past chair who had willing to come back and do this part of the presentation because she back it's a pleasure to be here tonight i got an e mail from mary jo about a week or so ago saying would you happen to be available on may twenty first would love you to become an emcee and it's really it's an honor to be asked to come back i was telling heather earlier this evening that the last time i was in one of the school buildings was graduation last year when my youngest child graduated from belmont high school and it's kind of fun to come back into a building again i guess i had missed it more than i realized and i'm very happy to report the both of my sons who are special needs children in belmont schools they were both diagnosed with learning disabilities third or fourth grade and were on the piece right through till one t graduated one from the year before he graduated and i'm happy to announce they are both in college struggling still i wish mr sullivan and a few people from the i spoke of the go on with that but they didn't but you know it's my husband and i look at each other at night and say oh so what if it's a five or six year play on that police there and that anyway so once again thank you it's a pleasure to be here and it's so great to see this room so full it's the first time it's been quite this fall so we're going to run through these quickly because we have a nine o'clock cut off even if i'm in the middle of a sentence at nine o'clock so ok we're going to start by naming the person who's getting the award and then reading a little bit about what the person who nominated them has said so our first one is sheria her and her and here ok please come up so sheri is a classroom aide at the belmont elementary school and she's been nominated by laura cummings is laura here she is not ok so this is what laura wrote sherri has been instrumental in helping my daughter transition from her previous school in georgia to butler elementary my daughter is quick to run to sherry to give a hug at drop off leaving me with the knowledge that my daughter is well taken care of during the day sherry is a sharp eye for noticing any changes in how my daughter is feeling during the school day and is generally concerned with her well being through sherry's assistance my daughter has made significant gains in reading writing and math skills during the year is in the hands of such a competent caring professional for the long hours she spends at school every week is also an asset to the classroom in many other ways she provides teacher assistance with academics communicate with me about when i pick her up and helps with classroom projects opposing directions played been kicked dance collected and given countless high fives ellen has done all of this the good the bad and ugly with a smile and a kind heart she has been so forgiving and always tries to keep and has been very happy to get rice with tommy because he complied with her radio station request communicated with us to understand florrie's personality and worked with her with respect and patience she's very nice and hardworking my daughter enjoys school and her teaching a lot of great teacher we highly appreciate her effort and dedication to third grade students communication it is truly a wonderful gift to have your child look into your eyes and tell you exactly what they want without frustration or fear thank you very much appreciate my son james has known since he was in preschool patrick was in high school in high school then patrick went to college and became a teacher patrick is also very religious he works in church he has been a part of my son's religious education  it's nice to see her friendly face around town the preschool parents are lucky to have her transport their children positive support she also has a friendly disposition and flexible schedule we are so thankful she is on our son's educational team well done michelle liz has been a steady source of kindness and patience with through these past three years on a feels a bond with miss gray and we can hear the love she feels towards her in the story she tells of her days in the classroom and it can be a challenge and liz can sometimes be a target of her behaviors but even so we never doubt her affection and dedication to our girl beyond her years and the connection hannah has with her is very special has helped her academically and socially but she is also nurturing and caring was always happy to talk about and she kept me informed about hannah's day and caring s childhood and shaping her into the person she is today you are very much appreciate we were new to the world of special ed this year we found a camel to be such a joy to work with very warm and caring and you can tell that she loves the ports she's a seasoned professional and she was always very informed and also responsive to all of our has been wonderful to me and my daughter a great advocate to have for my daughter through the past couple of years she's always navigated through the system and has been extremely positive in the decision process we will miss her but wish her the best in her always gone beyond expectation in terms of caring for students she not only organizes funding educational activities but also based on reaches out to parents to work with the children based on their individual needs i really appreciate her effort in working with my daughter she came up with a communication plan to assist her with talking better with adults and peers she's done this outside of her regular working schedule my daughter floria has met the first milestone in this communication plan and we're looking forward to more improvements so tar is an awesome aftercare teacher that's gone way beyond expectations thank you peter kimball peter here peter kimball is a teacher in the lab program at lexington high school and he has been dominated by barbara darling who doesn't make appearances mr campbell is my son james counselor at lexington high james is interested in baseball mr kimball arranged to have him help out the freshman baseball team james loves you sometimes keep score socializes with that and socializes with the team members tha since the time she just started walking now and it can bounce balls climb jungle gyms go down slides and even ride a bike we are so happy and grateful for the expert help with jessica has provided in this area once again diane who's not here also nominated you jessica has worked with him for about three years atlanta love spending time with jessica jessica answered many of my questions and concerns about  scoliosis spine and general low tone she has always felt a need to keep in the loop and as a result has always has a nice overlap between school and home when jessica introduced yoga to the kids hannah was thrilled jessica is truly one of the most dedicated therapists i know and she really cares about each and every child has been blessed to have worked with such a dedicated caring professional thank you jessica you are very much appreciate she has enhanced both academic and social learning from my kindergart don't get me started now he has been incredibly dedicated and caring and she has taken extra time to get to know her well and new approaches both in and out of the classroom she's been so pleasant and patient working with and we know that and it can be a real challenge as anis primary educator for the last three years we believe that sandy has been instrumental in helping anna make marked improvements in all facets of her life and taking a break here because one of the next person is actually in the picture  and has really felt part of butler she was selected by her typical peers and earn points to help fill the bucket and during one research she joined an all boys relay race these stories show how except it has been at butler as a parent it's wonderful to see the community open their arms and hearts to the lab children this only happens when there's a wonderful relationship between lab and the host school and i feel michael mcallister leads by example and is a wonderful role model to the children as such as scavenger hunt how nice a lot of other teachers that worked with annette when she was in preschool are here like allie over there and jessica over here and you know i really think the special education system is great in belmont very happy here and it's because  ok i have been so impressed with mr muse's dedication to helping his students become the best they can be my daughter has attended a few different schools as we are a military family and move frequently mr muses the best special education teacher my daughter has had since starting up this past fall my daughter has progressed significantly in her hand writing reading and math skills is always available to talk about how my daughter's day went or just to let me know what went on in the classroom that day his genuine concern for all of the students in the class is evident every day from greetings drop off to goodbye pick up one more you were also nominated by diane academics are one thing but a child will eventually become an adult and that adult to be able to function socially and others to be accepted in society and a work setting has proven very passionate about enriching hannah's life socially and academically is hard work has shown through and i want to thank him for all he has done thank you very much appreciate is a kind and patient teacher was born to teach she has a gift for engaging the children making learning accessible and exciting if he is having a good day kendra is so enthusiastic to praise her and to make sure she's sends an email home telling me of the great news this is been a difficult year with reading and knowing that most of her classmates were at a higher level kendra really worked with her and helped her with her self confidence she truly made this a happy year for ok wendy is the kindergarten teacher of the burbs at the burbank elementary school and she has been nominated by peers within the classroom that we have been able to extend to play dates outside the classroom she has freely given us information and feedback on rabi school life that has been invaluable to his home team she has been the key coordinated with the rest of ravi school team to ensure that his kindergarten year goes smoothly we cannot be happy with our obvious kindergarten year has gone and are happy and grateful to nominate her for this awar ellie has been a blessing for us from the beginning of the school year we sent our son off to preschool not really knowing how he would do or what he was walking into our fears were quickly dispelled once we met our interactive with our son on the other kids not only is she an unbelievable loving teacher to the kids but she also is a tremendous person always makes herself available for a phone call and really goes above and beyond the time and energy towards her job it's amazing that with small children of her own a school course load and a full time job she's still able to be in constant contact to let us know how things are going is special when you meet someone in their professional role and you know that they are doing the work they were truly meant to do this sums up our experience with i know that appreciation awards to nominate people that have made a difference in our child's life and it was a great pleasure that my wife and i nominated a knowledge for what she does on a daily basis ok also nominated by gina brown to has done an outstanding job with my daughter over the past three years in the integrated preschool she is an incredible doing this right yes ok it's kind of mixed up here she's incredible teacher who treats child in a nurturing way her passion to individually help these kids to do the best they can be socially and academically amazing as a parent of a child with special needs makes the whole process in the beginning transition to the next transition is comfortable and reassuring is possible for us but that peace of mind i thank for being such a positive role model in my daughter's life tess is a high school grade twelve student very nice smart responsible girl she opens her loving heart to all the kids especially the special needs kids she taught my son thomas when the swimming for years now tommy is a level three swimmer  also joined the volunteer work class in the cherry middle school for many hours she did a fantastic job as everyone noticed i would like to thank for the wonderful work she did and meaningful time she spent with kids especially we might have to have a special night next year for the la and i am laura has helped and immensely through our home visits and focus on behavior interactions with other people and her school work and it can be quite resistant when it comes to sitting down and doing work but through laura's patience inability to make ta objectives fun and has been able to grow in ways that will benefit her long term proud to share my daughter's accomplishments during the school day through a story photo or video we appreciate the time she takes to communicate the school day happenings as we enjoy hearing about our daughter's activities her compassion for the students is evident through their excitement to see her each morning at drop off my daughter reading writing and mass kills with laura's health one more from diane hannah has known miss laura for four years but she has really helped hannah academically the past two years most notably laura has a very  strong comes to evaluating a child's strengths and weaknesses academically and then tailoring a plan for that child she has worked with him for a couple of years and as a result of that relationship she help the rest of the team understand his needs this year education teacher at the general middle school an amazing special ed teacher summer school teacher tutor liaison everything you just have helped or monica the past couple years from elementary to middle school you've gotten to know her with all her strengths and challenges in academics physical capabilities and behaviors you pushed her to achieve in all areas and still having her love school you always go beyond the scope of what's needed for monica teaching time communication everything we feel so on and to have you in her life she looks up to you we cannot thank you enough for all you have done for her and supporting us thank you it's really bring me back a few years i remember my boys transitioning from one to the next going to china we were so nervous then going to the high school by the time they got to college it was easy transition the few times leave she wasn't for she wasn't photo ready anyway right ok pat thorpe always goes above and beyond my daughter leah who is in the lab program at the fox elementary school had some trouble this year transitioning to a new school and seem to have regressed in some areas while also progressing in some areas of her pats commitment to her and her success is to be commended she would call me every friday to talk and discuss what we needed to do next and kept up with our daily communication book every day she cares so deeply about each child and she she teaches and we are so lucky to have her as the primary teacher she also goes above and beyond and just has a way with kids who struggle thank you always for your continued love josephine is a bus driver with the like lexington high school also nominated by parker darling do you have a radio in your bus too and the kids get the kids get to choose which channel t have come a long way since i was in school mrs william transport my son james to and from school she is kind caring and nurturing towards the students on the band i wish i were on that than to do any ok josephine williams these are teachers in room eight two two at lexington high school and they have also been nominated by barbara barbara's been so busy these are my son james classroom teachers at the lexington high lab they are caring and kind to all of the students they are very friendly and always answer any questions i may have thank you for a great year you're the occupational therapist ok also nominated by far by police support here is the occupational therapist and julian shore is a speech therapist they have both done a great job working with my son james this year thank you for a great year suzanne diana and liz three of the most compassionate group of women i have had the pleasure of working with every student that they have taught has been touched by their kindness and love they are always willing to take on new challenges by learning new techniques and implementing behavior plans without any hesitation i could simply not do my job without this professional dedicated and hard working t ok ok all right the first one goes to jeff corson jeff is a professional aide a great tool with the wellington elementary school and he has been nominated by melissa mckenna his melissa to accept the award for jeff ok listen right jeff corson is my son's individual support person over the course of the year he helped my son to develop the skills necessary to maintain appropriate behavior in the classroom and build confidence in all aspects of his life constant reinforcement of good choices and his ability to help i think take away the important lessons from challenging moments demonstrates his skill as an educator consider jeff his best friend and the affection between them is obvious teacher at the cherry middle school and she has been nominated by diane carty civil advocated for our son nick and was instrumental in helping him develop social and academic skills civil was next teacher in fifth grade and we will always be grateful to her for helping nick receive the services he needed to be successful in school with the supports from children's hospital and the school system is accomplishing more than could be expected without these interventions he would be lost was very fortunate to have a school has known bob for the past four years and he has really made a difference in her life academics are taken care of by her teachers and more and bob has helped fill that gap i am not sure hannah knows what bob's job title is but she knows he's her friend always been there to greet her in the morning when she walks through the hallway to class or therapy he is always there at the book fair ice cream and all school events he's not there to scold the kids for making a mess o them to clean but he is there to see what books they have chosen and share a laugh a story can also remember the veterans day concert as well as his attendance during the various music concerts it's great to know th is there for the kids his presence alone is support for them i can honestly say that buildings as grounds always look great so bob is wonderful at his job but he is much more it is really refreshing to have someone who comes to work every day so happy to be and sings with them when they sing old macdonald the kids get to pick the animals she goes above and beyond and it makes putting my three and a half year old on the bus a little easier gradua is my science teacher and i'm not needing him because i enjoy doing science experiments in his class and jeopardy my science experiment was when we had to figure out what was alive and what wasn't alive i like when we do activities and games in math he has taught me a lot of things about math algebra order of operations equivalent fractions etc he's funny and i like being in his homeroom class because i get to see some of my friends command and it's so nice that you do that i think that's great every year you come up here and your teachers that's great and marie boardman office staff at the lexington high school lab has also been she does for my children this positive experience makes my child and i feel that we certainly have someone to trust and rely on at school  linda has been amazing to work with she's been well informed empathetic an amazing listener and team coordinator we found that her open communication with us as parents forced to trust courage to import from all members and create good outcome we have learned a lot by working with her and look forward to our continued collaboration is my social studies teacher i'm nominating her because she's a lot of fun she does jeopardy and web quest and posters for projects i don't even know what fox program crystal was our daughter's in turn this year as an interned crystal was there as a required part of her class crystal took a special interest in leah and did several wonderful things to help me understand and manage her big emotions she helped leah with understanding her emotions to image majestic angry happy sad except for a lion i think this was an animal leah chose we don't always hear what happens at school she tends to forget or just does not stay focused and cannot relay what she has done at school but leah would talk about being a lion and what type of lion she was even at home kristol also got a journal to help her write about her emotions to love journals and loves to make books it shows the crystal took extra care to get to know leah and connect with her likes and dislikes and connected with leah we are very grateful to crystal for taking such an interest in exploring different ways to reach our daughter and help her work through her also nominated laura tracey who is her reading teacher at the middle school think she has a very fun day annette does mr a she is very funny in a dramatic way i like how she does literature circles drama tablo paragraphs etc my favorite reading assignment was the play phantom tollbooth because it was ridiculous and silly ok by diane hutchens friedman ok freidman i say that right ok so john viggle rolo is the bus driver that has taken lindsay to and from school this past year john has been extremely accommodating towards our situation had just dropped off schedule so lindsay could be the last drop off of the day he was also willing to wait for us and i walked home from wellington when we might be running late didn't always want to walk home quickly and meet the bus on time i especially want to thank john for making a difficult situation easier for all of us accommodating our need which otherwise would be impossible to me and address and add stress to our already crazy afternoon  you see did i forget any other parent ok and there's one last person we would really like to acknowledge and he's going to have to step out behind that camera for just one taped almost every one of our peer information sessions and we've had parents call from other towns that have said you know i really want to do that presentation because we distributed quite widely and it's been great to be able to say you know what go for web site click on this link and you're going to be directed to the belmont media center and they're in the donut media center you can read about the last presentation that we had from patrick barberry you can read about this school doing all of this it's been an incredible relationship this year one we can't wait to continue next year and we're so thrilled so did you all get a big oh shit ok all right all right so