The Transition Times

Our Winter Term is quickly coming to a close… but not to worry, there is still plenty of more Connections to come.  We will be announcing our electrifying Spring Term Seminars later this week!  That’s right, you will be able to find new Spring Term Schedule on this web site!  Check the website later this week, and click on the 2016 Spring Term Schedule Link.

I know what you are asking… this sounds amazing, how do I sign up?  You will need to see Connections Staff today to sign up for a Spring Term Registration Meeting on Thursday March 17!  Your registration meeting will be with Connections Staff and will be about 30 minutes.  All registration meetings will take place in the Building 2120.   Sign up for your meeting today!

And… don’t forget about Alumni Afternoon! Alumni Afternoon will take place from 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm on Friday, March 18. But what will we do?  Please tell your suggestions to Connections Staff this week, and we will make our announcement on this website next week!

Here is the Schedule for the rest of Winter Term:

Monday, March 7 to Friday March 11: Regular Schedule, all Advocates, Seminars and Work Experience will take place as scheduled.

Monday, March 14: Regular Schedule, all Advocates, Seminars and Work Experience will take place as scheduled.

Tuesday, March 15: Regular Schedule, all Advocates, Seminars and Work Experience will take place as scheduled.

Wednesday, March 16: No Connections.  Connections staff will have a grading day.

Thursday, March 17: Registration for Spring Term!  Sign up for your registration time today!

Friday, March 18: Alumni Afternoon, 12:30 pm-3:30 pm.  Location TBA!

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Can you believe it is already March?  Time goes by so fast…Soon it will be Spring Term!  The Connections Staff is beginning to plan an electrifying Spring term.  Cooking Seminars will be returning in the Spring… the question is, how many?  Please let us know this week if you are interested in Cooking in the spring term.  We want to know how many cooking seminars should be offered.  .

Great news! Prices in the Originals School Store have been slashed!  That’s right, we have lots of items on sale this week!  Ready Meal Cups, Granola Bars, Fruit Snacks, Instant Lunches, Pencils and Spiral Notebooks are all on sale!  Grab them while they’re hot!

March is Wise Thoughts Month.  Think Be Do teaches us that we all have Automatic Thoughts and Wise Thoughts.  Automatic Thoughts go through our mind in an instant, and occur after something happens.  Automatic thoughts are connected to our feelings and emotions…sometimes we might not even notice that a thought occurred, we just feel good or feel bad.   If you are feeling bad, your automatic thoughts might keep you in a downward spiral.

Your challenge in March is to think wise thoughts! When you notice you are in a downward spiral, try changing your thoughts to wise thoughts.  Wise thoughts are accurate, logical, and true thoughts that are not exaggerated.  They will help put things into perspective and will make you feel better!

Mark your planner!  Wednesday’s Life CEO class will be canceled (2:30 pm March 2).  Jasmin and Josh are called away to a meeting 2:30 pm on Wednesday afternoon.  All other seminars, advocates and work crews will take place as scheduled this week!

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Congratulations to Davan Overton! Davan was recognized Friday night in Hood River as the 2016 Oregon Association of Vocational Special Needs Personnel student of the year!  Davan won the award because of his relentless pursuit of becoming a public speaker.  Davan has set a goal of speaking publicly and has now built up an impressive resume.  He has already spoken in one session the 2015 DCDT conference in Portland, two sessions at the 2016 OAVSNP conference in Hood river and he is scheduled to speak at the 2016 Breaking Barriers conference in Redmond in April!  Congrats Davan, we are all very proud of your hard work and pursuit of your dream!

Many of you are tracking your work experience progress on My Life.  You all have wonderful documentation of the progress you are making.  You should be very proud of that progress!  You challenge this week is to share your progress with someone who is important to you. Use the token system to share (ask Josh how if you are having trouble). Share with your mother, your father, your transition specialist, your Brokerage PA.  It is time you let the world know your accomplishments!

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Remember, our Actions, Thoughts and Feelings are all connected.  If you think good thoughts, you will feel good, and you will feel like participating in more activities.  If you think negative thoughts, you will feel bad, and you will not feel like doing anything.  This might lead to a downward spiral.

We all have bad days where we don’t feel like doing much of anything.  Question: how can break those downward spirals and turn them into upward spirals?  Try changing your thoughts, feelings or actions to the positive and feel your downward spiral go away.  When ever I feel like I am starting a downward spiral, I try to change my thoughts and start thinking very positively.  I say affirmations about myself, I remind myself how much I enjoy being around others, and I try to find something to look forward to.  Once I change my thoughts, I start to feel good, and I start to feel like engaging in activities, which makes me feel even better!  Try it, you will like it!  For more information, make sure you join Think Be Do on Mondays and Wednesdays, 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm!

Many of you keep e-portfolios.  E-portfolios are a great way to keep track of your IEP goals, your progress on work sites, information learned in advocate and a to do list.  Many of you keep e-portfolios on Word Press, Google Sites, or My Life.  You can now find the log in page for these sites on the Transition Times.  Click here  or go to the “Important Links for Connections Students and Staff” tab at the top of this page.  You will also be able to find the pages for the School Store and Bike Works as well.

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Mark your planner!  All 4J schools including Connections will be closed on Monday, February 15 in observance of President’s Day.  Lane Community College is also closed on Monday, February 15.

Did you know that individual income tax returns are due to the state and federal government on April 15?  What are tax returns you ask?  Tax returns are forms from the IRS that are used to calculate how much income tax an individual needs to pay.

Does this seem complicated?  Does this seem overwhelming?  Well, help is available!  There is Tax Assistance every Thursday and Friday offered at the Eugene Library!  For more information, please visit their website: Tax Assistance at The Library  Make sure you come prepared to the meeting with all your documents.

Make sure you know what you are responsible for… Remember, you are reporting money that you earned in 2015, not money that you have earned so far in 2016.  If you do not know if you should file taxes, please check with your parents, your advocate, or the folks at the Library.  Do not wait until April 14 to find if you need to file!  Do yourself a favor and find out now!

Good news!  The Originals will be open for Breakfast starting on Wednesday, February 10!  The Originals will open around 9:40 am for your early morning hunger needs!   The Originals will be closed on Monday, February 8 for restocking.  Thank you for making the Originals a success!

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That is right!  The Originals School Store is now open 3 days a week: Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 12:00 pm to 12:25 pm.  Thank you for making the Originals a success!  Look for new products in the store on Monday!  We have yogurt covered raisins, new Gatorade, new flavors of Munchies (our #1 selling item) and more!  ORIGINAL SALE: LUNCHABLES: Only $1!  Get it before it sells out!

Do you know what happens to your trash when you throw it away?  The Home Ec Class will visit Short Mountain Landfill on Friday, February 5 from 10 am to Noon.  If you would like to join the Home Ec class on this trip, please see Jasmin by Wednesday, February 3. Note: Bike Works and ABSE/GED Study Hall will still take place as scheduled.  If you are scheduled for Bike Works or Study Hall and you would like to attend the field trip, please let Josh or Amy know your plans!  The field trip should be a fascinating experience!

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Many Connections students are eligible for classroom accommodations.  An accommodation is the process of adjusting or adapting something.  Connections is able to provide students with several classroom accommodations.  These accommodations are designed to help students with disabilities have equal access to the curriculum.

If you feel you need a Classroom accommodation, please follow the following steps:

1.Talk to your advocate.  Discuss appropriate accommodations.

2. Schedule an appointment with your case manager.  Your accommodation must be listed on your IEP.

3. Talk to each of your teachers before class about your accommodation. Make sure they know that you will be receiving the accommodation in class.  Do not wait until class begins.  You need to check in with your teacher before class.

Friendly Reminder: Friday, January 29 is the last day for Winter Term Schedule Changes.  Your Schedule may not be perfect.  If you feel you would like to drop or add a Connections seminar, please make the change before Friday.  To make changes to your schedule, please follow the steps on the Drop/Add form in the student lounge!

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The Community Transition Program in Springfield is hosting a Transition Social on Friday January 22 from 11 am to 1 pm.  All Transition Students from 4J, Bethel and Springfield are getting together for this celebration.  Heather Williams will be going to this event with representatives from Connections.  If you are interested in going to this event, please RSVP to Heather by Wednesday, January 20.  Heather will be meeting students at the Downtown LCC lobby at 10:30 am on Friday, January 22.  Connections will pay the $5 cost for all students interested in attending.  This looks like it will be a fun event, please consider going!

Note: All Connections Advocates and Seminars will take place as scheduled on Friday, January 22.  If you are interested in attending the Transition Winter Social, please let the staff who teaches your class know that you will be attending the social instead of class.

The Originals Store will be open on Wednesday at Noon this week!  Thank you for buying local and supporting your friends at the Originals!  The store has been a great success so far!  Please let us know if you would like to see more or different products in our store!

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Mark Your Planners!   Connections (and all other 4J schools) will be closed on Monday, January 18 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.   Lane Community College will also be closed on Monday, January 18.   All Connections Activities will resume as usual on Tuesday, January 19.  And, yes these activities will be LEGENDARY!

A Few Friendly Reminders for this week!

–Get Out Downtown will meet at the tables outside Room 310 at Downtown LCC  11 am on Tuesday.  Please dress for the weather, we will Get Out Downtown rain or shine!

–Wednesday’s Life CEO Lab will meet in the Connection’s Library at 2:30 pm.

–Thursday’s Life CEO will meet at Cognitiopia.  Cognitiopia is located in Suite 325 in the Atrium Building.

–Bike Works Work Experience has a website:  http://blogs.4j.lane.edu/bikeworks/.  If you attend Bike Works, please put a link to the Bike Work Website on the Bike Works Blog on your e-portfolio.

–Many of you now have Winter Term Goals on Goal Guide.  Goal Guide’s log in page is: https://connect.cognitopia.com/apps/goalGuide.  Please make sure you update your goals after your work experience.

This is a normal week, all advocate sessions, seminars and tutorials will take place as usual. It is going to be a great week in Connections.  I am very excited!

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Happy 2016! The wait is almost over and the 2016 Winter Term is about to begin! The 2016 Winter Term is going to be electrifying! We have great things in store for you; get ready for a great term!

Remember: There is no school on Monday, January 4. All 4J School are closed for a furlough day. Lane Community College is open. If you are an LCC student, please attend class on Monday, January 4. You do not want to miss your first day of class!

The Connections Winter Term Starts on Tuesday, January 5. Yes, this is different than other 4J schools. Please make sure you know your schedule. If you do not know your schedule, please contact your advocate or case manager. If you are going to be late or absent from class, please make sure you contact the staff that is teaching that class. You can find all Connections staff phone numbers on our contact page.

Don’t forget: The Originals Store will be open on Wednesday from 12:00 pm to 12:25 pm this week in Building 2120!  We have your lunch (Hot Pockets, Lunchables, P3 Packs, Cup of Noodles, and more), your snacks and your school supplies for affordable prices!  Don’t forget to shop at the Originals!  I know I will be!

Your schedule may not be perfect. If you want to add or drop any classes, please fill out the drop/add form in the Connections Student Lounge in Building 2120.

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