Here's to 2023 - A Year for Hope |
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| Hello SENIA friends, Happy Lunar New Year! It’s the Year of the Rabbit and predicted to be the year of HOPE.
The year of hope. Does anything sound better than that? I have so much hope for this year, both personally and professionally. As a parent of a son who is non-verbal, I have hope that this year, the training I’m taking will help support him in his communication efforts. I also have hope for positive health outcomes for many I know who are struggling at this time, and finally, I hope for more peace in all our hearts and around the world.
My wish is that this year brings you a new hope for your role as an educator, counselor, administrator, parent, therapist, or student. It has been a challenging few years, and many of us are just now seeing that little glimmer of hope and excitement for a new start.
At SENIA, we hope more schools will become more inclusive and celebrate each and every student who walks in their door. We hope more professionals feel comfortable advocating with implementing Universal Design for Learning (UDL). We hope more parents get the support they need and feel like they are valued members of their multidisciplinary team. We hope each student receives the accommodations they need to be successful, and that we all understand that success means different things to everyone.
We, at SENIA, are hopeful, and we are here for you. So, happy Year of the Rabbit, and may this year bring you all that you hope for. Lori Boll
SENIA International Executive Director Friendly Reminder: We have lots to share in our newsletter. When you see 3 dots, be sure to click "see more" so you don't miss out on anything. |
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Announcing our new Deputy Executive Director |
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SENIA International is excited to announce the appointment of Andrea Lillis as the new Deputy Executive Director. Andrea has been a valuable member of the SENIA family since September 2022, when she joined our organization as a part-time executive assistant. With a Master’s degree in Education, specifically focused on literacy, Andrea brings a wealth of experience and expertise to her new role. Andrea worked as an elementary school homeroom teacher in the Middle East, North America and Asia, and throughout her time as an educator, she focused on student-led inquiry in inclusive environments. She recognized the potential for growth and development when students were empowered to self-advocate for their own needs, and as such, has made self-awareness and metacognition a priority in her work.
Recently repatriated to Canada, Andrea is enjoying reconnecting with family and friends after an extended absence during the COVID-19 pandemic. In her free time, Andrea is an avid outdoors enthusiast, who enjoys kayaking, hiking, and exploring the natural beauty of her hometown. She is also an avid cook, reader, and volunteers with local animal rescues.
In her new role as Deputy Executive Director, Andrea is eager to support all of SENIA’s work and contribute to the organization’s mission of supporting and empowering educators, families, and individual learners. “I am honored to have the opportunity to step into this new role and play a part in continuing SENIA’s amazing legacy of support and empowerment,” Andrea said. “I look forward to working with the team to drive new initiatives forward and make a positive impact in the lives of educators, families, and students around the world.”
SENIA International is confident that Andrea’s passion for education and her dedication to the organization will make her an excellent addition to the leadership team. We are excited to see the impact she will make in her new role as Deputy Executive Director and look forward to working with her to achieve our mission. |
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On January 17, 2023, SENIA-Cambodia organized an in-person Providers Expo in Phnom Penh.
The first SENIA Cambodia Expo was a huge success. While many different organisations, schools, and companies have been working to create inclusive education services in Cambodia. It has been, in the past, difficult to get a comprehensive picture of what is on offer in the community. This event, which put many top service providers in the same room, represents a big step towards building an effective network and directory of inclusive education services. With special thanks to Penh at Coconut Park for hosting.
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Join Lori Boll and Phil Bowman as they discuss Phil's peer-reviewed study that was recently published in the NASEN journey. Phil will be presenting at our SENIA Africa conference coming up in three weeks. |
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Did you know we now have 25 schools globally that are members of SENIA? We have member schools in Asia, Africa, Europe, South America and the Middle East. These schools are proving their commitment to inclusion and to the vision of SENIA. Through having not just individual members but member schools, we are expanding our community of who we can learn from. We are getting the opportunity to see how some schools are achieving inclusion and also some of the challenges they have faced.
If you aren't a SENIA member yet, you don't know what you're missing! Hosted on the Mighty Networks platform, SENIA members now have a private platform for asking questions, finding resources and getting the help and ideas they need to move inclusion forward. We also have exclusive content for our members and if your school is a member, there are further benefits of Q&A's with our highly qualified board members as well as discounts to in-person conferences. |
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| "Our school mission is 'to redefine the possibilities of education for those who learn differently.' This aligns with SENIA’s mission to advocate for and provide resources and support to individuals with disabilities."-- Chris Raymaakers, Principal |
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SENIA Certification Program Next Course Begins February 6th |
Our coursework is perfect for the beginning to intermediate level Learning Support teacher or general educators who want to learn more about supporting students with learning differences. We've had parents participate and have gotten good feedback from them as well.
Take one course or all six. Educators who take all six earn a SENIA Level One certification and badge for their resume and email signature. Our February course is entitled "Developing Individualized Learning Plans" In March, we'll be offering "Implementing Inclusion Systems". Sign up for all 6 course now and get one course free. Enrollment is on a rolling basis; start at anytime. |
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Scholarships & Awards Student Award |
During our virtual conference in December, SENIA awarded two student advocates with the SENIA Student Award. Our winners were awarded scholarships to help with their advocacy. Please watch our video honoring them. |
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Congratulations to Sarah Anne Bulman as the recipient of the SENIA World Changer Award January 2023!
Sarah has always had a unique perspective on life. Her neurodiversity enables her to see beauty and value in unexpected ways. Sarah manages to find meaningful ways to share her thoughts, feelings, and part of herself through Art. All her paintings have elements of inclusivity to it and seeing her artworks make people see a different perspective to life, even the darker things, because Sarah finds beauty in them. She gives voice to the powerless and shows the beauty of the forgotten. Sarah is very reflective and highly empathetic and cares about all living beings, even the smallest creatures.
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Recommended Reading by Emily Easterday, SENIA Associate Director & Teacher Representative Project Manager Check out some timely articles focusing on new technology in education, visual thinkers, and social-emotional learning. You may be interested to know that the summaries on the right were created by ChatGPT with the prompt, “Summarize this article in 3 sentences”.
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| ChatGPT, Artificial Intelligence, and UDL: How to Harness the Future to Reach All Students by Jeff Horwitz — December 2022 This article discusses how ChatGPT, an AI model, can be used in education to improve accessibility through the use of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). It suggests that ChatGPT can be used to create personalized learning experiences, interactive learning materials and make learning more engaging. The article concludes that ChatGPT and UDL can be used together to create more inclusive and effective educational experiences for all students.
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| Temple Grandin: Society Is Failing Visual Thinkers, and That Hurts Us All January 2023
Temple Grandin, a scientist and author with autism, talks about how visual thinking has helped her in her work. She explains that people with autism tend to think in pictures and patterns rather than words, and that this can be an advantage in certain fields like science and engineering. The article highlights that Grandin's visual thinking has helped her to create innovative solutions and argues that society should embrace and harness the unique strengths of people with autism.
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| Top 3 Barriers to Teaching Social-Emotional Learning. And One Big Takeaway by Arianna Prothero — December 19, 2022
The article discusses the challenges faced by educators in teaching social and emotional learning (SEL) skills to students, which has become more difficult due to the pandemic. A survey of teachers, principals, and district leaders found that limited time and resources for helping students catch up academically is the most cited challenge to teaching SEL, with 46% of respondents citing it as a major barrier. Other challenges include lack of professional development, students' social-emotional needs being beyond the scope of the educators' ability to handle, and an emphasis on standardized exams prep.
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Reading to Escape by Jon Springer, SENIA Associate Director |
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If you have registered for the virtual conference and need help accessing the content, check out our helpful access guide. |
South Africa: Beyond the Label |
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We are excited to invite you to our first in-person conference of 2023 in Johannesburg, South Africa on February 16 - 18th. Is your school a SENIA Member School or an AISA Member School? If so, you can sign up with a 10% discount! See details on our registration page. |
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SENIA Conference Hosting Opportunity |
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SENIA International 18160 Cottonwood Rd. PMB 637 | Sunriver, OR | USA Unsubscribe link |
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