Our Thoughts and Prayers

are with our troops in the Gulf. May they all come home safe and sound.

Sept12-13: Family Support Center Garden State Exhibition Center - Somerset NJ

Sept 20: ARC’s Education Advocacy Confrence Ramada Inn North Brunswick.

Sept 20: Kool Kids Bowling Registration- Mid State Bowling East Brunswick 2- 4 pm.

Sept 22: South River Board of Education Pre-Meeting – Board Conf Room 7 pm.

Sept 25: South River Board of Education Meeting – High School Library 7 pm.

New Year-New Opportunities

SEPTA also sponsors 4-5 workshops per year for parents and teachers. Topics have included Parents Rights and Roles in Special Education, Transition Planning, Recreation Opportunities for Special Needs Children, ADHD, Sensory Integration Therapy and Behavior modification.

Last years SEPTA started a Special Needs collection at the South River Public Library and we will be adding to the collection this year. The collection includes books, videotapes, computer software and a magazine subscription on subjects, such as, Special Education Law, effectively advocating for your child, Writing an effective I.E.P. (Individual Education Plan) and Behavior Modification.

For students, SEPTA awarded a scholarship to a graduating Special Education student in May. We judge a creative work and we are very proud of the effort our students display for this award. In addition, this past year we sponsored a music program for students in both of the pre-school handicapped classes.

Partnership with The Office of Special Services

Goals For The Coming Year

1. Increase SEPTA's membership. While we have added more members to our group, we continue to look for parents who want to become members of SEPTA. If you are interested in supporting SEPTA, please complete the membership card in this newsletter along with the $4 membership fee and return it in the Self-addressed envelope. More importantly, we want your ideas and input in our organization and hope you can come to our monthly meetings or communicate with us via phone or email.
2. Increase Parent Participation at I.E.P. meetings - According to Lisa Michallis, 77% of the parents of children in Special Education attend their child's I.E.P. meeting. This is a significant improvement over the last two years where attendance hovered around 50%. It reflects Dr. Marciante's and his team's efforts in trying to include parents in the Special Education process. While 77% is an excellent improvement, we must strive for 100% participation and we stand committed to assisting Lisa Michallis and her team in whatever way that we can to improve parent turnout at I.E.P. meetings.
3. Expand Scholarship Offerings and Look For Corporate Sponsors - We currently award one scholarship to a graduating senior involved in Special Education. We would like to expand the number of Scholarships and increase the financial support. To do this we are looking for a Corporate Sponsor. If you know of a company that would be interested in providing this support please have them call me at 732-238-6133.
4. Coordinate the Beaumont Foundation Computer Grant Application Process - The Beaumont Foundation will be giving out almost $400 million in computer equipment starting in 2003. Persons with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply for these individual grants. People from New Jersey can begin applying in early 2004. We intend to work with Special Services to identify people and families that may be eligible for these grants and assist them in applying for the equipment.
5. Advocacy Training For Parents - We will continue to hold seminars and publish information to educate parents on how to be effective advocates for their child. One upcoming session will focus on how to write effective I.E.P.'s. Another topic will be how to stay organized to advocate effective for your child in Special Education. This session will also include an overview of standardized testing to determine whether your child is progressing normally or regressing.

Get a Great Deal Online and Help SEPTA

It’s very easy to use:

1. Go to http://www.specialeducation.org
2. Click on the SchoolCash.com logo to go to their site.
3. Select Special Education PTA of South River as the group you wish to support and fill-in the brief registration
4. Then, whenever you want to shop, visit SchoolCash and click on the merchant of your choice to start shopping!

And the best part of the program is you don’t have to buy anything extra or pay any higher prices than you normally would! When you shop at SchoolCash.com, you’ll find the same merchandise and prices (or better) that you’d find if you went directly to the merchant’s website or store. Just by purchasing the things you’d regularly purchase – clothing, CDs, books, groceries, and many other items – you’ll be supporting SEPTA.

Please help our school and use SchoolCash whenever you shop online.

Thank you for your continued support of SEPTA.