Thursday, March 1, 2012

March 21st, 2012 Meeting

Susan Donnelly will be speaking at the March 21st, meeting. There will be a little change as I wont be able to attend the meeting. I will be out of town for work that week, however, two of our parent group leaders have graciously decided to facilitate the meeting.

The meeting will be held at the Houghton BHK Houghton Center from 6-8 p.m. Childcare is being provided but is limited. Please be sure to RSVP to ensure we have enough coverage for children.

A flyer will be following in the next couple of weeks with further details.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Parent Advisory Committee for Special Education

The next Parent Advisory Committee Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 6:30 p.m. in Hancock at the Copper Country Intermediate School District. A light dinner will be provided at the meeting.

Please be sure to RSVP Cindy Figures by calling 482-2336 or email her at: cfigures@portagehealth.org

Cheers!!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

January 18th, 2012 Meeting Wrap-Up

Regional Parent Mentor, Lisa Kahnke, from Michigan Alliance for Families (MAF) presented at last nights CCAUSE meeting. Lisa discussed the partnership between MAF and Early On. You can learn about this partnership by going to: www.michiganallianceforfamilies.org/eo

Lisa also gave a Power Point presentation on the vast services/resources that MAF provides for families and individuals with disabilities all over Michigan. We walked through the MAF website which one parent stated to me, "this is really parent friendly, I like it." Here is the URL for the MAF homepage: www.michiganallianceforfamilies.org

One of the new and exciting new services that MAF is now providing to parents, professionals, or anyone who is interested are webinars that you can register for each month and stream online for FREE. These webinars can be viewed from anywhere so long as you have registered and you have access to a computer and the internet. To view a full schedule of these webinars go to: www.michiganallianceforfamilies.org/webinar

If you are seeking information on (but not limited to) your rights as a parent, your childs rights, the IEP process, IFSP, IDEA, alternatives to guardianship, family resources, financial resources, and much more, contact Lisa Kahnke by email: lkahnke@michiganallianceforfamilies.org or by phone: 800-552-4821 or locally483-0442.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Update

There will not be any meetings for the months of December, 2011 and January, 2012. The space is reserved and anyone is welcome to hold a meeting if they would like, I do not have to be present. Should anyone decide to hold a meeting either of those months, just let me know and I can send out emails for you.

The next scheduled meeting is for February 15th, 2012 from 6-8 at the BHK Houghton Center in the first floor conference room. I will be sending out fliers with details in February.

Please have safe and Happy Holidays until then!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Upcoming Presentations

The Michigan Alliance for Families is hosting two presentations the first week of November. On 11/1 in Houghton they will have a presentation called Getting and Keeping the First Job. The second is on 11/2 and it will be held in Baraga and the topic is, Skills for Effective Parent Advocacy.

Getting And Keeping the First Job
Topics will include:
  • Straight talk about employment
  • What you need to know about employment
  • Accommodations, disclosure, and interviewing
  • The employer's perspective
  • Self employment
  • Building your resume
When: 11/1/11 - Tuesday from 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Where: BHK Houghton, 700 Park Avenue

AND
Skills for Effective Parent Advocacy
Topics will include:
  • Understanding your child's disability
  • Knowing who's who and what role they play
  • Knowing your rights and responsibilities
  • Getting organized
  • Using clear and effective communication
  • Knowing how to resolve disagreements
When: 11/2/11 - Wednesday from 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Where: Best Western, Baraga


Advance registration is required. To RSVP contact Lisa Kahnke at: lisa@michiganallianceforfamilies.org or you can also call at (906) 483-0442 to reserve your place. Due to the travel involved for the guest speakers, MAF needs a minimum number to register in advance in order to hold each event. Please register by 10/30. Pizza and beverages will be served.


October 19, 2011 Meeting Wrap-Up

We had a small crowd at the meeting but it was extremely productive and informative. For anyone that is looking to homeschool and you'd like to explore options, I highly recommend contacting John and Julie (they requested that I leave their last name off of this post) via email at: parent49@yahoo.com

Another great resource that was brought to the table during the meeting is Copper Country Home Educators (cchomeeducators.com). Jennifer Olson (crazyjolson@gmail.com), is on the board for this volunteer organization and she would be happy to assist parents with any questions.

A huge thank you goes out to Alissa Erickson, for her assistance with the childcare. The kids had a great time playing in the gym.

Our next meeting is scheduled for November 16, 2011 at the BHK Houghton Center from 6-8 p.m. A flyer will be following in the next few weeks.

Cheers!

Friday, October 14, 2011

October 19, 2011 Meeting

Our meeting this month will be held at the BHK Houghton Center, in the first floor conference room from 6-8pm. This is an open meeting for parents, professionals, and community members.

The topic of the meeting will be homeschooling options and networking with other families who homeschool. Our speakers are John and Julie, two of our active group parents (they have asked that their last name be left out of this post). They are well versed in homeschooling and have been providing high quality education to their children in the home for several years. Please join us in giving John and Julie a warm welcome.

Childcare is being provided but is limited. Please be sure to RSVP for care and include the number of children needing care.

For more information or to RSVP contact: Heather at 906-482-4216

Cheers!