The 24-25 school year is off and running and we have been super busy here at Starlight. Our new teachers are learning about their classrooms and working with the assistants to assure the students are getting the educational supports they need. We are continuing to make improvements to our playground, recently planting four trees in our Butterfly Garden/Sensory Trail. We just have a couple more projects to finish and this area will be completed!

    This fall the kiddos have been able to engage in a lot of fun and educational activities. Both our preschool and school age students got to visit Cherry’s Orchard and the McDonald’s Pumpkin Patch. Some of our students got to go swimming at the YMCA and others got to go bowling at Sunrise Bowling Center. We had several students attend assemblies at their home districts, which gives them a great opportunity to socialize with their peers.  We also have two classrooms and the front office competing in the Downtown Zanesville Scarecrow Contest. A special thanks to these organizations and all the organizations around the area that are so welcoming to our students. 

     We had our first PBIS sponsored event of the school year on Wednesday, September 25th, which was a school-wide messy play. It went great and all the students had a wonderful time. Our school-wide PBIS plan helps to encourage and support positive behaviors throughout the school, and allows each student to earn Superhero Bucks that can be used to purchase special items from our PBIS Store. It also allows them to participate in these special events, which are held monthly. A special thanks to the PBIS committee for organizing this event and to Sam Shomaker of Happy Messy Play, LLC. 

       The transition students continue to be busy performing job skill training at various locations around the community. We have students completing work study hours Monday – Friday. I would like to thank all the local business/organizations that allow our staff and students the chance to come out and complete this work training each day. 

    I would like to give special recognition to all the preschool staff for their hard work earning the Ohio Step Up to Quality Gold Award! We have a special group and I am extremely proud of our program. Keep up the great work! 

     Lastly, I want to thank all the families and friends who continue to support our school, staff, and students. We are so proud of the work we do providing educational supports for your loved ones. I want to wish everyone a happy Fall and have a save and warm winter!

​

Sincerely,

Brent Brannon, Director of Educational Services