SEPAC would like to send a big thank you to all of our supporters this year! Your participation in our events and fundraisers has helped us make the following contributions to our children and the Norfolk Public Schools!
$1,000 donation to the Freeman Kennedy School to outfit the Motor Room with new equipment.
$240 donation to the Norfolk Special Education Department for Special Olympics T-Shirts
Six free Parent-focused Educational Presentations on topics including ADHD, Nutrition, Executive Function, IEP, MassHealth, and Preventing the Summer Slide.
Three free Student Events including an Art Workshop and two Music Classes run by Music Therapists.
We are very excited for the 2019-2020 school year and are working to finalize our event schedule. Stay tuned for more parent- and child-focused events next year as well as our 2019-2020 fundraising objectives and goals.
Interested in joining the SEPAC Board for the upcoming 2019-2020 school year? We have the following open roles:
Event Chairs for Trunk or Treat, Parent Socials, Friends of SEPAC 5K, Friends of SEPAC Food Truck Event
Secretary
Parent Outreach Coordinator(s)
Click here for a list of position descriptions and contact norfolksepac@gmail.com if interested.
Upcoming Events
Thursday, August 8, 2019
2nd Annual SEPAC Summer Concert and Food Truck Event
6:15 p.m.
Spend time with friends, enjoy a summer concert, food, face painting, and family games while supporting the SEPAC as we gear up for the 2019-2020 School Year! If you would like volunteer or know of a vendor(s) that would like to participate please contact us; norfolksepac@gmail.com.
Thursday, August 22, 2019
SEPAC and PTO Sponsored Kindergarten Playground Night
5:00 - 5:30 p.m.- Special Education Families Only
5:30 - 6:30 p.m. - All Kindergarten Families
Join your fellow Kindergartners for a "Back to School" playground get-together and meet your new classmates! This is a great way to have your new Kindergartner find friends in their class and to meet other Kindergarten parents.
Parent Education
Summer Fun and Challenge Ideas - Here are some fun ideas to expand your summer fun. Write your favorite ideas on slips of paper and place them in a jar. Each family member can pick one to do!
Scavenger Hunts - The beach, the woods, your backyard, a campground! These are all gold mines for creating a scavenger hunt! Find some fun printable versions here.
Summer Reading - The Norfolk Public Library holds a Summer Reading Challenge - sign up and stick with it! There are prizes at the end! Check out the details here.
DoSomething.org - Build "doing good" into your family's summer by joining with a group that focuses on a cause your family supports. This link shows many opportunities to get involved: Link
Put a Garden In - Not yet a gardener? Put a few tomatoes, peppers, or cucumber plants in a pot in the sun! Garden regularly? Let your kids pick something fun like watermelon, husk cherries, or purple carrots and watch them grow (the kids AND the veggies!).
Science Sparks! - Build a tower of sugar cubes, Make your own lava lamp, Make a Treasure Map, Make invisible ink! So many science projects can be found here
Writing Contests - Does your child love to write? Have them enter a writing contest for the summer! Find a list of contests available here.
SEPAC Books of the Month
The Whole-Brain Child
By Daniel J. Siegel, M.D. and Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D.
In this pioneering, practical book, Daniel J. Siegel, neuropsychiatrist and author of the bestselling Mindsight, and parenting expert Tina Payne Bryson offer a revolutionary approach to child rearing with twelve key strategies that foster healthy brain development, leading to calmer, happier children. The authors explain—and make accessible—the new science of how a child’s brain is wired and how it matures. The “upstairs brain,” which makes decisions and balances emotions, is under construction until the mid-twenties. And especially in young children, the right brain and its emotions tend to rule over the logic of the left brain. No wonder kids throw tantrums, fight, or sulk in silence. By applying these discoveries to everyday parenting, you can turn any outburst, argument, or fear into a chance to integrate your child’s brain and foster vital growth.
Complete with age-appropriate strategies for dealing with day-to-day struggles and illustrations that will help you explain these concepts to your child, The Whole-Brain Child shows you how to cultivate healthy emotional and intellectual development so that your children can lead balanced, meaningful, and connected lives.
The Whole-Brain Child Workbook
Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson speak to audiences all over the world about their immensely popular best-sellers, The Whole-Brain Child and No-Drama Discipline. The message Dan and Tina continually receive from their audiences, whether live or virtual, is that people are hungry for the opportunity to take the Whole-Brain ideas and go deeper with them. Thanks to this new workbook, they now can.
The Whole-Brain Child Workbook has a unique, interactive approach that allows readers not only to think more deeply about how the ideas fit their own parenting approach, but also develop specific and practical ways to implement the concepts -- and bring them to life for themselves and for their children.
-Dozens of clear, practical and age-specific exercises and activities. -Applications for clinicians, parents, educators, grandparents and care-givers!
Our Mission
The Norfolk Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) strives to collaborate with and advise the school committee and administration to continually improve the education opportunities for all children in and outside of our school district. We promote improved education and success for students with disabilities, ensuring they receive equal access to education opportunities within our school and community. The Norfolk SEPAC provides a network for parents of children with disabilities to access resources, gain support and share ideas. SEPAC encourages families to be involved in all district policy discussions.
Norfolk SEPAC Board
President: Taiese Hickman
Vice President: Jo-Anne Gilbody
Director of Communications: Karen Murphy
Director of Events: Michael McCarthy
Grant Administrator: Karen Mazzola
Special Advisor: Jeff Chalmers
Contact Us
Website: www.norfolksepac.org
Email: norfolksepac@gmail.com
Facebook: @norfolksepac
Instagram: @norfolksepac
Twitter: @nsepac