December Issue 2018

Looking Ahead 2018

Holiday Closures

Admin and Community Services

Holiday Break—December 24-25

New Year’s Eve December 31

New Year’s Day January 1

Starlight School

Holiday Break—December 24—January 1

Martin Luther King Day—January 21

President’s Day—February 18

Professional Day for Staff—No

School for Students—February 22

Muskingum County Board of Developmental Disabilities

Partner of the Month

November

December

Caribeth Legats

The Muskingum County Board of DD wishes to thank its devoted friends and community partners. They have recently shown their exceptional continued support to help our programs and the people we serve go further and reach higher. Over the past two months we awarded the Philo Athletic Department and Caribeth Legats with our Outstanding Community Partner” award. These two partners are going the extra mile, getting results and improving lives for people with disabilities. Every day, they work to improve our community and create long-lasting changes. The County Board knows that we can’t do it alone, and we give thanks to all of our partners that go above and beyond to get things done. On behalf of the five hundred people we support, their families, friends, and providers who are impacted by partners like you, we say thank you.

Ugly Christmas Sweater Left to right: Jacob Murphy, Sandy Drenten, Ryan Weaver, Michaela Tom, Angie Hubbard, Christina

Page 2 Program Wide

Aaron Lynch

Spreading Holiday Cheer with Music

Every Tuesday and Wednesday, Aaron Lynch reports to the Zanesville Police Department downtown, sits at his computer and types police reports and statements. In one ear, his listens to officers and detectives read off their findings and observations, or play back interviews with suspects. In the other ear, the computer reads back each letter Lynch types.

Lynch has been blind since birth, but has always had a knack for technology. Despite his lack of sight, Lynch can type nearly 80 words a minute using the Job Access With Speech computer software that speaks what he types. While he can read braille, he uses a standard keyboard at the computer at the police department, relying on the program, provided by the Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, to tell him if he is hitting the correct key "We didn't hire Aaron because he's blind, we hired him because he's skilled," Chief Tony Coury said.

The Tri-Valley High School Choir stopped by for a caroling visit. After their performance, Ms. Reinbeau and the School Age 5 Class played bells for the Choir Students while they ate lunch.

Page 3 Program Wide

Behind The Scenes

Good Pancakes For a Good Cause

Secrest Auditorium echoed with chatter as Muskingum County residents piled into the basement for Sertoma's annual Pancake Day, one of the biggest fundraisers in the county. Among those were many familiar faces from students who attend the Starlight School as well as many adults the County Board supports. All of the proceeds from Pancake Day go to a variety of charities Sertoma partners with. Sertoma; which is shorthand for "service to mankind," works primarily to help people suffering from hearing loss by offering scholarships and other aid programs.

The County Board is teaming up with Evergreen Media to produce videos to share with the community featuring the various supports we provide to individuals with disabilities and their families. The areas we are focusing on are Early Intervention, Pre-School, School-Age, Employment, Service Coordination, and Community Engagement. Our goal is to show our mission and vision to the public and help others understand what supports we provide to help make people’s lives better. We want to give people a unique perspective on what the County Board does and how we can help others. Jason Dille from Evergreen Media has been a tremendous support on this process and I have to say that our employees just love being on camera.

Fall Festival

Page 4 Program Wide News

Employee Thanksgiving Potluck

The sun was shining, the weather was brisk and the leaves were falling during this year’s Starlight School Fall Festival on October 30

th and

31st. Using a racing-theme, the children in all grades had a great time,

whether it was racing their wooden cars, competing in the tire relay, crashing their scooters, being behind the wheel of a race car in virtual reality, or trick or treating. There was plenty to take in, along with the creative costumes and wonderful friendships. The school’s annual Fall Festival was a tremendous success. Special thanks to all of our staff who helped make this year's Fall Festival possible!

With Halloween preceding it and Christmas following up soon after, it's easy for Thanksgiving to get cheated out of the excitement and anticipation that it deserves. A holiday dedicated to eating, being thankful, and spending time with family, friends, and of course co-workers is kind of perfect in theory. The Muskingum County Board of DD – Starlight Program employees celebrated Thanksgiving with their annual potluck luncheon. From smoked turkey and cranberry chutney to green bean casserole, pizza, squash and a medley of desserts, there was gratitude all around.

Program Wide News Page 5

Veteran’s Parade

Pizza With Santa

Did you know that next to cookies & milk, Santa’s favorite food to eat is PIZZA!! So we decided to invite Santa to join us for a pizza party. Melissa Lynn just so happens to know Santa Claus – or, at least, knows someone who knows someone who knows Santa Claus and was able to arrange for yet another visit on December 6

th at The Hub.

Several kiddies and their families turned out for that all-important encounter with Saint Nick and the chance to sit on his knee, tell him all about that special gift they hope to receive this year, a quick photo, and some delicious pizza.

The Muskingum County Veterans Council hosted the Annual Veterans Day Parade in downtown Zanesville on November 10

th. Despite the cold and windy weather there were a variety of 107

entries. There were local American Legions, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Law Enforcement, Dance Teams, and many other organizations. Muskingum County Board of DD – Starlight Program wanted to show our support for the veterans and active duty military in this exciting event. Many employees of the County Board, people we support and other supporters put on their gloves, scarfs, and bundled up to come out and celebrate.

Supporting Our PARTNERS

PBIS Pep Rally The Starlight School rolled out its Positive Behavior Support and Interventions (PBIS) Initiative at a pep rally at the school on November 21st. The fun, high-energy event laid the groundwork to teach students the behaviors that make up a positive school environment. It was evident that the administration, staff and students exhibited their Positive Behavior, Respect, Individual Responsibility, Determination and Excellence. PBIS and its strategies are a priority at Starlight and they are working hard to implement the program as it

fits our school. Following the rally, school staff continue to instill the principles in students on a daily basis as well as demonstrate what positive support looks in each area of the school. School staff will integrate the positive language into daily routines to encourage students to strive for excellence. The PBIS initiative is a framework rooted in evidence-based practices to increase behavioral and academic outcomes by improving school climate, preventing problematic behavior, increasing learning time and promoting positive social skills. The goals of the PBIS initiative is to focus on what the students do right, rather than on what they do wrong to help

One of the Muskingum County Board of DD’s goals is to build and strengthen community partnerships through training, outreach and guidance. We are developing a support network to work with providers on a common vision and set of values. We see it as a way to strengthen cooperation efforts and increase the quality of services for individuals with disabilities. We are collaboratively working with Agency and Independent Providers to discover ways to embrace various initiatives, from onboarding support & recruitment campaigns to additional benefits for

longevity support as well as an emphasis on the emotional rewards. We like to refer to our agency and independent providers as our PARTNERS. We are extremely fortunate to have so many great partners to support individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. We all have the same goal in mind which is to help individuals

Program Wide News Page 6

Donations

Caribeth Legats

Thank you for your support of the Starlight School and our mission to help kids in Muskingum County. With the receipt of the communities donations we can continue our work to support and empower the youth at the Starlight School. Our programs help students develop skills to overcome formidable challenges to be successful today and in the future. We recently received donations from the Knights of Columbus, Eastern Star, Ohio Stave Company, United Commercial Travelers Council 20, Kali Co Court, and the families of Joy Hunt and Susan Christ. We cannot thank all of you enough for your generosity.

Caribeth Legats was born and raised in Akron, Ohio and graduated from the University of Akron with a degree in Health, Physical Education and Recreation. Caribeth and her late husband, Ken moved to Zanesville in 1969 upon appointment of her husband as Superintendent of MCBDD. Legats was a stay at home Mom until her two boys entered school. In 1984, Legats was asked to take over the Primary Age Severe Behavior Handicapped class for Zanesville City Schools, she enjoyed the challenge so much that she decided to return to school and become

certified in Special Education, earn her Master’s Degree in Education. She ultimately retired from teaching in 2005. Presently, along with being the acting Board President of MCBDD, Legats is a member of the Daybreak Rotary Club, Board President and Project Chairman for Muskingum

Program Wide News Page 7

1304 Newark Road

Zanesville, Ohio 43701

MUSKINGUM

COUNTY

BOARD OF DD

Board Members: Caribeth Legats, President Ben Whitacre, Vice President Shayne Barnes, Secretary Robert Beitzel Cathy Martin Michael Norman Diana White

Superintendent: Kellie Brown

As we embark on the season of giving, I am hopeful each of you can share your time and your blessings with those you love. The winter holidays is always a great time to pause and reflect on the past year while trying to avoid all of the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives. It is a great time to spend such precious time with your family and loved ones in your life. As we approach 2019 with open arms, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the amazing people who make our program successful. The Muskingum County Board will be forever grateful to this community for all it does for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. We are creating many exciting success stories and great memories all the time and we will continue making them in the next year. Our partnerships with the Muskingum County community make the holidays for the individuals and families we support brighter this season. With the colder weather comes cancellations and delays. We want to remind individuals and families that in addition to monitoring the local media sources we have also incorporated a One Call Now System to help receive instant information regarding closings and delays for the Starlight School. If you have not updated your information I encourage you to do so. Please stay safe out there this winter. Happy holidays everyone!

Any questions in regard to this newsletter, please contact Jordon Searls , Director of Administrative Services at 740-453-4829 or jsearls@muskingumdd.org.

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Kellie’s Korner

Mission Statement:

Working in partnership with individuals with developmental disabilities and

their families, providing opportunities utilizing public and private supports, to

live, learn, work, and play in the community.

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