Major Bill White, who is a 104 year-old Veteran who served in World War II, survived the Battle of Iwo Jima and went to continue a long career as a US Marine Corps. Major White has a bookshelf of many memories in the nursing home he resides in and he wanted to add more this year. Major White asked for Valentine Cards. Over 300,000 cards poured into the home for Major White and cover almost every surface. Our students helped contribute to making this one of his most memorable Valentine’s by making cards for him. We then mailed the cards [...]

This February, BEST Academy celebrated the week of Valentine’s Day with Spirit Week! Staff and students had a different theme each day, including Crazy Hair Day, Mismatch Day, Superhero Shirt Day, and red, pink and white for Valentine’s Day. The kids were busy with creativity this month. In Art class, they made Valentine’s cards to send to Veterans. The students also made Valentine’s cards and other projects to exchange with friends and send home to family members. Our Speech and Occupational Therapy teachers created a “Love Bug” project for the students, where they decorated Oreo cookies with frosting and sprinkles [...]

Cup of Inspiration is a café on the BEST and High Road premises where the students of our Transition classroom have been working weekly. Each Friday morning, any students that want to participate go over to the café where they can choose Hot Chocolate with or without marshmallows, and a treat. The students have been doing an amazing job honing their vocational skills and serving students and teachers! This also gives students the chance to practice making purchases. Transition makes all of the desserts themselves. They have surprised us with a new treat each week, including donuts, Rice Krispie Treats, [...]

This winter our Physical Therapist, Ms. Alicia, started Yoga Club! Once a week, the students join together in the motor lab for an interactive yoga and dance group. The students begin with some classic yoga poses and stretches, and Ms. Alicia does an amazing job practicing self-appreciation with the kids. The students give thanks to their bodies for all the hard work their bodies do for them throughout the day. In between stretches, it’s time to dance! Ms. Alicia turns on some fun tunes and for a few minutes the students jam out. For the last half of Yoga club, the [...]

With a new year comes new experiences. This January, Ms. Hanlon’s room began a weekly trip to Walmart! The students got a chance to practice vocational skills both in the school and out in the community. Each student was tasked with their own list of items needed for their classroom, where they did a wonderful job locating the items, crossing the items off their lists, and determining how much money was needed. They did a great job learning how to navigate the self-checkout register, and took turns scanning and bagging the items. Ms. Hanlon’s classroom reported smiles all around, and told [...]

Each month, BEST Academy has a different Social Studies unit for the students. For the month of January, our students explored the world of maps. Working on the project as a group, the students followed along in their packets and learned about globes and the four cardinal directions. Staff also helped the kids navigate a map by helping them locate their hometown and school town on a map of Connecticut. On a map of the United States, the student’s located and colored in their home state, Connecticut. Teachers and students alike were proud of the end result, and we can’t wait [...]

Amanda is always happy to assist with any need at any time, exuding confidence and kindness. She never seems hurried or concerned, making each student feel special and important. These traits were increasingly evident this month as she was more active throughout the school building as she filled in for Nurse Mike’s absence. This Fall, she accepted an additional responsibility as one of our three Qualified Professionals. This role supports our campus RN by addressing basic first aid needs, assisting with medication regimes and generally being a constant voice of calm and positivity. In the past month, Amanda has been [...]