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good evening and welcome to our 2021
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parent spring session
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launched to middle school i am bruce
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page
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senior administrator for middle school
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instructional programming
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i would like to introduce my team
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we have lisa vidoc audra williams
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and tiffany berry who are our three
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coordinating teachers for the middle
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school
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instructional programming as a reminder
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tonight
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the chat options will be turned off
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also beside because of the size of our
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group
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we ask that if possible that you mute
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your mics
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and turn off your cameras
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so our outcomes for this evening we hope
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that you will gain knowledge of
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similarities and differences
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between elementary and middle school
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in addition we hope that you will gain
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knowledge of middle school programming
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options
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as well as receive helpful hints and
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answers to questions that will support
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the transition
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to middle school
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so as we begin to think about and
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prepare for a positive transition for
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your child
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on the slide here are a few people who
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can help
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your student or your child along the way
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your first point of contact should
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always be your special education case
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manager
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we also have the guidance counselor
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grade level administrators
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teachers and social workers
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often when parents think about the
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transition from elementary to middle
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school
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they think about their children growing
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up and having to let go
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middle school is where parent
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involvement is the most crucial
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every middle school has a unique support
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system
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to ensure your child has a successful
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middle school
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experience
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many students transitioning to middle
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school are concerned about things like
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changing classes homework getting lost
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larger class sizes dressing out for pe
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new bus or carpool procedures lockers
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lunch and the list goes on and on but
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many of these same
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students will also be excited about
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attending a new school
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having new teachers changing classes
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making new friends and feeling more
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mature
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and that list goes on as well every
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middle school has an
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opportunity to get this information
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specific to their school
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and answers to many of the questions
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that students may already be having
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what will remain the same for you as a
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parent
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transitioning your student to middle
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school
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although the faces around the table will
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change once your student moves to middle
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school
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the iep process will not
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you will still hold iep meetings at
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least once a year
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to discuss your students progress in a
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formal setting
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you will receive progress reports at
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least once a quarter
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to keep you abreast of how your student
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is progressing towards their annual
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goals
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as a parent you know how your student
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responds to changes in their lives
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help the school and the iep team
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understand concerns that your student
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may already be expressing to you
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as they near the end of their school
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year
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what you should expect your current
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case manager will be the one who will
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set up your transition meeting
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if you haven't already been notified of
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this meeting
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for the rising sixth grade transition
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meeting that should be scheduled in the
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near future
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you are welcome to ask fifth grade case
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managers
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if a representative from the middle
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school can attend the transition meeting
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this is a helpful time for you to gain
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an understanding of how things may look
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at the new school at this meeting the
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iep
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team will explain any suggested changes
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to the iep
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to support your child moving forward
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we will now talk about some of the
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things that you might find different
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when transitioning to middle school
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first
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let's let's discuss special education
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terminology
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in elementary school teachers discuss
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pull out
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and push in services middle school does
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offer those types of services but we use
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different terms
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push in services are special education
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services
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provided in the general education
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setting
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in middle schools we use the term icr
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this stands for in-class resource which
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means a special education teacher goes
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into the regular education classroom
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middle schools offer icr services
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for math and language arts classes
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when considering this option the iep
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team will discuss the amount of time
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the special education teacher would need
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to work on iep goals
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for your child
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pull out services are special education
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services
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provided in the special education
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setting
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in middle schools there are a few
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options
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ca which stands for curriculum
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assistance
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is one time of day that students could
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get pull-out services
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typically this course will be in place
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of an elective
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for ca students will be in a small group
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of students
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with a special education teacher and
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could work on
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any iep goals that need direct
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instruction
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such as reading writing math
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study or organization or social
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emotional
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or the list goes on another special
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education setting option for students
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who need more time to focus on math iep
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goals
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middle schools have the class option
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math essentials
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this will also be in a small group of
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students with a special education
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teacher
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but will only focus on math similarly
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for students who need more time to focus
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on reading or writing goals
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middle schools have the class option
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literacy essentials
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in most situations math and literacy
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essentials
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would replace the core grade level
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english language arts or math classes
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a third option for direct specially
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designed instruction
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in the special education setting is the
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middle school reading class
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this is a class intended for students
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with foundational literacy
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skill deficits
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one additional option for pull-out
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special education services
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would be during the school's enrichment
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or remediation times
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most schools are able to offer services
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from one to five days per week
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during the shorter flexible time built
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into the day
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iep teams can discuss options that
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provide the necessary support
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while also ensuring your child has the
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opportunity
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to experience the least restrictive
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restrictive option
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in some situations students may only
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need one of the previously mentioned
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services
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while other times they may need two or
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more
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hopefully this was a helpful summary of
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the service delivery options that may be
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discussed in your child's transition
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meeting
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the iep team will discuss the best
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options for your child
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to help him or her have a successful
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start to the new school year
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accommodations and modifications look
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very similar in middle school
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if your child has accommodations and or
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modifications that they currently need
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and that they use the iep team will
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assess the need to continue them
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in middle school the accommodations or
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modifications
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may apply to different class names such
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as
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electives and they also may be taken
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off for situations that aren't built
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into middle school schedules
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such as library or recess iep teams may
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also discuss the wording
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on the accommodations and modifications
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to make sure that the implementation
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will be clear
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for the teachers in middle school
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communication will look a little
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different in middle school
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because your child will have more
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teachers during the day
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in elementary school your child likely
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had one main regular education teacher
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and one main special education teacher
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in middle school your child will likely
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have multiple teachers every day
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there could be multiple regular ed
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teachers elective teachers
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and special education teachers depending
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on your child's needs
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and schedule you are always welcome to
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email your child's teachers directly
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and you should know their names at the
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beginning of the school year
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when you get your child's schedule in
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addition to
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individual emails you can get
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information about your child's academic
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progress
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through powerschools that will show your
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child's current grades
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and also will show any missing work your
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child's school will give you
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information about registering for power
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schools
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access another way for
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parents to stay informed is through the
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use of a daily agenda
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that shows homework projects upcoming
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tests and quizzes
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if your child uses a daily agenda it's
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helpful for parents to check it
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regularly
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to make sure their child completes
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homework and projects on time
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and knows when to study for tests or
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quizzes
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it's also helpful for parents to help
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their child set up a regular homework
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space
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and routine that's a great way to build
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good lifelong habits schools typically
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group the four core teachers math
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language arts science and social studies
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by teams
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teams that may have team websites
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or individual teachers may have their
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own
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websites the websites that the teacher
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websites
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will show daily homework classwork tests
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quizzes and projects at the beginning of
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the year
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teachers should let parents know how to
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access their web
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websites to stay informed now that we've
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had a year of remote
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on virtual learning most teachers have
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created canvas sites or google
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classrooms
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and many may choose to continue that
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platform or similar platform
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next year that would be another way for
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parents to stay informed
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many teachers in the county also access
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tools
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or apps such as talking points that will
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text or email important information to
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students and their parents teachers
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should let you know
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if they'll use one of those resources
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and if they do
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i'd encourage you to sign up in the end
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as students work towards becoming more
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independent
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it's helpful for parents to support
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strong work habits
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and build relationships with the school
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and teachers
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as we all work together to support your
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child's success
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parental support plays an important part
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with helping your child succeed in
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middle school
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as your child grows more independent it
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is important to note
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which situations calls for involvement
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and what situations call for a more
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behind-the-scenes
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approach here are a few helpful tips to
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support a positive transition
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familiarize yourself with power schools
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learn to access google classroom or
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teacher websites
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create a study area and homework routine
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in your home
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maintain positive relationships with
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teachers
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visit the school website to find
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opportunities for orientation
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school visits and meet the teacher
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opportunities
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help your child become a strong
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self-advocate
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encourage your child to explore new
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clubs or activities
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as we close out our presentation this
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evening
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i would like to convey a special thanks
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to all the parents
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and or guardians who attended with us
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this evening
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finally my deepest thanks to karen
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hamilton
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assistant superintendent of special
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education services for her leadership
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and support for our department the
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family community engagement team for
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coordinating this amazing event
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and to my middle school coordinating
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teachers for their expertise tonight
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and always going above and beyond to
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support our students
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teachers and parents
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have a great evening
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thank you bruce the special education
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services page of the wake county public
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school system website
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has a wealth of information and we
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encourage you to visit our site
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in addition to the special education web
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page we
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always recommend that parents access the
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wide variety of resources
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available on the wake county public
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school system
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website at wcpss.net
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tomorrow please join us as we answer any
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general questions you might have about
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transitions that weren't answered during
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this session
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we are limited to 25 parents per session
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but we are offering four sessions
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our team will be standing by for your
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appointment time between
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10 a.m and 11 a.m 12 p.m
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and 1 p.m 2 p.m and 3 p.m
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and 6 p.m to 7 p.m please note that for
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confidentiality purposes
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we will only be answering general
00:15:21
questions during these live chat
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sessions
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if you have specific questions about
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your child
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please feel free to contact your child's
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case manager
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or principal to reach out or reach out
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to the family and community connections
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team you will receive an email
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after this session that will enable you
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to sign up for one of the parent chats
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taking place
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coming soon special education services
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will be providing additional parent
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sessions
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on april 21st please join us as our
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related services team
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discusses various related services such
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as speech
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language therapy occupation occupational
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therapy
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audiology and physical therapy
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on april 27th please join us as our
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policy team discusses parent advocacy
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there will be additional chats
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throughout the day
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tomorrow and again on april 22nd
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and 28th following the upcoming parent
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information sessions
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we hope that you have found this session
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informative
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and that it will help you as you move
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ahead if there's a part of the session
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or any previous session that you missed
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or you would like to review again
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we have recorded it and it will be
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placed on our special education
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website if you have any questions about
00:16:50
special education services
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the iep process or transitions
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or if we did not get to a question you
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asked in your registration
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please feel free to contact family and
00:17:03
community connections
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or come to one of our parent chat hours
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at the end of this session
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i will drop a link in the chat box if
00:17:12
you would like to contact us directly
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thank you for joining us today