Minutes of Rotary Meeting – Nov 21, 2018
Announcements:
- The Kitchener Westmount Rotary 2018 Christmas Party is being held on November 28th, 6:00-10:00pm at Westmount Golf and Country Club.
- The KidsAbility “Oh Christmas Free” event is being held on December 1st
- David Barth. International Service Chair, provided a brief introduction and update on the work of his committee. The Committee has a budget of $15,000 and so far this year, the club has funded $9,000 of initiatives, as follows:
- $1,000 to the Guatemala Literacy Project
- $3,500 to Wilfrid Laurier University’s Educator and Leadership Institute
- $3,000 to Equip Kids
- $1,500 to Microcredit to District
50/50 Draw:
Mac Graham, Leo Tobi and Rick Bolzon all went digging for that elusive black marble - but no winner this week.
Speaker:
Karin Voisin introduced our guests Laura Martin, Jason Hynes and Kathie Shaw of Oak Bridge Academy.
Laura Martin is Vice-Chair of the Academy and spoke briefly about her son Cole who has autism and is now attending Oak Bridge. Cole was challenged by and unable to succeed in the regular school system but is now thriving at Oak Bridge.
Kathie Shaw then spoke about some of the successes as well as the challenges of the Academy.
Oak Bridge Academy is an alternative school structured around the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis designed specifically for children with neurodevelopmental disorders. The mission of Oak Bridge Academy is to provide specialized education to exceptional learners with the core foundation of promoting behavioural flexibility. The academy provides services for children with autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, and other related learning exceptionalities.
The Focus of Oak Bridge Academy is to:
- use evidence based principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis to provide a framework for instruction and on-going evaluation of effectiveness of interventions,
- provide high academic standards that are individualized to suit each learner’s needs,
- develop affiliations with community organizations to provide opportunities for inclusion, and
- prepare students for, and their transition to, high school
The core principle of Oak Bridge Academy is behavioural flexibility. This key skill encompasses both social skills development and emotional regulation and is at the heart of all school activities. Oak Bridge believes that these skills will support its students for sustained future success throughout life.
Bob Kieswetter thanked our speaker on behalf of the Club.
