Testimonial to a Community School
Ecole Constable Edward Finney Community School
This year we have four boys attending Constable Edward Finney School.
Christopher is in grade four, Timothy and Ryan are in grade two and
Preston has started kindergarten.
We entered the year with some apprehension due to the fact that the
administration (principal and vice principal) were changing and we had
become close to the previous two. All of our boys are special needs, and
with the exception of Ryan, all need in-class supports to help them get
through the day.
Well, I am here to say, that midway through the first month of school, things
have worked out beautifully. The “Finney Family” is still strong and united.
Everyone in the school still takes part in the education of the child, and the
community atmosphere gives one a warm and fuzzy feeling when walking
through the doors.
This year, Mom is on the Parent Council serving as secretary. I do need to
get those minutes typed up, but that’s later. Our firm belief is that parents
with children with special needs (and those with regular kids) need to
maintain a visibility as much as possible at their children’s school without
seeming to “hover.” We find that the teachers are warm and welcoming
whenever we knock on their doors to just say hello. And I do that often.
Today, for instance, I stopped into Tim’s class to give a video produced by
our local Down syndrome group to the school. Also, to check and see if
Tim’s acorns and oak leaves (as a add-on to his weekend activities) made
it to school without mishap. They did. Pat McDonald, his teacher, invited
me in and stopped momentarily what she was doing with the group and
said hello.
We have been ever so grateful for the support and openness the staff at the
school have shown us. During Christopher’s crisis last spring, they were
wonderful. When he ran from the school, after hours, the principal, vice-
principal, Tim’s para, Ryan’s former kindergarten teacher, and Chris’
teacher all came out in their cars to help me look for him. The secretary,
Pat, stayed in the school and fielded phone calls. A couple of calls had come in
from people in the community who knew that Chris should not be
unaccompanied. I had the cell phone and regularly checked in with the
school for news. Chris’ teacher came to the house at intervals to check to
see if he had come home. We eventually found him in the vicinity of a
drainage ditch where a young middle-school boy drowned a month before.
It was very frightening because Chris has no fear of anything, and doesn’t
have the ability to think ahead of natural consequences for things he does
that are dangerous.
We finally cornered him in the parking lot of the school near there, got him
in my car, and Susan and Lynn (Tim’s para and Ryan’s former teacher)
followed me home. Susan came in and read the other boys a story
while I got on the phone and blubbered to the pediatrician about this latest
escapade.
It’s evident when one works in our school as a volunteer, how much the
teachers enjoy what they do. For each of our boys, they have read as
much literature as I can give them, or as they can find. They have made
great efforts to devise programs for the boys to meet or better their levels of
potential and continue to challenge the boys. I have four boys who can
hardly wait to get on the bus and head to school each morning. It’s quite a
separation thing when the weekend rolls around.
Finally, I wanted to point out how important the team approach is to the
education of any child. Tim’s team (his former kindergarten teacher, grade
one teacher, grade two teacher, paraprofessional, resource teacher and
myself) are attending and presenting a workshop on September 18, 1997
on teaching children with Down syndrome in the primary grades. They
have worked since last March in getting this together. They are taking the
most awsome audio visual aids I have ever seen to conduct this workshop.
We have had registrations coming in since it became know that this was
being held, and the workshop was sold out in July. Lydia, our principal, is
still getting calls from people who want to attend. I am going to make a
report on this and post it here. We will also post the pictures taken during
the period of preparation time. It has to be said that with that many people
away from the school at one time, subs will abound there. Not always an
ideal situation at the beginning of a school year. And, unlike other schools,
where whole teams are attending, we have not been asked to keep Tim at
home for that day because his aid won’t be there.
If anyone wishes to “talk” to me more in depth about our school and about
how we keep the lines of communication open, please don’t hesitate to
email me from the web page. I can’t say enough about the boys' education
and all of the positive things that have evolved from it.
Surbey Family Homepage
Val Surbey
September 15, l997