It seems Summer is already upon us as the weather is turning warmer. We hope you all are taking advantage of this and enjoying plenty of outdoor activities. Please take note of the activities and events listed below. Mark your calendars now and plan to attend.
The delegation from Area 16 Special Olympics at this year’s Special Olympics Summer Games includes 28 athletes, 2 unified partners, and 9 coaches. Athletes will be competing in athletics, bocce, unified bocce, powerlifting and swimming events. Opening Ceremonies is this Friday, May 18th, beginning at 6:45pm and it is held in the Allen Arena at David Lipscomb University. Competition begins on Saturday morning, May 19th,and events will be held at Vanderbilt University and at the Centennial Sportsplex. The Athletic competition begins at 8:30am at the Vanderbilt Track , Bocce and Unified Bocce competition begins at 9:00am at the IM Softball Fields, Powerlifting competition begins at 9:00am in the McGugin Center, and Swimming competition begins at 9:30am in the Centennial Sportsplex. We invite everyone to come out and cheer for all the athletes at both events. Good luck to all the athletes and coaches this weekend.
L.E.A.R.N. GOLF:
Four golfers, two partners, and a new partner to be will be attending the Special Olympics East TN Regional Tournament held in Sevierville, TN on May 29th. Good luck to all our participants. We will not be conducting practice during memorial day weekend or Tuesday the 29th. Next practice will be June 3rd. For information contact Dave at 533-0668 or email ddavis166@comcast.net
NUTRITIONAL EVENT:
Jon Stephenson from Williamson County Parks & Recreation is promoting nutritional values and quality of health in families with members of intellectual disabilities, young athletes, and adult men. He has a couple of doctors speaking to various Special Needs groups about health and nutrition. Jon has made it a personal goal to educate the Special Needs Community on nutrition to help better their lives and hopefully extend them. The event will be held on Thursday, June 7th, beginning at 6:30pm, at First Baptist Church Room 208.
ERIC’S& AMANDA’s GARDEN CLUB:
Eric and Amanda would like to invite their friends to join their Garden Club. The Club will meet every 2nd and 4th Saturday beginning June 9th from 5pm- 7pm at Eric’s home located at 1630 Glenhaven Dr. We will grow and harvest a variety of vegetables including several varieties of tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, corn and other vegetables. We will also have a grill out and swim party to cool off from the heat. For more information contact Dave at 533-0668 or ddavis166@comcast.net
PETALS WITH A PURPOSE:
The next Petals with a Purpose, PWP, class will be on Thursday, June 14, 2012, at 6:30pm in the LEARN classroom at First Baptist Church. Please R.S.V.P. to Susan Meier by email, mkskjc@aol.com , if you would like your child to attend. Participants will learn about summer flowers and create small summer bouquets. You may choose to share your bouquet with a loved one or a special friend, or you may choose to share your bouquet with a resident at a nursing home. If you'd like to deliver your bouquet, you can follow Ms. Carla to Community Care of Rutherford County after the PWP meeting. Ms. Susan will deliver to Adam's Place on Friday, June 15 at 10am.
Ms. Susan, PWP founder, thinks we all need to practice making decisions, so this time, she is going to let each one of you make your own decision about sharing your bouquet! If you would like to take your bouquet home to enjoy it, you may! If you want to share it with someone special that you know, that will be great! Or if you'd like to donate your creation to a resident at a nursing home, that will be wonderful too!
MUSIC THERAPY PROGRAM:
Anyone interested in learning how to play a musical instrument (Piano, guitar, drums, etc.) or taking singing lessons or play in a band, contact Dave Davis at 533-0668 or email ddavis166@comcast.netand he will send you info on the program. Melissa House, certified music therapist, will be conducting music lessons in his home. He has a piano, some guitars and drum sticks that can be used during the lessons.
OTHER NEWS:
Special Kids Camp Ability:
Camp Ability of Special Kids is a Christian, summer day camp for children and adults with special needs ages 6-25. Camp is designed to allow children and adults with special needs to participate in an interactive, social, and just plain fun environment during the months of June and July each year. Camp Ability is held at North Boulevard Church of Christ in Murfreesboro, TN, and is broken into two sessions- one in June and one in July. Campers are able to attend one or both sessions depending on a family's need.
Session One: June 4 - June 29 Session Two: July 9 - August 3 No Camp the week of July 4th
Registration Fees: $100/week $10/week for early care $25/week for extended care $30/week for both early and extended care
For more information contact Brandon Deal, Director of Camp Ability at 615.496.4638 or by email: bdeal@specialkidstn.com
We hope everyone is having a great week! Listed below is information regarding several activities and events. Please take note of the dates and times and mark your calendars now. We look forward to seeing you at these activities and events.
L.E.A.R.N. will be having its annual Spring Dance this Saturday, April 21st from 6:30-10 pm at the First Baptist Church gym. This dance is for all adults and highs school students with special needs and their parents.The theme this year is A Night On The Red Carpet. Everyone is invited to dress up as their favorite movie, tv, music or sports star. Each star will be announced on the Red Carpet and the paparazzi will be invited to photograph the stars. Dressing up is encouraged, but not required.
The cost is $2 per person with a non-perishable food item to benefit Greenhouse Ministries, or $3 without a food item. Parents and guardian admission is free. We ask that one responsible adult family member be present with each dance attendee. As a reminder, we have many family activities throughout the year where everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. This evening, however, is a special time of socializing for our high school students and adults.
Soft drinks and punch will be provided, but we ask that everyone bring a finger food to share. We will need 10 volunteers to help with decorating at 9am on the 21st and 10 volunteers to tear down and clean up after the dance. Please email Carla at cmaye@att.netto sign up to help.
Petals With A Purpose
The next Petals With A Purpose meeting will be on Thursday, May 10th at 6:30ppm in the L.E.A.R.N. classroom at First Baptist Church. This class we will have a guest speaker, Jessica Wilson, Lead Floral Manager at Kroger, who will be there to speak to the participants regarding her career as a floral designer. She has also offered to teach those in attendance how to make a corsage for someone special for Mother’s Day. She will bring the flowers and all the materials needed to design a small corsage! Please R.S.V.P. to Susan Meier by email, mkskjc@aol.comby Saturday, May 5th, if you would like your child to attend. If your child has siblings who will also be in attendance, please let Susan know so she will know how many to expect. There is no cost for the participants, just a huge smile when you walk into the class!
L.E.A.R.N. Summer Sports
We have several participants who have signed up for our Summer Sports Program. Volunteer coaches have been teaching and training athletes in the following sports: bocce ball, unified bocce ball, power lifting and track and field. We have several athletes who will be participating and competing in these sports at the Special Olympics State Summer Games. Opening Ceremonies will be held on Friday, May 18thand competition will begin on Saturday, May 19th. Please plan to attend this event and cheer on our L.E.A.R.N. athletes and all the athletes who will be competing in this tournament. We will have more information regarding this event in our May newsletter.
L.E.A.R.N. Golf Program
Our golf practices begin this coming Sunday at Champions Run from 3:30 - 5:30pm and on Tuesday at Smyrna Golf Course from 5-7pm. One change we will have this year is a cost for range balls but at much reduced cost to us. Looking forward to seeing everyone this Sunday. The Special Olympics 2012 Golf schedule for Tournaments this year has not been completely finalized, but here is what is currently listed:
May 2nd: Middle TN Regional Tournament – Champions Run
May 29th: East TN Open - Sevierville Golf Course
West TN Regional Tournament - TBA
July 16th: East TN Regional Tournament – Bear Trace at Harrison Bay
West TN Open – TBA
Middle TN Open - TBA
Sept. 17th: Special Olympics State Golf Tournament – Smyrna Municipal Golf Course
OTHER NEWS
The Movement Connection
Awesome Opportunity to get involved with MTSU: Need some interested participants. In January 2012, VSA Tennessee offered a workshop for young people with Down Syndrome in dance. This project is going to be a 6 week pilot program with the intention of working in to a Dance Company in Middle Tennessee for young people with Down Syndrome. Program partners are The Down Syndrome Association of Middle Tennessee and Middle Tennessee State University Dance Program. Anyone interested please contact Dave, 533-0668 to get a registration form or contact: *Return registration no later than April 24, 2012 by mail or email to VSATennessee userk7706@comcast.net 1210 Lake Rise Place Gallatin TN 37066
Location: Middle Tennessee State University, Murphy Center G040 Dance Studio
Dates: Tuesday and Thursday evenings for 6 weeks beginning May 15
Time: 6:30pm-8pm
Cost: Free, but pre-registration is required by April 24, 2012
Final Performance: Friday, June 22, 2012, 7pm
Eric's & Amanda's Garden Club
Eric and Amanda are inviting any of their friends who want to learn about growing vegetables to come to Eric's House every other Saturday beginning May 26th, from 4:30pmuntil you’re ready to go home. This is an informal group. We are calling this a Club but actually it's just an excuse to get Amanda's and Eric's friends together to learn about gardening, and once the weather gets warm in June bring a side dish for a grill out and your swimming gear for a swim. Hot dogs & burgers provided by the Davester. Call Dave at 533-0668.
We
hope everyone is having a great week! We have information regarding
several activities and events listed below. Please take note of the dates
and times and mark your calendars now. We look forward to seeing you at
these activities and events.
We
are proud to announce that we will have 3 basketballs teams, two Traditional
and one Unified, competing in this year’s Special Olympics Regional and State
Tournaments. Both tournaments are being hosted by David Lipscomb
University. This Saturday, March 10th, our teams will
be competing in the Regional tournament. Each team will play three games.
Our Super Stars team’s first game will be at 9:00am and our Shooting Stars
first game will be at 9:40am. Both teams will be playing at the David
Lipscomb High School gym. Our Rock Stars team will play its first game at
9:00am in the David Lipscomb Student Activity Center.
Next
Friday and Saturday, March 16th and 17th our teams
will compete in the State Tournament. On Friday Opening Ceremonies will
begin at 2:30pm followed by screening games at 3:30pm and then competition
games at 5:30pm. Saturday competition games begin at 8:30am. We
will have more information regarding the State tournament game schedule at a
later date.
Please
come out and cheer for our L.E.A.R.N. Super Stars, Shooting Stars and Rock
Stars teams and have a great time watching all the athletes compete in these
two tournaments.
Summer
Sports
We
will have a Summer Sports Registration make-up date on Thursday, March 22nd,
beginning at 6:30pm at First Baptist Church. If you have not already
registered your athlete, please plan to attend. Our Summer Sports include
bocce ball, unified bocce ball, golf, power lifting and track and field.
Volunteer coaches have signed up to train athletes in each of these
sports. Practices will begin after our basketball season ends on March 17th.
Practice days, times and location vary depending on the sport. Coaches
will contact the athletes’ families and go over the practice schedule for their
sport.
Spring
Dance
L.E.A.R.N.
will be having its annual Spring Dance on Saturday,
April 21st from 6:30-10 pm at the
First Baptist Church gym. This dance is for all adults and highs school
students with special needs and their parents.The theme this year is A Night On The Red
Carpet. Everyone
is invited to dress up as their favorite movie, tv, music or sports star. Each
star will be announced on the Red Carpet and the paparazzi will be invited
to photograph the stars. Dressing up is encouraged, but not required.
The cost is $2 per person with a non-perishable food item to
benefit Greenhouse Ministries, or $3 without a food item. Parents and guardian
admission is free. We ask that one responsible adult family member be present
with each dance attendee. As a reminder, we have many family activities
throughout the year where everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend. This
evening, however, is a special time of socializing for our high school students
and adults.
Soft drinks and
punch will be provided, but we ask that everyone
bring a finger food to share. We will need 10 volunteers to help with
decorating at 9am on the 21st and 10 volunteers to tear down and clean up
after the dance. Please email Carla at cmaye@att.net to sign up to help.
OTHER NEWS:
Rising
Above Ministries Easter Eggstravaganza
Everyone
is invited to Rising Above Ministries first annual Easter Eggstravaganza on Saturday,
March 31st from 1:00-3:00 pm at New Vision Baptist Church, 1750 N. Thompson
Lane in Murfreesboro.
There
will be multiple egg hunts for children and adults with special needs, as well
as siblings up to age 10. There will be games, prizes, activities, crafts, face
painting, balloons, a petting zoo, unicyclists as well as cotton candy and
popcorn!
To
register your family for this FUN and FREE event, please visit www.risingaboveministries.org.
In the top left corner click on "Murfreesboro TN" under
"Register for and Egg Hunt".
Rising
Above Ministries Two-Gether Marriage Retreat
Two-gether
marriage retreats are designed for couple raising individuals with special
needs. Holding together a marriage when raising a child with special needs is
just plain tough. This retreat addresses challenging relationship issues unique
to couples raising a special child. Learn how your relationship can thrive, not
just survive. Whether your marriage needs a tune-up, a kick start or an
overhaul, this weekend offers a fresh perspective from speakers who "get
it". They have faced the same unique, relationship challenges in their own
lives and are on a similar journey.
Join us at the
Two-Gether Conference 2012 at the Chattanooga Choo Choo on April 21-22.
The early bird rate of $39 per couple still applies. This include all of your
materials. The staff of the Chattanooga Choo-Choo is extending an amazing
offer of only $99 per night. To receive your discount, use code
"TWO12". For more information visit www.risingaboveministries.org or
email Kurt or Sonya Craig at craigs@risingaboveministries.org
Vanderbilt Research
The
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center’s Disabilities, Religion, and Spirituality Program
is launching a new research study focusing on the strengths, spirituality, and
well-being of young people with disabilities in Tennessee. Parents or
caregivers of young people with an intellectual disability or autism (ages
13-21) are eligible to participate. Their goal is to learn more about the
things that help young people with disabilities flourish and live a good life.
They are inviting hundreds of parents across Tennessee to share their views on
a survey as part of this research project. Participating parents will receive a
$20 gift card for their involvement. Based on what they learn, they will create
a helpful and freely available guide for families, faith communities,
disability organizations, and service providers across the state.
If
you are interested in learning more about the study—or know of other families
who may be interested—contact Erik Carter, Associate Professor of Special
Education, at erik.carter@vanderbilt.edu
or (615) 343-1438, or visit http://tinyurl.com/7nohlwx.
Sports
4 All Foundation
Sports
4 All Foundation in collaboration with Vanderbilt’s Kappa Kappa Gamma Sorority,
will be hosting their 4th Annual Field Day on March 16, 2012.
This event will take place at Vanderbilt’s Rob Roy Purdy Field. All
participants will need to have a waiver filled out to take part in the day’s
activities. Please
email Megan Graf @ Megan@s4af.org to
receive more information including a waiver and map to the event.
Nashville
Children’s Theatre
While
NCT welcomes all kids and families to any performance, we invite families who
have children with special needs to enjoy this performance as a community:
What: The Beauty and the Best, Access
Performance
When: Saturday, March 17th at 11 am
Where: Nashville Children's Theatre
Ticket Price: $12 per person, tickets
are general admission
For
tickets, please call 615-252-4675 or nashvillechildrenstheatre.org
By L.E.A.R.N. of TN Newsletter - Sunday, January 22, 2012 - View Full Newsletter
L.E.A.R.N.
friends and family,
We
hope everyone had a joyful Christmas and we wish everyone a Happy New Year.
We
are looking forward to this year’s program and we hope you will join us in our
efforts to provide a wonderful year of opportunities for our kids.
In
this newsletter we have information regarding several upcoming activities and
events. Please take note of the dates and times listed below and mark your
calendars now. We look forward to seeing you at these activities and
events.
We
are thrilled to announce that this year we have 35 athletes participating in
our basketball program. Coaches have been teaching athletes basic skills
and fundamentals and the athletes are having a great time with their teammates
practicing each Saturday morning. We also have volunteer Unified Partners
who are also teaching and practicing with our athletes. Beginning in
February we will be adding an additional practice on Thursday evenings in order
to prepare athletes who will be playing in scrimmage games with Special
Olympics basketball teams from Williamson and Sumner counties. Teams from
Williamson County will come to the gym at FBC on Saturday,February 4th
and we will travel to their gym on Saturday,February 18th.
Sumner County teams will be at the FBC gym on Saturday, February 25th
and Saturday, March 3rd. All games begin at 10:00am so
come out and cheer for all the athletes as they prepare for the upcoming
Special Olympics Regional and State Basketball Tournaments, which will be held
in March. More information about these two tournaments to come.
L.E.A.R.N.
ARTS AND CRAFTS CLASS:
We
will have an Arts and Craft class on Thursday, January 26th from
6:30pm - 8:00pm in our classroom at First Baptist Church. Maureen Lathrop
will be teaching this class. Participants will be making winter placemats
that can be used all year long. This class will be offered for children
and adults with special needs ages 8 and up and will be free of charge. We must
limit the class to 10 participants and one parent/legal guardian or caregiver
for each participant. If you wish to sign your child up for this class,
please contact Maureen @ 615-542-2959.
L.E.A.R.N. COMMITTEE MEETING:
It's that time again...time to form committees to continue to
do what LEARN does...provide opportunities for our children and adults.
We really need your help. It does not take a large amount of time and if
you are unsure what is involved, please come to the meeting and let us explain
how by everyone doing a little something, no one gets burned out and all our
children benefit.
We will have the meeting DURING basketball
practice, next Saturday, January 28th at 10:30am at First
Baptist Church in the side room off the gym. Again, L.E.A.R.N. needs your
help...we hope to see everyone there!
PETALS
WITH A PURPOSE:
Join
us for our February meeting, Thursday, February 9th at 6:30pm and
celebrate Valentine’s Day a few days early by creating a bouquet for someone
special! We will be meeting in our classroom at First Baptist Church and
participants will learn more about flowers, create a bouquet, and enjoy fun and
friendship!
Please
RSVP to Susan Meier at mkskjc@aol.com so she
knows how many students to expect.
SPECIAL NEEDS TRUST INFORMATIONAL MEETING:
We have scheduled some experts for an informational meeting
on Special Needs Trusts, Wills, Guardianships and Conservatorships on Tuesday,
February 21st from 6:30pm -8:00pm in Room 208 at First Baptist Church.
Please pass on to anyone who is interested or has questions regarding any of
these topics as we would like to open this meeting to the Special Needs
Community in general.
OTHER
NEWS:
PROJECT
HEALTH 4 SPECIAL KIDS:
Our
new program, Project HEALTH 4 Special Kids is up and running in Murfreesboro,
TN! We still have spots open for kids to register so please spread the
word to families in the Rutherford County area.
Project
HEALTH 4 Special Kids
is a FREE program that meets once (and sometimes twice) a month at Patterson
Community Center in Murfreesboro from 9am-12pm. During this time, kids ages
12-22 of all ability levels are welcome to join us for an active and
healthy day! We learn about healthy recipes, how to properly work out in
a gym, play active games, and have therapeutic water activities in the
pool. Check out this link to see the video of our program: http://s4af.org/resources.html
The
upcoming dates for this programming are the following:
January
7, 2012
January
21, 2012
February
4, 2012
March
3, 2012
March
10, 2012
April
7, 2012
April
14, 2012
May
5, 2012
May
19, 2012
June
9, 2012
July
21, 2012
Kids
who register for this program will also receive a 30 visit pass to Murfreesboro
Parks and Rec for his/herself and a caregiver. Please forward this to families
and agencies that may be interested and have caregivers contact me at Megan@s4af.org or call 615-354-6454 to
register for this program.
Project
HEALTH Partners and Supporters:
Please
take a moment out of your time to complete this quick survey about
opportunities for recreation. This survey was crafted by various
organizations in Middle Tennessee that would like to serve more children with
disabilities; your answers will help us provide more opportunities to this
population.
Survey for people working with children with disabilities
Also,
feel free to send out the following survey to parents. This survey will
help us gain a caregiver’s prospective on opportunities for their children.
Feel free to forward this email on to others who serve children of
varying ability levels. Don’t hesitate to contact Megan Graf, Wellness
and Volunteer Coordinator, Sports 4 All Foundation, at 615-354-6454 or Megan@s4af.orgwith any questions you may
have!
RISING ABOVE MINISTRIES:
The Murfreesboro Chapter of Rising Above
Ministries next service for the special needs community is on Saturday, February
4th from 6:00-7:00 pm at Lifepoint Church’s Stewarts Creek Campus at
5100 Almaville Road in Smyrna. Jeff Davidson, founding pastor of
Rising Above Ministries and father of a son with special needs will be
speaking.
Each service begins with a non-denominational and
contemporary worship time with music for all ages. Afterward, children
and adults with special needs and their siblings may leave for classroom time
which is specifically designed for them. There are loving
volunteers that will share God’s word in creative and fun ways. Every
child will be included and have the opportunity to learn in their own
way.
The worship service will be followed by a fellowship
meal. Rising Above is providing pasta dishes and drinks. We are asking
each family to bring either a salad, bread or dessert.
We invite everyone to join us! For more information or to
get involved, contact Kurt or Sonya Craig at craigs@risingaboveministries.org
or 615-653-3840.
We
will be having dance classes for three consecutive Thursday evenings:
November 3rd, 10th and 17th from 6:30-8:00pm in the
First Baptist Church gym. Cindy Shadrick, Shane’s mom, has offered to
teach the classes. There is no limit on the number of participants and
everyone in the family is welcome to attend! This is a good opportunity
to brush up on your dance skills before our End-Of-The-Year Celebration and
Dance! We hope to see everyone there!
L.E.A.R.N/MTSU
BASKETBALL CLINIC
Our
4th annual L.E.A.R.N./MTSU Basketball Clinic will be held Saturday, November
5th from 10am-12:30 pm at Sports Com. Pre-Registration 9am-
10am. MTSU Coach Kermit Davis and the MTSU Blue Raiders basketball team
have once again volunteered to conduct the clinic for us. If your
child is interested in participating in this fun and
educational event, please contact Dave Davis at ddavis166@comcast.net or 533-0668.
END-OF-THE-YEAR
CELEBRATION AND DANCE
Everyone
is invited to our biggest event of the year on Saturday, December 3rd from
6-10pm in the gym at First Baptist Church. We will have a pot-luck dinner,
present sports awards to athletes and then dance the night away! You won't want
to miss this! More information and sign-ups in our next newsletter.
L.E.A.R.N.
CLOTHING FUNDRAISING SALE
We
will be selling t-shirts, long sleeve shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants (new
item), hoodies, and caps in order to raise funds to support various LEARN
activities and events. The clothing and caps are great for our LEARN
members, their families, and our volunteers to wear to all of our LEARN
activities. We will be taking orders at the L.E.A.R.N./MTSU Basketball
Clinic on Saturday, November 5th and our End-of-Year Sports Celebration on
Saturday, December 3rd. At both events we will have a table set-up so we
can take your order and payment. Orders will be placed on Monday,
December 5th and we will have the order back and ready to hand
out before Christmas. Please complete the attached order form and bring
it with your payment to the Basketball Clinic or End-of Year Sports
Celebration.
We
hope that you will support our fundraising effort by placing a shirt and/or cap
order. Thank you!
L.E.A.R.N.
HOLIDAY CERAMICS CLASS
We
will have a ceramics class on Thursday, December 8th from 6:30pm -
8:00pm at First Baptist Church. Elaine Finchum is sponsoring this class.
This class will be offered for children and adults with special needs ages 8 and
up and will be free of charge. We must limit the class to 10 participants and
one parent/guardian for each participant. If you wish to sign your child up for
this class, please email Linda Miller at dlkktak@att.net
OTHER
NEWS
L.E.A.R.N.
FLAG FOOTBALL
Our
L.E.A.R.N. STARS flag football team competed in the Special Olympics State Flag
Football tournament on October 1st. Please click on the
following link to read an article about this year’s program http://www.learntn.org/Football.html
Congratulations to all the players and coaches who participated in our 2011
Flag Football program.
RISING
ABOVE MINISTRIES
The
Murfreesboro Chapter of Rising Above Ministries will hold its
first service on Saturday, November 5th from 6:00-8:00 pm at Lifepoint
Church’s Stewarts Creek Campus at 5100 Almaville Road in Smyrna.
Each
service will begin with a joint worship time with music for all ages. Afterward,
children and adults with special needs and their siblings may leave for
classroom time which will be specifically designed for them. There will
be loving, trained volunteers that will share God’s word in creative and fun
ways. Every child will be included and have the opportunity to learn in
their own way. Our worship services are followed by a fellowship meal.
We
invite everyone to join us! For more information or to get involved, contact
Kurt or Sonya Craig at craigs@risingaboveministries.org
or 615-653-3840.
