CTC NEWSLETTER April 2026
www.celebratethechildren.org
CTC NEWSLETTER April 2026
www.celebratethechildren.org
Student Spotlight
🦋
Important Dates
4/16 - 4/17
4/19
Parent/Teacher Conferences Early Dismissal for Students
2nd Annual Neurodiversity Acceptance Walk
đź‘ź
Updates & Resources Topical updates, tips, & tricks from our staff, by department! A Letter from the Executive Director
Floortime Yoga Balls in Play
National Poetry Month
PT
OT
SLP
S2C
Healthy Heart Heroes
Happy OT Month!
Continuing Education
Behavior
C.A.R.E.S.
Trainings
Game On!
Celebrate the Children School 1
No Labels Boxing Fitness
Edu HQ
YAP Spring Fling
Staff Spotlight
CTC Community
CTC Connections
Individual Coaching
@ctc_school
(973)989-4033 www.celebratethechildren.org 230 Diamond Spring Road Denville, New Jersey 07834
Dear CTC Families and Stakeholders, We made it, spring is here! With the warmer weather setting in, we are pumped for all of the exciting events coming together in the next few months as the school year begins to wind down. Our All Access Project is also wrapped. We are waiting for the official launch date. With that, we will also provide details on a watch party at a location in Denville. Thank you for your enthusiasm and support during this process. In addition, we are very proud to announce that CTC has won a very special award from The New Jersey School Boards Association and New Jersey Association of Special Education Partner Schools (NJASEPS): Congratulations to Celebrate the Children School’s, Parent Partnering Program, for being one of three entries selected for recognition through the 2026 Innovations in Special Education award program. Your entry was selected from among 17 programs offered by public and private schools as an example of a successful, creative effort that enables special needs students to achieve their potential. We are so proud to be recognized for one of the most important programs we have, which is supporting our families, bridging deeper connections and providing training and support.
This April, we also will be hosting a very important FREE Training for First Responders on supporting neurodiverse individuals in crisis and emergencies. This is open to all First Responders. Please contact us if you would like more information. The countdown is on and we need YOU! Our 2nd Annual Neurodiversity Walk is this Sunday, April 19, 2026. We hope to see you there walking with us and celebrating our students, staff and families. This is such a fun event and a time to enjoy being outside and spending time with people we care about. Please consider supporting our event by setting up a team, becoming a sponsor, buying a vendor space, donating an experience, or sponsoring an ad. If you have any questions about our events, please contact Kristin Polster at kpolster@celebratethechildren.org. Regards,
Lauren Blaszak, Executive Director & Co-Founder of Celebrate the Children
2
Student Spotlight Each month, one randomly selected CTC student shares their school experience and what makes them unique!
April Student of the Month: Paxton! Max: Hi, Paxton, what is your favorite thing to do in school? Paxton: Playing “Duck, Duck, Goose” with my friends. Max: Now that the weather is nice, how do you like to spend time outside? Paxton: Going to the water park! Max: Who is your favorite person wither at home or in school? Paxton: Mom. Max: What is your favorite animal? Paxton: Chimpanzee. Max: I love chimps, too. What do you like to watch? Paxton: Cartoons. Max: We can be done, it’s a nice day outside. Congrats, Paxton! Interview conducted by Y.A.P. student Max. Thank you to Ms. Nicole and Mr. Ryan for facilitating!
3
Staff Spotlight Members of our amazing staff share their CTC stories, personal hobbies, and professional motivations!
April Staff Member of the Month: Barbara Brasileiro! Menachem: Where were you born? How do you know Portuguese? Barbara: I was born in Brazil, in the state of Minas Gerais, in the city of Belo Horizonte, which means “beautiful horizon”. Portuguese is my first language—it's my native language. Menachem: Were there any jobs that you had before CTC? Barbara: Yes! I have a degree in Education since 2020. I worked with children in early childhood education and elementary school. In my last years in Brazil, I worked with babies at a school that incorporated yoga for them, as well as with 3-year-old children. Menachem: When did you decide to become behavioral support? Barbara: I started my job as a behavior assistant at the school this year. Honestly, it was kind of a surprise! I was invited to become a behavioral support, and since I want to deepen my studies, I was really happy to take on that challenge. Menachem: When did you start working at CTC? Barbara: I started working at CTC about a year ago, in November 2024. Menachem: What is a part about CTC that you like? Barbara: CTC was my first experience working with Special Education. From the very beginning, even during my interview, I was really impressed by the way everyone interacts with the children. That’s what made me fall in love with my current work. I’m a very affectionate person and I love to play, and I could see that same approach here from day one. Menachem: Is there a moment that stands out during your time here at CTC? Barbara: One of the moments that marked me at the school was a trip to the park (CBI) with the kids. I was facing the challenge of bringing a child back to the bus, and together with my coworkers, we were finding playful and loving ways to motivate him to get up and return. All of this was done with a lot of joy and care. At the same place, there was a woman observing us. At one point, she turned to my coworkers and asked why they were so cheerful and putting in so much effort when the child wasn’t giving anything back. That question resonated deeply with me and gave me an absolute certainty: I am exactly where I belong. Our efforts go far beyond what the eye can see. Today, I know that every gesture is worthwhile and that we are on a mission to show the world just how rewarding it is to transform the lives of these children. Interview conducted by Y.A.P. student Menachem.
4
CTC Community Community Celebrate the Children is deeply grateful for all of the wonderful community partners we and our students are fortunate to work with. Every month, we shine a light on just one of the many amazing establishments in our community.
No Labels Boxing Fitness At Celebrate the Children, community-based instruction gives students the opportunity to build skills in real-world environments. One of our consistent and valued community partners is No Labels Boxing Fitness. Our students regularly visit No Labels as part of their CBI programming. The gym provides a welcoming and structured environment where students can participate in physical activity while building confidence, stamina, and independence. No Labels Boxing Fitness offers non-contact boxing workouts combined with strength and conditioning in a circuit-style format. One of the features that makes the gym especially accessible is its flexible structure. Rather than fixed class times, participants can arrive and begin a workout at any point, which supports a range of needs and schedules. The gym was founded by Erik and Miriam, whose connection to our school community is especially meaningful. Their two sons are students at CTC, and that connection is reflected in the inclusive and supportive environment they have created. This partnership is important to us not only because of the fitness opportunities it provides, but also because of the sense of belonging it fosters. Our students are consistently welcomed, supported, and encouraged to participate at their own level. In addition to their daily programming, No Labels hosts monthly free events that support and celebrate the special needs community, further strengthening their role as an inclusive community space. We are grateful for our ongoing relationship with No Labels Boxing Fitness and the opportunities it provides for our students to engage, grow, and be part of the broader community. - Joe DeVore, Teacher of Students with Disabilities at Celebrate the Children School
5
Education HQ From internships, to specials, C.B.I.s, and more, Education HQ features topical program initiatives each month!
Spring Fling Fun Spring is in the air, and the YAP could think of no better way to celebrate than with a Spring Fling of our own! Everyone was so excited to party with their peers and friends. As the Related Services team shared, the Spring Fling was meant to "promote confidence building and meaningful social connections through a fun, real-world experience.” They also explained, “We wanted our students to practice important life skills including self-care, grooming and preparing for a special occasion with the hope that these skills can be generalized to future events (i.e. weddings, proms or other types of formal social gatherings) where they will be getting dressed up and presenting their best selves.” We first had to RSVP for the party. Students were expected to send an email to let staff know if they could attend. Next, we practiced how to prepare ourselves for the party. Practical skills such as shaving and tying a tie were included, along with personal hygiene tasks like brushing teeth and hair. The ladies focused on their hair, nails, and make-up. I had a blast on the dance floor! There were great snacks and even better music. My friend Ishan showed off his moves on the dance floor. He really enjoyed the music to the fullest extent. A great time was had by all. - Written by Y.A.P. Student James
6
Floortime Floortime is the heartbeat of CTC. Learn more about Floortime and the DIR® model here each month.
Using a Yoga Ball in Play Play doesn’t have to be complicated; it can be as simple as incorporating a yoga ball into a group activity. In this activity, students form a circle and begin by passing the yoga ball to one another. You can enhance the game by introducing a simple directive, such as calling out a person's name to whom the ball should be thrown. For non-verbal students, it's important to recognize their gestures, such as pointing, making eye contact, or just looking directly at someone. There are numerous benefits to throwing a ball. This activity helps students develop physical, cognitive, and social skills. These include hand-eye coordination, visual scanning, tracking, gross motor skills (such as arm and core strength), spatial awareness, and balance. Additionally, it enhances bilateral coordination, improves focus, and teaches social interaction skills like turn-taking.
When using the Floortime approach, games go beyond just physical engagement. It encourages students to scan the circle, recognize names, target specific individuals, and—most importantly—share laughter. Students must remain attentive and track the ball's movement around the circle. The DIR (Developmental, Individual-difference, Relationship-based) approach ties it all together by promoting awareness of surroundings and improving reflexes.
- Lissette Gray, Floortime Specialist at Celebrate the Children
7
Spelling to Communicate Spelling to Communicate (S2C) is a powerful practice that allows non-speaking individuals to communicate their thoughts through typing or utilizing a letterboard. Celebrate the Children is proud to empower and amplify their voices.
National Poetry Month Since it is both Autism Acceptance Month and National Poetry Month, we are learning various structures of writing poetry. We recently read a lesson on Haikus with our upper elementary and middle school students. We learned that a Haiku is a traditional Japanese form of poetry focused on a brief moment in life or nature. It is structured in a format of 5-7-5 syllables and 3-lines, not rhyming. It is not unusual for our students to spell/type with a poetic structure. Our students who use spelling/typing often convey messages in a poetic, profound and highly emotive style due to a combination of emotional intensity and the need to express complex thinking in a concise manner using fewer words. After doing the lesson on Haiku, one of our middle school students spontaneously typed his own!
“I’m intelligent. My brain holds so many facts. Teach me a lot more.” - Johnny
- Maria Korpos, S2C Practitioner at Celebrate the Children
8
Behavior Team The Behavior Team provides insights and tools to support student success, at school and at home.
Game On! The last few months our students have been able to join their peers in small groups to work on teamwork, patience, and collaboration. These students have begun forming friendships with shared interests that naturally provide opportunities for conflict resolution. On top of working on social skills, our gamers are working on motor planning, sequencing, functional communication, and working memory. Some of the popular games include Wii Sport Bowling, Golf, and Baseball, Super Mario Bros, Are you Smarter Than a Fifth Grader, and Just Dance! Take a look at our gamers in action! - Anthony Hellman, Board-Certified Behavior Analyst at Celebrate the Children
12
CARES Corner CARES stands for Counseling, Advocacy and Resources for Educational SupportOur School Social Workers and Counselors are here to support you and your child.
CTC Connections Website Relaunch! The CTC Connections Information and Resource Hub Website has been recently renovated and officially relaunched! This site was created in 2011 by Cheri Alexander and Jennifer Carucci (CARES) to bring knowledge to families, students and staff. The resources available are to help guide families through the various transitions in their child’s lives and prepare them for life beyond entitlements. This dynamic website serves as a comprehensive clearinghouse for a vast variety of essential family resources. Explore critical information across numerous topics, including: Government Agencies Arts, Recreation, and Educational Resources Toolkits and Guides Family Support and Advocacy Webinar Recordings and many, many more! Bookmark our page today and access the resources you need! https://sites.google.com/celebratethechildren.org/ctcconnection sresourcesite/home Please contact Jennifer Carucci at jcarucci@celebratethechildren.org or Cheri Alexander at calexander@celebratethechildren.org with any questions or to learn more about upcoming training events. - Jennifer Carucci, School Counselor
13
Physical Therapy Initiatives and activity recommendations from our Physical Therapists.
Healthy Heart Heroes Group This month in the Heart Healthy Heroes (HHH) Group, physical therapists are focusing on body awareness by having the students mimic body positions through visual demonstrations. This includes exercises such as body lifts where the physical therapists will provide the visual demonstration of leg lifting. The students learn correct body positioning prior to doing any exercises. For example, the physical therapist will transition from standing to the floor with their back flat on the mat in preparation for sit ups, which the student will then mimic. This is provided without any verbal cuing and with increased processing time so the students are able to respond appropriately through body thinking. HHH Group is instructed by one or more physical therapists with components being incorporated outside of therapy. The student groups work on the following: body awareness, stretching, strengthening, coordination, general movement, endurance, and cardiovascular fitness. Along with all of these benefits, the Heart Healthy Heroes group can improve health and prevent potential injuries. Stretching is performed with the goal of improving range of motion. As an example, the student will stand or sit while reaching to their toes. The therapist ensures that the student’s knees are straight, with the goal of increasing their knees' range of motion to improve their gait (walking pattern), posture, and mobility throughout the school day. Strengthening exercises include the use of the student’s own body weight such as: sit ups, push ups, bridges, and planks. Exercises can also include the use of dumb-bells and weighted balls with prescription for the appropriate amount of weight and close monitoring by the physical therapist for form. In addition, these exercises are modified by the physical therapist so they are appropriate for each of the student's needs. For example, a student that has upper body weakness would do a modified push up on their knees due to a standard push up being too difficult. General movement skills incorporate the student’s arms and legs as well as the left and right sides of their body, working in tandem together to improve movement thinking and acts as an extension to the Thinking Goes To School curriculum that we use at Celebrate The Children. Exercises include: cross crawls, jumping jacks, and windmills. These skills are worked on with the goal of improving the student’s coordination and focus so they are better able to perform certain activities throughout the school day. Endurance is targeted by having the students participate in relay races with the benefit of learning to work together with their peers. In addition, the physical therapist will increase the number of repetitions for any of the exercises and reduce break times depending on the student’s abilities. As weather permits, the group can be taught outside where students can walk or run up and down the hills/elevated surfaces surrounding the school. Outdoor benches and narrow wooden ledges can also be used for strengthening and balance exercises. Students are taught the Heart Healthy Hero exercises with the goal of being carried over well into adulthood to promote a healthy lifestyle. Students find certain exercises helpful for regulation as a part of their daily routine. In addition, students may have sensory diets which certain exercises may be incorporated into. In this case, the physical therapists will consult with the Occupational Therapist on the student-specific sensory program. Paraprofessionals are also an important piece of the interdisciplinary team because they are learning the proper form, body mechanics, and student specific modifications, as directed by the physical therapist to carry over with the student in other environments. - Alisa LaGrasta, Physical Therapist at Celebrate the Children
10
Occupational Therapy A look into our Occupational Therapists’ involvement in student development at CTC.
Happy OT Month! At Celebrate the Children, occupational therapy (OT) is woven into each child’s developmental journey through a relationship-based, DIR/Floortime model. Our goal is to support students in becoming confident, engaged, and independent learners by meeting them where they are and building from their individual strengths. OT helps children develop the foundational skills they need to participate more fully in their daily lives. Through supportive interactions and meaningful experiences, we work to strengthen independence, confidence, and emotional regulation—empowering each child to succeed in their own unique way. A child’s most important occupations include playing, learning, engaging with others, and developing self-care skills such as dressing and feeding. Occupational therapy supports growth in all of these areas by embedding skill development into naturally motivating activities and routines. In alignment with the DIR model, OT sessions are play-based and relationship-driven. Whether a child is swinging, building, creating, or exploring sensory materials, these shared experiences foster engagement while developing fine motor skills, visual-spatial awareness, coordination, and attention. Our therapists act as “sensory detectives,” helping to understand how each child processes and responds to sensory input. By identifying individual sensory preferences and challenges, we create supportive strategies that promote regulation, comfort, and readiness for learning.
From the students’ perspectives . . . Quinn: ”I love OT. I like the obstacle course”. Sapphire: ”I like to just have fun. I really had fun doing the scavenger hunt!” Jackson: “I like to go down the slide.”
- Shana Makosky, Occupational Therapist at Celebrate the Children 9
Speech- Language Pathology Speech-Language Pathologists detail their work at CTC and provide options for furthering communication at home.
Continuing Education Here at Celebrate the Children, the Speech Department values and appreciates the opportunity to participate in continuing education courses, as they allow us to further strengthen and develop our own sets of skills to best meet the needs of all our students and their individualized profiles. While we work extremely hard to support our students with their speech, language and communication profiles, it is also in our scope of practice to provide feeding and swallowing therapy to those that exhibit challenges around feeding and mealtimes. This month, both the Speech and Occupational Therapy departments participated in a Pediatric Complex Feeding Course. Through this course we have learned to support our students who present with various different feeding challenges. We support our students who may have challenges related to behaviors (picky eating habits), sensory components (sensitive to factors such as color, smells, texture), or oral-motor difficulties (adequate chewing, oral manipulation and swallowing). In doing so, we are able to utilize the appropriate evaluation tools to best develop and implement strategies to encourage positive and successful mealtimes. The goal within feeding therapy is to reduce mealtime anxiety and ensure safe and adequate nutrition. Here are a few strategies we have learned and are implementing with our students: - Evaluating the causes of mealtime difficulties (behavior, sensory, oral motor or a combination) - Observing and noting environmental contributing factors (e.g., volume, movement, visual distractions) - Evaluating physical difficulties and the need for adaptive equipment/support (e.g., postural support) - Collaborating with other disciplines to evaluate and determine the need for gross and fine motor support/techniques (e.g., adaptive utensils/feeding tools, appropriate seating options) - Collaborating with other disciplines to evaluate ways to support breathing and provide proprioceptive input to address self-regulation around feeding - Allowing the students to be part of the process (who doesn’t love a sous chef?!) - Providing opportunities for EXPLORATION and PLAY around food (introducing different colors, textures, and shapes) - Collaborating with parents to support and promote carryover for successful mealtimes at home Mealtimes should be enjoyable and fun while simultaneously allowing opportunities for social interactions, conversation, and a natural sense of togetherness. We are very excited to take the knowledge and skills we have gained during this course to best support our students and their families in overcoming feeding challenges to build healthy and positive mealtime experiences.
11
- Erin Shipley, Speech-Language Pathologist at Celebrate the Children
Parent Trainings Upcoming workshops and events designed to strengthen the home–school connection. Highlighting opportunities for parents to learn, share, and partner with the school in supporting every child’s growth and success.
Upcoming April 2026 Parent Trainings April 21st 12:00 pm - Overview of PCA and PPP with The Arc (Virtual Event) RSVP April 22nd 6:30 pm - Special Needs Financial and Estate Planning with The Arc (Virtual Event) RSVP April 28th 12:00 pm - Navigating DDD (Virtual Event, In English) RSVP April 28th 1:00 pm - Navegando por el sistema de servicios de la División de Discapacidades del Desarrollo​(Seminario Web, en Español) RSVP Learn More: www.celebratethechildren.org/parent-trainings.html
“Individual Parent Partnering Sessions” As part of our continued Parent Partnering work, Antoinette and Beth will be offering individual sessions on April 14th (FULL), but save the date and register for May 12th! These sessions are designed to build on what we’ve been learning together in our monthly trainings. This dedicated time allows us to focus on your child’s individual goals, reflect on progress, and thoughtfully apply DIR strategies in a way that feels meaningful and supportive for your family. Parent Partnering is about collaboration — creating space to think together, problem-solve together, and celebrate growth together. We look forward to deepening that work with you. To reserve your May 12th timeslot, please email aprice@celebratethechildren.org. And as always, families are welcome to schedule an individual session with Antoinette at any time throughout the month for continued support. We’re excited to continue this journey alongside you! - Celebrate the Children's Developmental, Training, and Support Department
14
When We Believe, We Succeed! www.celebratethechildren.org