Browne's Bounty of Words

Progress Reports are Coming!

As we finish our first quarter of the school year I am amazed at how much growth I am seeing in our speech students!  Being in the classroom I have the privilege of watching our students apply what they have learned to taking Cornell notes and summarizing information.  What a treat!

All students will be receiving speech progress reports next week.  This is the first complete update of the year and I thank you for your patience.  There were many goals to take data on - especially on those students coming up from elementary school.  As always, if you have questions or concerns please contact me at:  terri.browne@cobbk12.org.

Vocabulary word of the week:  adversary.  An adversary is an opponent, as in sports.  An adversary is not always an enemy.  Take the challenge!  You may learn something about yourself - and your opponent.

Change is in the Air!

Temperatures are cooling - and as I look toward Kennesaw Mountain I see the first glimpses of color!  Change is coming: change in season, change in how we dress, and change in how we do speech at Awtrey!

Due to some scheduling issues - and high numbers of speech students at North Cobb High School (my other school for speech), I have been asked to move 11 students to my partner in speech services here at Awtrey, Alicia Fisher.  Ms. Fisher is out on maternity leave until October 1, but her students are being seen by Ms. Ragsdale.  This only affects students who have speech on Fridays.

If you have questions or concerns about the speech services your student is receiving, please e-mail me at terri.browne@cobbk12.org.  Students under the change will receive notification by next Monday, Sept. 24th.  If you do not receive such notification, no changes are being made which affect your child.

Thank you for your understanding and support in this.  This was an administrative decision made at the County level, and not initiated by anyone here at Awtrey.   

This week's word is verbose.  Middle schoolers tend to be verbose when they should be getting to class!

Halfway Through

As we near the first reporting period, schedules are finalized and baseline data is gathered.  Many students have shown consistent growth over the last year as they master speech/language goals and objectives.  With IEPs just around the corner, my main concern is Least Restrictive Environment (LRE).  Many students perform well within the speech classroom, but oftentimes those skills do not carryover to the academic classroom.  That is why many students are being served for speech within general ed. classrooms.  We are very fortunate at Awtrey to have so many teachers who welcome support services into their classrooms.  There are no territorial issues at Awtrey; rather all staff members work together for the good of the individual students.  This year speech his being served in 8 general ed. classrooms and 5 small group classrooms at two schools - Awtrey and North Cobb High School.  As speech students are given more and more exposure to the curriculum and their peer group, skills learned become more engrained.  Ask your student when/where they see Ms. Browne.  Their response may be "everywhere!" as I move from class to class throughout the building.

This week's vocabulary word is:  "meticulous."  I encourage students to be meticulous about their schoolwork.

Speech in the Classroom

Speech services are continuing for another successful week.  I now know all my students, and hopefully they know me!  We are solving word problems in math, writing stories in Literacy class, working on DOL and research projects in English-Language Arts, measuring in Science, and learning about the world in Social Studies.  Throughout students are being stretched and challenged to meet their speech and language goals through vocabulary studies, sentence development, comparing and contrasting information, summarizing and inferencing.  It's going to be an exciting year as we see these goals being played out in the general curriculum. 

Our word this week is:  articulate.  Say it one way and it's an adjective; another and it's a verb.  Which way do YOU say it?  Can you use it in a complex sentence form?  Bring me an example and you may receive a surprise!

Speech is Underway!

The "final draft" of my speech schedule for 2007-08 is up and running!  Of the 32 speech students I have at Awtrey, 23 are being seen within their academic classes.  That's 72%!  I believe that students are best served when their speech/language skills are being applied through the curriculum:  I can better gather data on strengths and weaknesses, and I can support my students on their way to success.

If you (or your child if you are a parent) have/has not been seen for speech by week's end, please e-mail me at terri.browne@cobbk12.org, or stop by my room (B-4)  .

The vocabulary word for this week is:  punctual.  I will strive to be punctual as I work within the classrooms, and I expect the same for my students.

Two days down!

Welcome to my web blog for speech.  We have over 30 speech students at Awtrey this year and I hope you will check back often! 

I have completed the files and will be pulling schedules tomorrow.  Hopefully everyone now has a working schedule.  It always impresses me how quickly rising students learn the best routes and how to get around Awtrey.  I remember my first year it took me two weeks!

Much of the speech therapy this year will be classroom oriented, and will even take place within the classroom whenever possible.  Which model - pull-out to a small group or inclusion within a general ed. classroom - will be determined by your IEP.  I may be contacting you concerning changing the speech model if I think we can best meet your needs differently.  My focus is on classroom success for all students; speech and language is just one component of the big picture.

Never hesitate to contact me by e-mail:  terri.browne@cobbk12.org, or through the school office (770-975-6615).  I will be happy to respond as quickly as possible.

Welcome Back!

It was so good to see many of you at Meet 'n Greet today!  I hope your summer was restful and exciting, all at the same time.  We had a busy summer at our house and I have two new daughters-in-law, both teachers!

This next week I will be getting your schedules and planning your speech times.  Much of our work will be done in the classroom this year so you will most often see me roaming the same halls you do!  My base has changed and I am now in Coach Robertson's old room - B-4.  Stop by and say, "Hi!".

So until next week, enjoy your weekend.  It's going to be an exciting year!