Transportation: more than meets the eye

Today we learned that transportation can be more than just getting from here to there.















It can be moving from a "regular" day to a "funny hair" day.















It can be from moving your inner joy into others.












"Joy?" you may ask. "What joy is there in my life? You don't know what I'm going through."

To this I say there is hope. And with hope there is joy. Transport yourself into the world of Carly Fleischmann and see for yourself. This "Autism Angel" was unable to speak a word or connect to the world around her – until she turned eleven...

Quote of the day: "I think the only thing I can say is don't give up. Your inner voice will find its way out. Mine did."
— Carly Fleischmann

Lastly, with Miss Paula's help, today we transported ourselves into "a place of musical joy" – the world of drum circles. What's a drum circle? It's "a group of people working together, expressing their unique voice in a group song, united by a common pulse."- from the book and CD: Art & Heart of Drum Circles - by musical therapist Christine Stevens.



(If you can't see this video, click here)

Like Carly Fleischmann, I hope I may have a voice that can help my friends. — Mr. Pat

Special Olympics: The Frankie Lemmon March

Today, we joined our friends from schools all over the county in the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics Wake County spring games, hosted by Raleigh's Ravenscroft School. It was North Youth Days for elementary school ages – and it was chilly! We went primarily to learn, to watch, and to march...




It was also a time of seeing old friends again...

...and sharing lunch in the food court. Middle School students had decorated lunch bags, and Ravenscroft alumni, parents, faculty members, and alumni had helped supply food for the special Chili's Fundraiser lunch.












The Special Olympics can be defined in one word: LOVE.

Autism & Beyond: The Frankie Lemmon Musical

For those of you who haven't seen it, there's a documentary out there called Autism: the Musical. First broadcast on HBO, the film received many awards, including two Emmys in 2008. See more...

But wait! We've got our own musical!

First...D'ja ever catch a big fish (or somethin') on your line and couldn't wait to tell everybody? Well, Corey did! And now he's waitin' to get it mounted. Meanwhile, he got hungry and now he's eatin' bagels (or somethin').



















Q. When is a bagel with cream cheese not a bagel with cream cheese?
A. When it's a rice cake with marshmallows!

Here's another one:
Q. D'ja ever think we could sing? Or dance or even play somethin' musical? Even with autism or Down syndrome or stuff you never heard of?
A. Judge for yourself. I hope you can do as well! So sit down, grab a rice cake (or bagel if you prefer), and enjoy!

Autism & Beyond: The Frankie Lemmon Musical



(If you can't see the video, click here)


Sign seen in Ms Sellers' office.

A Pirates Life for Me!

Oh, no! Here comes that pirate ship, the SS F.L.S. And there's pirates aboard!

"Arrrrgh!" they growl. "They be treasure down at Frankie Lemmon School! Treasure chests and gold coin and the lot. Best of all—the alphabet letters. We won't stop until we capture every letter, right down to z. Make way ye scurvy bilge rats!"

These are not the faces of pirates, yet aboard they come, capturing our hearts not only with swords, firebrands or cannon, but with smiles.

"Bilal, you don't look like a pirate," says Ms Forbis.
"Arrrrgh! Everyone knows pirates don't take baths!" says Bilal.
"Look, Bilal...If I were a scruffy pirate, I'd wear a bandana on me."



Then Simon chips in: "Miss Forbis, we don't care. We've come to dig for doubloons, find the chest of gold and capture all the letters along the way."

"All right, then Simon. I'll hand over our treasure chest and our chocolate dubloons. But let's capture those letters. Let's make it our quest."

"What are we to do then?" says Bilal.

"Ms White will show you her magic capture machine."

Ms White punches buttons on something that looks like an Etch-a-Sketch. "Look," she says, "you can capture not only the letters, but the numbers as well."

It's a pirate's life for me!
(If you can't see the video, click here)