HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope you all experienced a restful winter break complete with the blessings of quality time with family, fun with friends, and some personal time to yourself for renewal.

As we put away the holiday decorations and the new calendar year begins, we are reminded to make New Year’s resolutions. 

Instead, I feel this is the perfect time to review our personal and professional goals. 

While reflecting upon this, I gain inspiration from the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People as a framework to review my goals and set priorities in my efforts to live a balanced and productive lifestyle.  As a reminder, the 7 Habits include:

1.            Be Proactive
2.            Begin with the End in Mind
3.            Put First Things First
4.            Think Win/Win
5.            Seek to Understand, Then to Be Understood
6.            Synergize
7.            Sharpen the Saw

Practicing the Habits regularly supports our efforts to be in control of our busy lives and feel positive.  Speaking of positives, I encourage you to attend the SWOSPA Spring Conference to be held March 4, 2011 at the Cincinnati Marriott North.  We are fortunate to feature Dr. Amy Harris who will present on Positive Behavior Supports Tiers 2 and 3.  Dr. Harris comes highly respected and will provide us with practical information on functional behavior assessments and how to develop effective behavior plans liked to assessment data.

I hope you enjoy the variety of articles and topics in this issue, which include:  serving ESL students, highlights from the OSPA conference, an article from Susan Davies about her coordination of a School Psychology study abroad program, the Autism and Low Incidence Coaching Team serving our SWOSPA counties, two book reviews, and some cartoons.

I look forward to seeing you at the March 4^th conference.

Now, I’m off to sharpen my saw….at YOGA class!

Sincerely,

Beth Miller
SWOSPA President