Hello from Jennifer! I am filling in for Rory during the month of December while a new teacher is located. I am a social worker and moved to Maine in June, and I have been working with STRIVE since the summer as a counselor for Camp STRIVE, work support at Eric's pizza cart, and project-based work with STRIVE U. I am happy to be working at Next Step!

This week was full of math, money skills and holiday crafts! The group has been doing a great job with math word problems, which help us learn how math applies to everyday decisions and situations. We also tackled fractions this week. Some group members were wary of working with fractions, but when we did a lesson together everyone did an amazing job. We also hit a budget home run on Friday during our lunch planning. The group decided to make nachos for lunch, and we managed to meal plan and successfully shop for a 7-person lunch (plus a snack for 2 teachers!) all for under $19!

We managed to get out for a walk a few times this week when the weather was nice. The whole group went walking together on Monday, and a smaller group went to Eastern Prom on Wednesday. They found the North Pole along the Narrow Gauge Railroad tracks!



We also made some paper Christmas trees, both with the Thursday and Friday groups. Each tree was so different and really displayed each student's creativity. Many of our students have been talking about getting REAL trees with their families soon, so the paper trees were a good warm-up!









Hope everyone has a great weekend!