If you walk past Intervention Specialist Elena Paparizos’ Cuyahoga Heights Middle School’s classroom during the holiday season, you may be fooled into thinking there are elves hard at work, but really it’s Room 231’s students!
This past month, students in Room 231 baked dozens of cookies and wrapped holiday gifts as part of their life skills course. Each activity involved fine motor skills as well as incorporating math into their tasks. The best part for the students was making the deliveries.
“One of our goals in the middle/high school resource room is to develop our students' life skills by giving them a variety of tasks to complete,” said Paparizos. “We want to grow contributing members of society who are ready to enter the workforce in whatever path they choose. What a better way to incorporate all of these elements than by giving back to teachers and staff and spreading some holiday cheer!”
The students also enjoyed decorating gingerbread houses with some special treats donated by Tracy Deal, administrative assistant to the superintendent, and Jennifer Hedinger, career specialist at Cuyahoga Valley Career Center.