December 20, 2018

EP students help those in need









The Emergence Students once again participated in their annual charity project, which this year was School On Wheels, in conjunction with their academic unit on helping others. School On Wheels is an organization that helps deliver school supplies to homeless children. This year since July they have delivered over 3600 backpacks to children in need. During community education outings the students practiced their purchasing routines and bought school supplies to donate. During academic classes the students practiced budgeting and money skills , what a charity is, as well as, why we help others. The students enjoyed delivering the items to see where their donations went to, as well as, watching a video on what the School On Wheels organization is and what they do. The Emergence Program, staff and students, would like to thank all parents who helped support our charity project this year. 

November 27, 2018

CAEP News

The CAEP Fall 2018 completed all of the six sessions!

In the program, forty former students participated in the Fall 2018 sessions and enjoyed Swimming, Golf, Music/Jazz Band, Art, Cooking, Vocational Training classes with their peers and parents/caretakers.

In the last session on November 17th, participants showcased what they had learnt and each former student received a certificate. 

We truly appreciate the Flatley Foundation for continued support and generosity to the CAEP. Also, we would like to express our appreciation to the Mitsui U.S.A. Foundation for their continued contributions including fourteen scholarships for the program.

The Winter/Spring 2019 will be held on six Saturdays next year: 1/19, 2/2, 2/16, 3/2, 3/16, and 3/30 (4/6 is the reserved day for cancellation due to inclement weather). The registration will open from December 7th through December 20th at https://www.bostonhigashi.org/alumni/winter__spring_c_a_e_p





November 09, 2018

Theater CALL presents Three Lucky Charms

There is always something happening at Higashi! Yesterday we were lucky enough to have Theater CALL from Japan come to our school and perform "Three Lucky Charms". Theater CALL is a group from Japan that puts on bilingual plays with live musical accompaniment. The play we were so lucky to see was presented as 2D Puppet Theater with a little surprise! The story follows a young boy that gets lost in the mountains, thinking he is saved by an old woman he stays the night only to find out that she is a witch hungry for children!

Our students absolutely loved the presentation! The 2D puppets turned into live actors that ran through the crowds interacting with the viewers. Some of our students even tried saving the young boy by hiding him in our viewing chairs! In the end our spirit at Higashi never faltered and with our help the boy was saved from the mountain witch.

A huge THANK YOU to producer of the show, Jun Takashi for working with us to make this wonderful event happen at our school!
Photos of our students at the play will be posted on our Facebook page!
Facebook Photo Album

November 07, 2018

Abled 11 Art Show Collaboration with Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children

Today was the reception for the Abled 11 Art Show. We had students from Boston Higashi share a gallery space in Massasoit Community College with students from Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children. Students from both schools worked hard on both individual and group pieces to be added to the walls in the gallery space. The art alone was worth the visit to the reception today but what was truly amazing to see was the students from both schools meeting each other. They have become familiar with each other's art and when they met today there was nothing but joy in the air. Our BHS students ran right over to meet and greet, taking cues from their communication lessons. Conversations were had entirely on assisted devices paired with smiles, laughs, and great high fives! This was truly an amazing experience for our students and shows how strong art can be at bringing people together. After mingling together and sharing stories, we were graced with the artists themselves speaking about their art to the large group in attendance. Pappas students explained the detailed processes they took to make their incredible pieces. We returned the favor with two of our own explanations. One of ours even received a "I really liked your speech" comment from the Pappas students. If you have the time to check it out yourself, the art will be on display until November 9th. Thank you to the team over at Pappas and to our BHS staff that put this together. A truly incredible experience! We are very proud of our BHS students and family!


Student works from Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children
Collection of BHS student work
Fall themed work / Artists speeches
BHS students waiting with smiles for Pappas to arrive
BHS students showing their personal pieces

HS B Storms Gillette Stadium by Albert Jusu

October 27, 2018

High School B goes to the Revs!

With one game left of the season the New England Revolution won at home 1-0! We like to think that our HS B guys were the good luck charm they needed this season. Our boys loved every minute of this experience at Gillette Stadium. They got to learn new chants, participate in Taylor Twellman's concussion awareness night and even watch as Diego Fagundez broke a record for youngest player to reach 50 goals! We couldn't have asked for a better day!



October 26, 2018

Getting to the Core of Pumpkin Carving!

Today our younger students are going to have a costume party and take an adventure through a Haunted Hallway! To get the hallway ready, each class spent this week carving pumpkins. Thanks to our AMAZING Communication team of teachers and SLPs, each class had a lesson dedicated to carving their own spooky pumpkin! They focused on the core words put, in, take, out, more, and help. Students had so much fun with this lesson, some even overcame their fears of creepy, crawly, slimy textures! In one class, we had a student narrate to their peers the thoughts of the pumpkin! For the more curious groups, they will be cooking their pumpkin seeds for a special snack! Big shout out to our communication staff for making such a fun seasonal activity!








October 25, 2018

Elementary C class mixes classic Fall fun with education!

 Elementary C class had the opportunity to have some fun with classic Fall activities this week. They first went out the the 'Pumpkin Patch' in the back fields at Higashi, where they got to pick their own pumpkins! They took those pumpkins into the classroom to learn more. Tasked with counting the lines on the pumpkins or measuring the height, they had plenty of work to do! For their final activity they needed to find out if pumpkins float or sink! The only way to do this is to obviously throw the pumpkins into a bucket of water making a big splash! Needless to say, the students in C class are having a fun time learning from seasonal activities!


October 10, 2018

EP Sports Day

The EP division has been working on their flexibility thus far and practicing for our upcoming Sports Day on campus. The students are very excited to work on many different skills this Sports Day including but not limited to golf, disc golf, running, and football. Please join us for some fun THIS Saturday on the front hill with a start time of 9:45 a.m. We love family participation, so please come and have some fun with us. Meet you all on the hill!


September 15, 2018

Vocational Popped Bubble Art

Residential students from Middle School and High School A, enjoyed a bubble art activity. This was really fun and pretty easy to put together! You simply take bubble mix and add in some watercolor paints then blow bubbles onto  the paper! As the bubbles land and pop, they create unique beautiful paintings.
This happened in the Vocational class at residence so these students are not only making art but more importantly they are making products! These beautiful bubble art paintings will become wonderful greeting cards! How cool is that!?


Zack is showing us how to blow bubbles effectively!
 


GREETING CARDS!




September 12, 2018

Trip to IKEA for Young Adults!

Our Young Adults division in residence had the chance to get over to IKEA to see what they might want for their newly renovated space. A big trip out like this always starts with preparation! First during assembly the boys learned their schedule for the day was going to include a trip to IKEA and what the expectations were. Once the group was aware, they could get their things ready and head out! While at IKEA our boys showed off all the furniture and art that they loved! Looks like they had a great time spending the day shopping!


September 04, 2018

Be brave and make friends!

The new school year has started and students and teachers are trying hard to adjust to the new environment. They had time to relax and have some fun with their friends. They are ready to show their bravery in the new school year.  



First Day of the New School Year

Here we are with a new school year already! Can you believe it? Our students were more than excited to get back to school to continue learning!

We have a new theme for the year and that is to Be Brave! 

We welcomed two new students this morning and they showed us right away how brave they can be when they got up to say hi to the whole school! We are all looking forward to what stories of bravery will come of this year. So stay tuned to Higashi, it's going to be a great year that you won't want to miss!



August 31, 2018

Young Adults is ready for the new year!

Only a few more days left before the new school year begins! Our Young Adults division is already gearing up for the new school year with their new and improved assembly meetings. They've done a great job of incorporating our technology into their daily routines. They get the chance to get up and sing the song of the month before heading off to their planned activities! Young Adults is showing us that even routine meetings can be fun!
After assembly come the activities! Here they went rollerblading in the gym, played Nintendo Switch, and topped the day off with a nice cookout before Summer is gone.

August 28, 2018

End of Summer Sizzling Rockets!

As the summer ends here at Higashi and we all get ready for a brave new school year, students took a moment to have some fun at camp. In the art classes with Ethan, students had the chance to make some vinegar & baking soda rockets. Everyone had a BLAST shooting these high flying rockets off the celebrate the ending days of summer!


August 22, 2018

A Look Inside Our World!

Today during our final camp of the year our students were visited by Bridgewater State University and their giant inflatable globe called EarthView! What makes EarthView so exciting is that it is a scale map of the Earth's surface, showing us satellite images from around the world. Staff from BSU came to tell us all about the countries we were looking at. Not only that but the students had the chance to get inside the world and look up at all of the continents around them! This was an exhilarating way to learn about the world around us.


August 14, 2018

Bikes and Trikes Galore!

During our PE curriculum this summer, the Emergence students have been practicing their bike riding skills.  It's our hope that the skills our students learn can transfer to fun and enjoyable activities to do when they transition. Every summer our students and staff enjoy showing off their skills during our bike race between the 6 EP classes. The students and staff design their own class shirts together every year and jointly come up with a team name. This year A class was the Higashi Hills 02368. B class was Alice In Chains. C class was the Chain Gang. D class was The Matrix. E class was Saved By The Bell. F class was the Bike Street Boys.  When the students are finished with their class races, then the staff enjoy some racing as well using either tricycles or tandem bikes. Everyone had a great time cheering each other on(including the staff!) Congratulations to the F class Bike Street Boys who took the win by close margin.


August 11, 2018

Saturday Good Vibes

Residential students from HSB and Girls division made Hair Ties which can fit on your Kimono. 
Limited supplies, but Available at Bon Dance Festival!


"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." --Henry Ford



August 10, 2018

Japanese Festival in Rhode Island

Hayato and Nori from Emergence Program participated in Black Ship Festival at Independence park in Bristol, Rhode Island. 
We were invited by Japan America Society of RI. 
Customers kept coming to our booth and we were pretty busy, but could also enjoy listening the orchestra, seeing martial arts and checking other unique booths.
The best part was...we sold many ceramics! 
Students are so proud of being the representatives of Higashi Studio! 
Customers often asked a student that which one he made and they purchased what he pointed.
This experience motivates students to make more ceramics/arts with their creativity!



August 01, 2018

Summertime Sweetness: A Special Art Project in Middle School

The Middle School Division and the Day Care students are spreading the love this summer with another great unit from Middle School Art teacher, Aya Kolwaite. Aya lead the students in a cooperative effort to produce and display their latest project, Kindness Rocks. To celebrate a successful installation of the Kindness Rock Garden, Aya organized a field trip to Quincy Creamery. Sweet!


The Kindness Rocks Project is a nationwide art collaboration with participants of all ages. The purpose of the project is to spread positivity to others, as well as allow students to participate in bettering their community. Students write uplifting messages or paint positive images on the rocks and leave them in the designated garden. Friends, family, and students of Boston Higashi School are encouraged to take a rock if they need a pick-me-up or leave a rock for the next person who needs encouragement. The garden can be found near the Day Program Main Entrance.

Of course, no project is complete without a celebration! After the installation of the garden, the Middle School students took a field trip to Quincy Creamery to enjoy a much deserved treat.  


Thank you, Aya, for always finding creative ways for us to be productive members of our caring community!