[Peter Wong]

We are looking for a fun and creative BI/Tutor to work with our 7 years old boy in Richmond. He is friendly, fun and great to work with.

The summer hours are Tuesday and Thursday afternoons (2 hours per session). Starting from September, the hours will be after school hours (around 3:30-5:30 PM).

No experience necessary, training will be provided.

We are in Richmond. If you are interested, please email me at
v-a-n-c-o-u-v-e-r-p-e-t-e-r AT GMAIL DOT COM (please remove all the “-“).

Thanks a lot.

Peter

[Peter Wong]

Hi All,

I am looking for a Martial Arts school for one-to-one teaching in Richmond area.

I was told that http://www.SirotasAlchymy.com is very good, but also heard some other feedbacks about the school.

If you have any other suggestion, please drop me a note.

Thanks a lot.

Peter

V a n c o u v e r p e t e r AT gmail.com

[Peter Wong]

Dear all,

I am looking for ideas (place, people we can hire) for my boy's first birthday party.

He will be 7.

I appreciate any input.

Thanks a lot.

Peter
v a n c o u v e r p e t e r AT gmail.com

[Peter Wong]

FYI

Vancouver & District Labour Council endorses progressive candidates for Nov 15 civic elections in Vancouver, Richmond and North Vancouver.

http://www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com/blog/_archives/2008/10/22/3941670.html

I guess those are the people work closely with Unions.

[Peter Wong]

Hi All,

I have an Archos 704 Wifi 80G for sale.

* Like new condition. The screen protective film is still on the screen.
* With all the original box, package and accessories.
* Purchased receipt (dated Aug 7, 2007 from Bestbuy): $399.99+tax.
* With Cinema plug-in (Play DVD MPEG-2 format.Multi-language supported.)
* I will include the software (open source) that I use to convert Canon digital camera AVI format to more compact (MPEG4) AVI format. You may have your own software already.

I ask $220 for it.

Here are some links for more information:
http://www.amazon.com/Archos-Portable-Digital-Media-Player/dp/B000NK9BQG

http://reviews.cnet.com/portable-video-players-pvps/archos-704-wifi/4505-6499_7-32363051.html

I started to use PMP (Portable Media Player) about half year ago. I put all the video clips and pictures on the unit and my boy loves it.

Iriver 20 GB PMP-120 (http://www.amazon.com/iriver-PMP-120-Portable-Media-Player/dp/B0002G81J4) was the first one I used. It was great, but it was just too small (hard drive size and screen size 3.5”).

I bought this Archos 704 (80 G HD & 7" screen) about couple weeks ago as the upgrade to the PMP-120. However, I just got a 705 (with 160 G HD) this week, so I decide to let the 704 go.

There are also some used units selling on craigslist and new ones from Bestbuy or Futureshop. I highly recommend them.

Here are some practical uses:
* Use as a flash cards system Receptive and Expressive trainings.
* Use the video clips for video modeling purpose.
* Use the pictures for Journal writing training.
* Use as a portable DVD player (you have to put the video files in) for the kids (in restaurants, hospitals, any places may require to re-direct kids’ attention).
* Use as a picture frame (with 800*480 high resolution screen) to share the joy moments.
* Use as a video player to share the video clips (such as ABA sessions) to others (such as family members, school staff, etc). A short video clip is worth a thousand words. It can store over 100 hours’ video clips.
* It is easy to carry and use. I think an EEE PC can do the same, but this one is just so easy for my wife to use.
* My boy loves it due to its touch screen. He is motivated to learn to browse around the video clips using the stylus.

Please let me know, if you are interested in it.

v a n c o u v e r p e t e r @gmail.com.

Cheers.

Peter

[Peter Wong]

Hi All,

Special Olympics BC Richmond will have an open house this Saturday for Active Start & FUNdamentals Programs.

Active Start is for 2-6 years old kids and FUNdamentals is for 7-10 years old kids.

I was told that other cities have similar programs.

Date: Saturday, October 18, 2008
Time: 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Where: Blundell Elementary School Gym, 6480 Blundell Road, Richmond

More info on the links:
http://www.sobcrichmond.com/programs-1/active-start
http://www.sobcrichmond.com/programs-1/fundamentals

Cheers.

Peter

[Peter Wong]

Tony,

Interesting idea. But it is a great one.

Thanks a lot.

Peter

In fact, most of my close friends in Vancouver are going to vote for the candidate supporting Medicare coverage for autism treatment.

[Peter Wong]

Tony and other parents,

Thanks. I totally agree with you to vote for the candidate, no matter which party, who is publicly committing to supporting Medicare coverage for autism treatment.

However, Richmond is not one of the 14 constituencies (http://www.medicareforautismnow.org/ridings.html), I need consider other issues.

In fact, I found very limited information when google Raymond Chan with Autism or Alice Wong with Autism.

I have sent the simple question to Mr. Raymond Chan and Mrs. Alice Wong. If I receive any thing, I will post it here.

Anyway, I think I found more info about the “split income” http://www.sandeeppandher.ca/EN/417/16731.

Keep up the good fight.

Peter

[Peter Wong]

Dear all,

Any one know more info about this "split income" thing?

Thanks a lot.

Peter

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080920.ELECTION20/TPStory/National/columnists

Meanwhile, Mr. Harper continued efforts yesterday to appeal to the female vote with a pledge to offer new tax breaks for Canadians coping with disabled family members. The $80-million move would allow families where one spouse has quit work or reduced work hours to care for a disabled family member to split income between spouses to lower taxes. Conservative officials said that three-quarters of caregivers are women.

[Peter Wong]

FYI

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=d75c382e-30f1-4f39-8840-ef50a98ea708

Schools seek help for bad behaviour

Teachers want new approaches: report
Janet Steffenhagen, Vancouver Sun
Published: Wednesday, September 10, 2008

VANCOUVER – Elementary schools are searching for better ways of handling their most challenging young charges: children who are angry, aggressive, defiant, threatening and sexually inappropriate.

The Vancouver school district recently hired a consultant to recommend best practices and his report — to be discussed by trustees tonight — describes deep frustrations with the status quo and a hunger for a new approach.

"People both in the district and in the wider community are ready for change," consultant Don Chapman wrote.

"They are seeking a vision and leadership to implement this vision. They are sensing that a paradigm shift may be necessary in the district."

In his 79-page report, he noted there is much unhappiness with the way vulnerable children with challenging behaviour or mental illness are often bused outside their communities to attend special schools, where their only role models are other students with similar problems.

All the kids attending such programs tend to be treated the same, although they may have vastly different needs.

Schools also contend with upset parents who are in denial about their children's problems, long waits for student assessments and a tendency for staff to think that dealing with difficult behaviours "is someone else's job," the report said.

However, the biggest problem, according to Chapman, is inadequate training for teachers, both before they enter the classroom and after they begin teaching.

He said one participant in his review worded it best.

"Every teacher is now a special education teacher, and the universities are not doing their job in terms of training," the teacher said.

Between 450 and 500 students in Vancouver schools have been identified as having challenging behaviours or mental illness, said Catherine Remedios, Vancouver's director of instruction for learning services.

However that figure is low when compared with other districts, and there is a sense Vancouver schools are under-reporting such problems.

Research suggests a more realistic figure would be five per cent of the student population, or more than 2,000 students in Vancouver.

Another 15 per cent are considered at risk.

Remedios doesn't agree with Chapman's call for more pre-service preparation for teachers, saying on-the-job training would provide faster results.

"I think that universities actually do a very good job of preparing teachers," she said in an interview Tuesday.

The Vancouver Elementary School Teachers' Association says teachers prefer to have all students integrated into regular classrooms, but that works well only when teachers have adequate supports.

That is not now the case, association president Glen Hansman said, adding that Vancouver spends twice as much on special education as it receives from Victoria.

"There's a discrepancy there that puts a lot of kids and a lot of teachers in situations that are not the most appropriate," said Hansman, who was a member of the steering committee that helped with the review.

Remedios said the report is part of a positive shift in the education system towards evidence-based practice rather than expecting teachers to rely on what they thought was working well for students.

The second part of the review, which is focusing on high schools, began this week.

jsteffenhagen@vancouversun.com

[Author]

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