Welcome back!

What a wonderful time of year!  Our students are back in the school, and you can almost feel the excitement in the air.  Old friendships are being renewed and new friendships are being made.  New beginnings are always full of possibility, a theme celebrated in a recent Truro Daily News story about one of our former students.  As tough as it is to see our students go, we know that by the time they're ready to leave, the possibilities are truly endless.

Read and enjoy!

Rhonda

'I'm really excited about going back' - Local - Truro Daily News

 

Truro teen ready to return to public school system after time at Bridgeway Academy

TRURO - With a new school year just around the corner, some students are undoubtedly wishing for a way to turn back the calendar a bit.

Not so for Joseph Hammond.

"Actually, I'm really excited about going back," the 16-year-old Truro resident said. "I cannot wait."
Not only will Joseph be entering a new school when he takes a classroom seat at the Cobequid Educational Center on Tuesday, it will also mark the first time in three years since he has been part of the regular public school system.

During the interim, Joseph, who has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder and other learning disabilities, has been enrolled at Bridgeway Academy.

The academy, which has been operating in Colchester County for three years, is a special education private school that specializes in individual learning for students with such disabilities.

Joseph is one of the first students from Bridgeway to return to the regular public school system after successfully receiving instruction at the academy. His outlook and behaviour between when he left the regular system three years ago is like night and day, his mother Denice said.

"I think he's ready. More than ready. I'm more nervous than he is but I know he is going to be able to do it," she said.

Joseph's problems started manifesting themselves at around Grade 4 when he began to experience anxiety issues over attending school. Throughout the next several years, they worsened until Grade 7 when he reached the point of missing at least two days a week from class.

"I couldn't handle it. I was having a very hard time keeping up with my work, not showing up for school and due to my anxiety having a hard time coping with it," he said. "I would stay home because I would feel really sick so I really didn't want to go to school."

And there were many times when Denice would receive a call to come take him home.

"I wasn't sure if he was really sick. I was trying to figure out what was going on with him because he'd go to school; he'd get up, get ready, go to school and then within an hour, hour and a half, the school would be calling me. 'He's throwing up, he's as white as a ghost, you have to come and get him.'"

As his symptoms increased, Joseph became more withdrawn, choosing to stay inside and play video games rather than interacting with others. And while he wasn't overly communicative about his issues, they were certainly troubling for the young teen.

"I was really scared because I was really concerned about my future for college and that and how it would affect me there and how I didn't know what was going on. I was just really worried. It really built up," he said. "But I really tried to cope with it myself and just kept it bottled up in a way."

It reached a point where his parents decided to have him tested, and his disabilities were disclosed for what they were. It was also around that time that Bridgeway Academy was opening in Colchester County and eventually Joseph was enrolled.

Despite the struggles he was having in school, Joseph was initially against the idea of leaving his friends and heading off to the unknown environment the academy offered. It took about halfway through his first year for Joseph to fully realize the benefits of his new learning institution. But when that change began to take shape, it was a welcomed revelation.

"As I progressed at Bridgeway I seemed to take more control of them (his anxieties), so eventually they were not a problem at all," he said.

Joseph also offers praise for the academy's teachers.

"They're really supportive and they teach you at your pace in the way you need to be taught. So it's really helpful for someone with learning disabilities or someone who needs to be taught a certain way than just being told what to do and being left to do it themselves," he said. "It showed me how to overcome my anxiety, how to prepare for the world after school is done, how to study, all the things you basically need. And pretty much how to cope with your learning disability."

Joseph's parents were also obviously relieved at the change.

"He's now outgoing more, he's communicating, he's got people coming and going, he's coming and going. He grew up," Denice said.

"His self confidence and self esteem has really improved."