NHA Holds Amazing Holiday Hoedown

NHA Holds Amazing Holiday Hoedown

The NHA students celebrated the holidays with family & friends at a Down Home Christmas Holiday Hoedown!
 
Thank you to all of our cowboys and cowgirls for stomping and dancing their way into our hearts and offering family and friends another reason to believe in Christmas miracles at New Horizons Academy’s 2023 Annual Christmas Musical and Holiday Hoedown on December 12 at Pettisville Missionary Church.
 
This down home, toe tappin’ country Christmas was made possible by our talented students and dedicated NHA staff and teachers, especially Music Teacher and Director Melissa Valentine.  Without all of her hard work, vision, dedication, and creativity, the show would not have gone on.  She found or created the absolute perfect role for each of our students’ abilities and personalities and corralled and coached over 100 of our special needs preschool to high school youth through the entire holiday hoedown. 
 
This year, we may not have had a white Christmas; but we sure had a ROCKABILLY  one, complete with cowboys, reindeer, square dancing, and even Elvis himself (Well, actually, double the fun with TWO Elvis impersonators!).  Who would have thought that Christmas spirit was so wrapped up in country Rockabilly style?  NHA, that’s who!
 
If you missed this special Christmas show, check out all of the photos on New Horizons Academy’s Facebook page HERE or check out our YouTube channel for your own special, encore performance HERE.

NHA Coffee Fundraiser a Huge Success

NHA Coffee Fundraiser a Huge Success

New Horizons Academy held their very first Special Grounds Coffee Fundraiser to support both our Wauseon and Springfield campuses. We had 84 students participate in this fundraiser and they sold 1,220 bags of coffee!  

Our students not only sold 1,220 bags of coffee, but they assisted in labeling all the coffee bags sold and helped sort and organize the bags of coffee for parent pickup/delivery of the coffee bags.

Since our students’ scholarships only cover a portion of their academic, behavioral and therapeutic services, all fundraising proceeds will be used to support our students’ emotional and mental health through stress management, relaxation, sensory, problem solving and behavioral activities.

We are very thankful for the time and effort that was put in from the students and their families during the NHA Coffee Fundraiser.  Thank you to everyone who bought a bag of coffee or donated to the school.

Special Grounds Coffee takes pride in getting the freshest roasted coffee in your hands.  We hand-roast green coffee beans locally to ensure fresh, rich flavors while blending cultures and tastes of the world into each cup.  In addition to providing much needed vocational experience to individuals with disabilities, Special Grounds invests back into the community through programs like our Coffee FUNdraising Program to benefit other schools and non-profit organizations.

If you know a school or organization that would be interested in doing our Special Grounds Coffee FUNdraiser, please contact Tara Dumas at 419-335-7272 or email at tarad@sarasgarden.org.

Thank you again to everyone who supported our very first NHA Special Grounds Coffee FUNdraiser!

Handcrafted Hope Sale at Special Grounds

Handcrafted Hope Sale at Special Grounds

Mark your calendars!  Our New Horizons Academy students have been working hard on new items made from the burlap coffee bean sacks from Special Grounds Coffee and they are planning on having a sale. With March being Disabilities Awareness Month, we wanted an additional opportunity for our students to display their creative sides through our Handcrafted Hope program.  

Event Date:Thursday, March 28, 2024
Event Location:Special Grounds Coffee Co.
Event Address:854 S. Shoop Ave., Wauseon, OH
Event Time:9:00 am – 11:30 am
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All proceeds from this event will be used towards the purchase of additional life skills and vocational equipment for our students at New Horizons Academy, providing additional opportunites for our students to lean new skills and helping them reach their full potential. 

NHA Now Accepting Applications for 2024-25

NHA Now Accepting Applications for 2024-25

All three New Horizons Academy (NHA) locations are NOW accepting new student applications for the 2024-2025 school year!  NHA is so pleased to announce that it is accepting new student applications for its regional special education PK-12 school campus at 220 Lawrence Ave. in Wauseon, its Greater Toledo Area Campus at 6201 Trust Dr. in Holland—just off of Airport Highway, and its new Career Center and Special Grounds Coffee Shop at 854 S. Shoop Ave. in Wauseon.  Currently, NHA serves special education students from over 25 different school districts from across nine Northwest Ohio counties.  Call TODAY to find out more about NHA and its academic and vocational programs.  Classes begin in August, so begin the enrollment process NOW.

If you are looking for the right special education placement for your preschool to high school student, a place where your child feels like he or she fits in, consider NHA in Wauseon, our Holland or Springfield Township Campus, or through the new Career Center.  At NHA, kids come first. We exist for our students; our students do not exist for the school. Students don’t have to fit into the classes.  The classes and programs are designed to meet the student’s individual needs.  Please visit us today, and see if we are the right fit for your special needs student.

NHA’s Wauseon & Springfield Township Campuses:

  • Are regional preschool to 12th grade special education schools
  • Have a 1:2—staff to student ratio
  • Specialize in individualized, personalized education
  • Provide strong academics, community involvement, life skills classes, and vocational training
  • Offer early intervention, (EI) conductive education (CE), sensory integration, occupational therapy (OT) & speech/language pathology (SLP)
    Participate in the College Credit Plus (CCP) Program
  • Are Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) Schools
  • Accept both the Autism & Jon Peterson Scholarships as payment in full.

NHA’s Career Center & Special Grounds Coffee Shop:

  • Prides itself on small classroom sizes (4-7 students)
  • Works with young adults up to age 21
  • Targets functional academics, vocational skills training, and work study placements
  • Provides on-site work study placements through its Special Grounds Coffee Shop including kitchen and food prep, counter and customer service work, and maintenance and cleaning
  • Helps transition high school students and special needs young adults into community work study programs
  • Provides job coaching and transportation to community work sites
  • Community work site partners include Ace Hardware, Chief Supermarkets, the Fulton County Airport, Goodwill Industries, Home Restaurant, Bittersweet, and Grieser Trucking with others coming on weekly.

Our mission is to help your child achieve the greatest independence possible through early intervention programs, classes, community activities, life skills training, vocational placements, and job coaching.

Steps to Enrollment:

  • Call the school at 419-335-7272 for more information.
  • Submit a copy of your child’s IEP & ETR for review.
  • Schedule a school tour, interview, and student assessment.
  • If accepted, complete student enrollment paperwork, and provide proof of residency.
  • Complete and accept the Autism or Jon Peterson Scholarship.

For more information on New Horizons Academy or to schedule a tour, contact Admissions Coordinator Ronda Rupp at 419-335-7272 or via email at rondar@sarasgarden.org.

2023-24 NHA Yearbook Sponsorship

2023-24 NHA Yearbook Sponsorship

We are so thankful to our sponsors for making this past year’s yearbook project possible.

Our goal is to once again provide our students and their parents with this very special memento. We hope to raise funds through sponsors in order to keep the costs of the yearbooks as low as possible, so that more students and their families will be able to afford one.

We invite you to consider being a sponsor of this very special project!

We also gladly accept general donations for those not interested in being recognized as sponsors.

COST: $150.00

This level of sponsorship includes a 3.75″ x 4.25″ (approx.) color advertisement in the yearbook, recognition on our website and recognition on social media with a link to your business’ social media page or website.

COST: $90.00

This level of sponsorship includes a business card sized color advertisement in the yearbook and recognition on our website.

COST: $30.00

This level of sponsorship includes your business or name listed in the yearbook and website.

  • Advertisements are requested to be received by April 30, 2024.
  • Ads can be emailed in .jpg/.jpeg format to karab@sarasgarden.org.
  • Ads may be dropped off at Sara’s Garden or New Horizons Academy.

Sara’s Garden is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization and your donation is tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law. To claim a donation as a deduction on your U.S. taxes, please keep your email donation receipt as your official record. We’ll send it to you upon successful completion of your donation.

NHA Students Provide Love in a Box

NHA Students Provide Love in a Box

Every Wednesday, a few students from New Horizons Academy have been brewing and hand delivering boxes of coffee purchased from Special Grounds Coffee to local businesses. This will give our students the opportunity to get out into the community and assist them in developing stronger communication and vocational skills and also providing some great coffee for these businesses to enjoy.

Our first day of this new program was on September 27th. Eli and Josiah were the first 2 students to assist in helping brew and deliver coffee to Hothules & Associates and Riley Tractor Parts. 

The students have enjoyed going out and blessing additional businesses and organizations each week and learning more about what they do; such as Haas Door, the Wauseon Fire Department, Pettisville Grain, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Department, Rupp Seeds, Ace Hardware and Grieser Transportation.

We will continue to brew and deliver coffee out to businesses each Wednesday throughout the school year. Thank you everyone for your continued support to our students and school.

NHS Playground is Complete!

NHS Playground is Complete!

It’s time to play! The students at our Springfield campus now have a safe, outdoor space to play! Thank you so much to everyone who helped make this project a reality. We are so grateful to all the foundations, organizations, businesses and individuals who donated and took part in the fundraising events that made this all possible.

The kiddos at NHS have loved having a beautiful green space with amazing playground equipment to use at school. It is also a great space for teachers to take their students out and have activities on the enclosed grass surface.

We now have a playground where children of all types of abilities can play together; one that addresses the needs of typically developing children as well as children with neurological, intellectual and physical disabilities. We are so thankful to finally have an inclusive playground that accommodates all children and challenges each of them at their own developmental levels.

2023 NHA Christmas Musical

2023 NHA Christmas Musical

Grab your ten-gallon hats and cowboy boots, and hustle on down to Pettisville Missionary Church on December 12, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. for a foot-stompin’ holiday hoedown!

This year, New Horizons Academy (NHA) will be putting on a fun, toe-tapping, country spectacular for its Christmas Musical.

NHA’s preschool to high school students, along with Music Teacher Melissa Valentine, will be putting on a Christmas Musical that no one will forget!

Be sure to save the date, and mark your calendars so you don’t miss NHA’s Holiday Country Hoedown.

Event Date:Tuesday, December 12, 2023
Event Location:Pettisville Missionary Church, Pettisville, Ohio
Event Time:6:30 p.m.
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You’re not going to want to miss this memorable holiday event!

If you have any questions or need any additional information, please call the school office at 419-335-7272 or contact NHA Music Teacher Melissa Valentine.

Springfield Playground Project Underway

Springfield Playground Project Underway

New Horizons Academy (NHA) has officially broken ground and begun installing its inclusive, multisensory playground equipment at its Springfield Township Campus. NHA hopes to unveil the new playground at the beginning of this school year in August. Come on out August 17 for the school Open House and get a peek at our new, AWESOME playground!

In the coming weeks the artificial grass turf and fence are scheduled to be installed. But for now, get a sneak peek of our playground under construction!

Donations are still being accepted to help cover the cost of this new play area, so please consider giving today or walking in the September 2023 NHA Fun Run/Walk.

Back to School Open Houses

Back to School Open Houses

We are so excited to welcome back to school our NHA students and parents with our school Open House on August 17. To make the Open House a little less overwhelming for our special needs students and to give them and their parents more time to find their rooms and to talk with their teachers, principal, therapists, conductors, and classmates, NHA will be staggering its open house schedule.

Open House date for all campuses: Thursday, August 17

Springfield Campus—6201 Trust Dr., Holland

  • 4:30-6:00 p.m.

Be sure to check out our NEW, fully accessible playground!

Wauseon Campus—220 Lawrence Ave, Wauseon

  • 4:30-5:15 p.m.—STAR & KIT Classes
  • 5:30-6:15 p.m.—Mr. Ryan’s & Ms. Anna’s Classes & Middle School
  • 6-6:45 p.m.—Conductive Education (CE)

Sara’s Garden Building—620 W. Leggett, Wauseon

  • 6-6:45 p.m.—Junior High & High School

Career Center—854 S. Shoop Ave., Wauseon

  • 4:30-6:00 p.m.—New Students
  • 5-6:00 p.m.—Returning Students

For more information on NHA, please call the school offices:

  • Wauseon—419-335-7272
  • Springfield—567-703-1322