NHA Year-End Awards Assemblies

New Horizons Academy (NHA) parents, caregivers & family members are warmly invited to celebrate our students’ accomplishments at the 2023 Year-End Awards Day assemblies on:

May 15 at 1:00 p.m.
Springfield Campus’ Sensory Room
May 16 at 1:00 p.m.
NHA Career Center’s Gym
May 17 at 1:00 p.m.
Wauseon Campus’ Hope Center Hall

These are always very special (and emotional) events. We look forward to seeing you there! For questions or more information, please call the NHA School Offices at 419-335-7272 or 567-703-1322.

2023 NHA Graduation Planned

New Horizons Academy (NHA) is so pleased and proud to announce its LARGEST graduating class yet with 11 students, graduating on Sunday, May 21, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. at the NHA Career Center, located at 854 S. Shoop Ave., Wauseon, OH 43567. The community is welcome to attend! All graduates are asked to arrive by noon.

NHA’s 11 graduates from the Class of 2023 include—Luke Chambers, Tony Conti, Tyler Davidoff, Hannah Engler, Gabe Hobby, Arek Jadwisiak, Noah Nagel, Logan Parker, Josh Parran, Cadince Ramirez, and Jackson Snider.

Luke Daniel Chambers—Is the son of Kirk and Carol Chambers. He has attended NHA for the last 10 years. Luke lives in the Liberty Center School District, plays on the Henry County Special Olympics Basketball Team, and works hard in the Special Grounds Kitchen. He has earned his Science and Community Service Graduation Seals, and he plans on exploring community work opportunities after graduation.
Anthony (Tony) Charles Conti, II—Is the son of Anthony and Priscilla Conti. He has attended NHA for the last nine years. Tony lives in the Wauseon School District, works in the Special Grounds Kitchen and Home Restaurant, is a gifted artist and space enthusiast (Check out his mural at the Fulton County Humane Society.), and enjoys playing with his dogs—Mordecai and Lacey in his spare time. He has earned his Science and Community Service Graduation Seals, and he plans on exploring work opportunities after graduation.
Tyler Robert Davidoff—Is the son of Patricia Hogan and is currently living with his Aunt Theresa Wehrle in the North Central School District. He has attended NHA for the last three years. Tyler works in the Special Grounds Kitchen, appreciates his work study placement at Pizza Hut, and enjoys reading and gaming in his spare time. He has earned his Citizenship, Science, and Community Service Graduation Seals; and he plans on exploring community work opportunities after graduation.
Hannah Lakota Engler—Is the daughter of Brian and Kristin Engler. She has attended NHA for the last six years. Hannah lives in the Archbold School District, has worked in her family’s Home Restaurant and The Barn’s kitchen, and enjoys playing with her dog-Hallie in her spare time. She has earned her Citizenship and Community Service Graduation Seals, and she hopes to work at McDonald’s after graduation.
Gabe (Gabriel) Alexander Hobby—Is the son of Shannon Hobby. He has attended NHA for his four years of high school. Gabe lives in the Pike-Delta-York School District, works in the Special Grounds Coffee Shop behind the counter and at the drive-thru window, and enjoys gaming in his spare time. He has earned his Science and Community Service Graduation Seals; and since he is good at finding flaws in computer programming, he hopes to enroll in a tech school in computer science in the future.
Arek Jason Jadwisiak—Is the son of Jeffrey and Christina Jadwisiak. He lives in the Springfield Local School District, has attended NHA’s Springfield Campus for the last four years, and is the third Springfield Campus graduate. In his free time, Arek enjoys reading, role playing games (RPG), and video gaming. He has earned his Citizenship and Science Graduation Seals, and he hopes to enroll in a tech school for coding in the future.
Noah Alan Nagel—Is the son of Lory and Greg Nagel. He lives in the Pike-Delta-York School District, has attended NHA for the last five years, is active in scouting, constructed benches for his community service project, and is currently finishing his Eagle Scout Award. Noah worked part-time at Chief Supermarkets, over the summer as a camp counselor at Camp Lakota, and at Special Grounds Coffee both behind the counter and in the Flavoring and Bagging Room. Noah has earned his Citizenship, Science, Community Service, and Student Engagement Graduation Seals; and he is considering attending a trade school in either electrical or welding in the short-term while still considering a career as a youth pastor.
Logan Kayle Parker—Is the son of Kristine and Paul Dick. He attended NHA for six non-consecutive years. Logan lives in the Patrick Henry School District, participates on the Henry County Special Olympics Bowling and Basketball Teams, and practiced his work skills at the NHA Career Center and Chief Supermarkets. He earned his Fine Arts and Community Service Graduation Seals, enjoys visiting Kaitlyn’s Cottage, and plans on exploring community work opportunities after graduation.
Joshua (Josh) William Parran—Is the son of Rick and Brenda Parran. He has attended NHA for the last 10 years. Josh lives in the Wauseon School District, has participated on the Fulton County Special Olympics Basketball and Track Teams, and practiced his work skills at the NHA Career Center and Ace Hardware. He earned his Fine Arts and Community Service Graduation Seals and plans on returning to NHA’s Career Center in the fall to continue honing his daily living and vocational skills (Students may stay at NHA through their 21st birthday.).
Cadince Amara Ramirez—Is the daughter of Tamina and Anthony Wright. She has attended NHA for the last eight years. Cadince lives in the Napoleon School District, has participated in the Soaring Arts Program, practiced her work skills at the NHA Career Center and Season’s Eating, and enjoys dancing and listening to music in her spare time. She earned her Fine Arts and Community Service Graduation Seals and hopes to work at Soaring Arts after graduation.
Jackson Timothy Snider—Is the son of Timothy and Jackie Snider. He has attended NHA for the last three years. Jackson lives in the Millcreek-West Unity School district, is active in his Wednesday Night Church Youth Group, and practiced his work skills at the NHA Career Center, Special Grounds Kitchen, Home Restaurant, and Chief Supermarkets. He earned his Fine Arts and Community Service Graduation Seals, plans on returning to NHA’s Career Center and Special Grounds Coffee in the fall to continue honing his vocational skills, and hopes to work at Marcos in the future making pizzas.

Congratulations to all of our graduates! We truly wish you the best, and we hope that everyone, who is able, will come out on Sunday, May 21 at 1:00 p.m. to celebrate their accomplishments at the NHA Career Center on S. Shoop Ave. in Wauseon.

NHA Students Shine at Christmas Musical

NHA Students Taught Us NOT to Be Grumps (or Grumpy) and to Share the Spirit of Christmas!

Thank you to our all-star musical New Horizons Academy (NHA) students and cast members, who delivered outstanding performances on December 13 at Pettisville Missionary Church when they reminded us all NOT to be grumpy or grumps in the 2022 Annual NHA Christmas Musical, “The Grumps of Ring-A-Ding Town!”

Under the direction of NHA Music Teacher and Christmas Musical Director Melissa Valentine, over 100 of our special needs students sang, danced, and taught us all about the importance of caring for each other and keeping the Christmas spirit alive. In the musical, the bells of ol’ Ring-A-Ding Town have stopped ringing, because the townspeople have completely lost their holiday spirit. With all of the pressures of the season, they have become so grumpy that even the bells refuse to ring. When a severe winter storm pounds the village with ice, wind, and snow, the grumpy citizens are reminded how much they need each other and how rewarding it can be to share and care for one another in the true spirit of the season. When peace, love, and joy return, the bells of Ring-A-Ding Town begin to ring again; and we are all reminded NOT to be grumps or grumpy and that miracles really can and do happen!

This inspirational, Christmas musical 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 Christmas show. Melissa was truly our role model on sharing and spreading the Christmas spirit and not letting the grumpy grumps spoil the holiday season!

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 Now Accepting Applications for 2023-24

All three New Horizons Academy (NHA) locations are NOW accepting new student applications for the 2022-2023 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 at 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, conductive education (CE), sensory integration, occupational therapy, speech/language pathology & music instruction
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 NEW 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, and the Home Restaurant 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 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 [email protected].

2022-23 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.

DONATE NOW

COST: $90.00

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

DONATE NOW

COST: $30.00

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

DONATE NOW

Advertisements are requested to be received by April 30, 2023.
Ads can be emailed in .jpg/.jpeg format to [email protected].
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 Christmas Musical Reminder

Don’t forget!

On Tuesday, December 13, 2022, the students of New Horizons Academy in Wauseon will be presenting “The Grumps of Ring-A-Ding Town,” a Christmas musical, and other musical numbers.

As in years past, our Christmas musical will take place at Pettisville Missionary Church, in Pettisville, Ohio at 6:00 p.m.

Each student will be offered a part in the show, so please mark your calendars for this exciting event!

More detailed information will be coming home with the students in the next few weeks… but for now, just SAVE THE DATE (and tell your friends)!

2022 NHA Christmas Musical

Be sure to save the date for the 2022 NHA Christmas musical! This year, the students will be performing “The Grumps of Ring-A-Ding Town”.

The bells of ol’ Ring-A-Ding Town have stopped ringing because the townspeople have completely lost their holiday spirit. With all of the pressures of the season, they have become so grumpy that even the bells refuse to ring. When a severe winter storm pounds the village with ice, wind and snow, the grumpy citizens are reminded how much they need each other and how rewarding it can be to share and care for one another in the true spirit of the season. When peace, love and joy returns, the bells of Ring-A-Ding Town begin to ring again.

Event Date:	Tuesday, December 13, 2022
Event Location:	Pettisville Missionary Church, Pettisville, Ohio
Event Time:	6:00 p.m.

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You’re not going to want to miss this memorable holiday event!

Thank You Donors!

Sara’s Garden is SO blessed by caring Northwest Ohio organizations and businesses which are willing to help support our special needs kids and their families! A big thank you goes out to the Ohio Elks Cerebral Palsy (CP) Fund, the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities (DD), the Dollar General (DG) Literacy Foundation, and members of the Holland/Springfield Rotary Club for all you do for Sara’s Garden, New Horizons Academy and all of its special needs students and their family members!

Thank You to the Ohio Elks Association, its CP Fund, and the Toledo-Sylvania Elks Lodge #53! The Ohio Elks CP Fund donated $13,700 for rehabilitative and conductive education equipment for our special needs students with CP and other neuromuscular disorders at our New Horizons Academy (NHA)-Springfield Township Campus and Greater Toledo Area. The lifts, swings, pads, and bars will assist our students from across Northwest Ohio with their conductive education (CE), occupational therapy (OT), and daily life skills needs, especially helping them with their changing and toileting routines. This equipment is very important in meeting the therapeutic, treatment, and independent care needs of our special needs students and Summer Skills Camp participants, who are from 25 different school districts and nine different counties from across Northwest Ohio.

The Ohio Elks Association provides financial aid to established Cerebral Palsy Treatment Centers, and Sara’s Garden is honored to be one of their chosen programs. Every year, Ohio Elks Lodges from across the state raise money to support organizations, which provide care, treatment, training, and rehabilitation for individuals with CP. We are so grateful to the Ohio Elks Association, the CP Fund, and the Toledo-Sylvania Elks Lodge #53 for this grant. For more information on the Ohio Elks Association or the Toledo-Sylvania Elks Lodge #53 or to make a donation to the CP Fund, please call 419-841-6653 or log onto https://www.elks.org/lodges/home.cfm?LodgeNumber=53

For the first time ever, the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities (DD) awarded Sara’s Garden a $10,544 Mini Summer Camp Grant to purchase four Rifton Adaptive Tricycles for our Springfield Summer Camp’s CE Program. They will be used to meet the physical education and wellness needs of our special education students.

Rifton Adaptive Tricycles are created and customized to meet the needs of children with disabilities. The frame, seat, handlebar, and backrest pad make bicycle riding possible, comfortable, and easier for children with disabilities. The tricycles are physically adaptable for kindergarten to high school students with a wide range of physical and neurological disabilities.

The benefits of adaptive tricycles are endless. They include lower extremity strengthening, reciprocal leg motion patterning, balancing skills, using visual, spatial perception for steering, and social interaction with peers including building relationships, modeling dignity, sharing ordinary spaces and activities, and making choices together. These Rifton Adaptive Tricycles will certainly improve our students’ physical, emotional, and social health. For more information on the Lucas County Board of DD or any its programs or services, call 419-380-4000 or log onto https://lucasdd.org/.

Though changing their format for meetings, the members of the Holland/Springfield Rotary Club are staying active and involved in their communities. The Rotary Club members donated $1,000 to help support the vocational and job skill needs of our NHA-Springfield Campus students. Their donation, along with over $15,000 of vocational funding, helped to cover the cost of a motorized coffee cart, which will be used to practice and develop vocational skills while meeting the morning caffeine needs of NHA parents and area businesses. Our middle school, high school, and PACE students will be selling and delivering our own Special Grounds Coffee in and around our Springfield Campus. Watch our New Horizons Academy Facebook page for our Opening Coffee Day!

With Dollar Generals across Northwest Ohio participating in the Summer Literacy Grant Program, Sara’s Garden is so grateful to the Dollar General Literacy Foundation for supporting the development of its Special Needs Library Section with a $3,000 grant, which will be used by summer camp participants and NHA students throughout the school year. The literacy focus is on meeting the educational and intervention needs of students with specific learning needs including those preschool children to young adults who may use braille, large print, sensory-processing, tactile, and low-literacy books and educational materials. They will be utilized for one-on-one, individualized reading intervention, small group story time activities, and for reading comprehension assessments.

Special recognition needs to be given to NHA teacher Kelsey Barton and librarian Melissa Valentine for assessing and evaluating the special literacy needs of all of our NHA students and for developing a wish list for our Special Needs Library Section. Thank you, Kelsey, Melissa, and the Dollar General Literacy Foundation for meeting the specific reading and learning needs of our kiddoes! For more information about the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, log onto https://www.dgliteracy.org/.

Sara’s Garden and New Horizons Academy rely so heavily on the generosity and caring of Northwest Ohio businesses organizations, so please take a moment during your busy day to thank the Ohio Elks Cerebral Palsy Fund, the Toledo-Sylvania Elks Lodge #53, the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, and members of the Holland/Springfield Rotary Club for all they do for Sara’s Garden and New Horizons Academy!

Donations continue to be accepted and fundraising efforts continue for the inclusive outdoor playground at our NHA-Springfield Township Campus in Holland. The goal is for our special needs children and students from the Greater Toledo Area to play on, enjoy, and utilize a multi-sensory, fully accessible, playground with therapy space for physical education programs, play groups, conductive education classes, recess, and rehabilitative activities. For more information on the playground project or to donate to it, please call 419-335-4NHA or email [email protected].

NHA Students Head Back to School

NHA Students Head Back to School with Open Houses on August 15 & 16!

We are so excited to welcome back to school all of our New Horizons Academy (NHA) students and parents at our Annual Open Houses on August 15 at our Springfield Campus in Holland and on August 16 at our Wauseon and Career Center Campuses!

To make the Open Houses 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 by age groups across the two nights.

Monday, August 15
Springfield Campus—6201 Trust Dr., Holland

6:00-6:30 p.m.—STARS Preschool Classes
6:30-7:00 p.m.—Developmental Elementary Classes
7:00-7:30 p.m.—Middle School & High School Classes
7:30-8:00 p.m.—Conductive Education (CE) & PACE Program

Tuesday, August 16
Wauseon Campus—220 Lawrence Ave.

5:30-6:00 p.m.—STARS Preschool Classes
6:00-6:30 p.m.—Developmental & Elementary Classes
6:30-7:00 p.m.—CE, Room 115 & Middle School Classes

Wauseon Campus—620 W. Leggett St.

7:00-7:30 p.m.—Junior High & High School Classes

Career Center—854 S. Shoop Ave.

7:30-8:00 p.m.—Career Center Program

NHA Principal Marty Friess wants to extend a special invite to all of our students and parents, “Please join us in kicking off another GREAT YEAR at New Horizons Academy in Wauseon and Springfield. We have missed all of our students over the summer, and we are so looking forward to seeing everyone at our Open Houses and starting back to school on Wednesday, August 17. Please join us at the Open Houses and help to get this year off on the right foot.”

NHA still has a few openings for this school year and is still accepting students in select classrooms at its regional special needs campuses. Classes do begin August 17; so if you are interested in enrolling your child, please contact the school today to get the enrollment process started.

At New Horizons Academy, all of our classes and programs are designed to meet the individual needs of our special education students, including their academic, behavioral, and social needs. NHA accepts both the Autism and Jon Peterson Scholarships as payment in full for our students’ tuition and therapy services during the school day. Cost is not and should not be the reason that special needs children miss out on the early intervention (EI), special education, or vocational training experiences that they so desperately need.

Is NHA Right for Your Child?

Regional special education classes for students aged 3-21 from over 25 different school districts from across Northwest Ohio’s 9 different counties,
With less than a 1:2—staff to student ratio,
Individualized, personalized education,
Strong academics, community involvement, life skills classes, vocational skills, work site placements, and job coaches,
Helps students to reach their full potential and become as independent as they can possibly be,
Including EI, CE, sensory integration, occupational therapy (OT), speech/language pathology (SLP), music instruction, and the College Credit Plus (CCP) Program,
Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) School,
Vocational opportunities through the Special Grounds Coffee Shop & Coffee Cart

Time is short. The next school year is just around the corner with Open Houses on August 15 & 16; so, call Admissions Coordinator Ronda Rupp at 419-335-7272 or email her today at [email protected] to schedule a tour and get the admissions process started.

For more information on NHA or on any of its open houses, please call the school offices:

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

NHA Welcomes Koo Koo Kangaroo

After months of fundraising including a Spaghetti Supper, Spirit Wear sales, and donations, New Horizons Academy (NHA) is pleased and honored to welcome the early intervention group, Koo Koo Kanga Roo, on May 6th at 10:30 a.m. at Pettisville Missionary Church. Koo Koo Kanga Roo will be entertaining all of the students at both NHA’s Wauseon and Springfield Campuses.

According to their web site, Koo Koo Kanga Roo was created by Bryan Atchison and Neil Olstad in 2008 in Winona, Minnesota. After being in a campus rock band for the first few years of college, the guys created Koo Koo as an experimental project for St. Mary’s University’s annual battle of the bands. The idea centered around crowd participation, comedy and dance music, stretching the concept of a what a “band” could be. Later on, Koo Koo began creating “dance-a-long” videos (initially as something of a joke) for their songs in order to help demonstrate the moves that audiences would need to know at their shows. These videos were unexpectedly a hit with elementary school teachers, which led Koo Koo into the world of children’s music and becoming a “real” kids band.

NHA’s students are so looking forward to seeing, hearing, and dancing along with Koo Koo Kanga Roo. Fundraising Chair Laura Vasko, Committee Chair Olivia Brink, and Community Outreach Coordinator Tara Dumas all would like to thank all of the staff who helped with the fundraising and planning efforts, and they would like to send out a special thank you to the following sponsors and donors:

Meijer—Central Ave—Store #117
Mossburg Family
Bishop Family
Cardenas Family
American Legion, Bert G Taylor Post 300
Beck Family
Chestnut Family
Otis Family
Anonymous (3)

For more information on Koo Koo Kanga Roo or to check out their videos before their May 6th performance, log onto https://kookookangaroo.com/