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June 24th, 2012 - Family Fun Days

Fun events which provide opportunities for families to meet other families to share stories and form friendships. Next event: Goldeye's Game June 24th at 1:30 PM in prime section "F". Contact Karen Nichols - 275-5927 to get tickets by May 24th. Cost: MDSS members 1/2 price - $7. MDSS members who have Down syndrome - free. All other family and friends - $14. Payment can be made by credit card over the phone or mail a cheque. If you need to renew your membership or become a new member - please call Mina at MDSS office 992-2731. Thank you for supporting MDSS with your active membership.

Baby Love

Baby Love is a semi annual event that brings families together to meet new babies with Down syndrome and their families.

August 13th, 2012 - Making Waves Winnipeg

Making Waves Winnipeg is a not-for-profit student initiative which recently started a swim program in Winnipeg. Their mission is to provide affordable and accessible one-on-one swimming instruction to children with special needs. They recruit their volunteer swim instructors from university qualified instructors and work with community partners to properly train, educate and prepare them for working with special-needs children. They rent out pool space on Saturday evenings at St. James Centennial Pool. Register online at Making Waves or call 1-888-530-5618 or 1-888-530-5618 ext 109. Lessons are only $20 for an entire session (per session, not per lesson)! Waves is new to Winnipeg but was previously established in in Halifax, Hamilton, London, Winnipeg, Montreal, Niagara, Toronto, Okanagan and Ottawa. In the first Winnipeg session there were only 10 kids and now there are 34 kids! Of the 34 in the program today, 12 of the participants have Down syndrome. Help support this non-profit program by registering for their 2nd annual fund raising golf tournament at Breezy Bend Country Club on Monday, August 13th, 2012.

Due to the high volume of participants with Down syndrome, MDSS would like to help support this program by reimbursing MDSS Members $50 of the $125 tournament registration fee for up to ten golfers. Please contact MDSS to sign up for this opportunity!

October 29, 2012 - See Me Beautiful

See Me Beautiful - an annual workshop is offered in the Fall for parents and school teams supporting a child with Down syndrome. The goal of the workshop is to empower support teams welcoming children with Down syndrome into their classrooms by:
1) providing information regarding Down syndrome, with a focus on learning characteristics and academic programming
2) providing a setting where educators and parents can interact informally.

Featuring Megan Milani Author of: The 3 Habits of Highly Successful Reading Teachers

Megan Milani is an elementary school principal, consultant, reading specialist and author from the Niagara, Ontario area. Her book The 3 Habits of Highly Successful Reading Teachers (Pembroke Publishers) gives a fresh approach to teaching reading. Megan will be presenting a workshop on how to teach ALL students to read. Whether you teach in the early years where the reading process is just beginning, or teach in the junior or intermediate years and have students who have struggled for years, this workshop will undoubtedly be of benefit to you.

Megan’s philosophy starts with her unshakable belief that ALL students can learn to read. Her approach to teaching reading has shown a great success, is practical, and is easily integrated into any language arts program.

Megan’s workshop includes teaching reading components that require only a few minutes each day. In a short period of time, students are able to recall sight words and sounds with ease, and learn how to tackle other words by applying reading strategies.

She also includes how to use assessment to address each student’s learning needs.

Buddy Night – next event will be held in the Fall

For more information on Buddy Nights contact Karen Pfeifer at 897-0739.

Our Spring Buddy Night took 18 people to supper at The Original Pancake House, then travelled by limos to a Hawaiian Dance at the Fort Rouge Leisure Centre. A wonderful time was had by all!

November 3rd, 2012 - Dinner & Dance

Each November we hold our Annual Dinner & Dance with over 200 people in attendance. A delicious family style meal is served, door prizes are won, and a DJ is hired to keep the dance floor hopping. This Dinner & Dance is subsidized by the generous donations generated by the MDSS Annual Buddy Walk, making it a fun and affordable evening. This event is held in November to correspond with our celebration of National Down Syndrome Awareness Week! From the littlest tykes to young adults to grandparents, a great time is had by all.

Contact Karen Nichols - 275-5927

Dinner & Dance 2010 & 2011