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Bierman Autism Centers Expansion Events in Indiana

Bierman Autism Centers Expansion Events in Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS, May 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Bierman Autism Centers is holding two events this month as they continue to grow and offer ABA therapy services for children diagnosed with autism. This Indiana headquartered organization was founded 16 years ago and is a pillar of the community with four centers throughout the state.

The first event they are holding this month is an open house event for the community at their Avon center located at 5250 E US Hwy 36. This center opened this past July and the Bierman team is excited to show the community their new space! This is a great opportunity for families to tour the center, meet the team and learn more about the Bierman experience. The event will be on May 11th from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.

The second event is their first in-person hiring event for their Broad Ripple center! This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in healthcare or education who are looking to get into the field. There will be a food truck, music, and the opportunity to meet with the team and tour the center. This event will be on May 19th from 5pm to 7pm. The address for the event is 6060 N. College Ave, Indianapolis.

The Regional Director for Indiana, Jessica Fitch, says: “It’s very exciting to reopen our doors to the community after the pandemic. We are excited to show families and potential candidates how we deliver success as unique as our kids”.

The events are an opportunity to visit and see how Bierman delivers on its mission to create progress and possibilities for children with autism.

ABOUT BIERMAN www.biermanautism.com

Bierman Autism Centers is a place where kids as young as 18 months to 9 years of age engage in play to learn foundational skills they can build on such as self-advocacy and communication. For more about Bierman Autism Centers visit www.biermanautism.com or contact Alexis Ducharme at [email protected].

SOURCE Bierman Autism Centers

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High School Sports: NOSSA to consider expansion of AA, AAA soccer events

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For proponents of the beautiful game, perhaps one of the most ambitious motions to grace this year’s NOSSA annual meeting order paper is a campaign to expand the girls and boys AA and AAA soccer events into a combined six-team, two-day championship.

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Presently, these events are contested separately and most often include a four-team, single-elimination draw in the AA category and just a single-game championship in AAA.

Some years ago, any thought of a multi-day schedule format was set aside, the thinking being that an expansion of the single-day format over two weekdays would likely interfere with existing spring sport championships like track or tennis, which would almost certainly compromise the affected schools’ ability to enter both events.

But recent successes with past forays into combined AA/AAA schedules in sports like basketball and hockey may have prompted its most recent iteration in soccer, with participating teams testing their skills in as many as four games over two days, as opposed to the current maximum of two.

With little to no wiggle room in a jam-packed spring sport schedule, the proposal seeks to expand the NOSSA AA/AAA championships into Saturday following a Friday-morning start, dodging conflicts with track or tennis also needing to be hosted in that same week given corresponding OFSAA entry deadlines.

From strictly a sport purist’s perspective, it’s difficult to find fault with the proposal over the current one-loss-and-done single-elimination model. The season is short enough, so say supporters, without a slow start or lacklustre effort in a single game bringing a team’s entire season to a crashing halt. As well, a convener’s ability to seed teams properly in a single-elimination format is a key to success for this format — involving teams that may never have played each other beforehand.

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But moving games to a Saturday at this crazy busy period of the school year is likely going to make delegates nervous and may be the one concern that could sink the proposal if deemed significant enough.

The motion goes before the NOSSA membership for their consideration on Friday as the 2022 NOSSA AGM goes virtual for the time in the association’s history.

Order paper results will be posted to the NOSSA website at nossa.rainbowschools.ca when complete.

High school notes

That was a long two week stretch for Troy Brushett of St. Benedict, hosting the SDSSAA and NOSSA badminton championships within days of each other and both to rave reviews. Great work, Mr. Brushett, AKA Mr. Spreadsheet, and kudos to Gillian Obradovich (Lockerby CS), Blake Rosener and Farrah Farstad (St. Charles College) and Zander Lauzon and Ella Kissner (Es Macdonald-Cartier) on qualifying for 

OFSAA badminton in Pain Court May 5-7!

Dave Makela is the athletic administrator for the Sudbury District Secondary Schools Athletic Association. His column runs weekly during the high school sports season.

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Conservatory expansion means more event hosting opportunities for Peace Garden   

Conservatory expansion means more event hosting opportunities for Peace Garden   

 

CAPTION: Construction continues on one of the most-visited buildings in the Peace Garden, the Conservatory, doubling floor space and display area to accommodate the world-class collection of cacti and succulents 

 

One of the most visited buildings at the International Peace Garden is the Conservatory, the home to one of the largest private collections of cacti and succulents in the world. Minot resident, Don Vitko collected over 5,000 species over more than 50 years before he donated the entire collection to the Peace Garden in 2010. 

The collection includes a number of rare and endangered species from all over the world, specifically North America, South America and Africa. The fact that some of these species are found only in isolated areas and extremely difficult to find lends itself to the teaching about the importance of conservation. 

‘These lessons align with the mission of the Garden, as conservation is a form of promoting peace – valuing and protecting living things and working to create a sustainable environment so they can thrive,” states the Peace Garden website. 

In order for the entire collection to be displayed and be properly cared for, the exhibit space has been doubled. “We’re nearly doubling the square footage and the display space so that a lot of these plants have a lot more room to grow and mature and fill out that space to create an all-year-round environment,” explains Peace Garden CEO, Tim Chapman. 

Also, interpretive features, art exhibits and seasonal shows will be added to enhance the visitor experience, providing an all-season interior landscape to make the Conservatory a year-round destination. “So, there’s going to be more seating space and more walkways,” he added, “and we’re excited to have the option to move furniture in and out so that we can actually host meals within the cacti collection, for an immersive experience that will be a lot of fun!” 

Moving both small and massive, delicate and thorny, cacti and succulents to a completely different location within the Garden is no easy task. 

“As you can imagine, cacti are not the quickest plant you can work with as they’re very delicate and spiny,” shared Chapman. “Last year we had an incredible 2 weeks of moving the majority of the cacti out of the old structure before it was torn down. They all went up the hill to our production greenhouses where they made it through the winter. Once the building is enclosed again, we’ll be spending another couple of weeks moving them all back down that hill very slowly so we don’t lose any.” 

On the other half of the Conservatory, the existing restaurant and patio have been re-imagined as a healthy farm-to-table casual dining, with direct access to the patio from the restaurant and take-out window. Both indoor and outdoor rental spaces have been added to the design to accommodate weddings, events, meetings and programs. Also, two nearby outdoor plazas are being renovated to accommodate large events. 

The Conservatory is home to the cacti and succulent collection, as well as the horticulture library, the Peace Garden café and their gift shop, featuring local art and collectibles. 

Substantial completion of the Conservatory is expected in September but will be open to the public sometime later to allow more time for the monumental task of returning the collection to its newly renovated home.