Last week, students headed to La Rural Mexican Grill for a fun and enriching Community Based Instruction experience! Before the trip, students reviewed the menu and selected their lunch choices—bowls, burritos, nachos, and more. They wrote down their orders ahead of time to support a smooth and successful ordering process.  Once at the restaurant, B.R.I.D.G.E.S. students independently ordered their meals, chose their drinks, used their student IDs to receive free chips and salsa, and demonstrated excellent table manners. They also showed great confidence—asking where the restroom was and requesting extra salsa all on their own. This outing provided a wonderful opportunity to practice independence, budgeting, and social skills in a real‑world environment. We are incredibly proud of the growth our students have shown throughout the school year!

Our B.R.I.D.G.E.S. class visited Peace Mound Park for a digital scavenger hunt filled with teamwork and exploration. Students worked collaboratively to locate park landmarks, complete challenges, and capture photos along the way building communication, cooperation, and problem-solving skills in a natural community setting. After the scavenger hunt, students enjoyed a picnic style lunch, continuing to practice social interaction, self-advocacy, and independence before heading back to school. Students enjoyed a fun and meaningful day of learning beyond the classroom!

The B.R.I.D.G.E.S. students kicked off their student‑run breakfast business with a hands‑on shopping trip to Sam’s Club. Each group used a shopping list, learned how to navigate a wholesale store, scanned a membership card, and independently checked out their items—real‑world skills in action! Last Friday was their grand opening, and it was a huge success! Students printed incoming orders, calculated totals, packed delivery carts, and navigated the school campus to deliver breakfast and collect payments. They loved every minute of it and can’t wait to open again each week!
This experience is helping them build confidence, independence, money management skills, and entrepreneurial thinking. We are so proud of them!

Each week, the B.R.I.D.G.E.S. students head to Old Navy to continue developing and refining their workplace skills. They’ve taken on a variety of responsibilities, including sorting clothing by size, organizing racks, folding display items, pulling pieces without barcodes, and hanging and stocking new merchandise. After practicing these skills in the classroom, they’re now completing them confidently and independently in a real-world environment. We couldn’t be prouder of their hard work, growth, and professionalism this year!