This publication is for
families, districts and other community agencies to share in the joy and
education of NYSSB students.
May 2007
Our mission, through day
and integrated residential programming in a safe and nurturing environment, is
to provide a foundation of learning to enable each student to become a
contributing member in a diverse society, to achieve their highest level of
independence and to afford them the ability to live in a least restrictive
environment.
We will do this by providing
excellence in education and in residential programming, and by promoting a
learning environment that puts achievement and independence within the reach of
each student.
Goal #1: Students
receiving special education services will meet high educational standards.
Goal #2: Students with
disabilities will integrate with their non-disabled peers and community members
throughout their education experience.
Goal #3: Students with
disabilities will transition into living and working in as integrated a community
setting as possible.
Goal #4: NYSSB will
demonstrate good stewardship of its human, fiscal and physical resources.
Goal #5: All services for
which NYSSB is responsible will meet high standards and continuously improve.
SUPERINTENDENT’S
CORNER
By James Knowles
A month ago the Sunday news ran a special issue of Parade Magazine
entitled, Live Longer, Better, Wiser. Two topics presented that caught my interest
were “How to Set Goals and Reach Them” and “Make Time For Yourself”. My interest was drawn to these topics first,
because I had touched on these subjects in earlier Superintendent’s Corners and
secondly, and more importantly, because of their contribution to a healthier
life.
In the first article by clinical psychologist Joy Browne, the writer
states that “goals are a manifestation of our dreams, our priorities and our
value systems, all of which shift with time”. Said in another way, what we deem
as being a measure of success at 20 years of age may not be the case when we
reach 40 years of age. It is here that
we make the mistake of not reviewing our goals. We don’t take the time to
periodically reevaluate our goals keeping those that are achievable while
discarding those that no longer apply to our life. By not reevaluating our goals from time to
time we, according to Ms. Browne, limit our sense of direction as well as our
sense of progress. To avoid this, the
author suggests the following:
·
Avoid New Year’s-type resolutions – set goals
according to your own internal timetable.
·
Be specific – in scope and duration – get to the basics
·
Think in steps – break your goal into smaller and smaller
steps
·
Figure out your tactics – “What do I need
to accomplish this?”
·
Limit their number – one goal at a time
·
Build on your skills – give yourself a
pep talk. Think of other skills you have mastered
·
Embrace change – Have your goals remind you of what you
wish
Perhaps
the author’s suggestions give you food for thought. I found her suggestions for setting attainable
goals plausible. I wish you well in
realizing your dreams.
I shared this with our staff and thought
perhaps if you missed the Parade article it would be of interest to you here.
YEARBOOK
ORDERS
The 2006-2007 yearbooks
have arrived! If you haven’t already
ordered, please contact your classroom teacher, Bethany Burgess or Lancy
Frongetta. The cost is $5.00 and checks should
be made payable to NYSSB Misc. Receipts Fund.
Don’t miss out on your copy of NYSSB’s 3rd yearbook. It’s amazing to see how much of the work the
students did!!
Braille Gifts for Graduates & Teachers
From Judi
Piscitello
1) BrailleGifts.com: http://www.braillegifts.com/
Even though this website is geared towards
the blind and visually impaired, most items and all toys are popular with
sighted individuals as well. All apparel,
backpacks, totes, etc. can be embroidered with Braille and/or regular
print. The educational and musical games
and toys offer fun for folks of all ages and ability levels.
2) National Braille Press: http://www.nbp.org
- Braille and print books (including Real U
Guides - to your first job, your first apartment, and to bank accounts and
credit cards)
- Inspirational refrigerator magnets with
quotes by Eleanor Roosevelt, Helen Keller, and Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Braille Alphabet Bracelets - Where the Sidewalk
Ends, Poems and Drawings by Shel Silverstein (print/braille edition for ages 9
and up), $17.99
3) Seedlings: http://www.seedlings.org
Seedlings offers all kinds of braille and
print books, shirts, playing cards, jewelry/charms and more!
4) Braille
Jymico: http://www.braillejymico.com
Braille Jymico offers personalized braille
greeting cards
5) Braille Mugs and Pottery: http://www.lepotier.com/Braille%20mugs%20and%20adaptaplates.html
6) Braille Superstore: http://www.braillebookstore.com/
Books, house wares, toys, games and other
gifts
8) Braille Chocolate
http://www.chocunltd.com Chocolate Unlimited
http://members.tripod.com/~Chocolates/tcgi.html
http://chocolates.tripod.com/greeting_bars.html
http://www.braillefactory.com/chocolate.htm
http://chocolates.tripod.com/fundraising.html
9) Braille Jewelry:
http://www.braillejewelry.com
http://www.braillestone.com
http://www.roule.com
http://www.brailleintl.org/wat.htm
http://www.dvbny.com/Ranges/Scripts.htm
http://www.jewelryshops.com/braille
http://www.designsinbraille.com/pages/623830/index.htm
http://www.braillebookstore.com/Gift-Shop.htm
http://www.sayinit.com/braille.shtml
http://www.sightconnection.com/brailrininst.html
http://www.netz-tipp.de/cgi-bin/newsgrabber/buechersuche.shtml?keyword=Braille%20Jewelry
http://julieann.etsy.com
A Big Thanks to PEF
PEF is the Public
Employees Federation (the union for teachers and professional staff at NYSSB). They were nice enough to place a ½ page ad
about NYSSB in the June issue of “Exceptional Parent” Magazine. We would like to thank them for being such
great supporters of the students and staff at NYSSB. If anyone receives this magazine, other
parents have asked if it can be brought to Graduation Day and shared with them.
NYSSB Family Association Meeting
Don’t
forget!!! We have scheduled a Family
Association meeting on Graduation Day, Thursday June 21 at noonish. Please come and enjoy the Awards ceremony and
luncheon, then come to the Family Association meeting to discuss current
happenings at the school and future projects for the Family Association.
What’s
Happening in the Classrooms?
Unit 1
Jamie Hermance, Kathy Babcock,
Tricia Severino
During the month of May, Unit 1 explored the letter “T” and
many words beginning with the letter “T”. The word “telephone” was fun to explore
because we were able to call each other in the classroom. This helped us to better understand how phones
work and why they are important. We took
a field trip to Wal-Mart and explored the many phones there. There were so many different types of phones
and we all had fun investigating the many types and learning about them.
“Tree” was a great word because we did so many activities
centered on it. We went outside and felt
the different trees. We felt the bark,
the leaves, and the blossoms. Many
students noticed the different textures of bark and how rough some were. Many students also noticed the different sizes
of leaves. The students in Unit 1 really
enjoy art. As a result, we have
completed many tactile art projects centered on trees. They are so colorful and filled with
imagination! As the last month of
school approaches, we will be focusing on a variety of topics including
vegetables and umbrellas!
Unit 2
Anne Bird, Diane Bassett, Mary
Beth Demmer, Grace West
Unit 2 went “buggy”
this month! One of our themes for the
month of May was springtime bugs. Along
with other insects, we learned about the life cycle of a butterfly and had fun
playacting the various stages (crawling along a mat as a caterpillar, wrapping
up in a blanket for a cocoon – everyone’s favorite part! - and emerging as a
beautiful butterfly with wings). We each
made a poster depicting the cycle and labeled or wrote sentences about the
stages. A highlight of this month was
our field trip to the Botanical Gardens in Buffalo.
The students helped to make a terrarium to give to moms for Mother’s
Day. It was a very enjoyable day!
Unit 3
May has been filled with lots of
"T" activities! Telephone,
transportation, top, tulip and tree have been our words of the week throughout
this month. We had lots of stories,
silly songs and plenty of classroom tasks to keep us moving. We also planted flowers in our little patch of
garden on campus. The kids helped to
hold the flowers, dig up the soil, plant each flower, give them a good drink of
water and didn't even mind getting a little dirty in the process. We hope it puts a smile on all who walk by our
flowers to brighten their day. In Music
therapy, the kids played instruments (bells, tambourine, maraca and the chime
tree) to the "T" songs or "T" artists. Art therapy was
filled with making special decorations for our Sock Hop Prom coming up on
Monday, June 4, 2007. In A.P.E. class
the students started an orienteering activity. We've had wonderful weather to get outside and
practice our new skills of following directions (take 5 steps to the West and
turn North for 12 steps...). We ended
the month at the big event. It was a
Totally Tropical Party. The kids made
tropical fish using lots of materials and could smell tropical scents at
another station. In the background there
was tropical music playing the whole afternoon. Hawaiian pizza, tropical fruit, rainbow
colored goldfish crackers and of course tropical punch to drink are just some
of the special treats they tasted. June
will be just as fun-filled and exciting with graduation coming up!! Can't wait!!
Unit 4
Unit 5
Unit 5 shopped for and cooked our own lunch this month. The students enjoyed the homemade macaroni
and cheese, squash, applesauce and chocolate pie. We also celebrated Stephen’s birthday. With the change to warm weather, we got to go
outside a few times. The students enjoy
using the computer during recess to listen to stories.
We learned about South Carolina
and for History and Literature we have purchased the “Jamestown’s
American Portraits” series and have started reading Sweet America: An
Immigrant’s Story. We continue to
read this book about Toni and his experiences selling newspapers full time at
the age of fourteen.
Unit 6
Unit 6 has been busy working on their
garden. We weeded and planted some
annuals. It has been very dry and we are
hoping for rain. We have completed our
unit on the Revolutionary War ending with a lesson on Battles fought in New York State including a tactile/large print
map to label.
As mentioned last month, the students wrote
Acrostic poems. An Acrostic poem uses
the letters in a topic word to begin each line.
All lines of the poem should relate to the topic word. Our word was "SPRING". The following are three examples of acrostic
poems.
SPRING
by Hyelee
Sun shines
Petal on flowers
Red tulips bloom
I like spring
Nest for birds
Green grass
SPRING
by Kayla
Sun
Puppies
Raking
Ice cream
New dress
Girl friends
SPRING
by Jamie
Signs of spring
Pets meow and birds tweet
Robins go tweet, tweet, tweet
Irises are yellow
Nest for birds are in tree
Growing things in spring
Unit 7
JoMarie McMullen, Rachael Ciociola, Ray Follett
The students in Unit 7 have been busy working
on a plant unit. They went to a local
store to purchase seeds and soil. The
students learned about the different parts of a plant and the root system. The seeds were planted, placed in a sunny
window and watered. We have watched the
plants grow and measured the growth each week.
So far they are doing very well. We
have continued with our Social Studies unit on the Revolutionary War. The students have enjoyed watching the series
"Liberty Kids". They are
attentive and have responded to questions.
They also located the 13 colonies on a textured map and colored them
in. It was a nice way to work on map
skills as well as directions.
Our monthly trip to the public library for
story time was enjoyable. The students
listened to a story and responded to questions. They were “caught” by the librarian,
listening to other stories and had their names written on a fish to be placed
on the wall. We also worked on community
skills by going to Tim Horton's for a snack.
Each student practiced ordering and paying for their food. Their skills and behaviors are improving as
their confidence improves.
This was our month to plan the Big
Event. The letter of the month was
"T". The students decided on a
Tropical party. They helped to make an
ocean scene for other students to place a decorated fish. They also went shopping and purchased shells
for hidden treasures in the sand and tropical lotions for smells. They chose rainbow gold fish, pizza, Hawaiian
pizza, tropical fruit salad, and fruit punch for snack foods. We'll dance to music and play the movie
"Little Mermaid".
Unit 8
In science class we
did several investigations that explored the rotation and the revolution of
Earth and how these two events effect the seasons on the Earth. We started studying weather in science class
at the end of the month. This will allow
us to explain the great weather we are experiencing. We are half way through the book, “How to Eat
Fried Worms”. This book offers a wide
variety of vocabulary that we have been having fun deciphering. It also allows us to write about the funny
things that this group of friends does to each other. A clue is in the title!!!
The class also
practiced their cooking skills this month.
The students cooked a healthy Chicken Salad with fresh vegetables. Everyone did a great job with their part on
the cooking assignment.
The class released
our butterflies next to the sculpture garden that we helped build with our
friends from Cornell
University. The butterflies seemed to enjoy their new
habitat. We visited a famous Batavia’s own Jerry
Arena’s Hotdog Stand on the first nice day of spring. Everyone enjoyed sitting on the picnic tables
enjoying their lunch on such a beautiful spring day, especially after such a
long winter. Our class made thank you
letters for our friends at the BOCES Cosmetology Class. Everyone was thankful for all the beautiful
haircuts and manicures they received throughout the school year. We look forward to returning next year.
Unit 9
Dan Dolph, Bryan Bradt, Lana
Wolcott
May was a busy month for our class. We started the month off talking about
volcanoes. We learned that a volcano is
an opening, or rupture, in the Earth's surface or crust, which allows hot,
molten rock, ash and gases to escape from deep below the surface. Fun Fact: Did you know that nearly 230 square
miles of forest was blown down or buried beneath volcanic deposits when Mt. St.
Helens erupted in 1980. We ended our exploration of volcanoes by
building models and observing many eruptions!
Calculators and money continue to be hot topics in math along with
improving our math skills in +,-, x, and /. The class enjoyed a trip to Jackson Street
Grill for lunch where we talked about the restaurant’s Monster Burger
competition… Well, I guess you will have to go to find out more!!
We brailled a model letter for a school on
the west coast as they enter into the race across America one letter at a time. We
hope to hear back from them in the near future and possibly join the race as
well. The Mount Batten Brailler has been
a welcomed new item to the class. Some
students have been using it to complete daily assignments. They seem to enjoy the “chat mode” the most which
allows two people to interact back and forth with each other.
The class discussed what Memorial Day means
to each of us and we talked about several important people who have served and
died for our country. We also talked
about the soldiers that are deployed in Iraq and other parts of the world
and how important it is not to forget about them and their families.
Unit 10
April showers brought May greenery here at
the school. We were able to get outside
and savor the smells, warmth and possibilities that spring presented to us. We were busy with crafts this month. For Mother's Day we made birdhouses and
decorated them. We also made jewelry
boxes that the students painted and glued glass beads onto. Lastly, for Father's Day we made key racks
that can be mounted on a wall.
The letter of the month was "T". The words of the week were,
"telephone", "transportation", "top" and
"tulips". We designed and
decorated our hallway bulletin board with examples of each concept. We also assembled a terrarium from a kit and planted
seeds in it. Each week the students get
a chance to experience how plants grow. This
is something we can enjoy year round.
Our Unit 10 was able to get out into the
community. We went to the Botanical
Gardens in Lackawanna, N.Y., to experience how plants grow on a
large scale. It is a beautiful place and
we are glad that we visited. We also
went to the Peking Buffet in order to practice healthy food choices and to
practice good social behavior. Well,
that is all for now. The school year is
rapidly coming to a close and next month we will keep you informed of our
activities and accomplishments during the month of June.
Unit 11
We had a lot of fun activities this month. The letter of the month was "T" and
we learned about the different types of transportation, a way we communicate
with people (telephone) and the different trees we have here on campus. We made special poppies for Memorial Day and
placed a poem outside our classroom to celebrate the sacrifices made by those
who serve our country. We made our own maracas and listened to Spanish music for
Cinco De Mayo. We also grew radishes in
our window box and they're really sprouting up.
We continue to work on our cooperative work skills and learned how easy
it is to get a job done when everyone works together. That worked right into PEACE DAY (5/10) and we
talked about different ways for people to get along with each other.
UPCOMING PROGRAM THEMES:
June is “U” & “V” Uniform,
Umbrella, Van and Vegetables
July is “W” & “X” Wagon,
Whale and Xylophone
August is “Y” & “Z” Yard,
Yes and Zoo
News from the Art Room
By Jacquelyn Rease
At the beginning of this month everyone worked on completing
old projects such as their artwork related to China. We also spent most of the month of May
helping to make decorations for the Prom.
The prom theme this year is “The 1950’s”. Each student helped to decorate by creating a
painting on a record and most of the students also glued their own photograph
to the record. The records turned out
really well and should help to add a special touch to the prom décor. Our newest project is discussing the origins
of Calypso music and dancing and to create our own Calypso paintings while
listening to authentic Calypso music.
The yearbook is out and many of the students helped with the yearbook by
taking pictures at our events around school this year. Our yearbook committee was Nicole, Brittney,
Chris, Alicia, Alex, Kyle, Angela, Sharyann, Tamel, Cody and Kayla. Each of these students volunteered their
time to take photographs and design pages making this yearbook extra special
and deserve big congratulations. Also,
congratulations to Stephen for being chosen as artist of the month for May.
IMPORTANT DATES: 
June 4th
– Prom 6:30PM – 8:30PM, gym
June 21st
– Graduation 10AM, auditorium
June 22nd
– Last Day of School
July 9th – Summer School 2007 Starts
August 17th – Last day of Summer School
September 4th – Conference Day
September 5th – School begins
Editor: Bethany Burgess, LMSW
New York State
School for the Blind
2A Richmond Ave.
Batavia, NY 14020
585-343-5384 or Toll
Free 1-877-697-7382
Website: http://www.vesid.nysed.gov/specialed/nyssb/home.html
NYSSB is located in Batavia, NY, just off the
I-90 in between Rochester and Buffalo.
Applications are accepted year round and we serve NYS students ages 5-21
who are legally blind and multiply disabled in a day school and integrated
5-day residential program. Services available
include the following therapies: OT, OT Feeding, PT, Speech, Audiology, Music,
Art and Recreation. Additional services available
include: Teachers of the Visually Impaired, Behavior Specialist, School
Psychologist, Medical Social Worker, Braille, Assistive Technology, Orientation
& Mobility, Adapted Physical Education, Pre-Vocational Workshop, Dietitian
and 24 hour nursing services. We have a 10
Month school year and 6 week Extended School Year program available. Please call us, visit our website or e-mail
us at nyssb@mail.nysed.gov for more
information. Here is a list of
frequently called numbers for your reference:
NYSSB Contact Information