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PAWSITIVE REFLECTIONS

News and Information for Families, Staff, & Friends

CALIFORNIA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF, RIVERSIDE

On Thursday February 4, Gerald "Bummy"

Burstein stood poised with a giant pair of scis-

sors, ready to cut through the red ribbon that

stretched across the newly renovated "Gerald

Bummy Burstein Student Center" at the Cali-

fornia School for the Deaf in Riverside. On

that day, this remarkable leader and advocate

for the deaf community was being recognized

for the 37 years that he served as teacher and See Bummy (cont’d on page 2)

Gerald “Bummy” Burstein Student Center E x c e r p t s B y S h a r m a n W e i n e r N e w m a n , F o r m e r C S D R M e d i a S p e c i a l i s t

Message from Mal When discussing CSDR, I often speak on the importance of focusing not only on the academic aspects of student ’ s development, but also ad-dressing the deaf child ’ s needs as a whole. Many deaf children are excluded from family discussions due to a lack of communication in the home, which leaves large gaps in developing social skills, self discovery, and how to set goals for future success. It is CSDR’ s inclusion of these components that is what sets CSDR apart from other deaf educa-tional programs. Because CSDR provides a completely accessible learning environment ( visual communication at all times ) , students can take full advantage of incidental learning and the experience of deaf adults on staff.

See Mal (cont’d on page 4)

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administrator on the CSDR campus. During his long tenure in this very special room, now dedi-cated in his honor, Bummy's responsibilities greatly expanded over the years to include supervis-ing the library, media services, television studio, computer lab, photography classes, Interactive

Video Disk project, Pancom, Cap-tioned Films, Outreach Services, Interpreter Services, Athletic De-partment activities, Special Pro-jects, and many more collaborative enterprises.

This newly dedicated room, where Burstein spent most of his adminis-trative career as Director of Media Technology Services, will now be used for student government and leadership programs. It is certain that this new center, dedicated to such a hard-working leader in the deaf community, generations of future CSDR students to get in-volved in student government, out-side leadership programs, and the community. Bummy's inspiration will

Bummy (cont’d from page 1)

be felt throughout the room when students meet there to work on pro-jects to benefit school and commu-nity.

“Don't tell people how to do things; tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results. “ George S. Patton

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Second Annual Rubidoux Pageant-2010! B y J a s m i n e G o o l s b y , R e s i d e n t i a l P r o g r a m

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On March 18, 2010, six CSDR

eighth graders came together to

present the Second Annual Rubi-

doux Pageant. Colors, beads and

feathers filled the stage as this

year ’ s theme was “ Mardi

Gras! ” Students and staff worked

together for many months in order

to make this dream a reality. Stu-

dents not only had to learn a cho-

reographed dance, but they also

had to research a topic that they

felt people need to be more aware

of and they had to show off their

talents. Students spoke on topics

like the Haiti earthquake, teen

pregnancy, and the pressure the

modeling industry places on young

teens today. The variety of talent

displayed was astonishing; while

some students signed to music or

danced, others showed their artis-

tic abilities, and there was even a

mime! After all of this students had

to dress in formal wear and answer

some pretty tough questions in the

interview conducted by the fabu-

lous MCs. Maria Ana Guzman and

Chris Morton, both freshmen here

at CSDR, were the MCs for the

evening. Mardi Gras would not

have been complete without them!

Everyone did an excellent job.

The judges had some very diffi-

cult decisions to make. There was

Miguel Barrios, who danced his

way into their hearts, and Aja

Rivera who convinced everyone

to take a stand and help others in

devastation. Marissa Salyer cat-

walked her way through the com-

petition and Ernesto Rodriguez

put a smile on everyone ’ s face

with his quick wit and humor. Jose

Resendez won people over with

amazing confidence, tears were

shed as Meg Ruth spoke about

finding the courage to leave an abu-

sive relationship. Awards were given

to Marissa and Miguel for their plat-

form presentations. Ernesto and Meg

took home the gold for their wonder-

ful talents. Aja and Jose won best

Formal Wear for the way they strut-

ted their stuff on the runway. And

now Miguel Barrios and Marissa

Salyer are the reigning Mr. and Miss

Rubidoux until next year! Congratula-

tions to all the contestants.

Top row: Miguel Barrios, Ernesto Rodriguez, and Jose Resendez

Bottom row: Marissa Salyer, Meg Ruth and Aja Rivera

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Mal (cont’d from page 1)

I recently attended a weekend retreat for some of our high school students which was a won-derful example of this philosophy. The purpose of the event was to take 15 students on a 2-day re-treat where deaf staff would guide them through a series of activities that would enhance student lead-ership abilities while also teaching them the value of working to-gether as a team. The activities focused on improving team com-munication, developing problem solving skills, and many group and individual discussions with counselors.

The students I spoke with at the

end of the retreat showed a re-

newed interest in school and

made personal commitments to im-

prove their academic studies. Many

of the students were considering

joining school organizations/clubs

for the first time since coming to

CSDR. They learned they could

participate in the decision making

process and realized their ideas

were valued. Students came away

from the weekend motivated to im-

plement the tools they had been

given. CSDR faculty and staff did a

wonderful job of planning and facili-

tating this retreat. Our goal is to

provide more retreats by seeking

funding from the private sector and

local community to support the

On March 25, students in the Special Needs Department boarded a bus and van for a trip to the Very Special Arts Festival held at Ramona High School in Riverside. The theme was “ A nimals… Then and Now ” .

The students have been very busy during the last few months creating art works based on the theme. Everything from crayon and acrylics to 3-D sculptures

program. When students leave

CSDR, we want to be able to say

that they are well prepared to be-

come active participants in their

communities. It should be a prior-

ity for all of us to give our deaf chil-

dren the opportunity to have rich

and meaningful lives.

were used for the projects. The students were very excited and proud to see their artistic creations displayed at the festival.

Outside the exhibition area, artists from the community showed sam-ples of their art work. There were also vendors and agencies sharing information about their

services. It was a very educational trip for the students.

Ar t Festival for Students B y S t a f f W r i t e r , S p e c i a l N e e d s D e p a r t m e n t

ments makes a huge difference!

There are three types of PRAISE

we can use.

General Praise: A positive verbal

statement such as “ Awesome

Job ”

Specific Praise: Use a verbal state-

ment but pair it with a description of

the behavior such as “ W ay to go,

you finished your work on time. ”

Effective Praise: Used when the

person completes a desired behav-

ior. You identify the exact behavior

that you liked, exaggerate on it,

give a reason for why you like it and

reward them for it if necessary. For

Adults and children need to be

told by others, especially those

who love them, that they are

good, special, talented, pretty,

handsome, funny, a great helper,

or a hard worker. People need to

be told when they are doing well.

Praise is vital to our self esteem.

We also need to know that our

behaviors are pleasing to others.

The most important people who

give praise are parents. Children

seek parental approval. Praise is

crucial to who we are and who we

will become.

So, how can we PRAISE more?

Praise takes very little time and

effort. Even small positive state-

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Working Together to Benefit Students B y C u r t i s M i r a c l e , C h i e f o f P l a n t O p e r a t i o n s

Plant Operations is continuing to participate and even expand working with our High School students.

Currently, we have a total of over fifteen students training and working with Plant Operations personnel.

The students choose an area of interest ( carpentry, janitorial, painting, etc) and then they

example: “ J ohn, you have been

working really hard and you finished

your work on time. Great work!

When you finish your work on time

that allows you to get onto the next

thing and get done sooner. Because

you worked so hard you can have

free time after lunch/dinner. ”

If you would like more information

about Praise and other Self-Esteem

builders, please contact the Counsel-

ing Department and a counselor will

be happy to assist you!

meet with the staff of that department for an interview. Once selected for the posi-tion, students shadow the staff member to learn the techniques and tasks of the trade.

Students are learning work ethics as well as specific skills related to the job and the staff are improving their signing skills.

Praise and Self Esteem B y J e n n i f e r J e s s e r , E l e m e n t a r y S c h o o l C o u n s e l o r

Robert Saldana, Student

Dylan Patterson, Student

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CSDR Cheer Team Takes Third Place B y S t a c e y H a u s m a n , H e a d C h e e r C o a c h

CSDR Cheer Team came home with third place in the Novice Co-ed Varsity Show Cheer division at the USA Nationals that was held on Friday, March 26. We were thrilled! The teams that beat us all had over 16 members, which al-lowed them to do more complex and difficult stunts and pyra-mids, compared to our 10-member team. Even though we had a lib-erty ( where the girl stands on one leg while being held in the air ) ,

we were told we could not use it because we did not have enough people to base it on both sides, so we had to change it at the last min-ute. Another interesting fact is that only one of our team members, Marilyn Rivas, has ever been to a Nationals competition before. Eve-ryone else was brand new to this type of competition, so I was ex-tremely proud of the way they han-dled performing in front of a crowd of over 5,000 people.

Dead Silence Dinner

October 28, 2010 CSDR CAN will be hosting its first FUNdraiser on October 28, 2010 at the Riverside Marriott. ( I nterpreters will be provided )

The event will be on a Halloween theme and will include dinner, a

silent auction, and entertainment by Sammy Ruiz, two-time champion of The World Deaf Magician’ s Festival.

For sponsorship and ticket information please contact Deb Berzins at ( 9 51 ) 224-7711 or debberz-ins@yahoo.com

All proceeds go to support student programs.

Come and join us for an evening of fun that will help our students.

Mark Your Calendars

The team truly represented the Deaf community and CSDR well and con-tinue to inspire many hearing stu-dents with their abilities. .

Magician Sammy Ruiz

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Jack Speltie works in the Grounds Department at CSDR and he is also a member of the National Guard Re-serve. He nominated the school and his supervisors for the awards because they are so supportive in making ac-commodations for his schedule.

The Middle School gathered in the Social Hall for the presentation. The Guard also brought a Hummer and answered questions from the students about the National Guard and combat in general.

Our thanks to the following members of the National Guard for coming to CSDR and for serving our country.

LTC Desautel SFC Zabala SFC Cook SFC Baragan SFC Mayorquino SSG Eisman SFC O'Brien SSG Carlucci SPC Rosales SPC Speltie 

On April 13, representatives from the National Guard arrived at CSDR to pre-sent several awards. The school and its administration were honored for their “ M eritorious leadership and initiative in support of the men and women who serve America in the National Guard and Reserve ” .

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National Guard Honors CSDR B y S t a f f W r i t e r

SPC Speltie explains to Middle School students what the National Guard does.

Supt. Grossinger accepts the “Above and Beyond” award from

Bea Lissow , ESGR volunteer

SPC Speltie presents an award to his supervisor Dave Hernandez (above) and to Curtis Miracle, Chief of Plant Operations (below)

Supt. Grossinger accepts the “Seven Seals Award” on behalf of CSDR

The students were fascinated with the Hummer!

Supt. Grossinger accepts a lapel pin from SPC Speltie

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St. Patrick’s Day Party By Matthew Fein, High School Student

Later on, we played several games, such as hot potato, changing costumes, and a green jello contest. The winners from the jello con-

We had a St. Patrick ’ s Day dorm party with a lot of interesting and fun things happening. The party was held at Social Hall from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm.

About 95 percent of the people wore green clothes to the party. We had delicious food which included: BBQ smokies, chili sauce with grape jelly smokies, Mexican layer dip with tor-tilla chips, vegetable tray, ranch dip, hot buffalo wings, BBQ wings, pine-apple with 7-up, and several sodas. The most popular food was Buffalo wings; the least popular was deviled eggs.

test were the Freshmen, second place was the Sen-iors, third place was Sopho-mores, and last place were the Juniors.

During the last part of the party, dessert was provided to students and staff.

Zelene Sandoval and Kevin Garcia won the free candy jar because they guessed the jar held 75

candies. I would like to say thanks to all the Lassen dorm students for host-ing such a great party.

A Parent’s Guide to MAP

What is MAP? Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) is a computer based achievement test. What are the differences between the MAP and other tests that my child has taken?

• It has no time limits so students may work at their own pace to achieve at their best.

• MAP is adaptive. The computer adjusts the difficulty of the next question by how the student

performs on the previous questions. Simply, the questions become more difficult or less diffi-cult with each question – thus producing a very realistic performance range for each student.

• MAP scores are shown at its completion providing teachers and students immediate feed-

back.

• Year to year MAP scores show true growth in performance of each student. Just as you may keep a height growth chart on the back of a door in your home – we will keep a MAP aca-demic growth chart for each student.