WVSDB Class 2016 of - Edl€¦ · prom decorations and festivities. Patrick Epperly and Annie...

Presenting the Class of 2016Family School Association DayProm 2016Sports HighlightsWVSDB SpotlightsExcellence in Education LuncheonTech Talk

WEST VIRGINIA SCHOOLS for the DEAF and the BLINDVolume 3, Issue 3

August 2016

WVSDBClass 2016

In this issue…

of

301 East Main Street, Romney, WV 26757phone: 304-822-4800, fax: 304-822-3370http://wvsdb2.state.k12.wv.us

03 Superintendent’s Insights

Presenting the…

WVSDB Class of 2016

Always. Child. First.

RECORDVOLUME 3, ISSUE 3

A U G U S T 2 0 1 6 Contents

WVSDBSPORTS HIGHLIGHTS

0408 Family School

Association Day

Excellence in Education Luncheon TECH TALK18 19

Find us on…

12

PROM 2016

WVSDB SPOTLIGHT

10

16

http://wvsdb2.state.k12.wv.us

As we come to the close of my first year as the WVSDB Superintendent, I want to personally thank each of you for your support. This has been a wonderful year, one that has given birth to many new initiatives and achievements. I would like to take a moment to look back on this year and celebrate the many WVSDB successes.

First, a big congratulations to the graduating class of 2016! We are very proud of their accomplishments. Three graduates plan to attend college in the fall; four will return as Career Academy for Post Graduate (CAP) students; and three will pursue jobs in the workforce. We wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors.

We are excited about the new Family – School Association (FSA) and how it has grown since its inception last fall. The FSA held a Field Day event on May 14th which proved to be a hit with the WVSDB Community. During the 2015-16 school year, WVSDB saw a 10 percent increase in student enrollment. Additionally, numerous partnerships and col-laborative initiatives with local and state agencies were formed. Examples are initiatives with the NASA Education Resource Center, Gallaudet University, and the Division of Rehabilitation Services, Marshall University, and the Chil-dren’s Vision Rehabilitation Program. These partnerships were the result of ongoing efforts to expand services and program opportunities for WVSDB students. Our students were involved in many academic competitions and pro-grams, both at the state and national level. Competitions and programs included: the Battle of the Books, the Aca-demic Bowl, the Braille Challenge, Marie Jean Philip ASL Poetry, Storytelling, a Deaf Art competition, NASA Space Camp, Reading Counts program, Cane Quest, the Optimist Communication Contest for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, White Cane Day, Math Bowl, Youth Leadership Camp, and the Legislative Page program.

The WVSDB Administration has worked this year to cre-ate a clear blueprint for our schools by laying a foundation on which to build. This year’s focus on enhancing student opportunities for success, and creating a learning environment where academic ex-cellence is stressed, while living in an accessible school community, will continue to be the bulwark of that foun-dation. The upcoming school year will bring with it new challenges and opportunities. We look forward to both as we anticipate more good things to come.

For most educators, we entered this profession because we want to make a difference in the world. We want to make the world better by improving the lives and the fu-tures of our children. We are constantly growing and ever working at perfecting our craft. I am reminded of a well-worn quote by Martin Luther King, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” So it is with education.

Respectfully yours,Dr. Martin P. Keller, Jr., Superintendent

“This has been a wonderful year, one that has given birth to many new initiatives and achievements.”

INSIGHTSSuperintendent’s

3RECORD • VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3 • AUGUST 2016

Presenting the…

Anas

tacia

will be a

ttend

ing Fa

irmon

t

State

Unive

rsity

in Fa

irmon

t, WV w

here

she p

lans t

o majo

r in En

glish

Educ

ation

with th

e goa

l of b

ecom

ing a

seco

ndary

schoo

l Eng

lish te

ache

r.ANASTACIA

BARNHART

(Vale

dictor

ian)

Patric

k will b

e atte

nding

Potom

ac

State

College

whe

re he

will m

ajor

in bu

sines

s and

plan

s to s

tart

and o

wn his

own b

usine

ss.PATRIC

K

EPPERLY

(Salutat

orian)

4 WEST VIRGINIA SCHOOLS for the DEAF and the BLIND

Kayle

e is c

urren

tly de

ciding

betw

een a

ttend

ing co

llege o

r

traini

ng as

a ha

irstyli

st.KAYLEE

EDWARDS

Loga

n will b

e atte

nding

Potom

ac St

ate

College

in Ke

yser, W

V whil

e atte

nding

the Care

er an

d Aca

demic

Progra

m

(CAP) a

t WVS

DB. Aft

er tha

t, he p

lans

to tra

nsfer

to M

arsha

ll Univ

ersity

in

Huntin

gton,

WV whe

re he

will m

ajor

in ph

ysica

l thera

py.

LOGAN

GRAY

PATRIC

K

EPPERLY

(Salutat

orian)

Zach

ary w

ill live

at ho

me with

his

family

and w

ork at

the H

amps

hire

County

Spec

ial Se

rvice

s Cen

ter.

ZACHARY

HARDING

Antho

ny is

living

in a

home w

ith fri

ends

.ANTHONY

HEATER


Kassi

dy w

ill be s

harin

g a ho

use w

ith

her s

ister

and a

few fri

ends

. She

will

be w

orking

at th

e Ham

pshir

e Cou

nty

Spec

ial Se

rvice

s Cen

ter an

d will e

n-

roll a

t the P

otomac

Highlan

ds Guil

d.

KASSIDY

KIMBLE

Katrin

a will b

e sha

ring a

hous

e

with he

r sist

er an

d a fe

w frien

ds.

She w

ill be w

orking

at th

e Ham

p-

shire

County

Spec

ial Se

rvice

s

Center

and w

ill enro

ll at th

e

Potom

ac High

lands

Guild.KATRIN

A

KIMBLE

Kenn

eth is

enrol

ling i

n the

CAP

progra

m at W

VSDB t

o work

with

the

mainten

ance

depa

rtmen

t to de

velop

lands

capin

g and

mec

hanic

skills

.

KENNETH

MCGARY

Katel

yn w

ill retu

rn ne

xt yea

r to

WVSDB t

o part

icipate

in th

e

CAP pr

ogram

to im

prove

her

job sk

ills an

d lea

rn ho

w

to man

age m

oney.

She

plans

to w

ork in

a zoo

.KATELY

N

ROSE


Katrin

a will b

e sha

ring a

hous

e

with he

r sist

er an

d a fe

w frien

ds.

She w

ill be w

orking

at th

e Ham

p-

shire

County

Spec

ial Se

rvice

s

Center

and w

ill enro

ll at th

e

Potom

ac High

lands

Guild.

Katel

yn w

ill retu

rn ne

xt yea

r to

WVSDB t

o part

icipate

in th

e

CAP pr

ogram

to im

prove

her

job sk

ills an

d lea

rn ho

w

to man

age m

oney.

She

plans

to w

ork in

a zoo

.

Jorda

n plan

s to j

oin th

e Unit

ed

States

Posta

l Serv

ice an

d loo

ks

forward

to w

orking

with

his f

uture

fellow

emplo

yees.

JORDAN

SIMMONS

Jesse

plan

s to a

ttend

the

Unive

rsal Te

chnic

al Ins

titute

in

Exton

, PA t

o trai

n to b

ecom

e a

diese

l and

indu

strial

techn

ician.JE

SSE

SNYDER

(Outs

tandin

g Care

er an

d

Tech

nical

Educat

ion Stud

ent)

Next ye

ar, Sa

mmy is pa

rticipa

ting

in the

CAP pr

ogram

at W

VSDB

where

he w

ill work

with

the m

ain-

tenan

ce st

aff to

learn

skills

to he

lp

him ob

tain a

job w

ith Li

zard C

reek

Spee

dway

in Han

over, W

est V

irgini

a

as a

mecha

nic.

SAMMY

STEELE

Adam

will b

e movi

ng in

to

a hou

se w

ith fri

ends

in

Morgan

town,

WV.ADAM

WEISSM

AN


Family School Association Day

The members of the Family School Association (FSA) worked to-gether to put on the first FSA Day on May 14th. The events of the day were open to staff, students, families, and the community of Romney. Two of the special guests, Matthew Morgan who is a magician, and Nancy Rourke who is an artist, arrived on campus a few days earlier lead workshops and performed for the ele-mentary and secondary students. Matthew and Nancy related well to the students at WVSD as they are both deaf.

Mr. Morgan performed for attendees during FSA Day with an energetic and fun performance that often called for participants from the audience. He and his lovely assistant created a dove out of thin air, made a phone disappear and reappear, and demon-strated mind-reading skills. Ms. Rourke lead a workshop about

Deaf Art and those who attended were able to create their own artwork. The WV Rocket Center also taught participants how to create and launch simple rockets using 2-liter soft drink bot-tles. The bottles were filled half full with water and then air was pumped into the container. After a count-down, students pulled on a string that was connected to the rocket which sent them flying in the air before landing in the quad between the Deaf and blind schools. The day also included music from the band Center Fire, one of the members was a former WVSB student. Students danced and joined in with the band as they enjoyed the performance. Other events during that day were a snack bar run by the senior class, face-painting, carnival games, and a large inflatable bounce house and obstacle course.


The event was organized by the FSA under the leadership of Priscilla Epperly who is the coordinator of the association. She was supported by many staff members and families of students. The Family School Association was established by Dr. Keller who wanted to ensure that families and staff members of WVSDB would have a chance to work closely together to host activities and contribute to the schools. The next FSA Day will be held in May 2017 and for information about further FSA events, please watch the WVSDB website.


PROM NIGHT 2016April showers may bring May flowers but May brings one of the most anticipated nights for WVSDB secondary students…the magical night called Prom.

There were manicures and pedicures. There were flashy hairdos and gorgeous gowns. There were handsome men dressed in tux-edos. There was Prom 2016…

The WVSDB Prom was held on May 14, 2016. The evening began with a pre-dinner for the attendees and their invited guests host-ed by Dr. and Mrs. Keller. There was delicious food and posing for the first of many pictures to remember this most special night.

The theme for this year was “Music in the Garden.” Mrs. Dee Wil-lis and Mr. Glen Pinkard, WVSB staff members, were in charge of prom decorations and festivities. Patrick Epperly and Annie Barn-hart were crowned Prom King and Queen. A photo booth was set up to instantly capture the excitement and joy of prom.

It was a special night… a magical night…it was Prom 2016.

W V S D BP R O M2 0 1 6


W V S D BP R O M2 0 1 6

MULTI-SENSORY PROGRAM PROMOn May 4th, some very special students were invited to the most interesting and fabulous ultra-exclusive soiree: “A Night with the Stars”! There décor was top notch and the food only the best…

Nathan Smith, Education Specialist for WVSB, was inspired by other schools and organizations who hosted proms for children with special needs. He wanted to have a prom especially for stu-dents at WVSDB who have special needs because he “thought it would be fun and a great experience for the students. Plus it’s a way to show what makes WVSDB so special and unique for our students.” The theme, “A Night with the Stars” was cho-sen and along with Susan Swenson, Residential Shift Supervisor, organized the event. Several staff and students also pitched in to decorate, DJ, and serve food. Students from the MultiSenso-ry Program and others who are cognitively impaired or develop-mentally delayed were invited. Students posed for pictures, ate, danced, and had a great time. Ms. Swenson commented “it was a wonderful experience for all the kids and a new tradition that we want them to enjoy every year!”


WVSDBSports

WVSB Goalball Team: Rolling Their Way to Victories The WVSB goalball team completed an awesome season with victories over the Virginia School for the Blind and the Maryland School for the Blind. The team was led by the only returning player, Jaime Crosser.

The EAAB Goalball Tournament was held at WVSB in the spring. The team captured third place in the tournament. Congratulations to the Lady Raiders and their coaches, Nathan Smith and Anita Adkins.


Highlights

WVSB Track Team: Off and RunningThe WVSB track team was not large in number but huge in heart and determination! The team scored well in all meets at Overbrook and the Maryland School for the Blind. The EAAB Track Tournament was held at the Maryland School for the Blind on their new track. Jaime Crosser, junior at WVSB,

brought home three first place medals and one second place medal. She ran her best time ever in the 880. Sadie Moon ran her best times in the 440 and also threw her longest distance in the shotput.

Josh Barton made WVSB proud by beating his best times in the shotput and standing broad jump. Thanks to Donna Brown and Donna See for coaching the team.


WVSDBSports

WVSDB Youth Soccer TeamAYSO’s (American Youth Soccer Organization) motto is “Everyone Plays”. At WVSDB we agree with that 100%. If a student wants to play soccer, we make it happen. This year was no exception. The team consisted of players from the School for the Deaf and the School for the Blind Elementary Departments.

It was a great season! This was the first season for most of the members of the team. Everyone grew so much with each game. It has amazing to see the improvement. The highlight of the season was not scoring goals or some amazing kicks, it was finding a turtle on the field during the middle of a game. Time out had to be called as each member on both teams got a good look at the turtle and it was moved to a safer place!


Highlights

WVSD Softball Swings into ActionWVSD formed its first men’s softball team this year. The Lions roared on the field and played their hearts out! The team was coached by Mr. Scott Hottle and assistant coach, Ronnie Epperly. After beginning the season against WVSDB staff members, the team went on to play several teams improving every game. The team ended the season at the Eastern School for the Deaf softball tour-nament in Scranton, Pennsylvania bringing home fourth place.


WVSDBSPOTLIGHT

JAKES DAY

WVSDB students participated in JAKES Day. JAKES stands for Juniors Acquiring Knowledge, Ethics and Sportsmanship. The day included an array of activ-ities that focused on wildlife, conservation efforts and outdoor recreational opportunities. Children tried their hands at archery, fishing, shooting sports, and kayaking. The event was sponsored by the National Wild Turkey Federation.


ANNIE BARNHART WINS OPTIMIST COMMUNICATION CONTEST

Congratulations goes to Annie Barnhart for winning the Kentucky – West Virginia Optimist District Communication Contest for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing. Competition was held on April 23, 2016 in Charleston, WV. Annie earned $2,500.00 with her 1st place win. Annie plans to attend Fairmont State College in the fall.

The Optimist Club sponsors the speech contest every year for Deaf and hard of hearing students across the nation. Each district selects a winner of the $2,500 scholarship. The participants are given a topic, on which to develop a 4-5 minute speech. This year’s topic was “How My Best Brings Out the Best in Others”. Participants are judged on material organization (subject adherence, theme, content, color and logic), delivery and presentation (delivery, gestures, and emphasis), and overall effectiveness (appeal, impression, attitude, and effect). Annie focused on her strengths, her confidence and courage, and how she has used these to bring out the best in others she interacts with daily.

NATIONAL OUTREACH FORUM FOR THE BLIND AND LOW VISION

Debbie Adams and Ellen Blaydes, WVSDB Outreach Regional Specialists, attended the Blind and Low Vision Outreach Forum in Austin, Texas. The forum was held at the Texas School for the Blind.

Schools for the Blind across the US are actively engaged with educational programs beyond their campuses to support all students with visual impairments. The diversity of each state’s structures and systems means that each Outreach Program operates differently. The Outreach Forum is an opportunity to learn from others and share our widely varying models for helping provide short term programs, in-service training, personnel prep support, family support, Expanded Core Curric-ulum and resources.

MATH TEAM COMPETES IN NEW YORK

WVSD Middle School math team, Faith Grissinger, Jacob Buchanan, and Sarah Beeseck, along with coach/teacher Scott Hottle, participated in the national Math competition at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester, New York. This was WVSD’s first time to participate in this tournament.


E xc e l l e n c e In Education L u n c h e o n

Dr. Keller hosted an “Excellence in Educa-tion” luncheon for the WVSDB staff. During the meal, Dr. Keller reflected on his first year as superintendent highlighting accomplish-ments of students and staff. He also shared some exciting changes that will occur during the 2016-2017 school year. Dr. Keller rec-ognized staff members who were retiring at the end of the school year presenting them with a token of appreciation for their years of service.

The professional Excellence in Education award was presented to Margie Orth. Margie is an occupational therapist for WVSDB. She was recognized for her loving and caring at-titude for the students that she serves and her willingness to go beyond her call of duty to make sure the students’ needs are met.

The service personnel Excellence in Edu-cation went to Alta Morris. Alta has served in several capacities while at WVSDB. She currently is working as a library aid at the School for Blind. Alta was honored for her positive attitude and professionalism in her work ethic. Alta will be retiring this summer.

Congratulations to these ladies chosen as outstanding in their fields and to all the WVSDB staff for making the 2015-2016 school year successful.


LIMITING SCREEN TIMEby Cassandra Park and Danielle Emerick-Engle

Advances in technology have had great impact on all areas of our daily lives, from health care to grocery shopping. A recent statistic reported that there are more mobile devices than there are people on the planet! Our dependence on technology and its ability to make our lives easier has led to the creation of new causes for concern.

According to the American Academy for Pediatrics (AAP), chil-dren spend an average of 7 hours each day consuming me-dia in some form. Doctors are beginning to see the effects of these long hours on children’s health. Excessive screen time can lead to sleeping and eating disorders, obesity, and difficulties at school and home involving attention, not to mention exposure to age inappropriate content.

The AAP recommends limiting screen time to 1-2 hours per day for children over 2 years of age. To make the most of your child’s screen time, encourage them to look for high quality games, apps, and videos, rather than media that allows them to vegetate in front of the screen.

Other suggestions for limiting screen time are: Z Designate technology free zones in the house. Z Establish technology free times daily, such as

at dinner time. Z Encourage outdoor and physical activities.

Both children and adults are affected by prolonged use of mo-bile devices. Terms such as “Text Neck” and “Cell Phone Elbow” emphasize neck, spinal, and elbow pain as a result of extended use of mobile devices.

Texting or viewing a mobile device while tilting one’s head for a long period of time causes strain on the spine and inflamma-tion occurs as well as resulting in pinched nerves and herniated disks. This not only leads to poor posture but has been linked to reduced lung capacity, headaches, heart disease, depression, and other neurological disorders.

“Cell Phone Elbow” is also known as Cubital Tunnel Syndrome in which the elbow is bent for a prolonged period of time. The ulnar nerve becomes compressed and can cause a feeling of numb-ness, tingling, or aching in the forearm or hand. Cubital Tunnel Syndrome is becoming almost as common as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and occurring more at a younger age.

Tips to healthier device use:1. Clean your phone regularly to prevent bacteria

buildup.2. Take frequent breaks to prevent hand cramp-

ing and wrist pain when scrolling or typing on a mobile device.

3. Position device to where straight posture is not affected.

4. To prevent Cubital Tunnel Syndrome, alternate arms frequently when using a mobile device.

Most importantly, be a role model for your child. If you put down your device, they will be more likely to do the same.

TECH TALK

Microsoft OneNoteThe Future of Digital Classroom ManagementAnyone who owns a computer, tablet, or smart phone has used Microsoft Office products. Students and teachers are using Microsoft Office for everything from e-mail to creating presentations. One such program you may not be familiar with is OneNote, which is a unique program that is widely used in education.

One Note is an interactive electronic notebook that can be used to create portfolios, organize documents, or keep track of classes. Students can organize classes by using “tabs” within a notebook to represent each subject area and “pages” can be used divide up each subject by day, week, project, etc. Files from Microsoft Office products, like docu-ments, spreadsheets, and presentations are easy to attach into OneNote by clicking and dragging them onto the desired tab or page. OneNote also allows students to draw, write, and include voice and video recording as well as attach screen shots of webpages.

OneNote can be accessed from anywhere on any device as long as the user has a Microsoft Office account. Parents, stu-dents, and teachers can access and closely monitor it from home as long as it is saved to One Drive. Teachers can create a notebook for the class so students can access assignments when they are absent or during after school hours. As teach-ers, we can monitor the student interaction, assess how stu-dents are completing assignments, and offer extra support where needed. Most importantly, it is compact and stores a lot more than a physical notebook- everything is right there!

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics. (2016). Media and Children. Retrieved from https://www.aap.org


Always. Child. First.Find us on…

301 East Main Street, Romney, WV 26757phone: 304-822-4800, fax: 304-822-3370http://wvsdb2.state.k12.wv.us

http://wvsdb2.state.k12.wv.us

WVSDB Class 2016 of - Edl€¦ · prom decorations and festivities. Patrick Epperly and Annie...

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