NYSSD Circle Newsletter
2008-2009: 4th Issue | NYSSD
Circle Newsletter 
(1.62MB)
Superintendent's Message
Superintendent Carriann Ray
The school year has come to an end again, and I sit back and think about all the wonderful activities that occurred during the 2008-2009 school year.
The students have been very busy preparing for end-of-the-year RCTs and Regents. They are practicing assessments and studying content using various forms of technology. Staff and students alike find the excitement of the computer games to be helpful in keeping everyone’s interest. Students can be found staying after school, practicing in the dorm and asking for more review classes. There is a definite energy this year with so many students earning a Regents, an Advanced Regents, or a local diploma. The students are asking for more instruction and they are already talking about next year and wanting to try for an Advanced Regents. The atmosphere is not about just getting there, but it is about doing the best they can and achieving the highest results. It is a wonderful feeling to see staff and students working toward these common goals.
I see our school continuing to evolve as our graduating classes reduce our numbers and change the overall feel and look of the school. We will continue to push forward, develop new programs and provide whatever services are necessary to meet the ever changing population.
The 2009 Summer School Program will continue to provide wonderful educational and recreational activities for the students. Have a safe summer and we will see everyone in September for the 2009-2010 school year.
Staff Appreciation
Submitted by Assistant Superintendent Dan Roberts
Staff Appreciation Day was held on the afternoon of Friday, May 8th to honor the hard work and dedication that each individual contributes to the success of our school at the New York State School for the Deaf. All staff participated in a wonderful luncheon and afterwards participated in some group team building activities.
The success of the students here is a collaborative effort by everyone. A special thanks again to each and every department for going above and beyond your job duties to make NYSSD a comfortable home away from home to all of our students.
Thank you….. Maintenance and Housekeeping, Food Service, Dormitory, Education, Pupil Personnel Service, Business Office and Administration.
My Work Experience
Submitted by Chris Marion
Jane Reilley, my classroom teacher, encouraged me to start working October 2006. She and I met with Mrs. Wallace, the Work Study Coordinator. She explained what a Level III & IV job is. Mrs. Wallace and the NYSSD Work Study Team worked with me on exploring many different jobs and interests. A high interest job for me is working outside. I like to do construction work and lawn care. The Work Study Team at school found me a Level III job with the city of Rome at the Kennedy Arena. A Level III job is a volunteer position. I started working at the Kennedy Arena in the general maintenance department back in October 2006.
When I started my job in 2006, I did not enjoy cleaning and no one talked to me. I felt alone. I stayed focused on my job. Later, my boss Mike, asked if I would like to change to another job. I said yes. My new job title was Outdoor Maintenace. I was very happy. I met nice people. I taught them sign language. I did not feel alone anymore.
In 2007, two of my deaf friends from school started working with me at the Kennedy Arena. I worked long hours and went to school. I enjoyed my job more and more.
I am thankful to Mrs. Wallace and Jane Reilley and the Work Study Team at NYSSD for allowing me to have this work experience. My job at the Kennedy Civic Arena has helped me to become a more independent young man.
MATHCOUNTS
Submitted by Rose Poland
Once again this school year, the Middle School had a Math Team that met weekly to work together to learn and practice math concepts and skills, and to prepare for a competition. Members of the team were Ashley Nemier, Kristin Miller, Kyle Sova, and Sarah Davis. On April 3rd, the students went to Rochester Institute of Technology to compete against other middle school students. The competition took place on April 4th. Ninety-five students from twenty-four different schools in sixteen states came to compete. Students solved challenging math problems in individual and team rounds. Our students worked hard and did well. The weekend included fun activities, too. Students had time to meet others, go bowling, tour RIT, and go to an arcade. Thank you to the team members for your commitment, and to the school and parents for your support. A special thank you to Ashley and Sarah for your leadership.
George Washington
Submitted by Cindy Majka
All of the social studies classes were involved in "Bringing George Washington Back to School". This was a project sponsored by the Mount Vernon Ladies Association. Their goal is to put a portrait of George Washington in as many schools in America as possible. Ashley Neimer and Sarah Davis wrote essays, our principal and I wrote letters why we thought NYSSD should be selected. We were chosen. On May 15th we hung George Washington's portrait along with a flag that flew at Mount Vernon. We had a colonial drummer from Fort Stanwix, General William Floyd, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, as well as colonial militia. Now, the "Father of our Country "will be remembered for years to come at NYSSD. The technology used was the Internet as we researched Mount Vernon and facts about George Washington.
NYSSD Made a Great Showing at the 2009 National Academic Bowl at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC
Submitted by Gloria Broadbent and Roman Kazragis
After a tremendous send off from the school and community, the New York
State School for the Deaf (NYSSD) Academic Bowl Team headed down
to Washington, D.C. for the National Academic Bowl at Gallaudet
University (GU). NYSSD, a small school with big dreams, garnered great success
and recognition at the 2009 National Academic Bowl. Often competing against
schools five times its size, the NYSSD team held its own to complete
in the top half of this national academic competition. Wins included victories
over Rochester School for the Deaf of Rochester, NY, EDCO at Newton
North High School of Boston, MA, and South Plantation High School of Plantation,
FL. The final matches were webcasted and archived at http://ab.gallaudet.edu 
.
University High School (UHS) of Irvine, CA, won the 2009 National Championship after edging out defending champion Indiana School for the Deaf (ISD). Earlier in the preliminaries, UHS beat NYSSD 46-21. UHS’s coach said that he believes he will see us again next year because the NYSSD Academic Bowl Team reminds him of his team a few years ago. Roman Kazragis and Gloria Broadbent coached the NYSSD team consisting of Jessica Miller of Whitesboro, Kaitlyn Schwabrow of Amsterdam, Apryl Obenchain of Clark Mills, Joseph Gardner of Port Jervis, and Jeff Marshall of Willsboro.
Coaches from the top four teams remarked that NYSSD would be a team to be reckoned with next year because we fared so well on our competitiveness and had a strong performance. Kazragis said, “We have our work cut out for us next year.” Broadbent added, “This year we were not sure what to expect at the national level.” Armed with a quote from General MacArthur, who declared, “We shall return.”
Gallaudet established the Academic Bowl (AB) for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students in 1997. The AB is a competition in which students from across the country compete against each other answering academic questions. The goal of AB is to promote excellence in learning and friendship, as well as exposing students to GU.
The New York State School for the Deaf (NYSSD), established in 1875, provides a solid foundation of learning empowering Deaf and Hard of Hearing students to become independent, self-respecting and contributing adults in a multicultural society. The learning environment strives to meet the educational, social, emotional, and developmental needs of deaf children from birth through age 21 based on excellence, teamwork, achievement and independence. NYSSD is a leading school for educating students with various degrees of hearing loss in New York State. NYSSD meets all requirements of the Board of Regents
High School English Classes Visit Barnes and Noble
Submitted by Shari Reed
Freshman through senior classes visited the Barnes and Noble Bookstore in New Hartford this spring. The initial trip was taken by the younger classes. When they returned the juniors and seniors heard about the trip and they “demanded” to go. How wonderful to have students “demand” to be taken to a bookstore!
The trip was intended to broaden the knowledge our students have about building a personal book collection. We surprised and thrilled several students with the wide selection available. Students were able to browse throughout the store, relaxing in the reading area and café. The store was nice enough to extend the “Educator’s Discount” to each purchase made by the students.
Each group was at the store for about one and one half hours. As the end of the visit neared, students were reluctant to leave. Hopefully this kind of field trip can become an annual part of English Class.
Optimists’ Presentation Contest for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Submitted by Jeri Bartscherer, Coach
On Friday, May 29th, three of our students participated in the Optimists’ Public Speaking Contest which was held at NYSSD for the very first time! First timers Keith Grant and Apryl Obenchain competed with Jeremy Lloyd who had participated twice before. Students prepared a typed essay titled “For me Optimism is….” and presented it. Each presentation was required to last between four to five minutes or it would be disqualified. This year students were exceptionally dedicated to this venture. Each student worked through a number of rough drafts to hone their presentation; we’re talking 15-19 rough drafts and edited versions. In addition, students practiced their presentations during special nighttime practices!
And the winner is…. Jeremy Lloyd! He will be the recipient of a $1,500 scholarship towards his college education. Apryl and Keith both did superb jobs. Apryl’s presentation was filled with passion and reality, while Keith showed a flair for theater like signing, and Jeremy’s essay touched many a heart. I am exceptionally proud of all of the contestants’ hard work and poise during their presentations. All of the contestants emitted a confident attitude. After the winner was announced, Apryl and Keith both took the stage again to offer Jeremy heartfelt congratulations. What sportsmanship!
A very special thanks to Vicky Stockton for interpreting at the event and for helping our students fine-tune their presentations. I would like to thank all the staff who made this event so special: Pat Miller for helping with the sound system; Harry Baran for videotaping the event; dorm staff who practiced with the students; Cindy Majka for creating a flower arrangement to grace our event; and the Campus Café crew – Rosanne Rushton, Sheila Boone, Amber Stenson, and T.J. Delamater - for making a superb lunch for the volunteer judges and visiting Optimist official. Our three volunteer judges this year were all previous staff members at NYSSD; Mrs. Suzanne DeLaire, Mr. Dominick DeMarco, and Mrs. Jill Stratton. It was wonderful to see them and so nice that they volunteered their time for this event. I would be remiss if I did not thank all of our student participants’ prior teachers. For without their hard work, our students would not have been up to the task. So a huge thank you goes to all of our dedicated teaching staff at NYSSD.
Congratulations to Jeremy Lloyd! Thank you for representing NYSSD so well!
Senior Trip
Submitted by Robin Lewis and Shari Reed
The Class of 2009 embarked on their Senior Trip on May 18, 2009. Twelve seniors, (Co-Advisors,) Shari Reed and Robin Lewis, (Chaperone,) Shane Sarus, (Bus Driver,) Christine Fuller and (Parent,) Joe Zazeckie headed off to Niagara Falls. Day one was kicked off with a ride on The Maid of the Mist. This close-up view of the falls was an exciting event. Since we had several students who had not been to Niagara Falls before, being this close was surely an amazing attraction. After checking into our hotel and taking a quick dip in the pool, we headed off to dinner. The students (and staff too) enjoyed a buffet fit for a king. After dinner, with full stomachs, we walked to view the illuminated falls. We were in for a surprise as we arrived and an awesome fireworks display started on the Canadian side. Little did we know it was Victoria Day, the celebration of Queen Victoria’s birthday. By the time we arrived back at the hotel, we were all quite cold and ready to turn in.
After breakfast, day two began. We crossed over the Rainbow Bridge on foot and entered Canada without a hitch. We spent the day visiting the Horseshoe Falls, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, and eating some good food. Some of the students and Shane were brave enough to attempt (and conquer) The Nightmare Fear Factory where 80,000 people a year chicken out. We are proud to say that our small group all made it through, but it was obvious by their reactions afterwards, that it was no piece of cake! After dinner we were off to the Skylon Tower where we ended the night with an exhilarating 52 second elevator ride to the observation deck, 775 feet above the mighty falls.
Wednesday morning brought breakfast and the ride home. It seems fair to say that each and every one of us had a wonderful time. The students represented our school well. As we toured the Canadian side on Tuesday, we proudly wore our NYSSD Class of 2009 T-Shirts. Congratulations and Best of Luck to the Class of 2009!
Workshop a Success!
Submitted by Dr. Kimberly Sacco Audiologist
We held an all day workshop for Speech Language Pathologists (SLP) and Teachers of the Deaf (TOD) on Wednesday, May 20, 2009, in the school Conference Center. The workshop was called “Trends and Topics in Auditory Learning.” Lois Heyman, a speech pathologist from SUNY New Paltz, presented the workshop to a group of 35 SLPs and TODs. Professionals from Binghamton, Chazy, Utica, and Watertown, came to participate in the workshop that spoke about speech and language therapy needs for students that have cochlear implants and have usable hearing with hearing aids. It was a great success. We look forward to putting on more workshops in the future. It was a perfect opportunity to have others in the community see our school at its best!
Wellness Fair
Submitted by Gail Brett
This year our Character Education theme was “Living Well”. The students learned about manners, taking care of their appearance, good nutrition, exercising their body and mind, good mental health, and making healthy choices.
To end our Character Education program this year and sum up all that we’ve learned, we had a “Wellness Fair” on May 13th. The gym became a bustle of activity with tables set up representing safety, proper hygiene, healthy food choices, and exercise, among many other topics.
Individual students, classes, staff, and outside organizations set up interesting displays and activities to represent all areas of wellness and a healthy lifestyle.
Did You Know?…
- Did you know you could even make artwork from food? Jean Jackson’s
class showed us their clever creations making faces from green
peppers and other vegetables.
A great way to use your creativity, and also a healthy snack! - Did you know that nuts were one of the Top Ten Super Foods? Very healthy for you! We learned this from Theresa Matt’s class.
- Did you know that getting up off the couch and playing “Twister” is fun and healthy both? Kara Linn’s class led some Couch Buster activities!
- Did you know that handling stress in our lives is like floating ping-pong balls in water and trying to submerge them all at the same time? Wow, it was stressful – but luckily Debi Popovich’s class had some stress relievers at their table like stress balls to squeeze.
- Did you know you have to Stop, Drop and Roll for fire safety? Corey Twombly taught us this!
- Did you know that brushing and flossing your teeth everyday will keep your teeth and mouth healthy? Mrs. Poland’s class showed us a video and gave out sample toothbrushes!
- Did you know that the Senior Class made delicious healthy smoothies from bananas, strawberries, and crushed ice? Mmm mmm good!
Some Wellness Fair Highlights…
- Red Cross Babysitting Certification table – students demonstrated safety measures they learned in their course about babysitting.
- Rome Hospital – showed a clean, healthy lung, and a damaged lung from smoking.
- “Avon Calling” – a popular table with the girls, who got their faces made up, and became educated about sun safety
- Germs and hand washing by Mrs. Quance’s class – we got a demonstration of how germs spread.
- Medieval medicines by Cindy Majka’s class – students dressed up in costume and acted the part of a medieval doctor, giving out samples of homemade lip balm and special tea. It was the most fragrant table at the Fair!
- Leisure time and relaxation activities were demonstrated by Rhianna Schwabrow, Skippy Beckwith, and Kathy Young – knitting, crocheting, paper folding, and others. Onstage demonstration of the hula hoop, and some eye-hand coordination games.
- Other displays helped us learn about fat and sugar in foods; fire safety; exercise, heart rate, and blood pressure, brain games, recycling, and tool safety.
The NYSSD Wellness Fair Motto:
~ Live Healthy, Live Well! ~
Have a safe and healthy Summer!
Central New York Cheerleading Championships
Submitted by Coach Michelle Simmons and Asst. Coach Cherie Day
On Saturday, February 28, 2009, four of our cheerleaders had the opportunity to compete in the Central New York Cheerleading Championships at the Utica Auditorium. Captains Keith Grant and Amanda Miller, along with Kristin Miller and Kayla Valenti, worked hard all season to learn their dance and cheer for the competition. The whole team raised enough money to pay the entry fees. They started their day at the Auditorium by leading everyone in the National Anthem, then hurried into the stands to watch the other 92 teams that were there to compete. The experience was overwhelming at times, but when all was said and done, they were able to win second place in their division. We are all looking forward to competing again next year. A special thanks to Gloria Broadbent who took the team with Cherie Day.