[Fopbc] Insight eNews: Music, a universal language

[Lenora Marten]

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PERKINS SPOTLIGHT
Perkins Trio

John Castillo, 19, remembers harmonizing to children’s songs with his mother as a toddler. Anton Sviridenko, 18, recalls playing “Hot Cross Buns” on the piano when he was four years old. Andy Park, 20, was just three years old when he held his first violin bow.

These natural-born musicians met in Perkins Lower School and became inseparable. In 2006, they decided to combine their talents and perform at a St. Patrick’s Day concert of Irish music. The musical chemistry was immediate and undeniable. It was then they became known as the Perkins Trio. Learn more.
IMPORTANT DATES

Graduation
Friday, June 18th @ 11 am
Dwight Hall, Howe Bldg.
Perkins Campus

Vision 5K
Sunday, June 20th @ 10 am
Boston College

Whether you run, walk, give, or join us for the festivities, everyone who participates in Vision 5K shows their solidarity with individuals who are blind and visually impaired. Learn more.

Visit us online to see what's new at Perkins!
PERKINS PRODUCTS
Coming soon… the PEARL!

Early bird pricing for mid-June Shipment on orders through July 15.

The new Pearl system is now available in Massachusetts. Install Open Book v9 on your laptop or netbook and connect the USB camera. Place your reading material under the camera and in seconds you’ll be listening to high quality speech. Scan up to 20 pages a minute. Everything you love about Open Book is now portable!

Learn more and view pricing details.

Visit our online store to see all our product offerings.
PERKINS SCOUT

In this growing online database, you’ll find reliable, authoritative, and up-to-date resources covering a range of topics, including general information on blindness, help for families with relatives who are visually impaired, and resources for educators and other professionals. Start searching today.
 



INSIDE STORY: Music
In Perkins Early Learning Center four-year-old Eric rocks back and forth in a rhythm as music therapist Jill Buchanan strums her guitar and sings. She hands him a plastic giraffe-shaped shaker and makes up a song to the tune of “I’m a Little Teapot.”

“I have a little shaker here at school,” Buchanan sings. “I’ll shake it up high and I’ll shake it down low.” Eric rattles the shaker over his head and brings it back to his lap. “Then I’ll stop,” the guitar is silenced and Buchanan reaches for Eric’s hand giving him the cue to stop shaking and appreciate a few seconds of quiet.

“I want to get the whole child involved,” Buchanan says later, explaining how music therapy can be a precursor to developing language or orientation and mobility skills.

Learn more. 
PERKINS INTERNATIONAL: Where in the World is Perkins?
Cymbals, maracas, and xylophones are important teaching tools at the Sofia School for the Blind in Bulgaria. Since Perkins International helped the school develop a music therapy program in 2005, students have been developing communication and other fundamental skills through music.

“During music therapy sessions our students learn how to communicate using real objects, symbols or pictures,” explains Emanuela Stoilova, who coordinates the school's program for students with visual impairments and multiple disabilities.

"The students learn to be more independent and start to feel the music and the rhythms close to them," says Stoilova.

Learn more. 
NEWS
Perkins Gala Raises $1.4 M; Bob Weir Performs with Student Chorus
Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead was the surprise musical guest and played songs alongside the Perkins student chorus at the 2010 Perkins Possibilities Gala on May 6th. 700 people were in the audience as part of this annual event to support our global education efforts to build productive, meaningful lives for children and adults around the world who are blind, deafblind or multiply disabled.

Weir shared the stage with tie-dye clad students for tunes including, "Uncle John’s Band," "Sugar Magnolia," and "Ripple."

Click on the song title above to watch these performances on YouTube. You can also visit our website for the event photo gallery.





Check out our Music Playlist on YouTube for more student performances!




New educational webcast: Conversations  
Barbara Miles, well-known as an author and lecturer, discusses her approach to engaging in conversations with students who are deafblind. She encourages people to think of how they converse with their friends and try to replicate the elements of those successful interactions in a way that is accessible to a child with limited vision and hearing. Miles offers alternative strategies for making that connection when the person with whom you want to converse can neither see or hear you. Watch it now.




Shop & Support Perkins 




 


Consider a gift for a special someone from our exclusive collection at Winston Flowers and Vineyard Vines. Your purchase benefits Perkins School for the Blind!

Choose from a handsome Vineyard Vines tie featuring Perkins logo or a lovely spring bouquet from Winston Flowers’ Charity In Bloom collection (available until the end of May). Shop Now.


 


 
  
  



 



 

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Perkins School for the Blind




175 North Beacon Street
Watertown, MA 02472
Phone: 617-924-3434
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