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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Braille Rocks! Please see below for an important announcement about a nationwide contest in which Louisiana students are eligible to participate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Hello, parents, teachers, certifying officials, and any others involved in the 2017-18 Nationwide Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest For Kids.
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">I hope you had a happy holiday season, and I hope your child/student had a productive year-end break reading Braille for the Nationwide contest.
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Note we now have 16 states in the contest: California, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri, Minnesota, Louisiana, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York,
New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and Georgia. Children in a grade level will compete with children in that same grade level from all 16 states.
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">A remeinder that the contest will close on February 1, approximately four weeks from now. The certifying official will then need to record all the pages read
by their child/student on a Reading Log and submit it. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol;color:black">·</span><span style="font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Fill out the Reading Log for pages read from December 15 to February 1.
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Symbol;color:black">·</span><span style="font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Submit the Reading Log as directed on the form by February 10. The easiest way is to submit it as an attachment to an email to Deborah Stein at
<a href="mailto:dkent5817@att.net">dkent5817@att.net</a>. Please put Nationwide BRAL in the subject line.
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<span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Note: It’s not too late to register a child! You have untill February 1 to do that. Find the registration form, along with the reading log form and other contest
information, at the website: <a href="http://www.nfbofillinois.org/nationwide-bral-contest">
http://www.nfbofillinois.org/nationwide-bral-contest</a>. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Also note any child that registers after the opening date of December 15 can count pages read from that date if the certifying official can verify the pages.
In addition any child in a state that has joined the contest after December 15 can retroactively count pages read from that date if the certifying official will verify the reading.
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:black"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">One last thing. If your child/student has other
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">disabilities
<span style="color:black"> besides impaired vision such as mental, physical, language, etc. that have made his or her efforts to compete in the contest more challenging, consider entering them for the Kelly Doty Award. This is a special prize of $25 given to
one contestant in this category. This prize is awarded independently of how many pages the contestant read</span>s<span style="color:black">. See the bottom of the registration form for a complete description of the award. There is no problem if you want to
modify a previously submitted registration form for your student/child you want to be considered for this recognition.
</span></span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">If you have questions, contact the contest administrator:</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Deborah Stein</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Email:
<a href="mailto:dkent5817@att.net">dkent5817@att.net</a>. Please put Nationwide BRAL in the subject line.
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">phone number: 773-203-1394</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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