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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Our monthly conference call will be held this Sunday up-coming, February 18<sup>th</sup> at 8:30 P.M. If you need to come a little bit late due to bedtime routines for your kid(s) that is absolutely alright. Just join the call and listen in to the current conversational thread, and when the thought of the current speaker is wrapped up, you will be greeted and can introduce yourself. The call will run until people are getting tired and needing to leave. Typically participants start to leave around 9:30, but some stick around to chat until 10:00 or 10:30 and that is also just fine. The number to call in is (605) 475-4786. The pass code to enter the call is 869480. This month’s topic is a continuation of our ages and stages series and will focus on elementary or intermediate school which typically begins around 2<sup>nd</sup> or 3<sup>rd</sup> grade and goes through 5<sup>th</sup> or 6<sup>th</sup> grade, depending on how your child’s district breaks up its primary, intermediate, middle, junior high and high schools. We will be taking a look at the shift in social interactions that begins around 3<sup>rd</sup> grade, the challenges of increasing homework load and complexity, and other challenges which typically crop up around this time.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>A note about our scheduling policy for these calls. These calls will always be held on Sunday evenings, for the foreseeable future. We will strive to hold calls on the 3<sup>rd</sup> Sunday of the month whenever possible, for the sake of community, however, we may occasionally have to use the 2<sup>nd</sup> or 4<sup>th</sup> or even the 1<sup>st</sup> Sunday in a month. Board meeting calls for the NFBNY state affiliate are usually held on Sundays, and sometimes fall on the 3<sup>rd</sup> Sunday of a month. Sometimes holidays or NFB conventions or legislative seminars at the state or national level will make the 3<sup>rd</sup> Sunday a poor choice. We will post the details for the call to the New York News email list for the state of New York, and to the Rochester NFB email list, as the call’s organizer is a member of that chapter. Chapter presidents, please repost this to your chapter’s email list, Facebook Page or Twitter accounts and share this widely. We are working on a flyer that can be put into the packets that NYSCB hands out. Candice has also set up a blind parents of New York email list. We will be holding a list subscription contest in the month of February into March, so please stay tuned.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>All blind parents, grandparents, single parents, same sex parents, foster parents, or other blind caregivers to children, such as daycare workers, teachers, etc. are welcome on our calls. Sighted individuals may also join the call, especially those who are partners, spouses or coworkers of blind individuals who care for children. You need not be a member of the NFB to participate in the calls. Guests who are members of the ACB or of neither of the major blindness organizations are welcome to come and participate.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I hope to see many of you there.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Stay tuned as we are trying to procure Melissa Riccobono as a speaker for one of our up-coming calls, potentially March or April, which will be a totally awesome experience for sure.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Heather Bird<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>"They came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up." - Martin Niem<span style='layout-grid-mode:line'>öller<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='layout-grid-mode:line'>In our diverse society we must never fail to speak up in the face of Human Rights violations lest we be the next targets of such violations.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>