[Nfb-editors] March, "NFB of Alaska Newsletter"
Robert Leslie Newman
newmanrl at cox.net
Sat Feb 26 04:11:03 UTC 2011
Here is Alaska’s newsletter for march. (It has 6 parts- Report from the
President, a featured article of the month, an additional item, a recipe of
the month, and a calendar of upcoming events.
Description: NFBHome_Logo.gif
NFB of Alaska
Newsletter
March 2011
>From My Desk:
Well, it seems very curious that the closer we get to Spring, the
more snow and Winter weather we are receiving. But, there is hope on the
horizon, as the temperatures get warmer; we are able to once again see the
mercury at the bottom of our thermometer! OK, I may be stretching a little
far for the warm weather to come, but it will be here; in June or July, but
it will be here.
Let’s spend a moment and talk about a couple of upcoming events. As
you all know by now, the NFB National Convention will take place July 3rd
through July 8th in Orlando at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort. As of the
time of this Newsletter, I have received requests for more information and
confirmation that they would like to attend from only a handful of people. I
would urge you, if you are only remotely interested in attending this year’s
National Convention, to contact your Chapter Presidents or contact me via
email at: alaskanfb at yahoo.com. The rooms are priced at $63 per night plus
tax, registration will be $25, Banquet tickets will be $65 per person, and
there will be a small charge for a shuttle to and from the airport to the
Resort. There will be tours in Chartered Tour buses that will be given on
the 2nd of July and on the 9th of July for those interested. Let’s also not
forget that the NFB of Alaska will have a vendor’s booth at the Convention
this year as well. We will have an opportunity to sell our handmade wares,
Chapter items, and other Alaskan items as well. The proceeds from this will
go to funding our Student Scholarship Awards (more on that later) and will
go to help fund the State Convention this year as well (more on that later
as well).
Hear ye, hear ye
. The NFB of Alaska’s 2011 State Convention will be
October 7th and 8th, held at the Westmark Hotel, downtown Anchorage. If the
date looks a little familiar, it is the first weekend AFTER the PFDs are
deposited. There will be two meetings held in the evening of October 7th,
the 2011 Resolution Committee, and the Student Scholarship Committee. The
Convention Sessions begin October 8th, and we will once again have a
Convention Banquet following business from the Convention floor. During the
Convention Banquet, we will have a Key Note Speaker, Awards, and Student
Scholarship Award presentations. And what turned out to be the hit of the
evening, yes, karaoke is going to be making a return after the Banquet. For
those that missed it last year, the NFB of Alaska has some seriously good
singers in our mist, so I encourage all of you to stay a little longer to
attend a great time to meet everyone, and have fun!
Student Scholarships will be offered this year to students that are
blind/visually impaired, and are attending fulltime as a student in a
University or College. The Student Scholarship Award winners must be Alaska
residents, fulltime students, and must be able to attend the State
Convention. More information will be forthcoming shortly. I will be
notifying the Chapter Presidents, and sending out emails with the dates,
times and application process by the end of March 2011.
Speaking of Student Scholarships, the National NFB Student
Scholarship application deadline is fast approaching, with the deadline for
your whole application sent to the NFB being March 31st, 2011. For more
information, please contact me, or the NFB website at www.nfb.org.
Article of the month:
How to Make an O&M Snowman
by Merry-Noel Chamberlain, NOMCT
Description: This snowman wears sleepshades and holds his long white cane
against his shoulder to get his photo taken.From the Editor: Nearly any
situation can provide an opportunity for teaching and learning. Merry-Noel
Chamberlain, a National Orientation Mobility Certified Trainer (NOMCT),
currently of Nebraska, explains how building a snowman can become a useful
lesson in orientation and mobility.
When given lemons, make lemonade. When it snows, no need to cancel the day's
travel lesson. Instead, build a snowman! That's exactly what the students at
Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind did in orientation and mobility
(O&M) class one day in February of 2010. Orientation and mobility class is
much more than teaching students to use the long white cane. It teaches them
to interpret environmental cues and to move freely in all sorts of
situations. Here are some ways to build "teaching moments" into an afternoon
of snowman construction.
One component of combining O&M with building a snowman is showing the
students what to do with their canes. After all, the student doesn't need
the cane in order to bend over and push a snowball around a field. It is
very important for the student to know how to retrieve the cane when the
snowman is completed. If the cane is simply dropped in the snow it might be
lost until spring! When not needed, the long white cane can be propped
against a tree, fence post, or building. It can also be placed along the
edge of a cleared sidewalk.
When students enter a snowy field, encourage them to pay attention to the
nonvisual information provided by the environment. Sunshine, wind, and
traffic sounds are all valuable cues. In the middle of the day the sun will
be directly overhead and/or slightly to the south. As the day progresses,
the sun is more in the westerly or southwesterly direction. Whether the day
is sunny or cloudy, students should pay attention to traffic sounds. Perhaps
a major street runs to the east. Students who note the sound of that traffic
will always know where east is located. A breeze may help, too. The student
can note the direction of the breeze before walking away from the cane. A
distant train can also be a source of information. Knowing where the train
track is can be quite handy.
Of course, students can also use a Braille compass while traveling in a
snowy field. If the cane is stored along a shoveled sidewalk north of the
field, the compass will point in the direction of the sidewalk from wherever
the student is standing. The student can walk north, find the sidewalk, and
follow the edge to retrieve the cane.
Description: A close-up of the O&M snowman shows sleepshades, cane-tip nose,
warm scarf, and long white cane. Two shorter canes provide arms to this work
of winter art.Once the student is oriented and the cane is safely stored,
the fun stuff begins. First, show the student how to pack a snowball as
tightly as possible. Encourage him/her to add more snow and roll the ball
forward (or away from the body). With each roll the student gently packs new
snow against the ball.
Sometimes it is helpful to push down gently on the snowball as it is rolled
forward, packing the new snow firmly. As the snowball grows bigger and
heavier, it begins to pack itself. It may actually pick up all the snow on
the ground, leaving a line of bare grass in its wake.
It is important for the student to plan ahead. He/she must determine where
to place the snowman and roll the snowball in that direction. The first
snowball is the base. Next the student must make a second and third
snowball. The second snowball needs to be slightly smaller than the first.
The third, which forms the head, should be smaller than the second.
Gently, the student should rub off a bit of snow from the top of the first
snowball to make a somewhat flat surface. Then he or she can lift the
middle-sized snowball onto the base. Gather extra snow and pack it like glue
between the two snowballs. Repeat this procedure to add the smallest
snowball to the top.
Students can be as creative as they wish when they decorate their snowman.
Here are a few ideas to get things started. Wrap an old scarf between the
middle and top snowballs. Add a hat. At VSDB we used broken cane handles as
arms and a broken cane tip as a nose. Our snowman wore a pair of sleepshades
and another cane was propped against his body--after all, this snowman was
in O&M class!
Additional Item this Month:
This came from Jim Burton, First Vice President of the Midnight Sun
Chapter, who is an avid woodworker and craftsman.
Week in the Woods: June 25 - 29, 2011
Week in the Woods (WITW) is an opportunity to leave our everyday routines
behind and gather in the remote upland forest to learn and create together
in a multi-generational community. The week is a dialogue with nature, a
temporary creation of an alternate space. We immerse ourselves in our
surroundings through projects like binding a basket with spruce root or
carving an alder spoon. On a cold, rainy day we may opt to sit around the
fire, working on individual projects and sharing our reflections and ideas.
On sunny days we spread out—one person walks through the woods, searching
for the perfect burl to make a bowl. Another keeps the fire at the right
level to make artist charcoal from willow twigs. Kids sit in the moss,
fashioning a birchbark canoe. As the week progresses, both students and
instructors become more attuned to their surroundings while living together
in the best of all classrooms.
For more information visit the website at: www.weekinthewoods.org.
Thanks Jim!
Recipe of the Month:
This month we have two super recipes from Dana!
Baked Bananas
Makes 4 servings:
4 bananas
Juice of two limes
2 tablespoons dark rum (optional, but yummy)
½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoons ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar (may use Splenda brown sugar here)
2 tablespoons butter, cut in small pieces
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel and split bananas in half lengthwise.
Lay the pieces in a buttered 9x13x2 inch baking pan. Pour lime juice and
rum evenly over bananas. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg, then the brown
sugar. Dot with butter and bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot with fresh
cream or even better
a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
HINT: you can use slightly under ripe bananas
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup margarine, softened (yes, margarine!)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2-1/2 cups oatmeal (I used the old fashioned kind)
1 cup raisins (or more if you love raisins like I do)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream butter and margarine, add sugars and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, one
at a time, until well incorporated. Add vanilla.
Mix dry ingredients and add slowly to creamed mixture. Fold in oatmeal and
raisins.
Bake 10 to 13 minutes or until golden brown.
Makes about 4 dozen.
HINT: If you want a chewy cookie use more brown sugar and less white sugar
(still needs to total 2 cups). This is true in any cookie recipe.
These are the best Oatmeal Raisin Cookies I have even tasted!
Thank you Dana!
Upcoming Events:
March 15th: Anchorage Chapter Meeting
Time: 6pm until 730 pm
Location: To be determined
*I will be attending this meeting and am looking forward to meeting with the
Anchorage Chapter members and Chapter Officers.
March 18th: Midnight Sun Chapter Meeting
Time: 530pm until ????
Location: Jim and Hanne’s Home
Dinner served
Contact Tracy for more information
March 21st: Wasilla Chapter Meeting
Time: 6pm until 730pm
Location: Wasilla Senior Center
Contact Pat Brown for more information
and directions.
May 13th and 14th: Midnight Sun Chapter
Craft and Yard Sale
Time: TBA
Location: Jim and Hanne’s
July 3rd to 8th: NFB National Convention
Location: Rosen Shingle Creek Resort
Orlando, Florida
July 17th to 23rd: NFB Youth Slam
Location: Towson University, Maryland
October 7th & 8th: NFB of Alaska State Convention
Location: Westmark Hotel, Anchorage
Final Thought:
I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark
should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by
dry rot.
I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me
in magnificent glow, then a sleepy and permanent planet.
The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not
waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.
-
Jack London
Robert Leslie Newman
President, Omaha Chapter NFB
President, NFB Writers' Division
Division Website
<http://www.nfb-writers-division.org> http://www.nfb-writers-division.org
Personal Website-
<http://www.thoughtprovoker.info> http://www.thoughtprovoker.info
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