[Nfbwv-talk] May 27, 2016 WVSDB Weekly Notes from Dr. Keller

[Smyth, Charlene R]

Dear WVSDB Community;



Good morning everyone.  I want to express my deep gratitude to those of you who helped make the FSA Day event on May 14th a smashing success!  Over 200 people participated in various activities we held throughout the day.  FSA Coordinator, Priscilla Epperly, and her crew organized the event, set up, and cleaned up afterwards.  Thank you all!    We are already making plans for next year's FSA Day, which will be held on Saturday, May 20, 2017.



Congratulations to Annie Barnhart and Patrick Epperly who were voted as the Prom Queen and King respectively.



We are truly excited of the collaborative efforts we have been making in recent months with the staff at Gallaudet University and the Visual Language and Visual Learning (VL2) Center in Washington, D.C. and the NASA Educational Resource Center (ERC) in Fairmont, WV.  The purpose of these partnerships is to expand our course curriculum offerings and raise the academic standards of our Deaf, hard of hearing, blind, and low vision students in the areas of literacy (ASL and English) and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).   We recently purchased our very first 3-D printer, which will surely be put to good use in the fall!  Eight teachers from the blind and Deaf schools have been receiving hands-on training in STEM, Rocketry, and Robotics at the NASA ERC this spring in preparation for the upcoming school year.  We are excited to be able to offer STEM, Robotics, and Rocketry classes and programs for our elementary and secondary students at both the schools for the blind and the Deaf.



We are truly proud of Noel Marinaccio, a first grade student, who has a very vivid imagination at the School for the Blind.  She recently won an award in the West Virginia PBS's Annual Writers Contest for her story, "Onica".  Noel's story was dictated and recorded by our staff.  Noel chose the illustrations she wanted to be included with her story.  Ms. Chris Saville assisted Noel in preparing her illustrations so that they would be tactile for her. Below is a link to Sway that was created to share her story and illustrations with her family, as her original illustrations had to be mailed in for the contest:



https://sway.com/CyY9FkxL1aNYNxa7



Noel will be recognized at the annual winners' celebration, hosted by the West Virginia PBS, on June 26th.   Bravo, Noel!!



(I went ahead and clicked on the website and will insert Noel's story here.)



Onica

by Noel Marinaccio



Onica lives at the castle.  Onica is a unicorn princess.



Onica goes to the land of the stable.  She chills in there.

Onica really likes to eat breakfast.  She likes to eat flapjacks.



Onica wants to be in the throne room.  She likes to chill in the throne room.  It is so quiet in there.



Onica goes back to the castle and swims in the stream.  But the stream is big and Onica goes inside the stream.



(Resuming of weekly notes.)



The Office of Education Performance Audits' (OEPA) visit to our campus earlier this week went very well.   Pursuing continuous improvement of educational programs and services is the hallmark of every successful school.  The OEPA team will return in the fall for a full on-site review of our programs and services on October 3-7, 2016.  This will be a school-wide effort, and all faculty and staff will be involved in this important endeavor.



On the sports front, our elementary blind and Deaf boys' soccer team wrapped up its fine season this week.   Thank you, Deb Kline, for your time coaching the team!   Congratulations to the members of the WVSB track team and the coaches, Donna See and Donna Brown, on their performances at the recent EAAB tournament.   Jamie Crosser led the team with three 1st place medals and one 2nd place medal.  This was the first year for Sadie Moon and Josh Barton on the track team.  They both placed in their events.  Sadie had two personal best times at the tournament.   The WVSD boys softball team, led by coaches Scott Hottle and Ronnie Epperly, finished 4th in the ESDAA softball tournament in Scranton, Pennsylvania ,last weekend.   Way to go, boys!



I look forward to our annual "Excellence in Education" ceremony this afternoon at 1:00 in the Seaton Hall cafeteria.  In addition to recognizing our top staff and 15 retirees, we will also honor the 10 individuals who have volunteered their invaluable time and services, benefiting our students and staff, during this school year.



Enjoy the wonderful Memorial Day weekend!



Dr. Martin P. Keller, Jr., Superintendent

West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind

301 East Main Street

Romney, WV  26757

Videophone/Phone:  304-553-7974

Email:  martin.keller at k12.wv.us<mailto:martin.keller at k12.wv.us>



Always. Child. First.









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