at The Viscardi Center
On Friday March 25, several alumni visited our school to speak about their experiences after graduating from Viscardi. They covered such topics as getting their first job, changing careers, self-advocacy, seeking and navigating support agencies. Parents and students participated in a Q&A session following the presentation and all agreed that alumni have valuable experiences to offer Viscardi students.
We thank the alumni for taking the time to come and speak with our parents and students.
Our school has been an “institutional member” of Bookshare since January 2009. Diane Stern, our teacher of the visually impaired, who is designated as the “Primary Contact” person, was invited to participate in a Bookshare Mentors program in September 2010. The mentor program included a contest to encourage schools participation. Our school’s active participation in Bookshare enabled us to win third place recognition and receive a Flip Video Camera.
Ms. Stern dedicated time to learning about the benefits and use of Bookshare and then trained others. She met informally with parents on two evenings, one in New York City and one at the school. She presented a 90-minute workshop to a large group of vision teachers at their annual New York State AER Convention (Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired), held in Syracuse, and a similar workshop to the Viscardi staff on Superintendent’s Conference Day. She has prepared “how to” guides for parents, coached them by phone, and met one-on-one with students and staff
To date, there are now over 100 students registered with Bookshare in school, many of whom are also registered at home. In addition, there are 36 sponsors (teachers, OTs, speech and hearing, tech support, administration). Ms. Stern hopes that the sponsors will be able to manage their own classrooms (search and download their own books, use them during lessons – shown on SMART Boards or individual computers). Therapists can support students during therapy sessions, such as working on vocabulary in context or improving mouse skills with the Read:OutLoud software tools. Parents can download books so students have the books ready for homework, even if a child is absent, and have access to a library of thousands of books at their fingertips to encourage leisure reading.
Ms. Stern recommends the following websites to teachers and therapists, so they can learn more about Bookshare and accessible instructional materials (AIM), a vital part of the universal design for learning (UDL):
http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/bs/challenge.htm
http://aim.cast.org/experience/training/aim_implementation_guide
For school staff, technology gurus and parents, check out the Online Learning Guides, Online Learning Modules or webinars. From the homepage, click HELP then “Training”: www.bookshare.org
Check out Bookshare 101 for Educators, Bookshare 101 for Parents, How to read Bookshare books with Read:OutLoud and many more.
On Monday March 7 2011, Officer John Dockswell of the NCPD visited our school to speak with our students about Cyberbullying. He gave a PowerPoint presentation about Cyberbullying and discussed what students should do if they are a victim of Cyberbullying. Officer Dockswell stressed to the students the dangers of Cyberbullying. Officer Dockswell used stories, pictures and videos to illustrate this for the students. In addition, he answered questions from students about Cyberbullying and other concerns that they have. We thank Officer Dockswell for visiting our school and providing our students with an informative and important presentation.
Below find further information about Cyberbullying and what you can do to prevent it or actions you can take after it has occurred:
Facebook safety page: Facebook recently introduced a new section to its website concentrating on web safety, especially as it relates to social networking. They provide information for parents, students and educators. http://www.facebook.com/help/?safety
http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/index2.html
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/cyberbullying-tips
http://www.ncpc.org/cyberbullying
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| From Journeys into American Indian Territory Assembly |
On Tuesday March 15, the Journeys into American Indian Territory program visited our school and presented to our students. They brought with them many artifacts of Indian civilization. Our students loved their presentation. The students were able to experience Indian culture first hand. We thank the Journeys program for coming to our school.
For further information about journeys, you can visit their websitehttp://www.indianjourneys.com/Home.html
The New York Institute for Special Education has posted a video to YouTube in support of the 4201 schools. The video is extremely powerful and moving.
Please remember to contact your legislators in support of all 4201 schools. You can find further information here on our website.
On Monday February 28th new Abilities! CEO John D. Kemp spoke with The Henry Viscardi School students. Mr. Kemp introduced himself to the students and answered their questions. The students were excited to meet Mr. Kemp and asked him many questions. We are happy to welcome to Mr. Kemp to The Henry Viscardi School community.