The Eye Spy. Wisconsin School for the Visually Handicapped. Campus-wide Essay. November Calendar

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1 A Division of the Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired A Division of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Wisconsin School for the Visually Handicapped Volume 2 Issue 2 November 2001 There sure was a lot of action this past month. Essays, cocurricular activities, and much, much more. November looks to be just as active as October. Read on to find out all of the details! The Eye Spy Campus-wide Essay The following students won prizes for their award winning essays in the Campus Citizenship Program Essay contest. The award winning essays were read, as the students were honored at the assembly on Monday, October 22nd in the WSVH auditorium. Tauri Ramsey won first place in the elementary grade division, Chase Pruitt won first place in the junior high grade division; Laura Lee won second place and Sarah Baebler placed first in the high school division. Mr. Bailey, Mrs. Heesen, Ms. Leach, Mr. Isaacson and Mrs. Foley taught units on citizenship and had their students identify "What Is Good Campus-wide Citizenship". The purpose of this campus wide program was to enhance school wide citizenship by recognizing good actions and behaviors of the students. Congratulation to all the students who participated in this campus wide program.-shannon O Connor, Guidance Counselor November Calendar 5 Cheerleading Practice 4:00 8 All School Assembly 9 Low Vision Milwaukee (MPS) 14 1st Quarter Honor Awards 2:00 19 Wrestling Practice 4:00 21 Students 2:00 for Thanksgiving Break THANKSGIVING RECESS

2 Teacher of the Year Ms. Kathy Holcombe was awarded the Outstanding Classroom Teacher for 2001 for the residential schools. Ms. Holcombe has worked at WSVH for the past 30 years. Ms. Holcombe s nomination consisted of four components: educator, innovator, collaborator, and parent. As an educator she worked in all phases of the academic programs at WSVH. She is currently teaching academics in K-3 grades. Ms. Holcombe utilizes elements of her training in vision, learning disabilities, emotionally disturbed, Montessori training, and various reading strategies supplemented with her years of teaching experiences. As an innovator, Ms. Holcombe s assisted with enabling girls to participate in athletics thought Title 9. She was the first girls' track coach at WSVH (she was not paid for this). When WSVH became involved with co-op programming, Ms. Holcombe was first in line to help. When a vocational program for multihandicapped children was called for, Ms. Holcombe lead the effort. When WSVH started summer programming for Visually Impaired children throughout Wisconsin, Ms. Holcombe became a leader in planning, developing curriculum and teaching one of the classes. As a collaborator, she is involved with numerous committees at WSVH. These include the yearbook, holiday program, and technology, to mention a few. If you need someone to help in planning and carrying out an activity, Ms. Holcombe is always ready and willing. Finally, as a parent, Ms. Holcombe has adopted a special needs child from Nicaragua. Mila, (which is short for "Miracle") is a teenager. Mila is developmentally delayed, but this does not prohibit her from being a typical teenager. Ms. Holcombe's unique blend of caring, sensitivity, training, and experiences in teaching has enabled her to provide instruction which is designed to offer the highest levels of independence for each child.-tom Hanson, WSVH Case Manager Page 2 The Eye Spy

3 ACT Testing Juniors and seniors interested in taking the ACT assessment test should see Shannon O'Connor, Guidance Counselor, about the application process. Eligible students are able to take the test with accommodations for their visual impairment. Most colleges require an ACT test score in addition to a high school transcript for admission. Most colleges look at ACT test scores, class rank, grade point average and course history to determine admission to their undergraduate programs. Students are able to take the ACT test a number of times with colleges generally accepting the highest score earned on the test. The test can also help a student identify his or her strengths and weaknesses. Juniors generally take the test in Spring of their Junior year and Seniors can take the test in Fall and/or Spring. For more information, please contact Shannon O'Connor at (608) Shannon O Connor, Guidance Counselor Goalball Goalball has been added to the Athletic Sports offered at WSVH. There are a boys and girls Senior teams that will participate in athletic competitions throughout the year, and recreational fun teams that play after school on Thursdays. The Senior teams will be traveling to Lansing, Michigan on November 9th and 10th to compete in the Bay Area/ Lansing Invitational Tournament. WSVH members of the Senior team are Ronnie Washington, Philip Mason, and Jason Songs. On the Senior girls team are Renee Joye, Sarah Baebler and Janine Balfe. The teams will compete against other Senior teams at the tournament. Two experienced volunteer coaches, Mouad Yousef and Jenny Armbruster, along with the WSVH/WCBVI Goalball coach, Diana Brower, will be accompanying the team to Lansing, Michigan. Competition will resume after the wrestling and cheerleading season ends in February, with the first competition scheduled on March 1st and 2nd in Minnesota; March 12th at WSVH; and April 3rd and 12th at WSVH.-Diana Brower, Goalball Coach Volume 2 Issue 2 Page 3

4 Welcome New Employees Kathy Arndt Kathy accepted the position of Dean of Students at WSVH effective October 21, She left the position of math and science teacher at WSVH. From , Kathy was Administrator for Goshen Children s Home in Janesville. Prior to that she was employed as the HUB Center Director working with at-risk children through the City of Beloit Health Department. Kathy is married and has four children. Her husband is a farmer in Rock County. Currently three of her four children are in college. Kathy s interests include international travel and exchange. Last year she had two Russian women living with her family for three weeks. This past summer she spent two and a half weeks traveling in Russia. In her spare time she enjoys reading biographies. Kris Hayward Kris began working at WSVH as a Food Service Assistant 2 on October 15, She worked in the cafeteria during three years of summer school at WSVH. Before coming to WSVH, Kris worked for five years as a Cook at Craig High School in Janesville. In her home town of Muscoda, Iowa she ran a deli in a convenience store for eight years. Kris and her husband, Jason, have a son Justin and a Springer Spaniel dog named Tiffany. Justin is a freshman at Parker High School. In her spare time Kris likes to study genealogy. During the winter months she enjoys using the computer for information from her home town historical society to trace her family tree. She has records of her family dating back to the 1860 s. Page 4 The Eye Spy

5 Cathy Seaquist Cathy transferred from a teaching position with the Department of Corrections to a Teaching position at WSVH effective August 20, At the correctional facility in Portage, Wisconsin she was teaching reading, math, and ESL for GED. Prior to that Cathy had worked at Central Wisconsin Center for the Developmentally Disabled as a Teacher for five years and as a Resident Care Supervisor for four years. Cathy lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her son Don. Don is in his freshman year of high school. It keeps Cathy busy being chauffeur for her son and his friends. In her spare time Cathy likes to jog (three times a week if she can), reading, and getting together with friends for dinner. Cathy says, Everyone has been so helpful here and I appreciate how everyone has been patient with me. Gloria Weissinger Gloria transferred from Wisconsin School for the Deaf as a Custodian 2 effective October 7, She had worked for 19 years at WSVH but when there was a cut back in her classification, she transferred to WSD. After working for five years at WSD she was able to transfer back to WSVH. Gloria and her husband, Dan, have three children and six grandchildren. Their children are: Scott, Cindy, and Shane. In her spare time Gloria enjoys antiquing, crocheting, and counted cross stitch. Gloria says I made a lot of good friends at WSD, but returning to WSVH was like coming home. Volume 2 Issue 2 Page 5

6 Cheerleading Begins! Cheerleading practice will begin on November 5th! All girls and boys interested in joining the cheer team should come to the initial practice on Monday, November 5th from 4:00 to 5:15. Once again we will have a competition team for 7th graders and older as well as the mat squad for younger students. If you have not gotten involved in cheerleading before, please consider it this year! This year the coaches are Mrs. King and Mrs. Brower. Mrs. Mennenga, recently back from a leave of absence and the birth of her son, Adam, will not be coaching this year. Co-curricular rules will be handed out for those new to athletics this year. These rules spell out the Athletic Code, grade requirements and behavior expectations for all students participating in school sports. There will be three away meets this year. The first is November 30th and December 1st in Indianapolis, the next is December 14th and 15th in Illinois, and the last is the NCASB conference tournament January 17th, 18th and 19th in Iowa. So mark your calendars and join CHEERLEADING!-Diana Brower, Cheerleading Coach Reminder of the phone system Phone Directory Reminder change. The following areas are listed when you call 800/ or : 1-Student Absence Line 2-Center Director s Office 3-Education Office/Residential Life/Health Center 4-Educational Services Center/Outreach Department 5-Business Office/Maintenance Department 9-Main Menu 0-Operator Once you get into one of these areas, you may be prompted to other directories. Page 6 The Eye Spy

7 Space Camp Summary On September 22-27, the following WSVH students attended Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama: Chelsea Reilly, Janine Balfe, and Sarah Baebler. Our students were enrolled in the Advanced Space Camp Academy. They learned about space shuttle orientation, astronomy, and space physiology. At the Academy, there were realistic life-size simulators for mission control, the space shuttle and the sky lab. Students were given the opportunity to experience the role of the pilot, mission specialist, and payload specialist. They also had the opportunity for scuba training. Most of the members of our mission team were from Australia, which built some wonderful cultural connections with our students. All of the mission logs and controls were brailled for our students, so they could function independently.-kathy Arndt, Space Camp Coordinator White Cane Day On Monday October 15, 2001 students and staff celebrated White Cane Safety Awareness Day at WSVH. Prior to the actual celebration classes prepared skits and Public Service Announcements (PSAs). The PSAs were then recorded at WCLO, our local AM radio station. WCLO played the PSAs during peak traffic times in Janesville to assist in alerting motorists to the importance of the White Cane. On October 15th our celebration included presentations of the skits and PSAs to the entire student body and several friendly forms of competition. Activities included: White Cane Jeopardy, reading of Governor McCallum s White Cane Safety Day Proclamation, the traditional scavenger hunt and several team-building activities in the Gym. Following all the excitement and hard work refreshments were served (including white cane cookies!) in the Dining Room. A good time was had by all.-tony King, O&M Instructor Everyone Comes together to Help Others!! The ECHO ECHO food drive will be coming to WSVH. If you have any non-perishable food donations, we would be collecting in November. Remember the holiday season is just around the corner, come together and help your neighbors. Volume 2 Issue 2 Page 7

8 Track and Field Finals WSVH Tracksters participated in the North Central Association for the Blind Conference Meet in Indianapolis, Indiana on October 12th and 13th, Those scoring for the Badgers included: Jason Corning (Class B Boys)-4th in the 1600 meter, 5th in the long jump, 6th in the 3 consecutive jump Ronnie Washington (Class C Boys)-3rd in the 400 meter dash, 4th in the 800 meter run Renee Joye (Class A Girls)-2nd in the triple jump, 2nd in the shot put, 3rd in the 3 consecutive jump, 4th in the 60 meter dash Chelsea Reilly (Class A Girls)-4th in the 1200 meter run, 5th in the 600 meter dash, 5th in the 3 consecutive jump. Ashley Wasmund (Class A Girls)-4th in the 3 consecutive jump, 4th in the long jump The Girls placed 6 th overall and the Boys placed 9 th out of 11 teams.-pat Baker, Girls Track Coach Penny War This year, Student Council has decided to once decided to once again conduct the Penny War. What s a Penny War?, you might ask; the Penny War is a way for staff and students to help the community as a whole or individually, either locally or nationally. In the past years, the Penny War has developed some complex rules; for example, one homeroom could lower another homeroom s total by placing a dollar bill within the homeroom s total. This year, everything goes; all pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, and paper money will be counted towards the homerooms total. As usual, the homeroom with the largest sum will win a pizza, which would be baked by Student Council. If you would like to help with the Penny War, you could either send loose change with your child to school for their homeroom or pick your favorite homeroom and contribute. Page 8 The Eye Spy

9 Halloween Celebration This year s Halloween was met with great enthusiasm by both students and staff! The Primary level students enjoyed a Halloween Party and Trick-or-Treating throughout the school. Some of the staff s costumes were so good that others did not know who they were! Can you guess who was Tweety Bird? On Halloween night, there was a dance in the Badger s Den. Jennel Zinkiewicz won first prize for her costume as an Old Lady. Considering last year s success, Student Fund Raising Council has once again decided to participate in the Koeze s Nut Sales. Koeze s have been a WSVH favorite for holiday gifts in the past. So remember to keep an eye out for students who might be selling Koeze s Nuts nearest you. Also, keep an eye out for a little more light because we have also just recently, decided to participate in Candles in a Jar from Home Interiors. Volume 2 Issue 2 Page 9

10 1700 West State Street Janesville, Wisconsin Phone: Future web site of WCBVI Technology Exciting developments continue on our road to technology excellence at WCBVI. Governor McCallum's signature on the State budget included the funds WCBVI requested for our technology infrastructure upgrade. In September, the State Building Commission approved our proposed plan for the upgrade and assigned a Department of Facilities Development engineer to help prepare the specs required for the bidding phase from State approved vendors. The first meeting with the engineer was October 30th. This past month our Internet Service Provider (ISP) changed from the State of Wisconsin Department of Administration to the State of Wisconsin WISCNET, an ISP dedicated to providing services to schools and colleges. This change had been sought for more than one year in an effort to allow connectivity to our WCBVI website. Good news and qualified good news. The website is now available to the entire world. Qualified good news is that you will see an 'Under Construction' message. This is because changes are required to our website before we allow the world to view our product. Even then, the website will be a constantly evolving product due to the constant changes in the WCBVI and the Blind and Visually Impaired services world. Finally, it is my pleasure to report that WCBVI electronic messages or can now be accessed from anywhere in the world! Currently this ability has been enabled for staff only while we look for any problems, but we anticipate offering this service to students by December, Keith Green, Technology Campbell s and General Mills Don t forget to cut out and save your soup labels and box tops! Just send them in to Theresa Eiden. WSVH can get stuff just by you cutting out these items; you hardly have to do a thing! Thanks for your help and support of WSVH!