Towers, Volume 63, No. 2, April 2009 (.pdf version) - Overbrook ...

Director’s MessageBy Gerald Kitzhoffer, DirectorIn this year of the Louis Braille bicentennial,our thoughts, as educators of studentswho are visually impaired, turn to literacy andwhat literacy means for our students, for us,and for society in general.Who was Louis Braille? He was an exceptionalman who at 16 years of age had completedthe design of the Braille Code, whichaccording to C. Michael Mellor in his bookLouis Braille: A Touch of Genius “laid thefoundation of literacy for generations of blindpeople.” Louis himself lost much of his sightthrough a boyhood accident in 1812 at theage of three, and was completely blind twoyears later.The Braille Code is a raised dot readingand writing system that uses cells made up ofsix dots, two across and three down. Throughthese cells, the braille user has at his or herfinger tips the patterns necessary to representall letters, numbers, accents, and punctuationmarks.We honor Louis Braille’s memory and aregrateful for his achievement, and we are alsoaware that in the 21st century there are avariety of literacy needs due to the broadspectrum of the students we serve and duealso to the startling advances in technology.So, at Overbrook School for the Blind, weteach braille, even while we recognize theefficacy of such systems as recorded books.We teach computer literacy as experienced bymainstream students, and add whatever accesstechnology is appropriate for each individualstudent; then, we incorporate the technologyinto their regular classroom work. We usesign language for the students who need tocommunicate in that manner, and we supplysome students with communication devicesthat enable them to use prerecorded speechto convey their needs.We care deeply about our students, workinglovingly and diligently to ensure they have thebest possible lives now and in the future.As Director, I am proud of our staff and ofthe students and families that we serve; and Iam grateful for the legacy that Louis Braillebequeathed to us all.2TowersVolume 63, Number 2 April 2009A publication of Overbrook School for theBlind dedicated to reporting student lifeand important events for students, parents,alumni, and friends. Published four timesa year.ISSN 1528-8587© Copyright 2009 Towers Press,Overbrook School forthe Blind. All rights reserved.For information regarding the educationaland specialized programs offered atOverbrook School for the Blind, contact:Gerald Kitzhoffer, DirectorOverbrook School for the Blind6333 Malvern AvenuePhiladelphia, PA 19151-2597Phone: 215-877-0313Fax: 215-877-2709www.obs.orgOverbrook School for the BlindBoard of ManagersPresidentRobert L. D’AnjolellVice-PresidentsCarolyn FriedmanSarah S. HeckscherJ. Freedley Hunsicker, Jr., Esq.John S. LloydTreasurerF. Howard BraithwaiteSecretaryWarwick S. WheelerAlumni RepresentativeWilliam NewmanParents RepresentativeAndrea JohnsonMembersSidney C. BuckJoseph T. Doyle, Jr.Robert B. GallantPeggy GarrettPooh GephartLeonard L. MooreM. Christine MurphyRichard NolanMarjorie G. SteinGeorge Vermeire, DOCharles T. WilmerdingAngela ZagerConversations with . . .Bob AshbridgeCoordinator of the School to Work Program,Head Wrestling Coach, OSB Alumnus, Presidentof the EAAB (Eastern Athletic Associationfor the Blind), husband, father, and activemember in his community, Bob Ashbridge isa man of many parts who graduated fromOSB in 1976 and has been working here since1981. A graduate of Kutztown University(then called State College), with a degree inSpecial Education for the Visually Impairedand Elementary Education, he is currentlyfinishing course work through the Universityof Pittsburgh towardhis Supervisor’sCertificate.A big man with aseemingly stern lookbut a friendly mannerand genuinelygentle disposition,he is energized byall that he does.Underlying his workis an obvious lovefor Overbrook.“I could happily talk about OverbrookBob Ashbridgeall day,” he says. “It’s a great place to work,and it’s where I got my start in life, learningin a nurturing environment, being constantlyencouraged to stretch myself as a studentand as an athlete, forming life-longfriendships.“I wish for our students now what I hadthen,” he adds, “and try to do everything I canto help them achieve their goals and constantlycreate new ones.”He is appropriately proud of being partof the committee that helped launch the WhiteHall Pilot Project, and credits the othercommittee members—Jackie Brennan, DaelCohen, Sandy Dobrowski, Helene Marano,and Judy Van Naerssen—for making theproject a great success.Supported by a Daily Living SkillsCurriculum, the Core Curriculum, and lotsof work by many staff members, two studentsoccupy separate apartments in White Hall,working their way toward transitioning to lifeafter Overbrook.As Mr. Ashbridge puts it, “It’s good to seethem rise to the challenge. They continue tolearn how to do more and more for themselvesand to learn more and more about themselves.”As an OSB alumnus, Mr. Ashbridge is verydirect about the source of his pleasure: “It’sabout blind individuals going on to be independent.Each time a person who is blind exhibitsindependence, other blind people are encouragedand motivated, and sighted people beginto understand that we are defined by abilitiesand accomplishments, not limitations.”His pride in the school and encouragementof the students are apparent in everything hedoes. He is passionate about wrestling andcheerleading—“Good for our students and theschool and a learning experience for the public.The cheerleaders win this year at Cheers forCharity was great!” He is committed toensuring that the School to Work Programconsistently meets the needs of the studentsit serves. He points out that our school playeda key role in forming EAAB and that wehave consistently supported it. And, finally,he notes: “Overbrook is the biggest thingin my life. It prepared me for success andcontinues to provide an avenue for me to givesomething back.”Larry Kendrick“There’s never a bad day at Overbrook,”Teacher Aide Larry Kendrick says. “I enjoythe kids and feel lucky to be paid for the workI do. The atmosphere is friendly and it’s likea family oriented job.”A man who believes in giving back tothe community, Mr. Kendrick is a nativePhiladelphian and graduate of OverbrookHigh School. He talks about always knowingthat he had to have a purpose in life, had tobe doing something that he believed in,something worthwhile. “And it all cametogether for me here at Overbrook,” he says.“I like the flexibility of being a TeacherAide, responding to what the teacher wants andwhat the student needs,” he points out. “Myposition gives me the opportunity to help thestudents advance while enjoying interactingwith them. I treat them all like my ownchildren, looking after them with a sense ofhumor, like my own Dad did.”continued on page 3

In and Out of the Classroomcontinued from page 1spectator sport for them. Through assignmentsfrom High School Teachers Joan Whartnabyand Linda Adacusky, for example, the studentsconsidered many issues.They wrote thoughtful essays about the inaugurationand prepared speeches about theirown dreams for our country after watching ashort film about Dr. King. They read playsabout Rosa Parks and Frederick Douglas, andwrote papers assuming the role of a newly appointedmember of President Obama’s cabinet.Writing with a sense of awe about the inauguration,Marquise addressed public policy,family, and race: “This was the first time I eversaw an inauguration and it was amazing. Myfavorite part of the speech was when PresidentObama said he was going to restore science toits rightful place... He is so lucky to have afamily that is there for him, sitting through theblistering cold to see their dad and husbandbecome the first African American president.”Lucy, another student, supplied a straightforwardand insightful narrative, worthy ofa professional journalist: “We watched theinauguration in school, after an early lunch.The students of Overbrook filed into theauditorium waiting with patient excitement....Finally, Vice President Biden entered andwe cheered, then we cheered louder whenPresident Obama was announced. As thecamera moved across the crowd, you felt likeyou were there standing in the cold waitingin anticipation for the swearing in and, moreso, for President Obama to speak.”Sierra’s dream was that “one day ourbeloved president will bring us out of thedarkness of war and into the brightness ofsoldiers seeing their families again.”Imagining himself the Secretary of RacialUnity, Donal promised “to fight on the sideof unity, never taking one side over another.”“I believe,” he said, “that everyone has afair chance in this beautiful country... and Iwant us to understand the power of unity,the power of equality.”And on a lighter note, imagining that therecould be a Secretary of Fun Speech, Briancreatively thought that we should “extend thesquirt gun of fun.”School to WorkOn another day, in another classroom— theSchool to Work class that is staffed by TeacherAndrea Stein and Teacher Aides Larry Kendrickand Marie Glavin—students discussed a newspaperarticle about living an optimistic life thatMs. Stein had distributed to them by e-mail.Working at Lankenau Hospital and in the classroomMaurice, Edith, Shadiyah, Jill, Victoria, andRichard answered questions that demonstratedtheir reading comprehension and went on tooffer their own suggestions about optimismand good health. The interaction betweenstudents and staff as well as among the studentswas light and thoughtful. Asked about this bythe reporter, Ms. Stein spoke of “doing seriousthings in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere,”and of being “not afraid to laugh.”Later in the morning, Maurice, Edith, Jill,and Victoria went to Lankenau Hospital withMs. Glavin and Mr. Kendrick for their offcampus work assignments. Maurice playedthe piano in the patients’ lounge, Edith and Jilldistributed magazines to patients in their rooms,and Victoria stamped visitor cards.Germantown FriendsIn March, 27 twelfth graders from theGermantown Friends School spent a morningwith OSB High School students on ourcampus. Students from both schools readtheir poetry out loud, toured the OverbrookMuseum, and socialized over a pizza lunch.Our students taught the visitors about thevariety of adaptive technology for peoplewho are blind or visually impaired anddemonstrated the intricacies of goalball.Speaking about the success of the day,Helene Marano, High School Coordinator,said, “Events like today reinforce for ourstudents that they are on par with theircontemporaries in mainstream schools. It’sgood to see and I’m very proud of them.”Our students look forward to visiting theGermantown Friends School before the endof this school year.Science and Math FairOver a period of weeks, students workedindependently and in groups, under thesupervision of Michele McCallion and SusanVaughan, to create math and science projects. Inthe classroom and on their own time they formulatedand explored hypotheses, applied thescientific method, researched the issues, wroteabstracts, and mounted displays. Finally, standingin front of their exhibits, they orally explainedtheir work to the staff memberswho judged the competition and to otherinterested observers.Conversations with . . .continued from page 2The students seem to like working with Mr.Kendrick as much as he enjoys working withthem. “We have fun with Mr. Larry,” one ofthe students points out, “and he makes us workhard. It’s good.” Another says,“You can talk to Mr. Larry and hewon’t judge you, just try to help.”In addition to talking with himin the Towers Press editorialoffices, we had the opportunity toobserve Mr. Kendrick interactingwith School to Work studentsin the classroom as well as atLankenau Hospital where theyhave off campus jobs. In bothsettings, he was a smiling andLarry Kendrickfriendly presence clearly seriousabout the work he does and often silent ashe listened to the students when they spoketo him.“They all deserve our close attention. Theydeserve to be listened to. Our students havereal ideas and deep feelings and lives to live.We’re here to help them with all of that.”The only obvious sadness in Mr. Kendrick’slife is seeing students he’s helped along the3way graduating. As proud as he is of them andas happy as he is for them, he readily admitsto feeling teary eyed when they leave.Asked what he might like to be doing fiveyears from now, Mr. Kendrick seems surprisedthat anyone might suggest he won’t be herefor a long time. “I like it here. The only realchange I can imagine rightnow is that I would like to bea special needs teacher atOverbrook, if I can find thetime to return to college.Time for him, as for so manyof us, might be summed up asso much life to be lived 24/7.Working full time at OverbrookMonday through Friday, takingtime to be with and enjoy hisown family, and working at apsychiatric center on weekendsand during the summer, he is a very busy man.One co-worker sums him up this way:“Everyone likes Larry. He works hard and hasa great sense of humor. He’s always lookingout for the kids’ best interest. But that’s prettymuch what we all do. I think what makes himreally special is that he’s an emotional andhappy man who likes people. So you can’thelp but like him back.”The Science and Math Fair attracted both studentsand staffFaced with many contestants and their 17projects, the judges had a very difficult timedesignating a winner. But, finally, they rankedthe top five projects in this order:First Place: Frankie Loeb’s Electron Garden,which measured the growth of plants with magnetsand electricity; Second: DouglasTrinidad and Nahfis Wright’s explorationof solutions that will make a nail rust morequickly, named The Rusty Nail; Third:Bubbles, Bubbles Everywhere by TraneiceJohnson and Lucy Miller; this project consideredwhether store bought or homemadebubbles last longer; Fourth: Gender Feud, byDonnie Buie, questioned whether females ormales have better endurance and stamina whendoing pushups; and Fifth: Marquise Nelson andIsaiah Coleman’s Brains vs Video Gameslooked at the emotional responses of teens andadults when playing video games.It has been a busy and productive school yearso far, and there is much more to come beforeit ends.

The cheerleading coaches were ecstatic. JamieDalton enthused: “Two thousand spectators!People were blown away. The judges stood up.The whole stadium stood up.” Maria Fabrizio:“I was so proud of the squad. They stepped uptheir game and just really had fun out there. Thatis what team sports are all about. That is whatcheerleading is all about.” Justine Glavin: “Thegirls worked so hard and pulled through as a teamand came out on top. I am so proud of all of them.What a great way for them to learn and to teachothers about the possibilities for success.”The event was the 4th Annual Cheers forCharity at the Bob Carpenter Center on theUniversity of Delaware campus to benefit the A.I.DuPont Hospital for Children in Delaware. Andthe Overbrook cheerleaders—the smallest squadthere and the only squad of athletes with visualimpairments—came away with a first prize!Overbrook School for the Blindschool Calendar 2009MayThurs., 5/14 Spring Concert 8:00 p.mPublic invitedFri., 5/22 Achievement Day 9:00 a.m.Long weekend begins at end ofschool dayMon., 5/25 MEMORIAL DAY - School closedTues., 5/26 All students returnClasses resume at 8:15 a.m.JuneMon., 6/1 Fun Day for all educational programsSat/. 6/6 Middle Atlantic Blind Golf AssociationFree Golf Clinic 10:00 a.m. to noonTues., 6/9 Baccalaureate and Commencement9:30 a.m.Wed., 6/10 Early Childhood Summer Celebration10:00 a.m. AuditoriumWed., 6/17 Last day for students & InstructionalStaff6/19 - 6/21 Alumni Weekend6/23 - 6/25 3-day Early Intervention SummerWorkshopJune 29 - August 6Camp KanDu - Early ChildhoodSummer CampCamp runs Mon. - Thurs., 9:00 - 2:00June 30 - August 6ESY Program – Program runsTues. - Thurs., 9:00 - 2:00July 3, Fri. Independence Day Observed -School ClosedPhoto credits: Picture of cheerleaders on page 4 courtesyof Michael Brescio, © TSS Photography of Mercer.All other pictures by Dennis Brookshire, © OverbrookSchool for the Blind.OSB Cheerleaders Earn First PrizeOSB Cheerleaders (back row from left to right) Justine Glavin, Arcelia Torres, Traneice Johnson,Sierra Cheatham, Lesia Williams, Kierra Chamberlain, Maria Fabrizio, and Jamie Dalton; (frontrow) Ariel Gaither, Kassandra Hernandez, Amiah Mosley, and Edith Nixon; (not pictured) NygeaWilliams, Saro Knapko, and Vanessa ClarkAnother Successful Pancake BreakfastMore than 600 students and their families,alumni, board members, staff, neighbors,and friends came to the 17th Annual PancakeBreakfast presented by OSB, the OverbrookLions Club, and the District 14-A Committee.In addition to the usual prize money, thisyear we were able to raffle off additional itemsthanks to the generosity of area businesses,parents, and Lions Club members.Making the breakfast run smoothly werethe 60 plus volunteers, which includedmembers of Boy Scout Troop 133, Overbrookstaff members, members of area Lions clubs,Overbrook Idol Continues to ThrillBuilding on the successes of pastyears, the 6th Annual Overbrook Idol,under the direction of Julia DeFruscio,was a huge success. In a show of morethan 20 musical numbers performed bymore than 35 students, everyone wasa winner. The performers’ talent andwillingness to be on the stage madethem winners; and the audience, justby being there, enjoying the show, anddemonstrating their pleasure were alsowinners. A great time was had by all!and community members.The Breakfast raised more than $5,000,including revenue from the ad book, raffles,breakfast sales, and the selling of Zitner’scandy, which was donated, and CinderellaCheesecake. Other generous donors includedPica’s of Upper Darby, WaWa, and Tru-BrewCoffee.The money raised will help support ourschool as we continue to provide every studentwith the best available customized instructionin academics, independent living skills, orientationand mobility, socialization, and athletics.TowersOverbrook School for the Blind6333 Malvern AvenuePhiladelphia, PA 19151-2597USANonProfit Org.U.S. POSTAGEPAIDHaddonfield, NJPERMIT NO. 491ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED