tennessee observer - Tennessee School for the Deaf

over 150 years of educating deaf
theTENNESSEE
OBSERVER
and
hard
hearing
children
looking to the future with
our roots
firmlyof
planted
in the traditions
of the past
looking to the future with our roots firmly planted in the traditions of the past
Volume 134
Tennessee School for the Deaf, Knoxville 37920
(Issue No. 3)Jan-Feb-March 2011
Martin Luther King Day at TSD
TSD students
April 4, 1968, her life
enjoyed an engaging
changed forever – Dr.
learning experience
King was shot and killed
about Dr. Martin
in Memphis, Tennessee,
Luther King, Jr.’s legwhile supporting strikacy at the school’s
ing black sanitation
annual MLK, Jr. Day
workers in that city.
celebration on JanuDespite her grief, she and
ary 17.
three of her children led
Eighth graders
thousands in a silent
Alex Arellanes, Demmarch through Memphis
etria
Beasley,
just four days after her
Michaela Evans, Lahusband’s murder. The
darrius Robinson, Michaela Evans, Destiny Thompson, Emily Rollins, Alex Arellanes, Ladarrius Robinson, next day, she led tens of
Emily Rollins, Des- Demetria Beasley, and Rashard Witherspoon are ready for their PowerPoint presentation. thousands of mourners
tiny Thompson and Rashard Witherspoon
- After graduating from Antioch,
through the streets of Atlanta during
narrated a PowerPoint presentation about
Coretta went on to study concert singDr. King’s funeral procession.
Coretta Scott King, Dr. King’s wife from
ing at Boston’s New England Conser- Coretta then took over Dr. King’s
1954 until his death in 1968. They summavatory of Music, where she earned a
Civil Rights Movement, fighting for
rized her life as follows:
degree in voice and violin. In Boston
equal treatment of all U.S. citizens,
she
met
Martin
Luther
King,
Jr.,
who
regardless of their race. She estab- Born in 1927, Coretta experiwas
studying
theology
(religion)
at
lished the Martin Luther King, Jr.
enced racial discrimination as a young
Boston
University.
They
were
married
Center for Nonviolent Social Change
girl in Marion, Alabama, where she
in
1953
and
moved
to
Montgomery,
in the basement of her Montgomery
and fellow black students walked five
Alabama,
in
1954,
where
Dr.
King
home in 1969. (To further Dr. King’s
miles to their elementary school while
became
pastor
of
Dexter
Avenue
Baplegacy of justice, equality, and peace,
white students were bused to their
tist
Church.
During
their
marriage,
the
Coretta relocated The King Center to a
school, which was close by. (At that
couple
had
four
children.
huge facility in Atlanta in 1981.) In
time, black students were not allowed
In
1955,
after
Rosa
Parks,
a
black
addition to the Civil Rights Moveto attend school with whites.) Although
woman,
was
arrested
for
refusing
to
ment, she supported many causes, such
Coretta’s parents were not educated,
surrender
her
bus
seat
to
a
white
womas women’s rights, economic issues
they were determined their children
an, Coretta joined her husband in leadand world peace.
would be, and made many sacrifices to
ing the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
- The American Library Associaensure they studied hard and were
Blacks refused to ride the city’s public
tion named The Coretta Scott King
successful in school. Coretta graduattransportation buses, and walked, carAward in honor of Coretta’s continued
ed valedictorian of her all-black high
pooled, taxied, or hitchhiked everyefforts toward peace and civil rights
school, Lincoln Normal School, in
where they went. The boycott lasted
concerns. The award recognizes Afri1945, and enrolled in Antioch College
381 long days. Finally, laws were
in Ohio to study music and education.
can-American authors and illustrators
changed in Alabama and throughout
(Coretta’s older sister, Edythe, was
who create outstanding books for chilthe United States, permitting blacks to
Antioch’s first black student!). Because
dren and young adults. Many of those
sit wherever they wanted on buses.
of the racial discrimination she had
books can be found in public libraries
- As her husband continued to
endured growing up, Coretta joined
and in TSD’s campus library.
advance the Civil Rights Movement,
the National Association for the Ad- Coretta was also responsible for
Coretta campaigned with him, seeking
vancement of Colored People
equal rights for people of color. On
(NAACP).
See MLK Day at TSD - Page 2
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MMLK Day at TSD
from Page 1
The Tennessee Observer
LLiquid Nitrogen Ice Cream
the United States’ establishment of
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in 1983.
MLK, Jr. Day is celebrated on the third
January of every year.
- At 78, Coretta died after outliving her husband by 38 years. Known as
The First Lady of Civil Rights, Coretta
Scott King will long be remembered as
a champion human rights activist and
leader.
After learning about Coretta Scott
King’s life via the eighth graders’ presentation, TSD’s students participated in an
informal, interactive quiz, competing to
answer questions taken from the PowerPoint they had just seen. TSD’s current
Teacher of the Year, Susie Satterfield,
conducted the multiple-choice quiz. (Congratulations to the elementary students for
answering the most questions correctly!)
Nekeisha Ford celebrates Elementary
School’s success in answering the most
quiz questions correctly about Coretta
Scott King.
THE TENNESSEE OBSERVER
(ISSN 0896-1778)
Published quarterly
by the students of
graphic arts at
The Tennessee School for the Deaf
2725 Island Home Boulevard
Periodical postage paid at
Knoxville, Tennessee
Subscription: $2.00 per year
in advance
POSTMASTER: Send form 3579 to:
TENNESSEE OBSERVER
2725 Island Home Boulevard
Knoxville, Tennessee 37920-2700
Shelley King & Brandi Rood
Editors
the tennessee observer
Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream
by Torey Carver, Katie Wilson and
Brandi Griffis
When we started making the ice cream,
students in the science lab seemed very
excited. When we opened the big can of
nitrogen, smoke leaked out. As we poured
the nitrogen, we saw liquid, but as soon as
it touched the table, it vanished! The
nitrogen didn’t have a scent; it felt just like
the air outside. When we tried to feel it, it
felt so cold. While we poured nitrogen into
the ice cream, Torey had to stir it until it
became frozen. After it became frozen, all
the students went ahead and tried to taste
the frozen ice cream. It was so delicious.
Everyone in the classroom wanted more,
and they got some. Some of them got three
or four servings. Everyone really enjoyed
the ice cream. The strawberries in the ice
cream were colder than the ice cream itself.
The frozen strawberries tasted better than
regular strawberries. Regular strawberries
taste sour.
SSibCamp!
By Tina Prochaska, Tennessee School for
the Deaf Sibshop Coordinator
“Can we do this again tomorrow?” It’s
a question I’ve often heard during my
almost 20 years of leading Sibshops at the
Tennessee School for the Deaf. Sibshops
are an internationally known sibling support program designed for children ages 8
Liquid Nitrogen Strawberry Ice Cream
w/ Chocolate Chips
by Jordan Webb, Reiko Pearson and
Collin Miles
To make strawberry ice cream using
liquid nitrogen, you need these five ingredients: heavy whipping cream, half and
half, sugar, vanilla extract, and strawberries. Liquid nitrogen makes the ice cream
cold. We showed the sophomores and
seniors how to make the ice cream. Liquid
nitrogen strawberry ice cream is delicious.
Here are the basic steps:
1. Put 4 cups of heavy whipping cream
into a bowl.
2. Pour 1 ½ cups of half and half (it is half
milk and half cream).
3. Add 1 ¾ cups of sugar.
4. Mix the first 3 ingredients and add 2
tablespoons of vanilla extract.
5. Pour strawberries into the bowl and
mix.
6. Add liquid nitrogen while mixing.
7. The mixture will become frozen like
ice cream.
8. ENJOY!!!
– 13 who have siblings with special needs.
For the children who attend, Sibshops are
both loads of fun and helpful support
during what can be confusing times. Our
Sibshops meet five times a year for 4 hours
each session and our families think that’s
just not long (or often) enough. A Sibshop
mother recently told me, “The more Sibshop time my kids have, the better they love
it!”
When parents ask me to describe the
sibling support we do, I try to compare it to
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a parent meeting. Most parents of children
with special needs remember the instant
connection they felt when they first met
another mom or dad whose child was like
theirs. For young children the connection
is exactly the same, or as a young sib told
me, “Finally, somebody else gets my life!”
Add in the fun, games, crafts and cooking
at a Sibshop and you can see why the kids
want more time together.
Sibshops at TSD is not the only sibling
support offered in Tennessee for young
children. Among others, the Vanderbilt
Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disability has its SibSaturdays program and East Tennessee State University
has Siblings United. SibSaturday’s Ashley
Coulter, Siblings United’s Cindy Chambers and I were at an adult sibling gathering
(we each have a sibling with special needs
ourselves) when we began talking about
our respective sibling support programs.
As we shared stories of how the kids in our
sibling support programs love to be together, the idea of a sibling camp came up. We
knew all our kids would love to attend; the
question was could we pull it off? In short,
with the enthusiastic support of all three
programs, the answer was yes. And so, the
first ever SibCamp in the state of Tennessee
was born!
SibCamp is scheduled for July 7 – 9,
2011 and will be held on the beautiful
campus of the Tennessee School for the
Deaf in Knoxville. Just like Sibshops,
SibCamp is designed for children ages 8 –
13 who have siblings with special needs.
SibCampers will stay in the cottages at
TSD; SibCamp leaders will be adults involved in the three sponsoring sibling support programs. There will be a nurse on
duty during camp to deal with any scrapes,
etc. In addition, selected teen-aged Sibshop graduates will serve as junior leaders
during the three day stay. Sarena Duncan,
a teen Sibshop attendee, has this to say
about SibCamp: “I’ve been participating in
the Sibshop experience for eight years, and
never would I have dreamed of something
like this! Sibshops are only held once every
few months, and even though it’s at least
four hours long, the time never ceases to fly
by! I can’t wait to be a junior counselor for
SibCamp; this is going to be three days of
nonstop excitement.”
SibCamp will be similar to traditional
camps; there will be lots of cookouts,
campfires, crafts and water games. What
will make SibCamp unique is that there
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Sibshop kids in front of a cottage at TSD – can you tell we’ve just played water balloon
volleyball?
7, 2011. SibCamp application forms are
will also be sibling support activities planned
available from the sponsoring sibling supfor each day. SibCampers will arrive on
port programs or by emailing me at
Thursday afternoon and their families can
[email protected]. Cost for the three
help them get settled in the cottages. Once
day camp is $50 per child and covers all
the families leave, the SibCamp fun begins!
food and materials. Some scholarship help
SibCamp will close on Saturday afternoon
will be available. Transportation to and
with a Family Celebration. SibCampers’
from Knoxville will be the responsibility of
parents and siblings will be invited to join
the families.
us as we honor and celebrate all that makes
It’s our hope that this first SibCamp will
our families special. After learning about
not be the last and that each year we are able
SibCamp from her son, a Sibshop mother
to serve more children. After all, we’re
told me, “Every kid wants summer to
working with the people who have the
come, but now he’s really looking forward
potential to have the longest lasting relato it!”
tionship with their siblings. When we
Space for SibCamp is limited to 30 chilrespect siblings’ needs and feelings, it ultidren and we expect interest to be high. To
mately improves the family experience for
be eligible for SibCamp, children must be
everyone. And if SibCamp is lots of fun, all
involved in a local sibling support program
the better – break out the s’mores!
and be between the ages of 8 and 13 on July
HHoops for Heart
The Middle School students participated
in a Hoops for the Heart celebration on
Friday, February 18th. This event was a fun
way to bring attention to the fight against
heart disease and the importance of exer
See Hoops fo Heart - Page 4
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HHoops for Heart
from Page 3
cise and good diet in our lives. The
students have been busy collecting pledges
that go directly to the American Heart
Association. This money goes to fund
research to help fight heart disease and
provide information to educate people
about how to prevent heart disease. The
Middle School students have raised almost
$700 to date, and have a couple of weeks
left to bring that total even higher! Our
leading money raiser at this time is Kaitlyn
Bohrer (last year's winner as well). Way to
go Kaitlyn!
The celebration event was held in Akin
gym with a lot of exercise, excitement, and
competition. A lot of good sportsmanship
was shown by many students, and the staff
had a hard time choosing just one. As a
matter of fact, we had 11 nominees, with
many 8th graders on that list. They were
good role models for the 6th and 7th
graders. The four finalists were Michaela
Evans, Destiny Thompson, Hunter Johnson,
and Rashard Witherspoon. Our sportsmanship award for 2011 went to Rashard!
Here are the results of the events:
Hotshot:
6th grade:
1st Jared Grayson (9 pts)
2nd Misael Sanchez (7 pts)
3rd Corneluis Johnson (6 pts)
7th/8th girls:
1st Michaela Evans (18 pts)
2nd Demetria Beasley (15 pts)
3rd Tiffany Paul (13 pts)
7th boys:
1st Payton Oliver (18 pts)
2nd Austin Gross (16 pts)
3rd Christian Osborn (11 pts)
8th boys:
1st Tristen Webster (26 pts)
2nd Samuel Hanley (17 pts)
3rd Hunter Johnson (16 pts)
Gotcha:
6th grade:
Patton Carothers & Clarence
Cunningham
7th/8th girls:
Michaela Evans & Demetria Beasley
7th boys:
Austin Gross & Joseph Carter
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The Tennessee Observer
8th boys:
Nakia Johnson &Samuel Hanley
Champion: Demetria Beasley
3 on 3 Tournament:
1st place:
Knicks - Austin Gross, Joseph Carter,
& Anna Steele
2nd place:
Sixers - Hunter Johnson, Rashard
Witherspoon & Destiny Thompson
TTeam Up for St. Jude
The St.Jude Rally team: Daniel Dorris, C.J. Miley (winner of the flipcamera), Heath Tripplett,
Dustin Miller, Cassie Disheroon, and Kenisha Langs.
Standing in the back is St. Jude representative and guest speaker, Clint Sikes.
“The mission of St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital is to advance cures, and
means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Consistent with the vision of our
founder, Danny Thomas, no child is denied
treatment based on race, religion or a
family’s ability to pay.
The Team Up for St. Jude program is
a student-led, student-run philanthropic
program in which high school students
raise both funds and awareness for St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital. The program engages students in a combined effort
to fight childhood cancer and show their
school spirit at the same time.
Team Up unites students, faculty, sponsors and the surrounding community in
support of the goal to help the kids of St.
Jude and children battling catastrophic
illnesses around the world. There is always
a sense of excitement at school the week of
a big event, and the Team Up for St. Jude
program allows students to build upon that
excitement in a powerful way: that they can
help St. Jude patients grow up and go to
high school, too.”
St. Jude
by Heath Tripplett
On Feb. 4, we started our St. Jude
project by having a school-wide assembly.
It was an awesome experience. We worked
hard getting ready for the “Kick-off”. I am
very proud of myself, and the other senior
students that were brave enough to get in
front of the whole school to give the presentation.
On Feb. 21, we started spirit week. All
TSD students were involved. It was a lot of
fun supporting St. Jude. COIN WARS
were better than last year because Middle
School and Elementary School students
were in a heated competition with each
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other. Not only did they fill up one jar, but
two! WOW!
On Feb. 28, we got ready for our
celebration. All TSD students were excited
and yelled because they were ready to know
who won the COIN WARS. It was the best
competition: third place went to High
School, second place was Elem. School,
and first place was Middle School. Middle
School won a pizza party. Congratulations
to Middle School!
I loved working on this project. It was
a lot of hard work. We thank you for
supporting our TEAM UP St. Jude project.
The Tennessee Observer
AAdopt-a-Watershed Project
Team Up for St. Jude!
By Kenisia Langs
We recently had a special project called
TEAM UP for St. Jude Children Hospital.
The reason why we did this project is
because we wanted to give our love and
support to sick children. We wanted to
motivate and encourage each other to raise
money for them. It was great to see how
each student got involved to compete in
coin wars and wear different color t-shirts
that represents childhood cancer. We wanted to make a huge impact on children’s
lives. I was very proud of my senior class for
the wonderful job they did to make our St.
Jude project outstanding! Laura Bledsoe
was proud to sponsor the seniors and St.
Jude’s TEAMUP. She did a wonderful job
and I hope that the senior class will continue the St. Jude project. We all can make a
huge difference in our community by supporting St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
BBetween the Barrels
By Cassie Disheroon and Dustin Miller
On Feb. 15, the Tennessee Department of Transportation came and taught us
about driving safety. They gave a presentation about road rules, workers and car
wrecks. TDOT uses orange cones to let us
know that they are working on the roads.
The state trooper warned us to not text or
call on cell phones during driving. It can
cause accidents. If we use cell phone during
driving, we might kill one of the workers
because we are not paying attention.
Other things they talked about were: if
we don’t use seat belts, it can cause worse
accidents to us. Seat belts should be worn
the tennessee observer
AmeriCorps volunteers Molly and Karina with TSD students, front row left to right; Connor
Massey, Michelle Mancero, Destiny Simmons, Lisa Phillips and Martez Burkes; back row
left to right; Jason Parimore, Evan Brown, Corey Jefferson and Monty Monteque.
This year, two high school classes are
learning what it means to be responsible
citizens and are giving back to the community! Students in Connie Bucholz-Beahm
and Donna Stinnett’s first block classes
have adopted the trail and stream near
Island Home Community Park. Each week,
we have a volunteer from the AmeriCorps
Water Quality Team visit our classes. We
learn through hands-on activities about the
importance of keeping our waters clean.
We study about pollution and how all of the
litter we throw on the ground ends up in
our rivers. We have learned that this prevents the animals from being able to find
food and live healthy lives. We also learn
about the different types of plants and
animals that live in this area and how
everything is connected in the web of life.
As part of our participation in the Adopt-aWatershed Project, we do twice a month
trash pick-ups on our adopted trail near the
river. We find all sorts of things that don’t
belong outdoors and we have to practice
how to stay safe while picking up trash. For
example, we wear gloves when we go out
on the trail and the students are learning to
inform an adult for help if they find broken
glass. All of the students look forward to
going outdoors on the trail, and they do a
very good job of cleaning up the environment. Sometimes, when we find things that
can be recycled, we talk about how recycling is better for the earth and we have to
separate objects in order to recycle the litter
that we can salvage. The high school CDC
classes have been fortunate to be involved
with the Adopt-a-Watershed program and
trail clean-up project for several years, and
we plan to continue our involvement with
these activities for many more years to
come. We hope you will join us by helping
to keep TSD campus and your community
clean!!!
a specific way: first, over the shoulder near
the neck; second, across the chest; and
third, across the hip bones. If worn correctly, seat belts will help protect you if you are
in a car wreck.
The Between the Barrels program was
sad because TDOT showed us video of
workers getting hurt and even killed. People who work in construction zones on the
See Between the Barrels - Page 8
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The Tennessee Observer
The Tennessee School for the Deaf is committed to the principles of equal opportunity, equal access, and affirmative action.
Contact the EEO/AA/ADA Coordinator, (865) 594-6022 (Voice/TDD) for further information.
TENNESSEE OBSERVER
2725 Island Home Boulevard
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BBetween the Barrels
from Page 5
EElementary Spelling Bee
Michael Whittemore directs traffic at Between The Barrels
Elementary Principal Lynn Andrick gives out the awards for the Spelling Bee. l-r, 1st place
– Ethan Baril, 2nd place – C.J.Wagner-Ryan, 3rd place – Nekeisha Ford
The 5th annual Spelling Bee competition was held on February 10th, 2011 in the
Akin Gymnasium. Each year the competition is fierce, and this year was no exception. All students participated in the single
elimination event. Preschool, CDC, and 1st
graders spelled their first and last names
and hometowns as a demonstration. The
real competition began with an approved
list of 1,000 words that students had been
given to study from weeks in advance.
Everyone did extremely well by standing
the tennessee observer
and spelling their word as it was randomly
chosen from the list. This year’s winner
was 5th grader Ethan Baril. Second place
was awarded to 4th grader C.J. WagnerRyan; and third place went to 5th grader
Nekeisha Ford. Each participant received
a special recognition for their efforts. The
top three contestants were awarded ribbons and a spelling game of his or her
choice. Congratulations to everyone for
working hard to improve your spelling
abilities!
highway or streets risk their lives. Drivers
need to be aware and alert when driving in
a work zone. When getting close to a work
zone, drivers should reduce speed and be
alert, even if it’s an emergency. I’m a driver
myself; I see policemen in the middle of the
streets helping drivers get out of parking
lots after church or school because there
was so much traffic. When I get close to the
policemen in the middle of the street, I
slow down and I am alert. It’s not that
difficult. I’ve done the same in work zones.
These workers have a family. So, please
slow down and be alert for them so that
they can go home and see their family
again. It’s that simple. Slow down for them
because their life is more at risk while
working in a construction zone than yours.
Spring Two Thousand and Eleven