Lone Star Winter 2010-2011

Letter from the EditorSpring is here and another “end of the year” approaches.

For sure TSD has lived this year by the motto “Dream Big”. After huge events in 2010 such as Homecoming and the Hoy-X tournament, winter brought us a very special Holiday Celebration featuring a diversity of international traditions and a spectacular laser show. After that we jumped right into the Clerc Classic Tournament, one of the most exciting sport events ever hosted at TSD.

At the end of February we got some winter snow on the TSD campus, but nevertheless, the spirits stayed high with our students participating on the Texas Capitol Schoolhouse with an impressive exhibition of the International Space Station. They left a lasting impression on Legislators, visitors and other participant schools.

Find all the stories that are featured on this journal also online, take a time to visit us, read us and share the link:

www.tsd.state.tx.us/lonestar

Thank you,

Fernando Muñoz

t: (512)-462-5327 | e: [email protected] South Congress Avenue. Austin, Texas 78704.

Table of ContentsCover Story8-10................................ Clerc.Classic.XI.Tournament

Features4.....................................................Holiday.Celebration5........................Gallaudet.and.ACC.Sign.Partnership6.................................6th.Annual.Pancake.Breakfast

The.“All-You-Can-Eat”.event.was.a.huge.success

7......................... International.Space.Station.Display.Opens.at.TSD

11........................................... Julius.Seeger.Visits.TSD12-13................................ Texas.Capitol.Schoolhouse

Returns.for.2011.Texas.Legislative.Session

14....................Ranger.Press.Now.Open.for.Business15.............................................................ACCESS.News

Coming.Soon.to.Austin!

16-18................................................Other.Happenings19..............................................................Ranger.News

Front CoverOmar.Valdovinos,.Christian.Escamilla,.Marissa.King,.Ernesto.Garcia,.and.Jonathan.Ford.

www.tsd.state.tx.us/lonestar

V O L U M E 1 3 1 , N o . 4Wi n t e r 2 0 1 0 - 2 0 11

( I S S N 0 8 9 3 - 2 9 6 4 )

Lone StarEditor/Art Director:

Fernando MuñozContributors:

Claire Bugen, Sharee Darce, Susan Greene, Mari Liles, Dvorah Ben-Moshe, Avonne Brooker-Rutowski, Terri Coahran,

Kelvin Etkie and Arlene Garcia-Gunderson. Special thanks to:

Cynthia Foss, Diana Poeppelmeyer, Richard Norton, Clyde Egbert, Terri Levine and Fox7-Austin.

Photography:Richard Norton, Fernando Muñoz, TSD staff and students.

Subscription InfoA one year subscription to Lone Star, the quarterly journal of the Texas School for the Deaf, costs $10. Send check and mailing address information to:

Lone Star EditorTexas School for the Deaf1102 South Congress Ave

Austin, TX 78704

Suspense is in the air, Austin Hill is about to score during the Clerc Classic.

AdministrationClaire Bugen

Superintendent

Sean VirnigDirector of Education

Gloria Seidlin-BernsteinDirector of Student Support Services

Gary BegoDirector of Business and Operations

Russell O. WestDirector of Residential Services

Governing BoardWalt Camenisch, President

Connie Sefcik-Kennedy, Vice President

Sha Cowan, Secretary

Jean Andrews Beatrice Burke

Eric HogueTyran Lee

Susan RidleyAngie Wolf

J O U R N a L O f t h E t E x a S S c h O O L f O R t h E D E a f

2 Lone Star • Winter 2010-2011

Messagefrom the Superintendent

Dear TSD Community,

It’s always springtime when you receive the winter issue of the Lone Star – so I am never in quite the same time and space zone as the wonderful contents of this journal. It’s hard to believe that another school year is almost over and we are gearing up for summer programs.

It certainly has been a year of woes with our state budget crisis and the proposed cuts to public education. Although nothing is final yet, both the House Appropriations Committee (HAC) and the Senate Finance Committee (SFC) have voted not to reduce TSD’s budget by 10%. This is very good news. I want to thank all TSD stakeholders for your calls and emails to your state legislators on behalf of your students. I firmly believe the passions of parents can influence public policy even in this difficult economic climate.

We did not escape the 7.5% budget cut from this current school year, so we will be operating with less dollars than we had this past biennium, but again we have averted the crisis that would have redefined our mission and the scope of our services to your children. Through careful resource allocation and cautious monitoring of our budget we hope to proceed with all our current plans to continue to grow our school and improve the quality of our educational programs.

In spite of fiscal challenges this year our teachers and staff have continued to provide high quality learning opportunities for all our students. We have had great successes in Academic Bowl, the Clerc Classic, MathCounts, International Studies and a smashing

production of the classic Wizard of Oz by TSD thespians among a litany of other great learning experiences we provide to your children. Our school community has also been very engaged in five-year strategic planning and CEASD Accreditation Self-Study. Strategic Goal Teams have been working around the clock to identify the best ideas to bring our school forward over the course of the next five years. We have also conducted numerous surveys and Standards reviews as part of our accreditation preparation.

Of great concern to TSD as I shared with you in a letter last week is what is happening on our campus and across the nation with regard to bullying, particularly cyber-bullying. While we continue to aggressively block objectionable material on our school computers our young generation of “digital natives” can find ways to misuse the Internet, cameras or personal communication devices. We have convened a Student Engagement Task Force to look at strategies for teaching and protecting our students. While TSD can play a significant role in protecting students, parents are even more critical to ensuring student safety. We encourage you to monitor your children’s activities and to talk with them about the importance of staying safe.

Enjoy this Lone Star and as you read it you will see many reasons for our pride and excitement about the opportunities your students have at Texas School for the Deaf. It continues to be an honor and a privilege to be part of this wonderful community.

Sincerely,

Claire Bugen

Journal of the Texas School for the Deaf 3

By Claire Bugen

The 2010 annual Holiday Cel-ebration brought the TSD

community a myriad of experi-ences from near and far. Actors treated early Childhood and El-ementary students to a live drama performance from the Hyde Park Theater. Winterland: A Journey Through ChristmaHanuKwan-zaakkah, geared toward pre-school to elementary-age children, was a story about how Winterland finds the great Winter Wizard (played by Shanon Weaver) on a quest to find out why his magical “joy-mometer” - which measures the amount of happiness in the world - is always so full during winter. With help from children in the audience - and a little “winter magic” - he sum-mons three children (adult actors Cameron E Holmes, Mitch Harris and Kate Caldwell) to assist him as they celebrate Christmas, Hanuk-kah and Kwanzaa.

Our High School Zealous Stu-dio students produced a movie of holiday traditions across the globe. Students and teachers educated us about how other countries enjoy the holiday spirit without every see-ing Rudolph the Red Nosed Rein-deer or Santa. Each of us realized that there are many customs and traditions will be vastly different than those of our home country.

Another break in tradition from

our traditional Holiday Lunch at the famous Golden Arches, AKA McDonalds, TSD support-ers Dominos and Southside Flying Pizza provided the luncheon fare, which received a definite “thumbs up” from the students.

The closing act for our Holiday Celebration was the great work of Tim Walsh from Laser Spectacles. Here’s what Time has to say about the show,

Laser Spectacles, Inc. has performed many times for the Texas School for the Deaf over the years, especially at the Christmas holiday farewell party. This show was for another of those, but with a twist – the theme for the party was “Dream Big! We tried to inspire the staff and stu-dents as they left for the holiday break by incorporating the theme and ideas of the TSD staff and lead-ership.

This show was held in the TSD Au-ditorium, seating up to 1100. We used the ceiling as a projection area for abstract lumia and grating ef-fects, and the house screen on stage for the RGB graphics. One RGB laser beam projector was placed in the center of the stage, with mirrors on each side.

The show was exciting – we played back the soundtrack at a big vol-ume so that the deaf could feel the pulse. We highlighted some signifi-cant events during the year – such

Multi-Cultural Holiday Celebrations With A Dream Big Twist…

as the school’s Zealous Studio reaching out and communicating with the astronauts on the space station!

At the end of the show, students were on their feet with a standing ovation as we brought Tim to the stage. We all left for the holidays on a high thanks to Laser Spectacles.

TSD students are served dessert by Superintendent Claire Bugen.

Santa and students during lunch time.

Elementary students enjoying pizza during lunch time.

A laser spectacle at the Auditorium.


By Arlene Garcia-Gunderson

The Austin Community Col-lege and Gallaudet University are pleased to share the exciting

news of the new establishment of the Gallaudet University Regional Cen-ter- Southwest at Austin Community College. The new GURC-Southwest Center had its Grand Opening on Wednesday, January 12, 2011. It was a celebratory occasion that had over 250 people in attendance. Dr. Stephen B. Kinslow, President and CEO of Austin Community College and Dr. T. Alan Hurwitz, President of Gallaudet Uni-versity were honorary speakers. Arlene Garcia-Gunderson, the newly appoint-ed director, also welcomed people at the Grand Opening and shared that she was very excited about the future im-pact that GURC-Southwest will make across the southwest region. The south-west region consists of eight states: Ari-zona, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah. Within the eight states region, the GURC – Southwest Center will work closely with various professionals and agencies by addressing the educa-tional, transition, and professional de-

velopment needs of Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals from birth through adulthood; along with their families, and the professionals who work with them. Moreover, it will bring the re-sources of the world’s only liberal arts university for Deaf and Hard of Hear-ing people, Gallaudet University, and the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Edu-cation Center to the southwest region.

One example of such resources is exten-sion courses and workshops that will be offered in partnership with Gallaudet University and with collaboration of sponsoring agencies. These courses will allow many people to take advantage of the opportunity to study with recog-nized experts in fields such as Ameri-can Sign Language, linguistics, Deaf studies, Deaf education and interpret-ing. The GURC-SW will coordinate workshops and training that is available through the Gallaudet University Col-lege of Professional Studies and Out-reach as well as the Laurent Clerc Na-tional Deaf Education Center. These workshops will address issues in literacy, family involvement as well as transitions from high school to postsecondary edu-cation and/or employment. Another

resource that GURC-SW will provide is technical assistance that will be utilized to meet the educational, transitional, rehabilitative and professional develop-ment needs and requests throughout the region.

As the director of GURC-Southwest, Arlene Garcia-Gunderson emphasized that it is critical to develop working relationships with various organiza-tions, members and communities to ensure the on-going success of GURC-SW’s role in future endeavors servicing the Deaf/Hard of Hearing population by bringing in all the resources that Gallaudet University, the Laurent Clerc Deaf Education Center, Austin Com-munity College and the various indi-vidual programs that have already been established in each of the eight states region. Such collaboration will prove to be a positive and profound impact for all.

If you would like to contact the Gallaudet University Regional Center Southwest for information, you can contact Arlene Garcia-Gunderson at [email protected] or Ly-man Grant (Dean of Arts & Humanities) at [email protected] or Lyman Grant’s ad-ministrative assistant at [email protected].

Gallaudet and ACC Sign Partnership

Top: Dr. Stephen B. Kinslow and Dr. T. Alan Hurwitz signing the agreement.

Bottom: Dr. Kinslow and Dr. Hurwitz with Claire Bugen.

By Fernando Muñoz

Rain or shine… or should we say snow?

On February 5th Austin Sertoma Club host-ed the Annual Pancake Breakfast, just a day

after the snow had forced TSD to close for a day. Nevertheless the breakfast was a great success and brought a big crowd.

During the cold morning, families and friends shared tables, laughs and enjoyed the music pro-vided by “Last Train Out”.

The funds raised by Austin Sertoma at this year’s event, which were close to $4,000, support TSD in several ways:

(1) Austin Sertoma covered travel expenses for the 3rd year in a row for TSD’s 2011 Math-Counts team to compete at the national finals in Rochester in April.

(2) The club gave a kick-start to TSD’s golf pro-gram with a spring training program. Austin Sertoma recruited a golf pro to mentor and re-cruit interested students, provided a stipend to help fund a part-time golf coach, & members are volunteering to assist with practice sessions.

(3) Annual college scholarships to graduating TSD seniors.

If you didn’t make it this year, save the date for next year’s event because as they say now: The Sertoma Pancake breakfast will happen snow, rain or shine!

6th Annual Pancake BreakfastThe “All-You-Can-Eat” event was a huge success

Last Train Out performs during the breakfast.

Alumni, staff, friends and community pose for a Kodak moment.


International Space Station Display Opens at TSDBy Sharee Darce

On Wednesday, February 16, TSD students of all ages came to the ASL lab to view the 1/100th scale model of the International

Space Station on loan to us from NASA. The loan of the model came about after astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson made a video tour of the real ISS in response to questions asked by some TSD high school stu-dents. Tracy knows ASL and used it to explain how and where astronauts communicate, work, exercise, and sleep while in space. Students also got to meet the other astronauts aboard the ISS.

Our presenters for the day were Paul Stropko’s High School Physics class and Brian Sipek’s Middle School Science class. They had to prepare themselves, learning about the various parts of the ISS and other interesting information, and then took turns giving a “tour” of the station as various classes came through. Several stu-dents said they enjoyed watching the projected map of the ISS moving around the Earth in real-time. When asked about his experience with the NASA project, presenter Tyler Bishop said,

“It was fun. I got to teach children and others about the ISS.” Jonathan Ford had this to say: “Science and technology are important because if you know science and technology, your life will be easier. You can get a job, travel, and possibly make more money.” Whatever their motivation, the presenters and audience alike had a great educational experience they won’t soon forget.

In addition to the model, there were five computers playing videos shot by Bobbie Guerra’s video technol-ogy students. Sandy Kimball’s Middle School Lan-guage Arts class had to research information and then be filmed explaining about the different sections of the ISS and how astronauts perform their duties there. They were also on hand to answer any questions that might arise.

It was wonderful to see students getting excited about space and our contact with a real astronaut who took the time to make the ISS accessible to us. The video has sparked lessons all over campus, from kindergarten students doing research and presentations on the plan-ets and space technology to physics students’ discus-sions on the trials and tribulations of long space walks.

What other school can claim to have had the chance to interact in ASL with astronauts in space!

Jonathan Ford presentation to Elementary students.

Leanne Payne presents a video to Elementary students.

Logan Neziri and Carson Laird where thrilled with the ISS and the Space Shuttle.

Tobie Thompson presents his project to his class.

By Terri Levine and Fernando Muñoz

Between January 13th and 15th, TSD hosted its first ever Clerc Classic Basket-ball Tournament! This was surely one of

the biggest and most prestigious sporting events that our school had put together. TSD was hon-ored by the visit of top ranked schools around the country in what was a great display of sports-manship, friendship and competitive spirit.

Participating in the Clerc Classic XI were Ala-bama, Arkansas, CSD-Fremont, CSD-Riverside, Indiana, Maryland, Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD) and TSD.

The Clerc Classic XI Tournament brought the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams and cheerlead-ing squads to an intense and schedule packed week. Hats off to MSSD Cheerleading squad, Indiana Girls Basketball team and Maryland Boys’ Basketball team for winning the Clerc XI Champions title. Our Texas Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball teams won the consolation champs title.

The other highlight of the tournament was hav-ing the America’s favorite dunk team Acrodunk . Dazzling us with their gymnastic and dunking

A Clerc Classic to Remembertalents, accompanied by the powerful ‘vibrations’ of the music, their performance was electrifying.

This tournament wouldn’t have been possible without the fantastic support of the TSD staff, students, alumni, volunteers, parents, adminis-trators and community partners!

TSD is especially grateful of the tournament sponsors: ZVRS, Gallaudet University, NTID, SportsMX, TSD Foundation and TSD Booster Club.

After the Acrodunk show, TSD students ran to have a picture with the performers.

Pictures top clockwise:

Acrodunk show.

TSD Boys vs. Riverside Eagles.

TSD Girls on the attack.

Coach Hamilton gives instructions to the players.

Ranger supporters Oscar Rodriguez and Amy Johnson.


A Clerc Classic to Remember

The Clerc Classic Basketball Tournament originated at the Model Secondary School for the Deaf in 2000 under Athletic Director, Michael Weinstock, who envisioned a national bas-ketball tournament bringing together outstanding athletes from top Deaf schools to one site and letting them claim the championship. The tournament typically occurs during the second weekend of January.

Who was Laurent Clerc?

Laurent Clerc (born Louis Laurent Marie Clerc) was born on De-cember 26, 1785 in La Balme les Grottes, France, a village on the northeastern edge of Lyon. Clerc has been called “The Apostle of the Deaf in America” and “The Father of the Deaf” by generations of American deaf people. With Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, he co-founded the first school for the deaf in North America, the Hartford Asylum for the Education and Instruc-tion of the Deaf and Dumb on April 15, 1817 in the old Bennet’s City Hotel, Hartford, Connecticut. The school was subsequently re-named The American School for the Deaf and in 1821 moved to its present site. The school remains the oldest existing school for the deaf in the United States.

Clerc was the first great proponent of sign language instruc-tion over oral instruction in this country, an advocate for fun-damental rights for deaf people, such as the right to marry, and the inspiration for the spread of deaf education through-out the United States. Clerc’s knowledge of deaf people’s natural inclination to use sign language formed the basis of his view of deafness as a minority culture and not unlike language-minority groups that exist in the midst of majority cultures throughout the world. He held this minority culture view of deaf people, deafness and sign language more than a hundred years before the first comprehensive studies of the sign language of the deaf revealed it to be a natural language equivalent to English and all other spoken languages.

After moving to the United States, Clerc returned to visit France three more times. He assisted in 1864 with the opening of what would later be named Gallaudet University. Clerc died in 1869 and is buried in Hartford.

“I can’t pick a best moment, because the whole Clerc Classic

tournament was great”Marika Beyer

Austin Texas 2011

CLERC classic XI

Texas S

c

hool for the d

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About the Clerc Classic Tournament


CheerleadingAll‐TournamentKarla Weiner – MarylandTiara Finch ‐ IndianaIvy Davis ‐ FremontMarisa King ‐ TexasMarilyn Rivas ‐ RiversideRaven Sutton ‐ AlabamaSeth Washington ‐ MSSDMinesha Kabba ‐ Arkansas

Spirit AwardIndiana

Team Awards1st place: MSSD2nd place: Indiana3rd place: Maryland

BasketballTeam Awards Boys1st place: Maryland2nd place: Alabama3rd place: FremontConsolation Champs: Texas

Team Awards Girls1st place: Indiana2nd place: Alabama3rd place: MarylandConsolation Champs: Texas

All‐Tournament BoysTodd Bonheyo, MarylandJesse Steingieser, MarylandTrey Gordon, AlabamaDemetric Snider, Alabama

Antoine Nathaniel, FremontMohamed Kamara, MSSDAustin Hill, TexasRaymond Nelson, RiversideKyle Bingham, Indiana

All‐Tournament GirlsMegan Bernella, IndianaTraciAnn Hoglind, IndianaTuesdae Dunklin, AlabamaKanisha Jones, AlabamaAugusta Seremeth, MarylandAlexandria Brinkley, FremontMarika Beyer, TexasAdele Fass, MSSDShani Ambrester, RiversideRaki Gist, Arkansas

Austin Texas 2011

CLERC classic XI

Texas S

c

hool for the d

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Clerc Classic XI Awards

MVPBoys:

Shawn Harrington, MarylandGirls:

Kate Fetzer, Indiana

Boys: Alabama Girls: ArkansasSchool Sportsmanship Award

All Tournament Boys TSD Basketball Girls TSD Basketball Boys

All Tournament Girls All Tournament Cheerleading


By Avonne Brooker-Rutowski

On December 8, TSD had a very special guest when Julius Seeger came to visit. It

had been a long while since he had been here and like many of our alumni who return after a long ab-sence, he was a little confused by the campus. So many of the build-ings had changed since his heydays here both as a student and later as part of the faculty. We started our visit in the Auditorium, which is one of the favorite places for our Alumni to visit. We found his graduation class picture and Julius smiled as he recognized his photo-graph immediately. “Yes, yes, yes” he said, “This is 1943!” As I gazed at the picture, I thought “Wow!” What a good-looking young man! After seeing his photograph, Julius seemed to feel that he was back home in a familiar setting once again.

As we went through several buildings including Elementary, Middle School, High School, CTE and the Heritage Center, Julius was happy and contented and became visibly entertained by staff and especially the students passing by. He really studied them and must have been wondering what they would be doing after graduation. He shed some light tears when we walked by the sign designating the “Ruth Seeger Gym” and said he would like to see his wife, Ruth. When we went by the Jerry Hassell reading room, he said he remembered him well. We bumped into two career counselors, Karen Henry and Tamara Ocuto in the High School area. It was perfect timing! Both were so thrilled to meet Julius after having heard so much

about him in their work at our Career Center, named in his honor for his ac-complishments and dedication to his former students.

We brought Julius to the Career Center and he was quite stunned by the rec-ognition offered him throughout. He really made time to read the plaque on the wall explaining his contributions as a career counselor and could not believe he had done so much for students. We had to remind him that he was indeed, the man being described and with this, he showed his famous smile. He stayed in the Career Center for a long while and several students stopped by and recognized him. Some of them said “THANK YOU” to Julius and the sen-timent was so sweet!

Of course, we could not ignore the Cu-linary Arts program because of the de-licious aromas coming from just a few feet away. Ellen Quaack, the Culinary Arts aide treated him with two cook-ies (chocolate chip and peanut butter)

made by students and he enjoyed them with milk as we cruised down the mall to the Heritage Center. It was another perfect timing for another exciting en-

counter! When we went into TSD’s oldest building we found three alumni doing work there as volun-teers. Beth Strain, Brenda Mills and Glenn Brunson greeted us with wonderful stories. Glenn shared that Julius taught him printing and this is why he is still doing newsletters for senior citizens to this day. Julius really helped him with the layout of pictures and stories. Beth also shared that she had Ruth as a teacher and she considered her as a counselor for the girls, too. They talked about the old Towers building and Julius re-membered the superintendent’s of-fice, dorms and library. Julius loved the display of himself wearing a mili-tary uniform. He also talked about

how he and students made buttermilk and drank it all. He said “THICK milk”. It was really touching to be in the Heritage Center and watch Julius and his former students sharing fond memories right there in front of me.

We also stopped by the Pease building to say hello to Claire Bugen and her Ex-ecutive Leadership Team. Julius was so delighted to see her. They hugged and Julius was tickled pink when Claire blew a kiss on his cheek. The whole visit had been such a delight for him and my favorite part was when Claire asked him how he was feeling and Ju-lius responded “I feel very good because I get to see YOU!” He said it with Ranger pride! What a perfect and most cherished visit TSD had with Julius!

A Special Visitor At TSD

Julius Seeger


Texas Capitol Schoolhouse Returns for 2011 Texas Legislative Sessionby Mari Liles

On Monday, January 31, 2011, five high school Video Technology students along with several staff from TSD exhib-

ited their technology, video, and interview skills for visitors and lawmakers at the Texas Capitol Schoolhouse in the basement Capitol Rotunda using state-of-the-art educational technology. At the beginning of each legislative session, a group of approximately 12 school districts are invited to bring a small representative group of their students along with their teachers to show-case current applications of educational technol-ogy being used in their schools today. This year, the participating students utilized both PCs and Macs while working with video and sound edit-ing, robotics, iPods, iPads, online virtual learn-ing environments, 1:1 laptop computing, on-line interactive learning and other educational technologies. TSD students and staff have been invited to participate in this prestigious event a number of times over the past 18 years.

Our five TSD high school Video Technology students; Christian Escamilla, Ernesto Garcia, Jonathan Ford, Omar Valdovinos and Marissa King, under the direction of their teacher, Bob-bie Guerra, spent the day interviewing legis-lators, students from the other participating school districts, visitors, and dignitaries to try to capture the essence of how the budget crisis in the State of Texas might affect education and the technology that all students in the State of Texas rely upon on a daily basis. The TSD students not only represented our school with the questions they asked the legislators, but they represented questions being asked by many students and educators in the State of Texas. The Texas econ-omy and budget crisis has dominated the news during this legislative session and this year more than any other years in the past our students un-derstood what the legislators do and how impor-tant it was for them to take this opportunity to share their perspective and needs with the law-makers of Texas. That added more stress to the preparation for this year’s Texas Capitol School-house event but the students were more passion-ate about their issues than other years past. The interviews that were recorded on video will be compiled and edited by the students in ‘Zealous Studio’ to make the official DVD for the Texas

Capitol Schoolhouse that will be shared with the legislators, the schools that participated in the event and the TSD community.

High School Video Technology teacher Bob-bie Guerra said. “I am always impressed with the comfort level that our students extend to the other students and legislators who they are interviewing. Communication is not an issue- the students know

Omar Valdovinos, Christian Escamilla,

Marissa King, Ernesto Garcia, and

Jonathan Ford.


Q&A with Christian EscamillaDescribe your experience in participating in the Texas Capitol Schoolhouse project this year?

Participating in the Texas Capital School House was really an eye-opener for me to see all that is going on with our community. I en-joyed interviewing a variety of people and even getting the chance to interview Senator Shapiro. It was a really good experience work-ing with my peers and having the opportunity to go out to the com-munity and represent TSD.

How did you feel about being selected to be recognized on the Senate Floor?

Being selected to be on the Senate floor was probably one of the best moments of the entire event. I will never forget the feeling I had when Senator Zaffirini was introducing me.

Comment on your opportunity to meet Senator Zaffirini.

I felt very pleased to meet her and to be a part of such an honorable experience.

What was the most memorable moment for you?

Representing TSD and getting recognized on the Senate floor was the most memorable moment for me. I would have never thought that my Senator from Laredo would have done the “I love you” sign or would have even known about it. It was really touching for her to have signed that just for me.

What will be your words of encouragement to the TSD students and community about this experience?

We might often feel as if no one is listening to the Deaf community, but it is our responsibility to put ourselves out there in both commu-nities. You never know whom you might meet or when you might have an opportunity to make a difference.

how to use interpreters and how to set up the interviews and video shots etc. Recording good sound quality is always an issue because of the acoustics in the lower rotunda but our students do a GREAT job. I am always so proud of our students with their leadership role in creating this DVD for the Texas Capitol Schoolhouse.”

It was also a great honor for our senior, Christian Escamilla, to be recognized on the Senate floor by Senator Zaffirini. Senator Shapiro also took the opportunity in front of the Senate group to recognize TSD for ‘excellence’ and to share the experience she had with our students earlier in the day in the Capitol Rotunda.

Christian Escamilla and Senator Judith Zaffirini.

Ernesto Garcia interviews Tom Burnett while Jonathan Ford video records.

Christian Escamilla, Marissa King and Ernesto Garcia show the NASA video to Senator Shapiro.

Senator Shapiro is interviewed by Christian Escamilla.


By Susan Greene

In April 2010, TSD was awarded a $600,000 grant from the Texas Workforce Commission to provide career-readiness and job-training opportunities for deaf and

hard of hearing students. A portion of the grant funds was used to start Ranger Press, a student-run business specializing in a variety of custom print products such as T-shirts, vinyl banners, window decals, and most recently, professional printing/copying services.

The primary purpose of Ranger Press is to teach hands-on occupational training and employability skills for TSD students, ages 16-22, who are interested in careers in digital printing or graphic design. According to the Department of Labor, digital printing is the fastest growing segment within the production market field. The goal of Ranger Press is to prepare students for this exciting career opportunity while they are in school so that they acquire the skills they need to become competitively employed in the future.

Ranger Press introduces students to the realities of working in a graphic design and digital print shop. Since its grand opening in August 2010, more than 20 students from high school, SND, and 18+ Programs have participated in the Ranger Press work-training program. Students have learned various aspects of the print business including design, customer service, product development, and sales.

The program strives in every way to replicate an authentic business environment so that students learn first-hand what is expected from them in the workplace. All students are required to submit a job application and participate in an interview prior to starting at Ranger Press. Students also take part in a new employee orientation that includes training on work ethics, policies and procedures, human resource issues, and safety.

From T-shirts to banners and brochures, Ranger Press is already building its reputation for offering high quality products and services at extremely competitive prices. The

feedback that the program has received from customers has been very positive.

Ranger Press is open August-May during and after school hours. The business will also be opened limited hours in June. All profits earned from Ranger Press go directly back to the business to purchase supplies and materials.

If you would like a brochure or place an order, please contact Ranger Press Manager, Mark Johnston at [email protected]

Ranger Press Now Open for Business

Ranger Press Manager, Mark Johnston

Ranger Press’s new printer and copier, Xerox 700

Eric Sermeno works in some decals. Banner printing.Horacio Hernandez (left) & Cartille Wade (right) t-shirt printing.


By Dvorah Ben-Moshe

Exciting news for Austin: Tamara Suiter Ocuto, a career counselor at the Texas School for the Deaf, is the host of AC-

CESS News, a unique news, information, and civic learning television program presented in American Sign Language with captions and English voice over that includes student-pro-duced content.

In July 2010, Civication, Inc. in partnership with the Austin Community Foundation was awarded a two-year challenge grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to de-sign and produce a television program, ACCESS News using new media and technology.

The project was designed to accomplish impor-tant objectives: 1) support democratic ideals by sharing vital information in an inclusive and ac-cessible manner 2) fulfill community informa-tion needs 3) foster community engagement and 4) help residents participate in the creation and sharing of news and information.

Gallaudet University Regional Center South-west, the Arts and Humanities Division at Aus-tin Community College, and the Texas School for the Deaf are collaborating with ACCESS News to create the civic content segments of ACCESS News.

In addition, ACCESS News will create an in-ternship program with ChannelAustin to pro-vide an opportunity for students to gain profes-sional experience, understand how a television station functions and learn journalistic skills.

We are hopeful ACCESS News will be a fun, informative, inclusive and accessible source of important news and information for all residents of Austin.

For more information about the ACCESS News

Coming Soon to Austin

Q&Awith Tamara Suiter-OcutoHow did you get involved in this project?

Bobbie Guerra, TSD CTE teacher, recommended my name to Dvorah & Ken since she learned I have been volunteering as a sportscaster for SportsMX.

What are your expectations about Access News?

Access News will be the missing link to share vital civic information and promote community engagement by increasing involvement in public policy issues in underserved communities.

What has been the most challenging part of this project?

Learning how to interview like Barbara Walters! Also, learning the ropes in entertainment business especially when I’ve been working in the education system for a while.

What message can you give to the TSD community about how Access News will affect their lives?

The more people know about this show, the more effect it has on the entire TSD community as well as the deaf community. Hopefully other cities will catch on what we are doing here and then this effort becomes not only city-wide but nation-wide!

and how to submit content please visit http://www.civication.org/what-we-do/events.

ACCESS News is in development and scheduled to air on KLRU-TV, Austin PBS. Programs will be uploaded and archived on an interactive web platform.

Ken Hurley is the Director of Civication, Inc and Dvorah Ben-Moshe is the President of Civi-cation, Inc. and the mother of Ilan Ben-Moshe, a ninth grade student at the Texas School for the Deaf.

Journal of the Texas School for the Deaf 15 Journal of the Texas School for the Deaf 15

Meet Tyran P. Lee TSD Governing Board Member

Welcome our new TSD Govern-ing Board Mem-ber, Tyran P. Lee of Humble, Texas. Governor Rick Perry appointed him in December 2010. Mr. Lee is filling the role of Alumni on our board and his term will expire on January 31, 2013.

Other Winterat TSD

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow....

Nature Science Center Adventure

On December 7th. Thirteen students visited and had fun at the skate ring located on the Whole Foods flag store during the Elementary After School program.

Ashlene Etkie, Marissa Giuntoli, Alyssa Glennon, Tyler Glennon, Shannon Hoyt, Kaci Ketchum, Jordan Leach, Tang Oberrender, Ariella Perepelkin, Augustus Polk, Hannah Puent, Annabelle Scroggins, Rebekah Scroggins, Dylan Sorenson, Zara Thompson, Jory Valencia, Zachary Williamson and Jahren Ramborger.

Shannon Hoyt, Ariella Perepelkin, Dylan Sorenson, Alyssa Glennon, Tang Oberrender and Annabelle Scroggins play and learn under the fossil replica.


By Terri Coahran

TSD’s Girl Scout Troop #3949 finished the Girl Scout Cookie Sales in a high note. The

girls sold 1,428 boxes of cookies and earned re-ally close to $500. They also received donations from our TSD Community towards Operation Cookie - which is a Girl Scout mission to send cookies to our soldiers overseas. Our girls do-nated 54 boxes of cookies to this mission.

Our number 1 cookie seller: Isadora Egbert - sold 240 boxes of cookies!!!!

The girls plan to spend their money on a cam-pout/overnight event and a field trip. The older girls in the troop are planning the overnight event, which will take place in April.

TSD has 17 active Girl Scouts in the Troop. 2 girls are from the Regional Day School for the Deaf Program in Round Rock. The age ratio goes from 5 (Kindergarten and a Daisy Girl Scout) to 16 (10th grade and an Ambassador Girl Scout).

So far this year the girls have learned about Girl Scouting in the USA. They have earned badges associated with Girl Scouts in the USA, Cook-ies, Flag Etiquette and Art. They have learned about Girl Scouting and Girl Guides around the world and will be receiving their World Associa-tion Pin very soon.

At the end of the year ceremony in May, our Girl

Scouts will be retiring a flag (disposing of it ap-propriately, in a ceremony and burning it).

When the school year started all the girls wanted to do was “Sell Cookies!” Now they see that Girl Scouting encompasses a lot more than just cook-ies - and they are interested in doing just about anything. Some of the upcoming highlights will be:

1) Extracting DNA from a strawberry

2) Retiring an older, unusable USA Flag

3) Working on the Wildflower Girl Scout Patch

4) Learning about GeoCaching

The Girl Scouts meet every Monday that there is school from 3:30 - 5:00 pm. All girls are wel-come!

TSD Girl Scout Cookie Sale

Winterat TSD

Top picture: Operation Cookie (Seated from L-R) Marissa Giuntoli, Isadora Egbert, Kennedy Tuynes, Ariella Perpelkin, Violet Garberoglio, Kalia Rosko, Cha’Risa Reins, Zara Thompson.(Standing from L-R) Emma Giuntoli, Gissel Arriaga, Chelsea Lopez, Soncee Dever, Sydney Pierce, Rebecca Giuntoli, Alicia Davis, Alyssa Heidlen, Courtney Hinton.

Bottom picture: No matter the cold or the snow Zara Thompson, Ariella Perpelkin, Gissel Arriaga, Courtney Hinton and Sydney Pierce were out selling cookies.


By Fernando Munoz with information from Fox7-Austin

On December 8th, Signing Santa visited all the deaf and hard of hearing kids in Austin. Sponsored by the Northwest Optimist and Junior Optimist Clubs,

this was a great opportunity for kids and family to relay their holiday wishes using ASL directly to Santa and on to the North Pole. Santa and his helpers from the Optimist Clubs - with volunteers from National Instruments - offered each child a free photo with Santa and a small treat from under the holiday tree. Students from the Texas School for the Deaf provided entertainment by performing interpreted holiday carols.

This event even got media coverage by Fox 7 Austin and the sta-tion interviewed our own Egbert family:

“The Egbert kids eagerly await their chance to meet him. Xavier wants a dinosaur. Isadora is asking for a computer, an IPod, some clothes and a camera. And for two-year-old Amelia, it was her first time to talk to Santa.

“I think it’s cool, it’s very nice, I’m very thankful they get this op-portunity,” the kids’ father, Clyde Egbert, tells us.

Isadora knows Santa won’t come to her house until December 25th, but says she’s excited to talk with him ahead of time.

“This is the only time for us that we were able to communicate with Santa,” adds Clyde.

The North Austin Optimist Club helped bring Signing Santa to the mall so deaf kids around Central Texas could tell him all they want for Christmas. For several hours, a line of ecstatic kids waited to meet this Santa who understands them. Employees with the Texas School for the Deaf estimate there were about 200 kids there.”

http://www.myfoxaustin.com/dpp/top_stories/Deaf-Kids-Tell-Santa-Their-Christmas-Lists-20101208-ktbcw

Signing Santa Visited Austin

Other

The Egbert family visiting Signing Santa and being interviewed by Fox7-Austin.


Austin Hill Named Football Player of the YearBy Kelvin Etkie

The National Deaf Interscholastic Athletics Association (NDIAA) named Texas School for the Deaf student Austin Hill “Football Play-er of the Year”. This is a very pres-tigious award and Austin Hill is only the seventh player from TSD who has received this distinction. (Lee Montez ‘47, Bobby Fuller ‘68, Jason Plummer ‘88, Daniel Sweet ‘97, Brandon Reese ‘ 99, Delvin Furlough ‘07)

This year Austin Hill also broke four football records here at TSD. The records are for the most touch-down receptions in a season and career with 13 touchdowns and the most reception yards in season and career with 1,173 yards.

Congratulations to Austin Hill, we are proud of your success and Ranger spirit!

H O M E O F T H E

Did you Know?

Four former TSD graduates were part of the Gallaudet University volleyball

team last fall. Three girls shown in the pictures were “stand out” star athletes

in volleyball, basketball, track and softball during their years here at TSD.

(L to R) Lynn Boren (‘89), Krystal Johnson (‘09), Paige Johnson (‘08) and Delasha Singleton (‘08).

Rangers Take on the Leopard ClassicOn December 10th and 11th our TSD basket-ball teams participated in the Leopards Clas-sic at Arkansas. We congratulate all of our basketball players and cheerleaders for their excellent performance on and off the court the whole weekend.

TSD Boys • 2010 Leopards Classic

Champs• Free throw Contest

Champs• 3 pt contest Champs

TSD Girls• 2010 Leopards Classic

Champs• 3 pt contest Champs

TSD Varsity Boys Basketball team.

TSD Varsity Girls Basketball team.


KicK Up YoUr HeelsFor A BrilliAnt evening oF Fine Dining,

exclUsive entertAinment & FABUloUs FUn!

tHUrsDAY, mAY 19, 2011Hilton Austin

500 EAst FourtH strEEt

Students from the Texas School for the Deaf (TSD) are featured at an evening of exquisite dining and exciting enter-tainment Guests will indulge in specially prepared gourmet, wine-paired courses—creations by TSD student chefs, covet thrilling silent and live auction offerings, and enjoy special inter-active entertainment, music and dancing.

• FUND THE GAP between legislative appropriations and the growing needs of our students, teachers and staff.

• Bring COMMUNICATION AND LITERACY tools into the classroom through technology.

• Expand and improve awareness of the school’s STATEWIDE OUTREACH programs.

• Support NEW SCHOOL INITIATIVES to meet our rising enrollment and growing population of students with

unique and diverse needs.

• Strengthen lifelong opportunities for students through CAREER TRAINING AND EDUCATION programs.

THE

TEXA S S CHOO L FO R TH E D EA F

FOUNDATION PRESENTS

w w w . t s d F d i A m o n d E v E n t . c o m

Together we level the educational and social playing field for deaf and hard of hearing children and their families.Your Support helps the Foundation and the Texas School for the Deaf (TSD):

For reservations and sponsorships, visit:

Lone Star Winter 2010-2011

Documents

Transcript of Lone Star Winter 2010-2011