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----- Original Message -----
From: Perkins School for the Blind
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2007 12:43 PM
Subject: Perkins Insight Issue III : Literacy
All we see is possibility...
IN THIS ISSUE
Inside Story
Take Action
Perkins International
News
Important Dates
Support Perkins
Perkins Spotlight
Featured Product
Other Resources
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IMPORTANT DATES
October 15 - November 26, 2007
A special one month show of artwork by Perkins students. Learn more.
October 20, 2007
For families of school age children who are blind or deafblind,
ages 6-22. Learn more.
Visit us online to see what's new at Perkins!
View the Perkins Training Center Schedule.
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Please visit our
website to make a
secure online gift.
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PERKINS SPOTLIGHT
Roz Rowley, Secondary Teacher/Perkins Alumna
In September of 2001, Stephen, a bright nineteen-year old student
with a history of failed attempts to learn to read Braille stepped into the
classroom of Perkins teacher Roz Rowley. In fact, before coming to Perkins, he
had been advised not to bother pursuing academics at all. "As soon as I started
to teach Stephen, I could tell that he had given up on learning to read," said
Rowley, a Perkins alum herself. "Not only did Stephen have great difficulty
learning the letters and contractions, he also had poor phonemic awareness - he
could not master the sounds that form words, the very foundation of literacy. I
needed to find a different way to teach this information to him, and that's
what I intended to do."
Learn more about Roz's story.
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FEATURED PRODUCT
Perkins Panda Literacy Program
Perkins Panda materials are designed to teach early literacy skills
to children with visual impairments. These books incorporate print, braille and
tactile graphics to help beginning learners make connections between the
printed word and the real object.
You can purchase a complete kit or individual books, activity
guides and other pieces on our website. Learn more about the Perkins Panda
Literacy Program
Perkins would also like to extend a special thanks to the Lions
Clubs in District 33K for their generous grant that will provide 255 Perkins
Panda kits to area libraries, teachers and families.
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OTHER RESOURCES
Please visit our website for more information on:
Braille & Talking Book Library
Blind and Visually Impaired Clearinghouse
Community Programs
International Programs
On Campus Programs
Professional Development
INSIDE STORY
Literacy is More than an Open Book
For many people, the word literacy brings up images of someone
reading a book from the library, writing a letter or reading the newspaper.
Now think about a student touching a cup that is mounted on the
wall at the entrance to the cafeteria to know that he is in the correct place
to have his lunch; a child taking a bathing suit from her object calendar to
tell her teacher that she wants to go swimming; a young man pointing to a
picture of a hamburger in his communication wallet to place his order at
McDonalds. These are all examples that literacy is a communication tool that
takes many forms.
Children who are sighted and hearing are continually exposed to
language and begin developing literacy skills from infancy, long before they
are formally taught reading and writing at school. Most preschool age children
know that the word on the red, octagonal street sign is STOP or that the sign
over the door at the movie theater is EXIT. They are immersed in a literacy
rich world that they can easily access.
For a child who is blind or deafblind, literacy skills are limited
because of their reducted access to the visual and hearing world. Often, the
stories that are read to them can only be heard. They may know that their
parent is turning pages of the book, but may not know that there are printed
words on those pages.
Literacy is the understanding that symbols represent objects,
events, concepts, people, and ideas. It must be carefully taught to all
children, but especially to children who are blind, deafblind or have
additional disabilities. Learn more about literacy or look at related resources.
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TAKE ACTION
National Coalition on Deafblindness seeks increase for the federal
program supporting deafblind services
The National Coalition on Deafblindness has been working to secure
a $2 million dollar increase for the federal program that supports deafblind
services. Despite a doubling in the population of children who are deafblind
over the last twenty years, federal funding has remained level. Inflation has
further reduced the purchasing power of these funds to nearly half of what they
could provide for in 1985. Earlier this year, Rep. Markey led an effort to send
a group letter, signed by seventeen of his colleagues, to the House
Appropriations Committee asking for a $2 million dollar increase. During the
House deliberations of the Labor HHS budget, Rep. McCaul (R-TX) offered an
amendment seeking these funds, which was accepted and passed. Despite this, the
Coalition has been recently advised that the House may pass a large omnibus
appropriation bill instead of individual ones and is asking individuals to send
letters to Chairman David Obey asking that, should the leadership decide to do
an omnibus bill, the $2 million extra for deafblind services be included per
the amendment he accepted on the house floor. Learn more about this initiative.
Letters should be addressed to:
The Honorable David Obey, Chairman
Subcommittee on Labor HHS & Education
House Appropriations Committee
2358 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515 OR
Fax your letter to: (202) 225-3509*
*Letters sent to the DC office by mail may experience significant
delays; therefore we encourage you to fax your letter.
Please email copies of your letters to Betsy McGinnity.
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PERKINS INTERNATIONAL
Where in the World is Perkins?
Perkins Braillers(R), a typewriter-sized braille writing machine
are known internationally as an entry path to braille literacy.
In the decade since Resources for the Blind, Inc. in the
Philippines began introducing braille to children who are blind at their summer
camp, their commitment to braille literacy and the Perkins Brailler(R) has
grown. Resources for the Blind, Inc. began with 20 braillers which were loaned
to teachers throughout the country who were working with mainstreamed students.
Since then, Resources for the Blind, Inc. and Christoffel-Blindenmission (CBM),
a leading professional organization for people with disabilities worldwide,
have made over 100 braillers available to teachers working in integrated
schools.
Randy Weisser, Director of Resources for the Blind, Inc., says "the
braillers significantly improve the quality of education for blind children by
enabling teachers to produce braille worksheets, outlines, tests and other
required reading materials on demand, not weeks later. Students also use the
braillers to prepare assignments and other schoolwork."
The goal of Resources for the Blind, Inc., in Randy's words, is to
ensure that "there is at least one brailler in every school where blind
children are mainstreamed."
Learn more about Resources for the Blind, Inc. in the Philippines
or about the international impact of the Perkins Brailler(R).
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NEWS
Harry Potter Extravaganza
On July 21, over 200 patrons from the Braille & Talking Book
Library (BTBL) and Watertown Free Public Library and Perkins students and staff
attended a fun Harry Potter Extravaganza on campus. We celebrated the
simultaneous release of the braille and print editions of J.K. Rowling's Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final book in the popular Harry
Potter series. Matthew Shifrin of Newton (age 10) and Marisa Parker of
Mattapoisett (age 12) joined Boston Celtics alum Dana Barros and Director of
Player Personnel Dave Wohl to read the first chapter of the new book aloud.
Learn more about the BTBL PerKIDS program.
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Perkins School
for the Blind
175 North Beacon Street
Watertown, Massachusetts 02472 Phone 617-924-3434
Email Us
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