Adventures in Education 2011

Deaf Recording Artist Signmark Proves Anything is Possible

Rochester School for the Deaf • 1545 St. Paul Street • Rochester, NY 14621

With Regents-level educational programs, outreach services, and cultural support, Rochester School for the Deaf is one of America’s premier schools specializing in the education of children with hearing loss. Since 1876, RSD has built successful

futures for deaf and hard of hearing children and their families in Western and Central New York State.To learn more, please contact us today. Call 585-544-1240 (Voice/TTY) or visit www.RSDeaf.org.

ROCHESTER SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF

Building FuturesFall/Winter 2011/2012 Issue No.130

As the Finnish born deaf son of deaf parents Marko Vuoriheimo has achieved what some believed to be impossible—a successful career as a recording artist under contract with Warner Music, an international entertainment company.

Today, with two popular CD/DVD releases to his credit and more to come, Marko travels the world as rap and hip-hop star Signmark. With his bandmates, vocalist Brandon Bauer and “VJ” Ville Myllymaa, Signmark was the special guest presenter for the 2011 Adventures in Education program, October 12-13, at Rochester School for the Deaf.

Through his powerful mix of edgy rap-style music and lyrics, American Sign Language, hip-hop movements and projected visual effects, Signmark’s inspirational messages for RSD stu-dents, staff and supporters can be found in the words to many of his songs, such as “Speakerbox”: Just let your soul be your speakerbox l You got the keys right in your hand l Open the locks and do your thing l Let your soul be a speakerbox l There's beat in your heart, just let it play.

Signmark said that he and his bandmates were “blown away” by the interactions they had with RSD students during the Adventures in Education program this year. Beginning with a “red carpet” welcome from Early Childhood Center children and staff, Marko engaged students in every academic department and in the RASA @ RSD Center as well. He discussed his career and creative process, watched and

enjoyed RSD students' videos, signed autographs, and posed for pictures with students and staff. Signmark’s time at RSD culminated in a sold-out Thursday evening community recep-tion in the Learning Resource Center and presentation/concert in the school auditorium. Following an electrifying performance, Marko, Brandon and Ville graciously spent time with fans of Signmark, to sign CDs and DVDs, programs, posters and t-shirts.

“What we will remember most are the great people we met at RSD who were all so warm and friendly to us,” Ville said. Marko

agreed and added, “Of all the schools we've visited around the world, RSD definitely was one of the best experi-ences we've ever had. We felt close to all of you and you made us feel so welcomed and appreciated. All of the students were prepared so well. It was a great experience that we will never forget!”

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Founder’s Awards Honor Individuals’ Service and Achievements

(l-r) Dr. Thomas Pearson and Mr. Lowell Patric

On Wednesday evening, October 12, 2011, at ARTISANworks, on Blossom Road in the city, Rochester School for the Deaf hon-ored two outstanding individuals with the school’s prestigious Perkins and Lyon Founder’s Awards. The ceremony was held in conjunction with the annual reception for underwriters of the Adventures in Education program.

This year’s Perkins Founder’s Award recipient is Mr. Lowell Patric.

Mr. Patric is recognized for his 23 years of volunteer leader-ship on RSD’s Board of Directors. Mr. Patric’s tenure on the Board includes two years as President, a member of the Finance Committee, Past Chair of the Finance Committee and Treasurer. One of his most outstanding contributions was the planning and execution expertise he provided to RSD’s major campus renova-tion, during which he was instrumental in helping the school to secure $14 million in financing through the New York State Dormitory Authority.

Professionally, Mr. Patric has an extensive background as an entrepreneur and business leader, including several years serv-ing as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Rochester Community Savings Bank. He is the founder and current Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Karma Culture, a startup company that manufactures and distributes a vitamin and additive enriched wellness water.

Yet, amidst his very active business and family life, Mr. Patric has always been steadfast in his support of any and every initiative benefitting deaf and hard of hearing students who attend RSD.

This year’s recipient of the Lyon Founder’s Award is Dr. Thomas Pearson.

Dr. Pearson has been a Professor of Community and Preventive Medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry since 1997, and Director of the Rochester Prevention Research Center since 2005. Prior to this, he had held positions at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University.

In 2005, Dr. Pearson organized an effort which resulted in a Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention grant to establish the National Center for Deaf Health Research (NCDHR). Dr. Pearson, as Director of NCDHR, emphasized the need for a bilingual faculty and staff, the hiring of American Sign Language-fluent Deaf and hearing colleagues, the creation of opportunities for summer internships for Deaf students, the inclusion of Deaf Community members at all levels of the research process, and the completion of the world’s first health survey of Deaf persons. He was especially instrumental in raising CDC’s awareness that Deaf persons constitute a linguistic and cultural minority with many unmet health needs. The NCDHR has raised awareness about Deaf Health, provided informa-tion about the health needs of Deaf persons, involved the Deaf Community in all processes, employed and trained Deaf persons on research teams (including at leadership roles) and serves as a magnet for Deaf persons around the world to visit and study in Rochester as an international center of excellence in the promo-tion of health in Deaf persons.

RSD Staff and Board of Directors News

Honoring Years of Service

10 Years• Debra Couglar, LPN• Shirley Mostyn, Accountant

15 Years• Becky Kindleberger, Nursing supervisor

25 Years• Victoria Gutierrez, Secretary• Rita Rood-Olson, Recreation supervisor• Rosemary Sadwick, Teacher• Kathy Wright, Teacher

Staff joining RSD:• Jorge Cordero, Housekeeper• Regina Cullen, Secretary• Jenna McNamara, Teacher

Staff reassignments:• Wayne Cayea, Vocational Evaluator• Susan C. Searls, Interim Director, Early

Childhood Program

Staff retirements:• Marilyn Curley, Director, Early Childhood

Programs, 20 years• Steve Gonzalez, Senior Housekeeper, 22

years• Carol Loftus, Secretary, 9 years

Board of DirectorsDr. Mowl and the Board of Directors and the RSD community of students, families and staff thank Dr. Timothy Cottrell and Ms. Pamela Ferguson who left the Board of Directors after many years of dedi-cated service and support to our school. Congratulations Mr. Bernard Hurwitz, newly elected as President of the Board of Directors and Dr. Michael Doughty, newly elected as 1st Vice President of the Board. Welcome to the Board of Directors these new members: Dr. Poorna Kushalnagar, Mr. Patrick Tobin, and Mr. Gerard C. Walter.

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On Friday evening, October 14, 2011, and as part of the RSD Alumni Association reunion to celebrate the 135th anniversary of the school, five well-deserving individuals were inducted into the RSD Athletic Hall of Fame.

Patricia “Patti” Palmer Canne was a multi-sport athlete at RSD. She was MVP for basketball and softball, was an ESDAA All-Star in basketball and was Channel 13 Athlete of the Week in 1981. Patti scored 1,052 points in her basketball career and received the Ames Curchin Outstanding Athlete Award in 1979. Currently, Patti coaches the RSD girls basketball team. Her 2009 team won the ESDAA Championship.

David Feathers excelled in soccer and basketball at RSD. He is a five-time soccer MVP and played on National Soccer Championship teams, in 1998 and 2000. David received the Ames Curchin Outstanding Athlete Award in 1999. In 2000 he was named National Soccer Player of the Year. The All-American athlete was also named to All-Star Teams for basketball and soc-cer during ESDAA tournaments.

Paula Reed Hanson dedicated 31 years to physical education and athletic programs at RSD. She coached cheerleading,

softball, soccer, volleyball and basketball for over 20 years and was Athletic Director for 24 years. Her cheerleading teams won 11 ESDAA Championships. In 2008, Paula was inducted into the Batavia, NY, High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

Roderick “Roddy” McNeil was the first to earn the varsity letter “R” at RSD, and he has three letters in basketball, baseball and soccer. He is best known as a defensive specialist. In 1947 he played on an undefeated soccer team, was basketball team captain and set a record for total points in a season.

Nicholas Nugent initiated the first athletic program for girls at RSD. He was a Physical Education Teacher and Athletic Director for more than 25 years. Nicholas coached baseball and basketball teams at RSD. Coach Nugent was instrumental in RSD joining the ESDAA. He was a basketball referee for over 20 years and coached several championship teams throughout his career. Mr. Nugent died in November 2004 at the age of 90.

To see pictures from this special ceremony, go to the Photos & Videos Center at www.RSDeaf.org

Athletic Hall of Fame Inducts Five

Briefly …from 1545 St. Paul Street

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RSD Middle School at the 25th Annual Deaf Space Camp

Nine Middle School stu-dents from RSD were among 26 deaf and hard of hearing children, from Alabama, Illinois, Ohio, Maryland, New York and Wisconsin, to attend the 25th Annual Deaf Space Camp, August 14-19, 2011. The group

from Rochester traveled to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, in Huntsville, Alabama, led by their teachers Ms. Carla Bonaldi and Mr. Gene DiVincenzo. There were two levels of participation: Space Academy/Mach II training, and Advanced Space Academy/Mach III training. Highlights for space campers included use of various flight and mission simulators, role playing during a mock mission, rocketry, and an array of team-building activities. Camp week concluded with students receiving their certificates of completion, awards for Spacebowl competition, as well as team and individual awards.

RSD Archive Center Unveils Museum Room

The historic first-floor boardroom in the land-mark Perkins Hall building on the RSD campus has been transformed into a unique museum room. This recently renovated space now proudly

displays a broad selection of the school's treasured objects, documents and artifacts from the Carolyn White Siegfried & DeFois Hathaway Siegfried Archive Center, headquartered on the second floor of Perkins Hall. In addition to museum-style displays organized by theme, the room offers a computer, user interface and a large flat-screen display, for visitors and researchers to access the archive center’s growing collections of digitized docu-ments, photographs and vintage motion picture films. Staffed by volunteers and a part-time archivist, the new museum room and main archive center in Perkins Hall are open to visitors and researchers by appointment. Contact: archives@rsdeaf.org.

Magazine Features Gonzalez Family of RSD

The September 2011 edition of the Rochester Area & Genesee Valley Parent magazine included a profile of the Gonzalez family: parents Kimberly and Ramon and their three children: Abigail, Zander and Adriana, who attend RSD. The profile on the Gonzalez family was part of the article titled “What We Share,” about local families whose parents and children share a similar disability. Like their three children, Kimberly and Ramon are also deaf. The magazine is available free in stores like Wegmans and is read by more than 74,000 monthly.

4201 Schools Association at the New York State Fair

For the first time ever, the 4201 Schools Association, serving the educational needs of children in New York State who are deaf, blind and severely physi-cally disabled, shared aspects of their eleven unique schools with patrons attending the New York State Fair, August 25 through September 5, 2011, in Syracuse, NY. The 4201 Schools Association booth was located in the popular Art and Home Center, where students and their families and staff from many of the 4201 Schools shared information about their educational programs and services with Fair goers. On Governor’s Day at the Fair, 4201 Schools Association chairman Dr. Harold Mowl met briefly with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, to thank him personally and on behalf of all 4201 Schools for the support he has provided to the group of schools for deaf, blind and severely physically disabled children all across the State.

Boys Soccer

When the final seconds of the Western New York Christian Athletic Association (WNYCAA) boys soccer league cham-pionship match counted down to zero, the scoreboard read Wildcats – 4, Eagles – 3. At that moment, on the evening of Saturday, October 22, 2011, under the lights at the Cohocton, NY, Sports Complex, RSD defeated Union Springs Academy (USA) to become the WNYCAA boys soccer league champion. In that game, Wildcat Paul Stewart scored on USA first to put Rochester on the board 1-0. Wildcat Kenneth Gentzke III would go on to score the next three goals for Rochester for his 4th Hat-Trick of the season and Most Valuable Player honors in the victory over USA for the league championship.

Earlier in the season, the Wildcats defeated the Lions of Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf 3-0 to capture the Eastern Schools for the Deaf Athletic Association (ESDAA) Northern Regional Soccer Championship. The tournament was held at RSD as part of the school’s 2011 Homecoming, September 23-24. All-Star honors for the tournament went to Wildcats Kenneth Gentzke III, who was also named Most Valuable Player; Timothy Artinian; Alosha Cerney; and Paul Gentzke.

The boys from Rochester wrapped up their league and ESDAA championship season with 10 wins, 2 losses and one tie. The Wildcats are coached by Ms. Mary Cook; Mr. Scott Lipitz is assistant coach.

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Girls Volleyball

The 31st Annual ESDAA Division II Volleyball Championship Tournament, November 4-5, 2011, was hosted by New Jersey School for the Deaf. The school is 340 miles away from Rochester, and the trek there by bus can take over 6 hours.

The excitement of the tournament, and the anticipation of defending their ESDAA crown from 2010, must have energized the Lady Wildcats. Despite a long bus ride Friday, the girls from Rochester won all five of their opening round matches and also went on to sweep the tournament skills competition. Wildcat Trisha Sickler-Sherman won the serving competition; Wildcats Sarah Stanislow and Brianna Di Giovanni won the setting competition; and, Wildcats Marissa Woodruff and Klimentina Klimentyeva won the passing competition.

To retain the ESDAA D-II volleyball cham-pionship RSD defeated 4th seed New Jersey and 2nd seed, St. Mary’s School for the Deaf on Saturday. Wildcats Sarah Stanislow and Marissa Woodruff received All-Tournament Team honors.

Other highlights of the Lady Wildcats championship season include the girls stunning 18 wins, with only 4 losses and one tie. Senior Wildcat Marissa Woodruff concludes her Wildcat volleyball career after having broken school records in: Aces in one season – 97; Career aces – 315; Service points in one season – 166; Career service points – 479; Career assists – 403; Career kills – 100; and, Career blocks – 13. Wildcat Trisha Sickler-Sherman broke the RSD record for percent-age of serves that were in – 95 percent. The Lady Wildcats are coached by Mrs. Heather Mooney; Mr. Garrette Demko is assistant coach.

Empire State Games for the Physically Challenged

A proud tradition of sportsmanship, team-work and pride for their school continued again this year, as 13 exceptional student-athletes from RSD participated in the 25th Annual Empire State Games for the Physically Challenged. The Games were held October 15, 2011, at The College at Brockport State University of New York. As a group, the student-athletes from RSD earned a total of 56 medals, in events such as throwing, bowling, swimming, run-ning, jumping and archery. Guiding them at the games were RSD Physical Education Teachers: Mrs. Carah Taylor and Mr. Scott Lipitz; Teaching Assistants: Ms. Nancy Britt, Mr. Randy Dunham, Ms. Jodi Forrest, Mr. Mickey Helmick, Mr. Kevin Perrin, and Mr. Jeff Pratt.

Fall 2011 Athletics Round-up

Inside This Issue...Adventures in Education 2011 “Signmark”

Founder’s Awards Honor Individuals’ Service and Achievements

RSD Staff and Board of Directors News

Fall 2011 Athletics Round-up

Athletic Hall of Fame Inducts Five

Briefly …from 1545 St. Paul Street

• RSD Middle School at the 25th Annual Deaf Space Camp

• 4201 Schools Association at the New York State Fair

• Magazine Features Gonzalez Family of RSD

• RSD Archive Center Unveils Museum Room

Building Futures is designed to inform staff, families, and friends of Rochester School for the Deaf about the school’s programs and services. Communication with RSD is encouraged. To learn more, please contact RSD today. Call 585-544-1250 (Voice/TTY) or visit www.RSDeaf.org.

Harold M. Mowl, Jr., Ph.D., Superintendent/CEO

Rochester School for the Deaf 1545 St. Paul Street

Rochester, NY 14621 www.RSDeaf.org

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