December 1, 2015 Volume 4, Issue 4

T E N N E S S E E S C H O O L F O R T H E B L I N D

One doesn’t become the 14th fastest sprinter in the world by only running a single race. In fact, as TSB’s Tim Tanner is finding out, it’s really quite a journey. Those in the TSB fami-ly following the speedster are aware (cont. pg.9)

NEW STAFF 2

SPECIAL SCHOOL 3

14TH FASTEST 3

SPANISH CLASS 4

DIRECTOR DESK 5

DR. VICKI KIRK 6

COTTAGE 7

MID-STATE 7

MEET THE BLIND 8

HARVEST DANCE 9

G-BALL POSTER 10

GO BOLDLY 12

SPOTLIGHT 14

VETERANS DAY 16

GOALBALL 17

LITTLE PUMPKIN 18

SPANISH CLASS 19

FIX A FEAST 19

EVENTS 20

Inside this issue:

The

14th Fastest in the World!

As we pass through another season of giving thanks, TSB’s Athletic Depart-ment has added to the list of things for which we can be thankful. Just re-turning from NCASB conference play in Missouri, the goalball teams have captured two 1st place championship trophies! Traveling to Missouri School for the Blind in St. Louis on Friday November 6, they joined eight other

schools anxious to compete. The competition indeed was fierce. But what did the Tiger Girls Team do? Only something that has never be-fore been done in conference play. They went undefeated! They won all 5 games they played. While watch-ing the other teams, the girls were nervous about facing Kentucky and Wisconsin. The team (cont. on pg.17)

2015 TSB Tiger Goalball NCASB Champion Teams: (left to right) Miguel Jose, Tim Tanner, Garrett Meeks, Marcus Johnson, Anothony Bonetti, Nick Heggie, Taylor Grenier, Cogan Waters, Alexanderia Wil-

liams, Demi Richards,Tori Harrison (front row) Coach Patrick Hector, Coach Alicia Blevins

Barbara Callis

One of five new YSWs, Bar-bara joins the team work-ing in cottage 6. She was born in Nashville, and lived in Donelson for 16 yrs. She has recently moved to Leba-non, TN. Married for 26 years, Barbara has 3 daugh-ters. Along with 5 dogs, she stays busy. Before coming to TSB, Barbara worked at an assisted living facility as a caregiv-er. She enjoys outdoor hiking, enjoying nature, cooking, and traveling to Gatlinburg and Florida. In my spare time Barbara said, “I like to make up recipes, dress my dogs up in clothing, and spending time with family.” She also loves help-ing people and working with children.

Kimberly Coleman

Originally from St Louis Mo., Kimberly moved to Nash-ville in 2008 to take care of her mother prior to her death in April 2009. She is married to a “wonderful man” name Kenneth and has two sons named LaMont'e (26) and Steven (22). Kimberly was a Certified Nurse Assis-tant for 16 years, working with the elderly, children, hospice, mental, dementia, and those in special education. “I love what I do” said Kim-berly. She transfers to TSB from Middle Ten-nessee Mental Health where she served for 3 years as a psyc tech. Kimberly is an YSW in cottage 5 and says, “I love it already”. She went on to say; “I hope I can make a difference in the work place. Team work is what matters.”

Elizabeth Manu-Pratt

Another Youth Service Worker joining the TSB staff is Elizabeth Pratt-Manu. Elizabeth was born in the capital city of Freetown, in the Re-public of Sierra-Leone, West-Africa. She went to an all-girls Catholic school, from kinder-

New Staff Fills Vacant Positions

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Roar of the Tiger

Marquette Tyus

garten through high school. Graduating with a General Certificate of Education (GCE) she went on to study in England, at the Bir-mingham College of Food and Domestic Arts. After her time in England she re-turned home to work as a manager in a French Hotel (Sofitel) before coming to the USA in 1987. Eliz-abeth has earned a BS from TSU. She is a widow, with a son and a grandson.

Floyd Thomas

Floyd joins the TSB staff as a nYSW. He comes from Arms Care. Floyd Thomas lives in Antioch and has been in Tennessee for 15 years. “I've been blessed with two beautiful children and a wonderful mother that has led me to this point” said Floyd. He is currently working in cottage 8 and said, “I’m very thankful to be a Youth Service Worker.”

Marquette Tyus

Marquette Tyus joins TSB as an YSW work-ing in cottage 10. An ’87 graduate of Halls High School in Knoxville, she was employed dur-ing her schooling and until 1993 by Tupperware. When Tupperware closed, Marquette continued her education at Tennessee Vocational School and began work at Baptist Memorial Hospital

Lauderdale in Ripley, TN. Her work continued in nu-merous positions with the hospital over the next fifteen years. Relocating to middle Tennessee, Marquette was employed by Home Health of Middle Tennessee and the Department of Children’s Services. Make Marquette feel welcome to the team!

Floyd Thomas

Barbara Callis

Kimberly Coleman

Elizabeth Manu-Pratt

of the most recent leg of the journey to Doha Qatar. It was exciting on Friday October 23, to see Tim competing as a member of the Unit-ed States World Team. In fact, Tim's 2nd heat race was scheduled as TSB’s annual Unity Conference was just getting underway. Es-telle Condra, the keynote speaker graciously paused her address in the auditorium so that the entire audience could watch the race on the large screen. Indeed, it was a proud moment for

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Volume 4, Issue 4

Speaking of a Special School Dear TSB Stakeholder,

I can hardly believe it’s December and Christ-

mas is just around the corner. Time seems to be

flying by at TSB!

We are excited to announce that our entire cam-

pus will offer wireless connectivity by the time

our students return from winter break. This will

include the B-wing, buildings 11 and 12, and all

cottages. We hope this will help our students to

be more productive as they work on their home-

work in the afternoons. Our teachers and resi-

dential staff are appreciative, too.

Thank you for your continued support of our

school, and I hope you enjoy the holiday sea-

son. We are excited about the coming

year and all the things we will accom-

plish together.

Respectfully,

Nathan Travis, Ed.S., NCSP Interim Superintendent

14th Fastest in the World (cont. from front cover)

TSB and the United States to have this young runner competing with world athletes. Tim’s per-sonal best time of 11.55 in the 100m race was just hundreds of a second short of qualifying him to compete in the finals. When all of the dust settled, Tim was listed as the 14th fastest 100m sprinter in the world. Rankings can be see at the following link: http://www.paralympic.org/sdms/web/ranking/at/

pdf/type/WR/list/282/category/out/evt/001/class/T13

TSB ‘s Tim Tanner, third from left , on the “world stage”.

During Hispanic Heritage Month Militza Anchun-dia’s classes studied unique aspects of the His-panic culture. After completion, students shared with classmates their findings. Topics studied by the students were: Venezuelan/Colombian border conflict and

roots of the problem. Cham Tea History and how to build a piñata along with

creating a piñata. Eh Gay Musical instruments. Maracas: the plant use

to build instrument, regions where this instru-ment is used, elaboration and display of Ma-racas. Brandt Shipley.

House of the Spirits book and author, Isabel Allende, literary work. Candi Herrera

Isabel Allende. Biography and her contri-butions to Latin American literature by Abigail Pace

Catrina Sculpture. Iconic figure of Mexican culture representing death and the way face it. Created by Tori Harrison

Hispanic Urban Legends. Taylor Grenier Hispanic Urban Legends. Courtney Wilson Hispanic cousin (desserts). Alisha Geary Spain facts. Miguel Jose Mexican revolution. Adam Carpenter Bull fighting tradition and controversy. Chris-

tian Black Musical instrument: Castanets, origins, how to

play them and materials used to construct them.

Music: Carlos Santana the Legend. Abby Claxton

Native Americans: The Incas. Carlos Medrano

Salvador Dalí: His life and contribution to contemporary art. Alexandria Williams

From Oct.29th – Nov 3rd the class displayed an altar in front of the auditorium as part of the cele-bration of Day of the Dead. The purpose was to expose the students to an aspect of the Hispanic culture. This project was in collaboration with Ms Leister’s art classes. Day of the Dead altars are built during Dia de los Muertos to honor the lives of those who have passed. They are often quite beautiful crea-tions, constructed with love and care. Alter crea-

Page 4

Roar of the Tiger

tions is one of the most important traditions dur-ing global Day of the Dead celebrations.

Traditionally, Hispanic families build an altar on the days leading up to November 2nd. Some people even start weeks in advance and hire professionals to build elaborate altars. Other al-tars are more modest, but are still built with sin-cere, loving intentions. On top of the altar, offerings are laid out for the dead — known as ofrenda in Spanish. These are items they believe the spirits will enjoy when they come back to earth to visit their living fami-lies and friends. People make an effort to lay out the best ofrenda they can afford, consisting of things the dead person enjoyed while s/he was alive. A Day of the Dead altar is usually arranged on a table top that is used exclusively for the altar, or it is built from stacks of crates. Altars have at least two tiers, sometimes more. The table or crates are draped with cloth (or sometimes a paper or plastic covering). An arch made of marigolds is often erected over top of the altar. Whether simple or sophisticated, Day of the Dead altars and ofrenda all contain certain basic elements in common. Here are the ofren-das that you will typically see on a Dia de los Muertos altar: Candles- lit to welcome the spirits back to

their altars. (cont. on pg. 5 )

Spanish Class Explores Hispanic Culture and Customs

Cham Tea and Militza Anchundia discuss the elements that

make up the altar for Day of the Dead

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Volume 4, Issue 4

From the Director’s Desk December 1, 2015

Hello All, Tis the Season to be Jolly, fa, la, la, la, la-----, la, la, la, la------. It is that time of year again. I can hardly believe it myself. I seems like only yester-day I was moving to Nashville, from Georgia. Here we are a little more than four months later, and it is also time for the winter holidays. TSB has a number of activities lined up for our students during De-cember. On December 1

st, Santa will be visiting our campus courtesy of

the Hermitage Lions Club. This event is for elementary and life skills stu-dents. On December 7

th, our TSB musical performing groups will have an even-

ing concert at 6:00 pm. Lion’s Club members from across the state will gather at TSB on De-cember 11

th to present our students with their annual gifts of $50. Each

student will receive a $50 bill for the holidays. Our Annual Winter Music Program will be on the last day of school before Winter Break on December 18

th. We would like to encourage parents and

family members to attend to support our student’s hard work on getting ready for this program. I would like to take this opportunity to express my wishes to you and yours for a Happy Holiday season in whatever way you celebrate it. So to close, I will simply say we wish you a:

Merry Christmas! - Joyeux Noel! - Felix Navidad!

Happy Hanukkah! - Happy Kwanzaa!

And a Happy New Year!

Dr. Kathy Segers Dr. Kathy Segers, Director of Instruction

Marigolds- yellow-orange flowers, also called

cempasúchitl, symbolize death Incense- commonly, copal incense, a dried

aromatic resin from a tree native to Mexico. Salt - represents the continuance of life. Photo of the deceased- a framed photo of

the dead person to whom the altar is dedicat-

ed, Pan de muerto- also known as "bread of the

dead", a symbol of the departed. Sugar Skulls- a symbol of death and the af-

terlife, given as gifts and offerings Fresh Fruit- whatever is in season — orang-

es, bananas, etc. Other Foods- foods such as atole, (cont. on pg.19)

Spanish Class Explores Hispanic Culture and Customs (cont. from pg. 4 )

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Roar of the Tiger

Dr. Vicki Kirk, Deputy Commissioner and Chief Academic Officer for the Tennessee De-partment of Education, paid TSB a visit on Thursday, November 12. On a whirlwind tour of campus, she was introduced to sever-al academic and life skills classes, saw the braille produc-tion of a book in progress, and met with students.

On the Life Skills side of campus, Ms. Smith’s class of-fered Dr. Kirk a song and plenty of cuteness; Sean Weinheimer showed his skill using assistive technology during Sarah Underwood’s morning meeting. Dr. Kirk visited several academic clas-ses and was im-pressed by Braille teacher Domonique Lawless’s descrip-tion of the many ac-commodations the school makes to af-ford students access to a large variety of learning materials.

When the tour stopped in at the Re-source Center for the Visually Im-paired (RCVI), housed in Building 14, Braille production-ist Carol Lewis just happened to be work-ing on a biology book that was destined for two of Dr. Kirk’s former students in Greene Coun-ty, TN. “ Biology books are some of the more difficult to prepare,” said Elaine Brown, director of the center. “Not only must the words be trans-

Deputy Commissioner Meets with TSB Students posed into Braille, but there are many graphics that require innovative reproduction techniques so that someone with a visual impairment can read them.”

Dr. Kirk visited the ECC cottage and learned more about TSB’s expanded core curriculum. She also saw the fun side of TSB, Building 11, where TSB students enjoy movies, arts and crafts, and other after-school activities.

But perhaps the most impressive offering on her tour was the meeting with TSB students. When asked by Dr. Kirk about their favorite thing about TSB, she received varied answers that ran the gamut from academics to close friendships. “My favorite thing about TSB is the STEM acad-emy and the opportunity to take dual enrollment classes,” said Corgan Waters, a senior, who has already earned 21 college credits through dual enrollment. Sophomore Alexanderia Wil-liams said she enjoys being in the dorm with her friends every night. Marcus Johnson, a jun-

ior, told Dr. Kirk how much he en-joys the sports and extracur-ricular activi-ties the school provides. When asked about goalball, all of the stu-dents de-scribed the game to our distinguished guest, who

was not familiar with the sport. Did the students mention that TSB won the

championship this year? You bet they did! And an invitation was extended to come and see the action first-hand this coming season. Thanks Dr.

Kirk for taking time to connect with us!

Dr. Vicki Kirk visited TSB this week.

In March she was appointed Chief

Academic Officer and Deputy Com-

missioner by Education Commis-

sioner Candice McQueen

After a tour of campus Dr. Kirk met with a group of students for a question

and answer session. Pictured above is: Asst. Director of Instruction Dr.

Tonja Dandy, Dr. Vicki Kirk, Cham Tea, Marcus Johnson, Corgan Waters,

Haddan Lewallen, TSB Principal Dr. Kathy Segers, Avery Mayberry, Alex-

andria Williams, Ricky Meadows and Keundre Mason

Three TSB vocalists recently competed along-side hundreds of sighted peers from middle Ten-nessee high schools hoping to gain a coveted spot in the Mid-State Choir. Carrie Carlisle, Al-exandria Williams and Brittany Wolfe were, all three, victorious making it through a difficult audi-tion process to claim the honor. TSB voice in-structor Georgette Seay was well aware of the process as she was chosen to be a head judge in another vocal division of the event. Carrie and Alexandria will perform in the Mid-State Women’s Chorus and Brittany was se-lected for the Mid-State Mixed Chorus. Both choirs will be performing at 1st Baptist Church, downtown Nashville on Tuesday, Nov 17th from

TSB Vocalists Receive Mid-State Honors

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Volume 4, Issue 4

December 2015

6:30pm to 9pm. The church is located at 108 S. Ave. South, Nashville, TN 37203. The concert is free and open to the public. In addition to Mid-State, Carrie and Brittany’s audition proved so outstanding that they were selected as alternates for the TN All-State Choir, a very high honor among their peers. Congrat- ulations girls!

Right: Alexan-

dria Williams,

Brittany Wolfe

and Carrie Car-

lisle

Welcome to Cottage Corner!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! This year is flying by, and it is hard to believe the Holiday Season is upon us! This time of year is always so exciting at TSB, and even as I sit here in my office writing this message, I can hear the voices of our students down the hall practicing their songs for the Holiday Program that is only a few short weeks away! The students in the cottages will be busy this month with many activ-ities and community visitors...including one jolly bearded man...and I bet you can’t guess who that will be!

Before all the holiday bustle though, the residen-tial department was in full Halloween swing with our dance and costume contest! Our friends at Delta Gamma helped judge the creative cos-tumes, and though the competition was stiff, here were the costume contest winners:

For ages 12 and under:

1st Place: Brianna Swindall – Pink Princess

2nd

Place: Jonathan Grissom - Clown

3rd

Place: Donnie Sands - Cheesecake

For agers 13 and over:

1st Place: Trenton Smith – Bowser

2nd

Place: Brittany Wolfe – FBI Agent

3rd

Place: Alexandria Williams – Statue of Liberty

This month the Residential Department wel-comed five new Youth Service Worker staff! Mr. Floyd Thomas, Ms. Barbara Callis, Ms. Mar-quette Tyus, Ms. Kimberly Coleman, and Ms. Elizabeth Manu-Pratt. This is fantastic group of people who are very excited to be a part of

the TSB family! Welcome to all of them!

We are so thankful to have the opportunity to work with your students in the residential pro-gram. I hope that you all are able to be a part of the holiday events at TSB, either in person or via our live stream that you can find on our website! The holiday programs do a fantastic job of show-casing our wonderfully talented students and are not to be missed!

Warmest Wishes to all of you! Happy Holidays!

Michelle Cormier Director of Residential Services

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Roar of theTiger

Celebrating National Meet the Blind Month give up on what I want to do in life.

Abigail Pace I really took a liking to my research. I thought John Milton to be a very cultural person. We both love the beau-tiful world of writing. I like that I got the expe-rience of speaking in public and being watched by an audi-ence. Although I am not the biggest fan of public speaking, I’d definitely do it again.

Elle Tuetken When I presented my report on John Bramblitt, I felt very anxious and nervous. I thought I was going to stutter while I was giving my presenta-tion in class except, when I was in the middle of talking about John Bramblitt, I didn’t feel nervous anymore. I started feeling very confident towards the end of the presentation. If I keep feeling con-fident while I am presenting in any of my classes then I will start to feel comfortable enough to be a little more social in school. I enjoyed writing my paper on this amazing blind artist. I can relate to his experiences of losing his vision. When John lost his vision, he was furious with himself be-cause he had lost all of his sight. I can definitely understand why John was furious with himself because I still have some emotions about losing my vision. It is very difficult for someone to lose their vision.

Chamroeun Tea I learned a lot about presenting. I learned that there are several different techniques people use to give presentations. Ms. Lawless chose a great topic for me. Dr. Jernigan was a great leader who worked in the blind community. For this report I turned my paper into a speech.

This was my first presentation so I didn’t feel too nervous about speaking in front of a crowd. After my presentation I wanted to find out more about Dr. Kenneth Jernigan and how he contribut-ed to society. From my research I gathered that

During October, National Meet the Blind Month, events are designed to introduce blindness to the sighted community. It reveals to people that being blind doesn’t mean you can’t lead a suc-cessful life. Many blindness organizations do ac-tivities such as Braille demonstrations, reading braille books to elementary classes, holding charity events for other organizations in an effort to inform people about blindness.

TSB teacher, Domonique Lawless, wanted her students to learn about blind people who did-n’t let their blindness stand in their way. “I want-ed my students to learn that with a positive atti-tude, perseverance, and a few alternative tech-niques, they could also achieve their goals” said Domonique. Students were assigned a blind person and the task of writing paper about their life. The students were also expected to give a presentation in the library in front of guests.

“I am very proud of the work my students put in-to their papers and presentations. Many of my students presented from memory or from short notes they’d made.” Said Domonique. The stu-dents showed their audience that they were knowledgeable about their assigned topic. Alt-hough some students were reluctant to present, they enjoyed learning about the work that other blind people have done. One of the project goals was to help the students learn that with hard work, perseverance, and blindness skills they too can achieve goals and live successful and productive lives. Here are some reactions from the student presenters:

Shelby West I had a good time giving my presentation to all of the students at TSB. My braille teacher had me make some note cards for the presentation and I told my teacher that I was not going to use them at all. What I learned about Erik Weihenmayer is that he did not let his eye condition get in his way. Being completely blind did not stop him from doing what he wanted to do. Erik Wei-henmayer was the first blind person to climb to the top of Mount Everest. When I did my presentation I did not have my note cards with me. I did all of my presentation from memory. Erik Weihenmayer has inspired me to not

Abigail Pace begins her

presentation.

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Volume 4, Issue 4

National Meet the Blind Month (cont. from pg.8)

Harvest Dance Brings Abundance of Characters The place to have fun on Thursday October 29th, was the recreation sponsored Harvest Dance. With assistance from the Delta Gamma girls and Ms. Cormier, the students and staff put in for a great evening of entertainment. The statue of liberty was in the house, clowns, a policeman, a big slice of cheesecake and even Reba McIntire with all her red hair. YSW Tony Rippetoe provided the music along with his DJ skills and there were lots of treats to go around. Popcorn, orange Hawaiian punch and candy kept the energy flowing. Cash prizes awarded for the top costumes made the win-ners happy. The students were happy to be returning to the cottages with buckets full of candy.

he was a true leader who inspired others to get involved in the blind community. Dr. Jernigan taught me that although I am blind, my blind-ness is not a limitation. I can reach my goals and not let my blindness get in the way.

Carrie Carlisle The blind person I researched and presented on was Tory Watters. I liked her because she reminds me a lot of how stubborn and deter-mined I can be. She doesn’t let her blindness stop her from doing what she loves which is horseback riding, just like me. Tory Watters is known for competing in hunter jumper competi-tions. She is an inspiration to me because I also horseback ride; except she does hunter jumper and I do barrel racing. I do not compete as much as she does however, she inspires me to one day own my own horse and compete more.

I really don’t like presenting. I can do just about anything else on stage, but when someone asks me to speak in front of people I really freak out! I froze when I first got up to speak but I think I did okay.

Demi Richards My paper was about Michael Hingson. Michael Hingson is a motivational speaker. Michael talks about his blindness and how being blind shouldn’t hold a person back and that we can do more than the community thinks we can do. Michael is one of my heroes. I chose him as my hero because he did incredible things. For in-stance, he helped people out of the twin towers on 9/11/2001.

During 9/11, Michael was working in one of the

towers when the planes crashed into the build-ings. Michael is completely blind and his guide dog Rosell helped him comfort the people around him while they escaped.

Michael is confident when he speaks about his life and his blindness. To see him talk to peo-ple makes me want to improve my social skills for when I have to talk in front of others. I think this experience of making a presentation made me feel a little more comfortable when talking to people.

I really enjoyed researching Michael Hingson. I really like his story called Thunder Dog. It is based on his experiences with Rosell. I recom-mend anyone read it. It is one of my favorites! You can download it from BARD. I hope to meet him one day.

Stephanie Wilson I had to do a report for Meet the Blind month. It took a lot of hard work and a little courage. I was nervous but not too nervous because the crowd wasn’t that big. I’m also proud of myself because when I did my presentation I didn’t look at my notes. I said it all from memory. I did my report on Dr. Fredrick K. Schroeder. He is the president of the World Blind Union. The World Blind Union is a group of blindness organizations and blind people from different countries who work togeth-er to gain equal access for the blind all over the world. I even had the honor of FaceTiming with Dr. Schroeder in class so I could interview him for my report. I have to say, he is a very nice guy. I really enjoyed sharing what I learned about him with others.

Students in costume pose at the dance

Roar of the Tiger Commemorative Poster 2015

Page 12

Roar of theTiger

Students “go boldly” Where None Have Gone Before about Space Camp when she was in elementary school and had always hoped she would be able to go. “It was even better than I expected it to be,” she said, from the high ropes challenge to the delicious cafeteria food. The high ropes chal-lenge required students to climb a 40-foot pole and stand on a small platform (assisted by be-layers) before diving for a zip-line rope about six feet away and gliding to the floor. “Being a cheerleader, I’m not afraid of heights,” said Cor-gan. “ Physical challenges are my strong suit.” Joining Corgan in the ad-ventures of Advanced Space Academy, was Carlos Medrano. The two were on the same 9-member team, all activities immersing them in sci-ence, technology, engi-neering and math, in prep-aration for their final Space Camp “ mission” – commanding, flying, and landing the orbiter space craft. “It was the most ex-citing and challenging part of the week,” said Carlos, “ and a little stressful, too!” The simu-lated flight took three hours to complete. All members of the team played different roles as flight engineer, pilot, communications for mission control, and other jobs critical to successful and safe navigation of the space craft. Carlos also experienced microgravity similar to that of space, through scuba diving. “The buoyancy of water provides a similar environ-ment to that of space,” he explained. “It was a really great experience – kind of a nerdy thing,” said Carlos with a laugh, “but we learned so much – including the importance of team work. While an astronaut gets much of the acclaim, there are so many people working be-hind the scenes to make each flight successful. We got to experience what it’s like to be in all the areas of the space station.” The students’ training didn’t stop with the me-chanics and engineering of space flight. Stu-

Corgan

returns to

earth with

the assis-

tance of

ropes after

jumping off

the top of a

40’ pole.

To boldly go where no man has gone before…” might be a quote from the science fiction televi-sion show, “Star Trek”, but no doubt three TSB students might have been thinking similar thoughts during their adventures at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala-bama. At the end of September, senior Cor-gan Waters, sophomore Carlos Medrano, and 6

th grader Nehemiah Rembert, selected for this

special honor based on their academic skills and interest in math and science, set out on the trip of a lifetime. The older students attended Space Camp for Interested Visually Impaired Stu-dents (SCIVIS), while Nehemiah participated in a similar Space Academy program for stu-dents ages 12-14. Theses experiences were made possible largely in part to scholarships funded by Friends of TSB. “It was amazing,” said Corgan, “like Mecca for nerds,” a category she proudly puts herself in. “It was camp, so it was fun; but it was also chal-lenging. We were held to a pretty high standard of accomp lishment and knowledge. I just wanted to be a sponge and absorb eve-rything.” SCIVIS, established in 1990, has enabled visually impaired students from all parts of the globe to take part in simulated space shuttle missions, underwater astro- naut training, high ropes courses, and other fun and educational activities. The entire space camp is ret - ro-fitted to meet the needs of visually im- paired students. Materials are translat- ed into Braille as well as magnified into large print. Electronics, in- cluding telescopes, iPads, Bluetooth technology and extra lighting allow stu- dents to fully experience all the camp has to offer. Corgan said she had heard

Carlos prepares for launch.

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Volume 4, Issue 4

Students “go boldly” Where None Have Gone Before (cont. from pg.12)

dents were also introduced to the human com-ponent. Each student was given a call sign. “No one ever calls you by your real name,” said Car-los, noting some of the more creative moni-kers, each reflecting in some way the owners’ personality: Candy Cane, Frostbite, Squints and Polka. On a more serious note, Corgan explained that medically “everything changes when you’re out in space.” Medical anomalies can include space dementia, physical and psychological stress, and the physical impact and force on the body related to taking off and landing. Space Camp confirmed Corgan’s desire to go into space medicine sometime in her future. Carlos said he was amazed at the number of people who are blind working for NASA. Some of the engineers are blind, he added, noting that his future interest lies in that direction. “I would like to be a software engineer for NASA. They have done so much to make everything acces-sible to individuals with vision impairments. It’s very exciting to have such opportunities availa-ble to us.” All TSB students attending the space programs made friends with others across the country from Washington to Boston – Nehemiah’s best friend from Space Academy lives in Ecuador! They keep in touch by phone and email. “When you work as part of a team, knowing that suc-cess is only achievable through the effort of everyone involved, you become really close,” said Carlos. Not only did Carlos and Corgan have fun, forge new friendships, and make strides in determin-ing their future goals, they also earned college credit. Advanced Space Academy is a college-accredited program through the University of Alabama-Huntsville (UAHuntsville), earning student’s one credit of freshman-level general science. Nehemiah attended the Centers’s Space Academy geared more toward students ages 12 – 14. The program incorporates real-world applications of science, technology, engineering and math, with hands-on activities that place them in the role of spacecraft designers/mission

controllers and astronauts. While he had numer-ous opportunities to do unusual and fun projects, Nehemiah said his favorite activity was build-ing and launching a two-stage model rocket. “Creating the rocket was the most fun,” said Ne-hemiah. “ Although, the blast off was pretty cool too!” Unfortunately, Nehemiah’s rocket went so high it got stuck in a nearby tree – but another was found for him to bring home as a keep sake. Through entertaining tasks – making putty out of glue, and working robots out of Legos, the Space Academy students used teamwork and man-agement skills to achieve their goals including saving a simulated space mission. “We learned about the first man in space and did experiments on the International Space Station,” said Nehemi-ah. Asked if he would like to go back for Space Camp when he is in high school, Nehe-miah emphatically nodded yes, hoping that his friend from Ecuador might be there too. He would very much like to earn his wings as Carlos and Corgan did. Nehemiah confirmed the opinion of the older two students that the food service at Space Camp was “ out of this world.” “They even had moon pies,” he said with a grin. Space Camp was launched in 1982 to inspire and motivate young people from around the country to join the ranks of space pioneers who persevere to push the boundaries of human exploration. SCIVIS was birthed about 8 years later, inviting another population to explore space opportunities. The immersive program strives to challenge young people to dream of a future in space. “Just because I can’t see the stars, doesn’t mean I can’t reach for them,” said one Space Camp alumni. “ There really are rocket scientists,” said Carlos, laughing about the appellation often given to extremely brilliant individuals. Dr. von Braun, rocket scientist, is the founder of Space Camp believing there should be a place for young people to experience the excitement of space.

Right: Nehemiah Rembert with rocket.

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Roar of the Tiger

Milly Adams

Milly Adams, Media Specialist, has numer-ous responsibilities at TSB. She tracks all the books and devices students and teachers bor-row from the library, manages the media center

computers and work spac-es. “I love working up here,” said Ms. Adams. She is one of the few teachers who gets to see nearly all the TSB students on a reg-ular basis when they come to use the center’s ser-vices.

“I like the variety of the tasks I perform, from man-aging the library inventory to facilitating the use of adaptive technology devic-

es. I especially love discussing books with stu-dents, learning what they like to read and shar-ing favorite stories and authors,” said Ms. Ad-ams. “ It is fun to have students ask for books that they have heard their friends talk about.”

Ms. Adams holds teacher certifications from Ohio, Missouri, California, North Carolina and Tennessee – all places she has lived while traveling with her family. When she moved to the Nashville area in 2006, she was hired as the Administrative Assistant to the Principal at TSB and applied for her Tennessee TVI teachers’ license. In 2007-08 school year she

moved into the Library/Media Center position. When not at TSB, Ms. Adams enjoys cross stitching, reading and watching British movies, such as Masterpiece Mystery. As far as books go, she especially enjoys books that run in a series as opposed to the stand-alone variety, with well-developed characters. Mysteries and stories that take place in other countries are her favorites. She also enjoys reading books the students are captivated by: The Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, Gone, and Among the Hid-

den. Ms. Adams has three children, who are all

December Spotlight on Staff married with children of their own. Her two sons, Jason and Daniel, live with their families in North Carolina and California, respectively, and her daughter Emily lives with her family in Murfreesboro. There are seven grandchildren that Ms. Adams loves to visit. “All of my children and grandchildren bring me great joy,” she said.

A rescued dilute calico cat, Kira, shares Ms. Ad-ams home. A true calico cat has three differ-ent colors on its coat, one of which must be white; the colors must appear in spots or patch-es. A Dilute calico has colors that are less in-tense, including fur that appears lilac, blue, and

a soft reddish color. Kira has the latter. One thing you might not know is that Ms. Adams was fortunate to have lived in Yosemite National Park, California for 12 years. “ Every day was an adventure,” she said. She enjoyed meeting foreign visitors, saw lots of wildlife, hiked the trails in the High Sierras, backpacked, and went cross country skiing and snowshoeing – and, taught in a K-7 one-room school!

Speaking of Yosemite, one thing you might not know about Ms. Adams, is that several times she came face-to-face with black bears on the other side of her door, looking through the win-dows! “One time I was washing dishes at the kitchen sink, facing a window. Suddenly, a bear stood on his hind legs and looked in the window straight at me! I was startled, then absolutely de-lighted. Some of my contacts with bears were somewhat fearful, but most were truly amazing and exciting.”

Toney Dillingham

Toney Dillingham, a Youth Service Worker (YSW-2), has been at TSB for four years. He began as a sub-stitute teacher, entered full-time employment as an YSW-1, and was promoted to his present position in October 2013. Currently, he oversees activities in Cot-tage 7, which houses ele-

Milly Adams

Toney Dillingham

mentary boys. The best thing about being at TSB said “ Mr. Toney,” as he is affectionately known to the students, is watching his charges grow to become independent.

When not at TSB, Mr. Dillingham enjoys fish-ing, photography, thrift store shopping, meeting celebrities, and eating good ‘ole country food. Once while fishing, Mr. Dillingham thought he’d caught a whopper given the difficulty of reeling it in. “It was big, alright – a big cotton mouth snake! I threw it back fast,” he said. Goodwill and Music City Thrift have given Mr. Dillingham some real treasures including a newspaper from the WWII era. He’s met tons of celebrities includ-ing Merle Haggard, the Dukes of Hazzard cast, and Loretta Lynn. When Mr. Dillingham speaks of “country food,” he means the real thing: all kinds of greens, poke salad, fried green toma-toes, deer, fried potatoes with onions, and navy beans and cornbread to name a few.

Mr. Dillingham was born and raised in what he calls a typical “Hee-Haw” town in rural western Kentucky – population 800! He attended Western Kentucky University and has worked with children with disabilities since 1993 in Indi-ana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. “I grew up next door to a boy about 5 years older than me who had disabilities. We became friends and he al-ways made me laugh. I wanted to help people

like him from that point on,” said Mr. Dillingham. Mr. Dillingham, who moved to Tennessee in August 2009 and has been living in Hermitage for the past six years. He has a 24-year old son,

Blake who lives in Florida. Mr. Dillingham’s love of children began in a “hoppy” manner. One thing you may not know about him is at 18 he had a job playing the East-

er Bunny at a local mall!

Sharon Newport

Sharon Newport has been a nurse at TSB for 11 years, holding an LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) and BLS (Basic Life Support) certifi-cations. She is also a Heartsaver Instructor, training TSB staff in CPR. The best things about working at TSB, says Ms. Newport, “are the chil-

Page 15

Volume 4, Issue 4

December Spotlight on Staff (cont. from

dren and my coworkers. I admire the children and all they can do and accom-plish, as well as the dedica-tion of the staff to the chil-dren and their jobs.”

When not at TSB, Ms. New-port enjoys traveling, es-pecially to visit her aunt who lives in California. When a little spare change is availa-ble – which isn’t often – she enjoys trying her luck at ca-sinos. One-armed bandits, otherwise known as slot machines, are Ms. Newport’s favorite. She enjoys draw poker, but claims she doesn’t have enough of a “poker face” to play at the tables. Her biggest win was $500 from a scratch off lottery ticket!

Hailing from Gamaliel, Kentucky, population 376, Ms. Newport went to nursing school in Glasgow Kentucky, and attended Western Kentucky University. Originally, Ms. Newport says she wanted to be a lawyer, adding, “My mother said I’d have made a good one, because I’d argue with a fence post!” But when her be-loved grandfather got sick, and needed nursing care, she found she enjoyed the work. For 31 years, Ms. Newport has nursed in physical re-hab facilities, nursing homes, hospitals, head trauma clinics, and more, until TSB was lucky enough to lure her here.

Although she has no pets at this time, she used to have a “Weiner” dog, named Rusty, who was 14-years old when he passed away. To have had such a long life, Rusty got excellent nursing care too!

One thing you might not know about Ms. New-port is that she was nearly electrocuted when she was only 6-years old. Her brother, deciding to play a joke on her, put a wet rag on a barbed-wire fence to hold onto as she climbed over. You might think him chivalrous, until you learn that it was an electric fence! “I am lucky I survived! I suppose that was my initial introduction to auto-

mated external defibrillators (AED)!”

Sharon Newport

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Roar of the Tiger

Veterans Day Celebration Spearheaded by Student Council armed forces. They ranged from service from World War II to those currently on active du-ty. Along with the pictures came stories of valor and heroism. In addition to family members, some of our own staff members honored in the assembly were; Rick Allison, Mitchel Delk, Bill Rotenberry, Harold Dunn, Aaron Lockhart, Tim Taylor and Joseph Gregory. As TSB teacher Ms. Fridgant looked at the pho-tos displayed it touched her spirit. She comment-ed, “Looking at them as I came in literally gave me chills!” The pictures were posted in the hall-ways on November 11th and remained posted for the remainder of the week. The student coun-cil worked hard to get the project together. Cham Tea, president, Keundre Mason, vice presi-dent, Rickey Meadows, treasurer, Haddan Lewallen, secretary and Ms. Bradley, student council advisor would like to thank all of the staff and students for their submissions. They hope that the Veterans Hall of Fame will become an annual display that can be added to for years to come. Here are the photos that were on dis-played. American veterans, we honor you!

On November 11, 1954 the United States began celebrating Veterans Day. This “new name” was adopted and given to the celebration of Armi-stice Day which commemorated the ending of World War I at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, this day is “ a celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good”. On November 11 the TSB student body and staff, led by the Student Council held a celebratory assembly. Veterans who were present were rec-ognized. Patriotic music was played by the band which was also directed by Mr. Gregory, who himself is a veteran. The TSB Student Council also created a way to honor all those they knew who had served. Treasurer, Rickey Meadows, had an inspired idea to have students and staff submit pictures of veterans to be posted on the walls for everyone to see. As a result, the stu-dent council heard from many proud staff mem-bers and students who wanted to honor their family members and friends. The Veterans Hall of Fame featured 28 men and women whom had served in the United States

First Sgt. James Ashe US Army

Father of Mrs. Buntin

Spec 4 Mike Buntin

US Army Husband of Mrs. Buntin

Adam Stanton US Marine Corp Cousin of Ms.

Blevins

Gary Smith > Army National

Guard Grandfather of Trenton Smith Paul Witkowski US Army

Father of Virginia Witkowski

Staff Sgt. Theodore W. Gla-ser, Sr. US Marine Corp

Grandfather of Ms. Bradley

Daniel Scott Bradley US Navy

Father of Ms. Bradley

Elliot Dawson US Marine Corps Uncle of Mr. Gray^

Captain Rosanne > von Reyn US Army Mother of Ms. Von Reyn

Tim Seay US Navy Husband of Mrs.

Seay

Captain Thomas von Reyn US Army

Father of Ms. von Reyn

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Volume 4, Issue 4

Veterans Day Celebration Spearheaded by Student Council

however, set aside their fears and played with great skill and teamwork. “I’m extremely proud of these girls because they were able to overcome some adversity this season and pull together as a team when it really mattered,” said coach Blevins. This is the second consecutive year for the girls to bring home the first place trophy. The Tiger Boys faced Kentucky after winning their first game. Pretty evenly matched with their neighbors from north of the border, TSB won by one point. The win required going into overtime and a shootout! This sent the TSB boys through the winning brackets, only to face Kentucky again. Kentucky won the rematch game by one point! This forced the two teams to face off again

Goal Ball Champions! (continued from front cover)

because of being a double elimination event. TSB came back winning the last and champi-onship game with a resounding score of 2-0. Mr. Hector said it was one of the most intense goalball games he had ever seen. “The Kentucky and Tennessee teams were very evenly matched,” said Patrick. He went on to say, “I am so proud of the boys, they worked very hard this season, on and off the court. The fruits of their labor are shown in that first place trophy.” It is only the second time in Tennessee history that the boys have won the championship. Congratu-lations to both teams on displaying excellent play and wonderful sportsmanship! Once again you’ve show how great the Tiger can roar!

Sammie Smith US Air Force

Great Grandfather of Trenton Smith

Major Aaron D. Lock-hart US Army

Jennifer Witkowski US Army

Mother of Virginia Witkowski

Roy E. Blanton US Army

Father of Ms. Blanton

Steve Rector US Army Friend of Tori Harrison

1st Chief Petty Officer Winfield Landers Uncle of Dr. Segers

Joseph Gregory US Army

Tim & John Murtagh US Army Uncle & Father to Mrs. Murtagh

Stacie Smith US Air Force

Stepmother of Trenton

Smith

Bill Blevins US Air Force Father of Ms.

Blevins

Technical Sgt. Dewey Sheriff

US Army Father of Dr.

Segers

Henry T. Eason US Army Uncle of Mr. Gray ^

Timothy Taylor 1st Sgt. US Army

Ryan Barry Marines Brother-in-law of Ms. von Reyn

Drill Sgt. Mike Easton US Ar-my Reserves Cousin of Mr.

Gray

Charlie Scruggs US Navy

Grandfather of Woovens

PFC Peter Rock US Marine Corps Father of Brian

Rock

Page 18

Roar of the Tiger

When you were young, if momma called you her “cute little pumpkin”, and you weren’t quite sure what she had in mind, your variables for consideration have just increased! Thanks to TSB’s junior class pumpkin contest you can be everything from cute to just downright scary. But don’t take my word for it. Check out the creations below:

What Cute Little Pumpkins they are!

Page 19

Volume 4, Issue 4

Spanish Class Explores Hispanic Culture and Customs (cont. from pg. 5)

mole, tamales, and tortillas and favorites of the departed.

Breaking of the Piñata: Students created and participated in the breaking of the piñata made by Eh. Filled with traditional Mexican candies the Piñata is a container often made of papier-mâché, pottery, or cloth. It’s decorated, and filled with small toys/candy, or both, and then broken as part of a ceremony or celebration. The piñata represents “evil” which often wears an attractive and colorful mask to attract humanity. The most traditional style piñata looks a bit like Sputnik, with seven points, each with streamers. These cones represent the seven deadly sins, pecados - greed, gluttony, sloth, pride, envy, wrath and lust. The beautiful of the piñata was attractive. Candies and fruits inside represents the can-taros (temptations) of wealth and earthly pleas-ures. The piñata reflectsthree theological virtues in the catequismo. (religious instruction or catechism) The blindfolded participant represents the lead-ing force in defying evil, ‘Fe’, faith, which must be blind. People gather near the participant and spin him around to confuse his sense of space.

Learning to prepare a Thanksgiving meal can be quite a chore, but it’s also one from which you can reap great bene-fits. You can literally taste the fruit of your labor, and that can be a good thing. The boys in cottage 9 experienced this first

hand on Wednesday No-vember 4th when they took on the project of cooking in the cottage. From turkey, taters, dressing, sweet po-tatoes, macaroni/cheese and bean casserole, the feast fit for a king was soon prepared and then de-voured by those in the kingdom. The students were thankful to learn, and also thankful to have some good ol’ home away from

home cooking! Food prepared in the taste of Thanks-

giving by cottage nine

Cottage Nine Boys Thankful to Learn ADL Skills

A secondary sym-bol of the piñata is hope or ‘Esperanza’. With the piñata hanging above their heads, people look towards los cielos (sky or heav-en) yearning and waiting for the prize. The stick for breaking the piñata symbolized virtue, as only good can overcome evil. Once broken, the candies and fruits represents the just reward for keeping faith. A third sym-bol of the piñata is ‘Caridad’, Charity. When the piñata is finally broken, everyone shared in the divine blessings and gifts. The moral of the pi-ñata: all are justified through faith.

Savannah Copithorne swings at

the piñata attempting to break into

the candy inside.

The boys in cottage nine enjoy their

early Thanksgiving dinner.

Tennessee School for the Blind is a state special

school established in 1844 to meet the unique needs of

visually impaired students living in the state of Tennes-

see. The school provides academic and professional

services tailored to benefit students placed in its care

through the Local Education Agencies across the state.

Beyond a tradition of academics, TSB specializes in the

instruction of expanded core-curricular areas such as

Braille, Mobility, Technology, Career Education, and In-

dependent Living Skills. Students at the school also enjoy

the opportunity to participate in team sports, campus

clubs, organizations and many leisure-time activities. In

addition the school provides outreach services to visually

challenged students, their parents, teachers, schools and

other agencies assisting the visually challenged.

115 Stewarts Ferry Pike

Nashville, TN 37214

Phone: 615-231-7300

Creating Contributing Participating Members of Society

T E N N E S S E E S C H O O L F O R T H E B L I N D

November’s newsletter featured TSB’s new tech devices. Pic-

tured here is a student using one of the new Smart Tables in

Laura Smith’s class. These tables are great for eye-hand coor-

dination, learning colors, and listening to interactive stories.

“The students are all enjoying the Smart Table,” said Ms.

Laura. “It is a great tool.”

Upcoming Events Calendar

S Dec. 5 Wrestling/Cheerleading TSB

M Dec. 7 NCCB/TSB Concert (evening concert) TSB

F Dec. 11 Lions Day TSB Aud.

F-Th Dec. 11-17 2015 Senior Ski Trip TSB

Th Dec. 16 AFTA Concert (7th period) TSB Aud.

F Dec. 18 End of 2nd nine weeks

F Dec. 18 Winter Music Program TSB. Aud.

M-S Dec. 21- Jan. 2 Winter Break (no classes) TSB

M Jan.4 Teacher Organizational Day/Monday Busing TSB

M Jan. 18 Martin Luther King Day/No School/Monday Busing -

Tu Jan. 19 Classes Resume TSB

Tu-F Jan.19-22 Spirit Week TSB

Th Jan. 21 Pep Rally for Wresting/Cheerleading-5th period TSB

F-Su Jan. 22-24 NCASB Wrestling/Cheerleading Conf. Meet Kentucky