Farewell for the summer!

Favorite Books by SRVOP Students

I got some letters from a school I work with and wanted to share them with you. They wrote about their favorite books and drew pictures!

Shared Reading Project Night: “Read With Your Child”

Hello! My name is Tiffany Gay, I work at the Washington School for the Deaf campus as the Shared Reading Video Project Program Specialist under the Distance Learning Program with the Outreach Department. My boss Donna Sorensen and I started talking about what we could do with all the book bags we have and came up with an exciting project!

We are having the first monthly Shared Reading Project night called “Read With Your Child” on Wednesday, March 24th from 5:30pm – 7:30pm in the Northrop building on WSD campus. Dinner will be provided and parents are encouraged to come with their children! We will focus on storytelling strategies in ASL and work with parents to practice storytelling skills. Parents and teachers will have the opportunity to borrow some of the book bags we have! All book bags consists of a book, DVD or VHS of a storyteller in ASL and a sheet with ideas of activities to do with the book. This event will focus on children from birth up to 2nd grade!

You may ask why have Shared Reading? To sum this up, from Gallaudet’s Clerc Center website it states:
• Deaf Children read, on average, at the fourth-grade-level when they graduate from high school.
• We know that early booksharing experiences contribute to higher reading ability in school.
• Many parents do not know how to share books with their young deaf and hard of hearing children.
• If parents can learn how to share books, the reading ability of deaf and hard of hearing children should improve.

We hope that you, as parents or teacher of a deaf or hard of hearing child will come and enjoy this exciting night with us! If you have any questions or want to come please RSVP with Donna at donna.sorensen@wsd.wa.gov, or with me at tiffany.gay@wsd.wa.gov. See you soon!

Where did the time go?

I cannot believe it’s December. It seems like yesterday that I was trying to figure out how to get the video clip uploaded. Looking at that post, it was October 7th! So much for my commitment to add a new post every week!

Tiffany has been doing a wonderful job with SRVOP! The students really enjoy her and enjoy the books. We have between 65 and 70 students participating. I have gotten to sub for Tiffany a couple of times. Earlier this week, I was sitting in the studio, waiting for a school to connect and it really hit me what we have accomplished! The studio is up, it is running, schools are connecting, stories are being read, and deaf students across the state have access to Deaf role models and fluent ASL signers. I sat there thinking, “We are doing it!!” It was the first time I’d really had a chance to sit down, breath, and take it all in as a success!

I have several New Year’s Resolutions related to SRVOP, Distance Learning, and especially this blog!

1. I want students and classrooms to be able to use this blog as an interactive learning tool. I’ll be working with all of you to figure out how to make this happen. We have always had the dream of SRVOP becoming more educational. There is incredible benefit in sharing the love of reading. But “love of reading” is hard to quantify. I think we can keep doing the wonderful things we are doing and add a few things so that SRVOP truly becomes an educational experience.

     2. I want to be including more videos from me and Tiffany as well as from students. I’ll be working with you to help you figure out how to do this on our SRVOP blog.

     3. I will finish the SRVOP History page and get that up! Terrible that I haven’t done that yet!

     4. I want to collaborate with you all to include families in SRVOP. How can we make that happen?

     5. We have several Reading Resource Packets for the books we are using this year. Tiffany and I will work together to get those to you and gather your feedback for how to improve them!

With your help and with you (and Tiffany) holding me accountable, we can accomplish all of this!!

I hope you all have a Happy and Warm Winter Break! Happy Hanakuh, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Solstice and all of the other things you might celebrate!

Donna

Test Calls are Coming!

Hello to all you SRVOPers out there!

We are SOOOO close to arranging for test calls that I can hardly stand it! We were able to make test calls here on campus from Polycom to Polycom and we were even able to call our internal videophone! Tiffany made one test call to an outside videophone and that worked too!!!! I was jumping up and down and almost crying! I felt like I had passed a language test without knowing the language!

Tiffany has been busy scanning, copying and pasting, and creating ASL packets to go with the stories we will be doing. We will experiment with using our online learning software called Desire 2 Learn. I will be creating usernames and passwords for each teacher/interpreter or each program. Desire 2 Learn will be the place where you can download Reading Resource Packets, ASL Packets, Power Points of the vocabulary to use in your classroom, and hopefully many, many other things that will impact student and family learning.

Our hope is that you use the ASL packets to send home to families so they can learn and practice with their children! As part of our data collection, we will be asking you to ask families which packets they used and what signs they learned. This information will help us continue to advocate for the funding of SRVOP!

On a final note this week, we will be experimenting with student blogs on the blog as well as teacher and student vlogs (videologs). In trying to achieve that endeavor, I hope you can view this short video clip. It plays in Windows Media so hopefully everyone has access to that program. Please, please, provide comments! I promise they will get better!

Thank you for your patience with us! We can’t wait to get started!

Two Weeks… Shame On Us….

It's Rock Star Day!

Slowly by Slowly…

Welcome back to school everyone! I hope you’ve had wonderful summers!

The studio is really coming together. Dana returned to work on August 31 and has been helping us hook all the machines together. We had a couple of glitches, but they are slowly being resolved. For example, the studio takes A LOT of electricity. We were in there one day running the three studio lights and the air conditioner and blew a fuse! EEK!

Terry, Kirk, and Al have been helpful in thinking of solutions so we can run everything that needs to run. Hopefully a couple of heavy duty 25ft surge protectors running to a different outlet will solve the electricity issues!

One of our flat screen monitors didn’t have the right type of connections that we needed. Dana scoured the campus and found us a different one that works!

We will all be working hard next week to power up the machines, install any needed software, and start making test calls as soon as we can!

Tiffany has been busy creating beautiful ASL packets to go with each story! We are hoping to load these into our Desire 2 Learn online class system so all of the SRVOP participants can download them, copy, and send home to families to increase ASL in our students’ home environment.

We are also reviving our Reading Resource Packets created by our very own Cathy Corrado! And we hope to have vocabulary power points that you can use with your students in class.

Have a great weekend everyone! We hope to get back to our Monday post next week!

Our Brilliant Mary Clarify! We will miss her!

August 31st was Mary Clare’s last official day with us. In honor of her last day, I asked a few people to send me a note for her. Here are the responses. If you want to add your response, email me ( donna.sorensen@wsd.wa.gov ) or leave a comment below!

Our Mary Clare!

From Howie Seago:

Mary Clare,

It’s because of you SRVOP lasted so long and thrived so well. With your consistent dedication, gentle support, elegant poise and most of all, great sense of humor, you impacted the lives of so many Deaf children, their families and my own.

You were….

The Brains and Beauty behind the camera,

The Nuts and Bolts, (and Glue) that held the program together and move it forward,

The Girl Friday, er Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, who made SRVOP succeed for many weeks, months and years

The Meats and Potatoes that nurtured many a young Deaf mind and soul,

The Ice to my Fire.

To paraphrase William Hodding Carter, Jr:

There are two lasting legacies that I hope we have given to the Children of SRVOP and their families: 

     “Roots”…a foundation of Deaf identity

     “Wings”…a love of reading, to discover stories that ignite the imagination and the heart.

Again to paraphrase, Forest Witcraft:

A hundred years from now, it will not matter what your bank account was, whether you owned a house, whether you drove a Beemer or Vette, (though your Shadow matters!), whether you vacationed in exotic places, whether you hobnobbed with the fashionable elite, the world is indeed a little better because you were important in the life of a Deaf child like….

   Darren,

             Maliki

                        Yesenia

                                   Andy

                                              Randall

                                                          Caroline

                                                                    And many more…..

Heartfelt Thanks and Warm Hugs from us all.

Have even more fun as you roar off on your bike into the next exciting chapter of your life.

           ….Just remember us in your trailing dust!

With much thanks and appreciation!                                                                                                                     

Howie

From Nancy Hatfield:

As the third key person to join the Shared Reading Video Outreach Project team (after Howie Seago and Gretchen Savage), MaryClare logged more years with SRVOP than anyone.  Consider her the official SRVOP historian!  Besides knowing the name of every child, teacher, parent, and tutor who has touched SRVOP over the years, she knew how to run all the videoconferencing equipment, mixers, lights, you name it–and, in a pinch, she could even jump in a conduct a bookreading session!  She also was expert at creating the PowerPoint book adaptations used in the sessions.  Besides all this, MaryClare was the consummate professional, always ready, cheerful, and assertive in making sure every SRVOP detail was managed well. It feels strange to refer to our “MaryClarify” in the past tense.  We already miss her.

From Tiffany Gay:

Adieu Mary Clare

I first met Mary Clare when she interpreted the staff challenge course training for Deaf Teen Leadership camp in 2007. She had on a leather biker jacket and boots that reflected her love of riding. I immediately liked her and felt she was someone who was always there no matter what.  Since that time, she has supported me in my transition of becoming the director of DTL, giving me a lot of ideas and guidance as I learned the kinks of finding support for the program.  Mary Clare has her heart in the right places and because of that; so many children’s lives are touched and changed.  She proudly showed me her studio when I visited in Renton and I was immensely impressed by the set up and admired her ability to maneuver all of the equipment.  When I got the Program Specialist job, my first thought was, how in the world am I going to keep with the magnificent Mary Clare?  Now I know, she will always be there with her enduring guidance and support no matter what.  Thank you Mary Clare, for all you have done for SRVOP!  I am honored to continue the fire you have lit and pass it on as I continue on this journey with SRVOP.

From Donna Sorensen:

I remember on my first day of work in Renton, I asked Mary Clare, “So, what are you feeling knowing that your job is moving to Vancouver at the end of the year?” Her response, “Well, I have a year to prepare for it.”

This is the Mary Clare that everyone knows and loves—always looking on the bright side.

I tried hard to learn all her data-keeping systems, all her tricks for getting the technology to work, remember where all the SRVOP sites were, who the students were, who their teachers were… But really, how do you cram 11 years of knowledge, experience, and history into one fast-flying year? She never let up, though. She was determined to tell me everything, show me everything and if she couldn’t, she made sure I knew where to find the information when I was ready to retain it.

All the while, smiling and laughing along the way. SRVOP is definitely more because of her. There’s a poem I love called Bits and Pieces ( http://www.seltron.com/ace/other_artists/bits_n_pieces.htm ). It says that you are made up of everyone who has ever touched your life. Mary Clare, think about all the people you have touched as you worked for SRVOP. We are all so much more because of you. Thank you!

If you want to add your memories or farewells to Mary Clare, please send me an email donna.sorensen@wsd.wa.gov or add a comment below!

Introducing Me!

Hello!  My name is Tiffany Gay, I’m the new Program Specialist and I’m truly excited to be here!  I have so many ideas and am ready to roll up my sleeves and figure out what works and what doesn’t when it comes to teaching students literacy in ASL and English.  I am a native of Vancouver, Washington and it’s nice to be back at home after living in the Puget Sound area for 2 years teaching high school and sub teaching here and there.  There’s nothing like home sweet home, especially when the ‘Couve has everything within a reasonable driving distance!  Before returning to the Northwest in 2005, I attended Gallaudet University where I got my Bachelors in Elementary Education and Spanish (¡Sí, leí español!).  My six years on the East coast consisted of nothing but wonderful experiences which I bring with me as I move on to new chapters in my life.

I first considered applying for the Program Specialist position in the early summer when I found out the position was open but didn’t apply right away because I was putting my focus on the Deaf Teen Leadership camp in Randle, WA then I was out of the state for the rest of July.  When I returned, I had a heart-to-heart talk with my family because as much as I loved staying at home caring for my son, my heart desired to work with students again.  With the full support from my family, I applied for the position and got the job!

Teaching and Learning is something that I’ve always felt passionately about.  Without learning, there is no ‘life’ and to learn, we have to have teachers who are always there with their everlasting endurance.  “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” said so perfectly by William B. Yeast and with this quote in mind, I am determined to not just teach for learning, but to teach for a life-long desire of learning. 

SRVOP is going to be an interesting challenge with all the new technology equipments to maneuver, and I’m lucky to have such a wonderful boss with whom I will be learning everything with as we go along.  I look forward to the next year and to inspire students from across the state to enjoy story-sharing and story-reading in ASL and English.   I welcome you to email me at tiffany.gay@wsd.wa.gov with any questions, feedback, ideas or just to say Hi!

As a closing reminder, please read every day, for yourself, to your students, to your child.  There is nothing more critical than the ability to read!  

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”
~Frederick Douglass

A New Program Specialist!!!!

I am so excited to welcome Tiffany Gay as our new SRVOP Program Specialist! I’ll let her introduce herself in the next post! It’s nice to have another piece of the puzzle in place as we get ready for the school year!

The biggest change in the studio is the blue screen. It’s up and it looks fabulous. Now if we could just figure out how to hook everything together and get it up and running. I have a few leads that I’m following so hopefully soon, I’ll be able to report that connections are happening! Also this week, I want to get the History page up. I think it will be a great way to honor all who have been involved with SRVOP up until this point. Look for that soon.

The Big Blue Screen

By the way, this screen was donated by Composite Components Company. I called and talked to Kay Erland and when I told her I worked for the Shared Reading Video Outreach Project, she asked if I was Gretchen who was the last person she had spoken with over 10 years ago. When I told her my request, she responded that she could donate the chromakey fabric to schools and thought she had one exactly like we had in Renton! We only had to pay for shipping.

Thanks Composite Components Company!

The Studio