November/December 2022 Newsletter

MAKE A GIFT
Superintendent's Message

Greetings!

You know the holidays are approaching when the smell of pumpkin bread is in the air. Thanks to our FLTC class, many Lexington families had homemade pumpkin bread on their Thanksgiving table. Speaking of holiday feasts, a highlight for me was the Dorm's Fall Harvest potluck dinner, held on November 22nd. This annual event brings together current and former dorm students, family, and staff for an evening of fun and friendship.

During this time of thanksgiving, I would like to extend special appreciation to the NYPD's Community Affairs Bureau for their ongoing support of the school, which includes special admittance to NYC events. 

There are many ways to support Lexington this holiday season. Please consider attending the school play on December 8th and 9th or purchasing crazy socks on December 8th. We recently opened an on-line school store with Lexington-branded items. A portion of each sale benefits the school. And of course, a holiday donation to Lexington, using the blue donate button on this newsletter, is always appreciated.

Sincerely,

Russell O. West

CEO/Superintendent

Is There a Martian in the House? - December 8th & 9th

Do you like mysteries? If yes, then don't miss the Drama Club's production of "Is There a Martian in the House?" on December 8th and 9th at 7:00 pm. Doors open at 6:30 pm and van service between the Jackson Heights/Roosevelt Avenue stop and Lexington will be provided before and after the show. The show is presented in ASL with English and Spanish interpretation. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and are available on-line or at the door. Click here for more information or to purchase a ticket.

Director Jared Lopatin (far left) leads one of the after school rehearsals.

A first-look at the costumes for this year's production.

December 8th is Sock Day!

John’s Crazy Socks is sponsoring 12 Days of Giving Program from December 1st through 12th. Lexington is honored to be selected as the charity partner for December 8th. On that day, Lexington will receive a $1 donation for every sock that is purchased on the site. Crazy socks make a great holiday gift – so start preparing your list and visit the site on December 8th to support Lexington. Use this link to shop! https://johnscrazysocks.com/

NYPD Helps Lexington Kick Off the Holiday Season

The New York Police Department's (NYPD) Community Affairs Bureau hosted Lexington students, families, and staff at two of NYC's iconic holiday events. One November 24th, Lexington had a front row view of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade thanks to the efforts of Director Alden Foster and PO Angel Familia. On November 30th, NYPD provided special entry to the Rockefeller Center Holiday Tree lighting to a group from Lexington. The Community Affairs Bureau will also be hosting Lexington for the New Year's Eve Ball Drop in Times Square.

Director Foster (left) and PO Familia (right) pose with Lexington families at the Macy's Parade.

Students were thrilled to have special entry to the Tree Lighting Ceremony. (Photos courtesy of NYPD).

NYPD Deputy Commissioner Visits Lexington

NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Wendy Garcia, visited Lexington on November 4th. Eight Lexington students, who served as interns in the NYPD's 2022 Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), shared how the experience impacted their future career goals and improved their self confidence. A special thank you to Director Alden Foster, NYPD Community Affairs, and PO Angel Familia for the many hours they put into making the SYEP 2022 program such a success for our students.

Pictured (l-r): SYEP Coordinator and Career Ed. Teacher Mary Beth Clark, NYPD PO Angel Familia, Irnaldo Valle-Castillo, Deputy Commissioner Garcia, Heriberto Almonte, Sarker Safi, NYPD Director Foster, and CEO/Superintendent Russell O. West.

ESDAA Volleyball Tournament

The Girls Volleyball team competed in the Eastern Schools for the Deaf Athletic Association's (ESDAA) Invitational Tournament at the Ohio School for the Deaf on November 4th and 5th. The girls competed in the Silver Bracket and finished the tournament with a record of 1 win and 3 losses. Congratulations to the combined team of Rochester School for the Deaf and New Jersey (Marie Katzenbach) School for the Deaf and Blind for winning in the Silver Bracket division. Special congratulations to Ziamoria for being named to the All-Tournament Team for ESDAA Volleyball!

Blue Jay Ziamora was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Members of the Girls Volleyball Team.

Faculty Attend Language First Conference

Speech and communication teachers Alison Baade and Wendy Coral and ASL & English Bilingual Education Specialist Debra Cole attended the Language First Conference in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on November 14 and 15. Over 100 teachers, speech-language pathologists, ASL specialists, and administrators from across the country attended the conference to learn more about language assessments for Deaf and hard of hearing students. Visit our website for more information about the conference.

Pictured (l-r): Wendy Coral, Alison Baade, and Debra Cole.

The Louisiana Schools for the Deaf and Visually Impaired hosted this year's Language First Conference.

Dorm Hosts Fall Harvest Dinner

The Dorm held its annual Fall Harvest Dinner on November 22nd. This year's event was the largest ever with 60 people attending. Current and former Dorm students, families, friends, and staff brought in favorite recipes and everyone enjoyed the tasty homemade food. Dorm Director Jacque Fresolo would like to extend a warm round of appreciation to everyone who helped make the dinner such a success.

On-Line School Store Opens

Lexington has partnered with SquadLocker to offer apparel and accessories to Blue Jay fans. Items are available with either the Blue Jay Circle logo or the Athletic logo. Lexington receives a percentage of each item sold. Store items will change with the seasons and there are lots of special sales, so check back often for new merchandise. Visit the Lex Store at https://teamlocker.squadlocker.com/#/lockers/lexington-school-for-the-deaf

Fall Field Trips

Special needs students enjoyed field trips to the Queens Botanical Garden and Green Acres Farm as part of their autumn activities. Students enjoyed learning about the various plants and flowers at the garden and had fun meeting the animals at the farm.

FLTC Pumpkin Bread

One of our favorite Lexington traditions is the annual pumpkin bread fundraiser hosted by the Foreign Language Transition Classes (FLTC). The baking project gives students a chance to practice language and math skills while raising funds to support class activities. Thanks to teacher Becki Krieg, IA Jason Quezada, and Maria Diaz for coordinating the baking project.

Lexington Museum

The Lexington Museum Committee hosted their first mini-Thanksgiving fundraising event on Saturday, November 19th. The Museum Committee Chair, James Ginis, was pleased to see Lexington alumni, friends of Lexington, and a Lexington Board Member at the celebration. Mr. Ginis is planning to host a series of fundraising events to support the museum.

The museum has started to collect items from donors such as class rings, Lexington diplomas, 16 mm reels, uniforms, trophies, yearbooks, pictures, report cards, essays, artwork, school play videos, and program books. If you have any Lex items you would like to donate, please contact James Ginis at LexMuseum@gmail.com. Go Lexington Pride!

High School Open House

On November 2nd, Lexington hosted an Open House for potential high school students. The program included tours of the building, presentations by our Blue Brights student ambassadors, and sharing by Lexington parents. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the success of the event. If you know of a student who would benefit from Lexington educational programs, please reach out to Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) at 718-350-3250.

Fall Harvest Fun

High school students took a short break from classwork to participate in Fall Harvest Fun on the Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving break. Students had the opportunity to pick from educational and recreational pursuits including Sudoku, Scattergories, digital arts, charades, chess, Family Feud, and various board and card games.

Hedbandz, hosted by teachers Becki Krieg and James McGinness, was a fun way to reinforce ASL vocabulary.

Teacher Amy Griffin-Otterberg and IAs Danny Biland and Peter Hou helped students make cinnamon ornaments.

Teacher Martin Breiter explained chess

strategy to interested students.

Teacher Judy Schechter offered lessons in using Google Slides' art tools to create, color, resize and reorder shapes to create images and custom emojis.

Sneaker Ball

Lexington's Class of 2024 hosted a Sneaker Ball on November 17th. Students had fun playing games at the "sneakers only" event held in the school cafeteria. Proceeds from the Ball will support graduation activities.

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