Greetings from Westervelt Hall!

Dear RSD Families,

October has been a very busy month. We are in full swing of offering your children a quality educational experience! I am continuing to work closely with teachers as we review the New York State Next Generation Standards to ensure our instruction is aligned with the same expectations as other students in our state. Audra Schmitt, our Curriculum Consultant, is also getting to know our school, reviewing our instructional resources, and making recommendations to strengthen our academic program. She will be speaking at the PSA meeting tonight if you are interested in hearing from her.

The end of the first quarter is November 10th. Please look for your child’s report card and progress reports regarding their IEP goals. There will be a new report card for Elementary students, and we are excited to learn your thoughts about it. We believe it is a better vehicle for communicating your student’s individual progress. Please reach out to your child’s teachers if you have any questions about their grades or progress toward achieving their IEP goals.

Parent Teacher Conferences for Elementary and Middle School students will take place during the week of November 14th. Please look for information from your child’s teacher (or Lead Teacher) to sign up for a time to meet with them and learn about how your child is performing in school. The conferences can be in person or through zoom, to accommodate your schedule.

On Thursday, October 27th, we are thrilled to be bringing back Adventures in Education! Shayna Unger and Scott Lehman, Deaf mountaineers, and explorers will be on campus all day to present to our students! We are looking forward to this opportunity for our students to meet Deaf role models and to find out about their exciting adventures!

There will also be a reception and presentation on the evening of October 27th for families and community members. The reception in the LRC will be 5:00-6:30 pm and the presentation will be in the Auditorium at 7:00 pm. Please consider purchasing tickets for the event, or use the link below to enter the lottery for free tickets. Several of our underwriters have donated tickets for our families, and we hope that you will take advantage of the lottery to be able to attend. We would love to see you there!

I hope to see all of you soon!

With kind regards,

Susan

Susan Ogden, Principal

Announcements

Parent-Staff Association Meetings

The RSD Parent-Staff Association (PSA) will meet on the following Mondays from 7:30 to 8:30 pm in the Learning Resource Center (LRC): November 14, and December 12. Meetings may also be attended by Zoom; the link is shared via email with families. An interpreter will be provided.

Adventures Tickets Donated to Families

A limited number of tickets for Thursday's Adventures in Education program are available to families at no cost thanks to generous underwriters of Adventures who want to ensure access to all RSD families. To enter the lottery for a set of those tickets, fill out this form. Additional information on the program and purchasing tickets is available below.

News & Notes

ESDAA Soccer Tournament 2022

Congratulations RSD coaches and players on a wildly successful ESDAA tournament! In their first game, RSD defeated the NJ Colts 4-0. They then moved on to defeat SMSD 2-1, sending them to the championship game! In an action-packed game against Rhode Island School for the Deaf, RSD fell with a final score of 2-0. Thank you to all the fans that came out on a beautiful fall weekend.

DeafNation Expo in Rochester

DeafNation Expo was held in Rochester, NY, on Oct. 1. Our booth had a successful turnout. It was wonderful to meet the smiling faces of alumni and families of RSD.

Zoo Day Just the Beginning

Many thanks to all who came out for Deaf Culture Awareness Day at Seneca Park Zoo, and to NTID and the zoo for partnering with us on this special effort. It was a rousing success, and the beginning of an ongoing collaboration with our neighbors at the zoo. The ASL signs starring our students are just the beginning of making the zoo more accessible to Deaf guests. We look forward to making more animal signs!

Wildcat Pride!

PEP RALLY FALL 2022

Adventures in Education

Climbing Over Obstacles: The First All-Deaf Team to Summit Denali

Outdoor Adventurers Scott Lehmann and Shayna Unger

We are pleased to announce that our Adventures in Education program is returning. We will be welcoming Deaf mountaineers and explorers Scott Lehmann and Shayna Unger to spend a day with our students and an evening with our community. They are fresh off their successful climb of Matterhorn Mountain in Switzerland and will share their triumphs and challenges with the RSD community.

Thursday, October 27

5 pm | Reception

Learning Resource Center

Food and beverages served until 6:30 pm

7 pm | Presentation

Auditorium

For more information, click here.

Buy Ticket Here

A limited number of tickets are available to families at no cost thanks to generous underwriters of Adventures who want to ensure access to all RSD families. To enter the lottery for a set of those tickets, fill out this form.

RSD students will have the opportunity to engage with Shayna and Scott throughout the day on Thursday. Here's the tentative schedule: