ASD WEEKLY

October 6, 2023

2023 Graduate, Worth Seeley, aka "Jr." Greets ASD Tiger at Homecoming

(more homecoming photos below)

Homecoming - Thank you to everyone who helped with Homecoming last weekend. We had a great turnout, despite the rain. All of our students showed good sportsmanship. I am so proud of our ASD Tigers! Thank you to the Institutional Advancement office and the Athletics department for coordinating the events. For some photos of this fun event, see the story below.

COPSDC - Today I am at Isola Bella for the Coalition of Private Schools for Deaf Children. I am meeting with other Superintendents of Deaf schools in the area and sharing information about our schools. Some of today's topics include Board Roles, Best Practices, and Healthy Board/Leadership Relationships.

ASD Calendar 2023

10/7 - 10/8/2023 - Pickleball Tournament

10/9/2023 - No School - Indigenous Peoples' Day

10/11/2023 - Staff Info Session, 1st shift staff (except RCs/TAs)- 3:10 - VCC

10/18/2023 - Staff Info Session, TAs & 1st shift RCs - 3:15 - VCC

10/20/2023 - Staff Info Session, Weekday Overnight RCs - 8:30 -GCEC 213

10/20/2023 - Staff Info Session, Weekend RCs - 12:15 - VCC

10/23/2023 - Staff Info Session, 3rd Shift Weekend RCs - 8:30 - GCEC 213

11/4/23 - ASD Wellness Retreat at IB

11/6/23 - Staff Info Session, 2nd Shift RCs - 2:30 VCC

11/10/2023 - Curriculum Day/Parent Open House

11/23 - 11/24/2023 - HOLIDAY for all - Thanksgiving

12/18 - 12/29/2023 - Winter break

12/22, 12/25 & 12/26/2023 - HOLIDAYS for all - Christmas

4/26/2024 - Founder's Day

ASD's Homecoming Royalty

ASD celebrated Homecoming last weekend with a day filled with sports, food, activities and community organizations. Thank you to all who volunteered to help make this happen and all those who came out to support our school!

Middle School students have fun with the latest puzzle, Categories. Zoom in to see Homework Excuses!

Jane Amoruso, Teacher

Elementary 1^st-2^nd Grade (above)

Elementary k-1^st Grade (above)

Elementary ASL classes present "Little Red Riding Hood" in ASL! We have been working hard in ASL class discussing facial expressions, role shifting, speed and clarity of signing in front of a camera for an audience. Enjoy! 

Sharon Halscheid

Teacher of the Deaf/Special Education ASL Instructor 

Julie Kessluk's class having fun in the sun at recess!

Caraleigh Hawkinson

This week students in the Engineering Application class were able to build a simple robotic arm model using a hydraulic actuator. They used cardboard, tubing, syringes, colored water, screws, washers & nuts. They pushed the colored water through the tubing with the syringe that forced the cardboard arm to move.  

Jean Orientale

Jamie Nelson's preschool class learned about different feelings by reading ‘How Do You Feel’ by Lizzie Rockwell and then making their own feeling faces! 

Holly Miller and Melissa Salvatore

Meisha enjoys her time on the horse farm!

Jennifer Bixby

Sept 30th

Varsity Volleyball

Diana did her very own first block yesterday, Annyelis had a lot of assists, Erica did an ace, and Vee and Carol are showing a good grasp of the game. Girls played all the way with no subs. Niki and I are proud of them. In future games we will focus on better control of the ball and continuing to show Tiger spirit!

Middle School Volleyball

The game on Saturday went well, all the girls cooperated and had good sportsmanship encouraging each other. They have a better understanding of the foundation of how volleyball works. At the beginning of the game, we were hot on points, then it became competitive, and we lost the game.

Oct 2nd

Soccer

Tigers hosted home game vs Midstate Christian. We were leading 4-1 before halftime. In the 2^nd half, the Tigers were drained of energy, but they continued to work hard - I'm so proud of them. Basil scored 3 goals, Cristian score one goal for his first time since joining the ASD team, Winkester had one assist. Jordan had 8 saves.

Team record 0-2. 

Volleyball

On Oct 2nd we played against a mid-state team. We lost the game. Girls did very well. Niki and I are proud of how they did during the game. The girls are working on trust and confidence in order to further improve their skills.

Oct 3rd

Volleyball

We played against Central Christian Academy. 0-3 set, we didn't play well on receiving serves. High stats for serving were Anneylis and Erica. We had Teesa play with us on Monday and Tuesday from middle school.  

Oct 4th

Soccer

ASD Tigers boys hosted their first winning game vs Lexington school for The Deaf 7-1. Basil became a hot striker with 4 goals, Cristian 2 goals, Ahmadi solo goal on direct kick. Jordan had 5 saves and one amazing block from penalty kick. Tigers record 1-3. Our next game is Saturday October 7th at NYSD and vs Delaware. Go Tigers! 

Varsity Volleyball

It was an amazing game! Our first win of the season! The girls showed their best & played hard! Erica led the highest percentage of servings. There was a lot of movement happening during the game! We played the entire 5 sets! The scores on each set we played were close. Carol & Teesa did tons of assists and they were amazing with their passing and continuous focus in the game. Diana did a lot of attacks. Jaylin & Annyelis were able to control the game by passing and able to lift everyone’s spirit on the court. On the last 5th set, we were down by 5 points, 4-9. With Erica’s stability servings, we were head-to-head by 10-10. Our defense was the champion. We continue working TOGETHER as a team. We ended up winning 3-2. The fans were astonishing with their cheers and support!

Be sure to follow our new Instagram page exclusively for ASD Tiger Athletics! @asdtigersathletics

Christopher DiSanto

Athletic and After School Program Director

Cinepolis Theater in Blue Back Square is now offering Open Caption films every week.

The next will be: The Creator, PG-13, Monday 10.9 at 7:15 pm

Congratulations to all who were recognized in our PBIS assembly yesterday!

Middle School Perfect Attendance Awards (above)

'Remarkable Effort'

(Middle School)

'Most Improved'

(Middle School)

'Most Improved'

(Elementary School)

'Remarkable Effort'

(Elementary School)

RRS Certificate

(Elementary School)

Student of the Month

(Elementary School)

Husky dog looking for a forever and safe home. Two years old, vaccinated and spayed. Need information or have questions? Please call or text Karim @ 917-463-6585.

Thanks, Angel

Summer is over, and now it’s autumn! You may think that the gardens are winding down and not much is happening until springtime. NO! Autumn is the time to prepare the gardens for next year’s growing season. Horticulture classes need your help!

When you rake your leaves, please don’t put them out on the curb. Bring the bags of leaves and mulch to ASD!! We will use them to build soil and add nutrients to next year’s gardens. You will see students sheet mulching; building layers of different organic matter from school OR what you contribute (leaves, twigs, mulch, chicken manure, straw/hay, etc.) to add to the garden beds and soil. We will sow wildflower seeds soon, letting the winter over so they will be ready to germinate and bloom in the spring.

Inform Anne Nutt and she will tell you where to drop off your “garden gifts." Horticulture classes will be using them throughout the autumn. Also, if you have seeds to share, we’ll take them too! ALSO worn but safe and functional garden benches, bird baths, large planters, trellises, etc. to add to the student gardens and sensory garden are welcome.

Remember - the gardens (in the front lawn, by Clerc’s statue, near the Museum, and by the clock tower) are for EVERYONE!! Go visit and find some joy!

We'll be deploying a 2 Factor Authentication with Google starting this school year. See the attached PDF for instructions here.

Why You Need It

IT'S EASIER THAN YOU THINK FOR SOMEONE TO STEAL YOUR PASSWORD!

Any of these common actions could put you at risk of having your password stolen:

• Using the same password on more than one site
• Downloading software from the Internet
• Clicking on links in email messages

2-Step Verification can help keep bad people out, even if they have your password.

How It Works

SIGNING IN TO YOUR ACCOUNT WILL WORK A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY

• You'll enter your password
• Whenever you sign in to Google, you'll enter your password as usual.
• You'll be asked for something else
• Then, a code will be sent to your phone via text, voice call, or prompt. 

How It Protects You

AN EXTRA LAYER OF SECURITY

Most people only have one layer – their password – to protect their account. With 2-Step Verification, if a bad person hacks through your password layer, they'll still need your phone or Security Key to get into your account.

Bob Nitko, Education Technology Specialist

In recognition of National Digital Inclusion Week, the Commission for Educational Technology welcomes your ideas for Connecticut’s Digital Equity Plan.

How do we do that? Tell us what you think!

Learn about the initiative and how you can contribute by using the links below:

• Digital Equity Program Overview and Research (Streamed Video; please note the video is NOT captioned, see transcript below)
• Transcript to Digital Equity Program Overview and Research (116 KB PDF)
• Feedback Form: We want to hear from you!

With a new school year come new faces, and we here at the business office wanted to send out a little refresher on petty cash policies and procedures to help keep things moving smoothly.

• Disbursements are daily 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM;
• A completed, signed and approved Expense Statement must be provided;
• Receipts, change and a copy of the Expense Statement must be returned within a week of use (petty cash will not be provided again until receipts and previous request are properly accounted for);
• Requests over $200 or the need for specific denominations are best made via email two days prior at [email protected]; and
• Mileage reimbursements and items over $50 are processed through Accounts Payable. 

The Business Office is always available if you have any questions or concerns. Please feel free to reach out to Jennifer Vincent at Ext. 232 or [email protected]

Thank you!

Angela Paydos, Controller

Due to excess traffic in the dining room during classroom instruction and activity time, access to the kitchen and dining room will be limited to the following times starting 10/2/23:

• Sunday/Saturday & Holidays
• Breakfast: 9am – 10am
• Lunch: 12:30pm – 1:30pm
• Dinner: 4:45pm – 6pm (open early for PACES Supergroup)
• Monday-Thursday
• Breakfast: 7:45am – 9am
• Lunch: 11:15am – 1:45pm
• Dinner: 5:15pm – 6:30pm (open early for PACES Supergroup)
• Friday
• Breakfast: 7:45am – 9am
• Lunch: 11:15am – 1:45pm
• Dinner: 4:45pm – 6pm (open early for PACES Supergroup)

Access to the dining room will NOT be changed for the following groups: Nursing, Deans, Student Life Directors, ELT, Student Services Coordinators, Academic Hub, Security, and Plant Ops.

If anyone has any needs outside of the times listed above, please feel free to reach out us so we can assist you in those respects and requests. Kindly remember, anything requested that is outside of meals or the service program will need ELT approval. Again, we will begin these access times starting 10/2/23. Please reach out with any questions or concerns--thank you!

Chris Brozak, General Manager

For information about using Fun Facts in the classroom, please click here.

And for more resources for teaching and learning, please check out these links:

• Hispanic Heritage Fun Facts
• Hispanic Heritage Teaching Guide

For Additional Resources on Deaf Hispanics

• Sharing Stories: Deaf Latino Experiences. (n.d.; National Portrait Gallery)
• More Sharing Stories
• Deaf Latinx Identity/Identidad sorda y Latina (Oct. 2019, CATIE Center)
• Deaf Latinos y Familias: A documentary by Kathyrn Boyd-Batstone
• View @ RIT/NTID—Through the Decades: The Hispanic/Latino Deaf Experience at NTID

Organizations

• National Hispanic Latino Association of the Deaf
• Council de Manos

Notable News

• New Center for Latine Deaf Studies Launched

Unsure of the difference between the word Hispanic and Latino/a/x? 

Check this out:

Hispanic refers to a person from or a descendant of someone from a Spanish-speaking country. This can include Latino/a/x individuals with cultural ties to Spain, Mexico, most of Central and South America, and the Caribbean’s Spanish-speaking nations.

Latino/a or Latinx refers to a person from or a descendant of someone from a Spanish or Portuguese-speaking country in Latin America.

Source: https://www.csd.org/stories/online-communities-for-latinx-deaf/

We are actively seeking staff who would like to join ASD's Health and Safety committee. These meetings play a pivotal role in upholding a secure and healthy environment. Our committee convenes on a quarterly basis, with exact dates and timings yet to be determined. If you're eager to contribute, please send me an email. Thank you!

Randy D’Angelo, Director of Operations

Looking to learn ASL? Please fill out THIS GOOGLE FORM.

Anyone interested in teaching staff classes, or Community Sign language Classes, please see Krystal Sonidis (GCEC 139 – across from the Central Ed office). 

Thank you!

Krystal Sonidis

 Student Information Systems (SIS) Data Manager

We need your empty food and drink containers! If you have any we could use to help our students practice their cafeteria skills, please drop them by the Life Skills Center, Room V115. Thank you!

Eleni Miller, Transition Services Assistant

Check out the following job openings on the New ASD Career Center!

Located on the Employment page of the ASD Website.

Reminder: ASD offers a sign-on bonus for new employees as well as a referral bonus for staff who personally refer a new hire. 

************

ASL Interpreter

Residential Counselors – All Shifts

Teacher Aides

Birth to Three Providers

Licensed Plumber, P1 Required

Dean of Students – Weekdays & Weekend

Winter Coaching Positions:

Head Coach – Boys & Girls Basketball

Assistant Coach – Boys & Girls Basketball

Youth CO-ED Basketball Coach

Cheerleading Coach

Cheerleading Assistant Coach

For more information on any of these positions please visit the ASD Website

Gwynne Deveau

Human Resources Manager

Big East Classic, December 1st & 2nd

Seeking volunteers for the following positions starting with Chairperson:

1. Big East Classic Chairperson Chairperson will oversee the following positions for which volunteers are also needed:
2. Crowd Control (duties: make sure fans are at their seats; make sure fans are not interfering with court/games)
3. Locker Room Control (duties: make sure locker rooms are ready for teams; make sure locker rooms are stocked with necessary supplies; report if issues arise in locker rooms or rest rooms)
4. Admission
5. Tiger Den Concession Sales
6. Game Clock Keeper
7. Game Floor Manager (duties: make sure water gallons are filled; sweep floor; organize chairs; clean/prep for next games)



Reach out to Christopher DiSanto for more info

Please look into this important information from the

State of Connecticut Office of Policy & Management.

"State law provides a reimbursement program for

Connecticut renters who are elderly or totally

disabled, and whose incomes do not exceed certain

limits. Persons renting an apartment or room or

living in cooperative housing, or a mobile home may

be eligible for this program. Renters' rebates can be up to $900 for

married couples and $700 for single persons. The renters' rebate

amount is based on a graduated income scale and the amount of rent

and utility payments (excluding telephone) made in the calendar year

prior to the year in which the renter applies. Application may be made

at the municipality social service agency, or the Assessor's Office

between April 1st and October 1st."

"2023 APPLICATION PERIOD OPEN APRIL 1 - OCTOBER 1

If a renter misses the designated filing period they have until

November 15, 2023, to submit a request for an extension of time to file to OPM. The request for an extension of time to file must be

accompanied by a doctor’s letter indicating that the renter had a

medical condition that contributed to them not applying during the

designated filing period. The extension request must be received by

OPM or postmarked no later than November 15th."

For the application, click here.

For an information booklet, click HERE.

ASD's Anonymous Alerts safety app is an important tool for our community--please learn more here!

FROM SECURITY:

Hi all, as a reminder, please use this form to sign up for our optional Emergency Communication App (from Layered Solutions Inc.) You will be notified via your mobile device when lockdowns occur on campus as well as when lockdown has been cleared.

Once we receive your request for the app, you will get an email on how to install the mobile app to your device. The email will be sent from: [email protected]

Click here to take you to the form

Thank you!

Randy D’Angelo

Assistant Director of Operations

COMMUNITY EVENTS

For all the latest flyers and announcements about Community Events, please click here!

Mission Statement

At the American School for the Deaf, students and families are surrounded by inspiring peers, guided by dedicated and committed staff, and supported by robust technology. We foster a language-rich communication environment that maximizes each student’s potential, empowering them to become educated and self-directed lifelong learners.

Vision Statement

The American School for the Deaf is a comprehensive learning community that welcomes all deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing children with unique communication needs. We develop the whole child – intellectually, emotionally, physically, and socially.

The American School for the Deaf strives to be an inclusive community that welcomes and celebrates diversity. As a society, we have work to do in the fight against racial violence and discrimination. ASD maintains the fundamental principle that equity should prevail for all, and we uphold the school-wide values of respect, responsibility, and safety. As a learning community, we must engage in productive dialogue to combat systemic racism and social injustice. By teaching the importance of equality, we will allow our students to grow into responsible citizens who will change the world – for the better.

The American School for the Deaf (ASD) does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, nationality, disability, sex or age in treatment or employment at ASD, admission or access to ASD, or any other aspect of the educational programs and activities that ASD operates. 

ASD is required by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504), Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX), the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (Age Act), and their respective implementing regulations at 34 C.F.R. Parts 100, 104, 106 and 110, not to discriminate in such a manner. 

Inquiries concerning the application of each of the aforementioned statutes and their implementing regulations to ASD may be referred to the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights, at 617.289.0111 or 5 Post Office Square, 8th Floor, Boston, MA 02109-3921 OR to the applicable ASD Coordinators: Kristin Feldman, Associate Director of Student Life. 

American School For The Deaf

139 North Main Street

West Hartford, CT 06107

860-570-2300

www.ASD-1817.org

To Contact the Editor Click Here