Thursday, January 27, 2011

Pen Pal Project

Students at The New York Institute for Special Education have begun corresponding with students at both the California School for the Blind in Fremont and the Montana School for the Blind in Great Falls. This Pen Pal Project will provide opportunities for learning more about school life in other states -- to discover what other students do during their free time, their likes and dislikes, and to appreciate our similarities and differences.

After receiving some information on their pen pals, NYISE students recently wrote group letters to these schools (see below their burgeoning correspondence).

Letters from Great Falls, MT:

I would like my pen pals to write me in grade 1 Braille or 36 large print. I like my work at my job. I clean the Mustang Center 2 days a week. I help out at the basketball games, too. I listen to ABBA on the computer. I listen to Eminem also.
Sean

Hi I am Parker. I can read Braille and large print my print size is 36 . my hobys are playing video games , drawing, watching tv, riding horses, playing with my dog. I like to cook, cleaning, working from sun up to sun down I love to play with dirt I love my family my favorite animal is the American mustang . I like country music and I am a real cowboy.

My name is Alyson. I need to read in 36 font.
I like BatMan The Brave and the Bold, Mad Funny , and Cartoon Network. My brother Estin and I play make up games I am BatMan and
Sonic. I go sledding and play with the dogs.

Letter from the New York Institute For Special Education:
Dear Friends,

We are from the New York Institute for Special Education in the Bronx, which is part of New York City. Our names are Jennifer, Mia, Samira, Sarai, Michael, Nicholas, Kelsey, Chelsie, Danielle, Angela, Jose, and Jonathan.

The city is really noisy and busy. There is always something going on in New York. Time Square is the busiest place in the city. There are lots of stores and big signs. We have a lot of musicals.

We have a lot of tall buildings such as the Empire State.
What is it like in Montana? What is it like to go to school there?
How’s the weather? Do you get big snowstorms like we did here over Christmas?

How much free time do you get at school? How long is your lunch period?
Do you have a swimming and wrestling team? Do you know Goal Ball? This is a type of sport: two teams face each other on a court. The aim of the game is to roll a basketball-size ball with bells inside over the opponent's goal line. Your opponents listen for the oncoming ball and attempt to block it with their bodies.

Do you have to wear uniforms at school? At our school, we can wear jeans and hoodies. Right now, the fashion is to wear skinny jeans and converse boots.

We love playing video games.

I hope we can talk on skype soon. Next time, we will write a letter to each of you.

Dressing for the occasion - part 2



Today is Bashir’s birthday. So yesterday, Jahlel, Tayjah, Jonathan, Delano and Bashir discussed what they might wear for such an occasion. Jahlel decided on a tuxedo, Jonathan a tie, so we had to practice how to tie a tie. We also discussed grooming, so that we would look neat and clean. Then we looked through jewelry and accessories to embellish our outfits.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Lavelle Students are Stepping Up!


The students at the Lavelle School are really stepping up and learning all about teamwork and collaboration! The students practiced using their new tambourines and shakers in the original songs they’ve created for their end-of-year event. Kudos, especially, to Yasmin in Group 19, who gave us some great examples of teamwork. The students in Group 22 also learned about support - when someone wasn't sure of when their part in a song was coming up, another student helped by letting them know when it was their turn. Talk about teamwork! Juan, Anuska, and Gress from Group 20 learned that it takes multiple people to collaborate and create a group sound, as they started fine-tuning their song for the event. We'll continue to learn more about collaborating and communicating next week.

PS 201's Students are Star Zippers!

Not only do we have STAR ZIPPERS in the classroom, but now we have STAR BUCKLERS! The students at PS 201 learned all about buckling a belt, which can sometimes be tricky! Lina, Logan, Angel, Destiny, Shalim, Marcus, and Aniyah all showed Ms. Marie and Ms. Shawna how they’ve mastered this task. They received more stickers for their improvements! Next week we'll learn more about dressing ourselves.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Dressing for the occasion – part 1


Today, Tayjah, Bashir, and Delano discussed dressing for a night on the town and how to be fashionable. They personalized scarves with adhesive jewels, but the boys reminded Ms. Marie and Ms. Rawson that they wear ties for special occasions!
Let’s continue dressing up next week.

P.S 102 Homemade Lemonade



After successfully preparing refrigerator pickles, students at P.S. 102 made fresh lemonade. First, students squeezed some lemons, poured the juice in a pitcher and added a syrup that we made out of sugar and water (carefully measured and brought to a boil) so that it does not taste to sour. Then they added water to the pitcher so the lemonade wouldn’t be too strong or too sweet. To give it some more flavor, students added mint and fresh ginger, which they had mashed together. After tasting and agreeing on the quality of our homemade lemonade, students created a label listing ingredients, “made at P.S 102” and what they considered its fair market price. Any buyers?

P.S 102 Refrigerator Pickles

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Great Relationships Start with Hello!

This week at PS 201 in Queens, Miss Marie and Miss Shawna have really been reinforcing the theme of "great relationships start with hello"! The students sung about different skills needed to form a relationship, and also role-played with each other using different situations. Raheem, Justin, Samantha, Emmanuel, Rita, and Jannat all did a great job looking in each others eyes, listening, and asking questions to each other when role-playing. We also discussed what "making a good impression" means - and the students taught us how we can make a good impression! The group is quite musical also, as they are GREAT singers! Here are the lyrics to the song that Miss Shawna created:

Shaking hands with people that we meet,
Saying hello to people on the street.
When you meet somebody for the very first time
You wanna make sure you make a good impression!

In another classroom not too far away, we have STAR ZIPPERS! Shalim, Angel, Maisha, Leenah, Marcus, and Logan were all able to successfully zip not only their colorful vests they were given, but also their own jackets, which can sometimes be tricky! They were all given stickers to continue adding to their vests as their achievements accumulate. Excellent job by the students of PS 201 today!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011


Last week students from PS 102 made their own jar of picked cucumbers. Mrs. LoFranco shared her secret recipe for refrigerated pickles. Fresh cucumbers, dill, onions, water, vinegar, salt and a good dose of patience were the ingredients. The label on the pickle jar listed these ingredients, "open on date," and "Made in Brooklyn."

Students also learned about preserving vegetables, fruits and other food to make it last through the winter.

Dressing for Success


Jonathan, Tayjah, Jahlel, Bashir and Delano received stylish and practical dressing vests for the Holidays. They personalized the vests with stickers and jewels. Now they can have fun while practicing tying, buckling, buttoning, snapping and zipping. Wait till they teach you!