ISVI Happenings
November, 2006

Disability Mentoring Day
ISVI is proud to announce the success of our "Mentoring Day". We participated in Disability Mentoring week on October 18^th, 2006. We had four students working hard with mentors and loving every minute of it. The students we had out enjoying employment opportunities for the day were at the following businesses:
Klassic Kar Detailers
Elm City Center
County Market Grocery Store
Henry’s Service Center

This was a great contribution made by these wonderful ISVI students. They learned what it is like to be out in the "working world". They had a fun filled day while still learning a lot about their employers.

Picture of an ISVI student drying a car at "Klassic Kar Detailers".

Life Stories Workshop
Six ISVI middle school students participated in the "Life Stories Workshop" at the Jacksonville Public Library on October 23, 2006. The workshop was sponsored by the Illinois Talking Book Centers in celebration of the 75^th anniversary of nationwide Talking Book Service. The students shared some of their favorite childhood memories with interviewer and presenter, Diana Sussman. The students also learned strategies to help them more clearly remember their experiences, so they can more effectively express themselves through writing. After the workshop, the students applied the strategies in the classroom by writing and submitting "life stories" for possible inclusion in an anthology to be made available to Talking Book patrons.

Dates to Remember
November
22: Hoops for Heart
22-26: Thanksgiving Break

December
1-2: Wrestling/Cheerleading at Indiana
4-6: Testing for 10^th Grade Students
7-8: Wrestling/Cheerleading at ISVI
15-16: Wresting/Cheerleading at Missouri
19: Holiday Program
20-Jan 2: Holiday Break

"Dog Days" at ISVI
On October 6, students in grades 5-10 participated in a series of activities related to dogs. Zee, an arson dog from the Illinois State Police, was the first visitor of the day. She gave a demonstration of her ability to "sniff out" gasoline. The next visitor was Patterson, a guide dog who accompanied his owner, ISVI alumnus Scott Shade. Another canine guest that day was Moose, a therapy dog from Springfield. Moose also makes regular visits to hospitals and nursing homes. The students enjoyed petting the dogs and asking the owners questions. Other dog-related activities that morning included word games, read-alouds, book discussions, and karaoke. By the time the students boarded their buses to go home that day, they were dog tired!

Picture of ISVI student laughing with Moose, the therapy dog

Braille Car Rally
On September 30, 2006 ISVI hosted a Braille Sports Car Rally. ISVI students were paired with fully-sighted drivers, students formed 14 teams and provided verbal navigation using Braille and large-print instructions supplied at each leg of the 43-mile course. Some teams included more than one navigator and student passengers. The race was a huge success! It was followed by a cookout and live music.

United Way
Fourteen ISVI students participated in helping out the United Way. The students volunteered their time by stuffing 5000 envelopes! It was a great volunteering experience for them. They were rewarded with a pizza party from the United Way after all of the envelopes were stuffed.
 

K-Kids
The K-Kids Club is a voluntary, student-lead organization, sponsored by Kiwanis International. At ISVI, all students are eligible to participate in the club. Each school year, new officers are elected by the participating members, and support for service organizations is decided upon. This year, the K-Kids Club is made up of about 10 members, ranging from 5th grade through 12th grade. During the month of October, the K-Kids at the ISVI collected $31.00 to support "Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF!" The proceeds help Kick HIV/AIDS Out of Kenya by funding soccer and educational programs for girls who are at the greatest risk of HIV infection. Way to go K-Kids!!
 

Orientation and Mobility Technology
The O&M department at ISVI just keeps expanding. They now have a hand held computer which is made accessible by a tactile cover over the screen. On this device, there is an option call the "Trekker", which uses Global Positioning System (GPS) to announce where the student is traveling. The "Trekker" is capable of announcing what street they are approaching, what direction they are traveling, and many other useful options. The students are even able to enter two addresses and the "Trekker" will tell them where to start, what direction to walk and which way to turn to reach their final destination. The "Trekker" provides very useful information which was not previously available for our students who are able to travel safely. Another new product is the "MiniGuide". This product is smaller than a deck of cards! It uses ultrasound to detect objects giving tactual or auditory feedback by vibrating or chirping more rapidly as the students approach an object. The range is about 20 inches to 20 feet. The "MiniGuide" is useful for finding bus stop poles beyond the reach of the cane, low tree branches, and other objects in the path of their travel. A wealth of information using the "MiniGuide", paired with a cane, is available to our students.
 

Lunch Time News
Many things have been happening at ISVI during lunch time! About 15 students are members the ISVI Book Club. The students meet once per week during the lunch hour to listen to a book read aloud. At the organizational meeting held in early September, students were given descriptions and reviews of five books that appeal to a broad age range. Then, they voted to select the one they wanted to read. This year, the students selected the book Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris. Four staff members volunteer their lunch hour to participate in the book group as well. The book is performed as "readers' theater," with staff members narrating and reading the voices of various characters. The ISVI Book Club is a success to all who participate. Another lunch time activity is the Warrior Lunch Bunch. This group meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays to give students the opportunity to reinforce good manners and social interaction while providing a positive lunchtime experience. Additionally, the lunch room is now arranged per grade level ensuring organization, use of O&M skills, and a very welcoming environment.
 

ISVI Home Community Employment Initiative
ISVI offers, as part of the STEP/Work Study Program, assistance to students securing home community based employment. The school, students, and parents work in partnership developing student employment experiences that will strengthen work skills and self confidence as they prepare to transition to the adult world of work. Students will research employment opportunities during the school year as part of the Employability Skills Class. One of the goals of the class would be to secure a summer job. Parents would be encouraged to participate in this class by networking in the home community for employment contacts or job leads. Individualized student job seeking objectives will be shared with parents so that they may monitor or participate in the process that will lead to a successful outcome. The ISVI students are really looking forward to this one!
 

Outreach
People all over the state are finding out about ISVI! ISVI was represented at "Access to Independence" celebrating ADA, the Annual Special Education Directors Conference, the Illinois State Fair, the Annual Superintendent’s conference, the Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Education conference, and the Transition conference. There have been many presentations given about ISVI to over 350 special education administrators, superintendents, principals, and teachers all over the state.
 

Autism in the Visually Impaired Child Workshop
ISVI sponsored a workshop on autism in the visually impaired child on October 13, 2006. Terese Pawletko, Ph.D., is a national expert on autism spectrum disorder and vision impairment. She conducted a session at ISVI to approximately 40 staff members. She also provided a workshop for about 60 people who were from across the state in different fields. Dr. Terese Pawletko is a consultant to ISVI’s autism support team providing ongoing staff training and assistance. The workshops were very informative and interactive.

ISVI Students are Working
Students at ISVI are sure enjoying employment this year We have 52 students working on campus right now doing a wide range of jobs. Six students are currently working off campus with an additional ten commitments for job slots off of campus as well. Keep up the good "WORK"!!

Picture of ISVI student at the switchboard answering the phone.
 

Residential News
ISVI students have participated in a variety of activities this fall. During the nice weather in September, two residential staff with campsites at nearby lakes entertained students with a cook-out and campfire. The students enjoyed visiting and relaxing in the camp atmosphere. Several students went to Six Flags St. Louis for the Halloween Fright Night event and had a blast! Younger students dressed-up and attended Safe Halloween at the local Hampton Inn collecting all kinds of goodies. The Khaki pod students used the Halloween theme for their monthly cooking group and cooked up some interesting foods complete with 'witches brew'. A fall dance was held in the dining hall. The dietary staff did a fabulous job decorating for this social event. Students have enjoyed getting out into the community for activities, going to the movie theater, local restaurants and shopping trips. Some groups have gone to the Mall in nearby Springfield. A new coffee shop in Jacksonville has also been a hit with some of the older students. They've enjoyed trying a variety of lattes and other specialty coffees.
 

Lions Low Vision Clinic
Once again the semi-annual Lions Low Vision Clinic sponsored by the Lions of Illinois Foundation was held at ISVI. The clinic was on October 23,24, and 25, 2006 and served 38 students from central and southern Illinois with visual impairments. They received appropriate devices and aides to enhance their ability to use vision in a learning environment. Wonderful things happened for children with visual impairments in the state of Illinois because of the Lions Foundation.

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