Recreation Events

Saturday, April 19, 2008 was a big day for ISVI students. The rain didn't dampen the spirits of students attending the Spring Carnival or the cook-out for students and staff from Unit 2, the boys' dormitory. SPRING CARNIVAL The carnival was held in the dining hall with Residential Care Workers and Dietary Staff the helping students as they played games of Ball Toss, Egg Carry, "Fishing", and Balloon Carry. The Balloon Carry, consisted of students racing while carrying balloons between their legs without letting them go, then being the first one to pop the balloon. This game was quite hilarious to watch. Tickets were given to students as they successfully completed each challenge. The tickets were then redeemed at the prize table. Some of the favorite prizes were stuffed animals, purses, travel mugs, hats, and cooler bags. ISVI Educator, Dan Thompson, provided the music. Mr. Thompson is always the ISVI favorite D.J. A trivia contest was held with students guessing song titles and artists and receiving a dollar bill for being the first to give a correct answer. Even the high school students played and laughed throughout the musical chairs contests. Thanks go to Mr. Thompson, the dorm staff, and supervisors for assisting with the Carnival and helping make it so much fun for the students. Special thanks also goes to our awesome Dietary Staff for providing the fun lunch–including walking tacos, corn dogs, and funnel cakes and for getting the dining hall set up "Carnival-Style." All students seemed to enjoy this rainy-day event. COOK-OUT Following the carnival in the afternoon, a cookout dinner was provided for the Unit 2 Crew. Chef (Rick) Penington cooked burgers and hotdogs on the grill and each dormitory pod from Unit 2 brought a covered dish to share. There was macaroni & cheese, fruit salad, chips & dips, corn on the cob, and chocolate pie for dessert–yum! Everyone seemed happy and full even though the weather continued to be quite rainy outside; it was warm and pleasant inside.
Hoops For Heart The annual Hoops for Heart event, organized this year by Mr. Joe Lewey--ISVI's Recreation Director, was held at the ISVI gymnasium on March, 20, 2008. Twenty-nine students participated in this enjoyable fund raiser by initially gathering pledges to raise money for the American Heart Association. Some of the various activities in which students could participate were shooting free throws, hula hoop contests, bean-bag throwing, and jumping rope. The event ran from 10:00 a.m. until noon while everyone enjoyed music provided by Educator, Mr. Dan Thompson. All contestants received prizes and gifts including water bottles, basketballs, and t-shirts. The students were proud to have raised a total of $800 for the American Heart Association. Way to go!
Cookie Bake-Off Contest A Cookie Bake-Off contest was held in the Snack Bar on March 12, 2008. The four pods from the Unit 2 dormitory participated by baking two of their favorite cookies from each pod for the judges to sample. Unit 2-Blue Pod won the contest with their "Peanut Butter Kisses." All students in the Blue Pod will participate in a pizza party as their prize for having the winning cookie! After the judging, all students enjoyed sampling each others' cookie creations.
Blind Vendors' Program Provides Students With Christmas Party On December 5, the Blind Vendors’ Program sponsored a great party for the ISVI students in Springfield. All students on campus went to the party which lasted from 5:30 until close to 9:00 p.m. There were 55 students and 16 ISVI staff at the party which included a meal of roast beef, fried chicken, and ham. The party was held at Camelot Banquet Hall with a total of 174 people attending - a great crowd. Some of the BVP families assisted with serving our students, keeping their soda glasses full, and assuring they were having a good time. In keeping with the Country/Western theme students were given cowboy hats, including Santa cowboy hats to wear during the party and they got to keep them afterward. Country music and jokes were shared by an entertainer throughout the meal. All of the students looked nice, taking extra steps to look appropriate for the holiday party. Six of the ISVI chorus students sang a few songs for the group and thanked them for hosting the party. At the conclusion of the party, an ISVI soloist sang Silent Night in German as a thank you to the group. All students received really nice, individual gifts; a thumb drive, favorite car magazines, CDs, pajamas, scarves, hats, and gloves were some of the gifts. Even the high school boys and girls seemed excited with opening the gifts and showing their friends their gifts. It was a nice evening with lots of smiles and laughing to go around.
Snowflake Dance The Snowflake Dance was held this year on December 7th in the dining hall. Special guests were the wrestlers and cheerleaders from the Wisconsin School for the Blind who braved the icy weather to participate in the meet on Saturday. All enjoyed the dancing Friday evening.
Angel Tree Party On December 11, ISVI hosted the Angel Tree Party for ISVI and ISD elementary students. The dietary staff created a wonderful holiday setting for this year’s party. An assortment of holiday cookies, nuts, and candies was served. The highlight of the evening was a visit from Santa Claus. Santa gave every student a gift selected by state employees specifically for each student. If smiling faces were a sign of enjoyment, it could be said that everyone present had a very good time. Several ISVI students in addition to the elementary students attending the party received nice gifts from various DHS employees. This has become a tradition of many employees within the department, to purchase and donate gifts for Angel Tree students--a great delight and benefit to our students!
A driving contest was held on October 9th and finished up on the 16th. There were ten students entered and raced for best time completed (Fastest time). All winners received a prize.
A trip to Roodhouse haunted house has been scheduled for October 29th, leaving campus at 7:00 p.m. If you are interested in going please e-mail Mr. as soon as possible. Thanks.
October 29, twenty seven brave students and several staff (some not so brave) rode the bus to Roodhouse for a tour of the Haunted House. Lots of screaming and some giggling done by all! Talk of the scary trip continued through the next day.
October 30, the dining hall staff did a great job of creating their own Haunted House tour. The witches and goblins served the students a delicious "Boo-ffet" with a variety of "finger" foods. After dinner came the haunted house pass-through for any students interested in being spooked. The night ended with lots of dancing and a costume contest. Prizes were given for the scariest costume--the Grim Reaper, funniest costume--a male student dressed as a woman, and most-original--a student dressed as toxic waste. Near the end of the school day on Halloween, several of the younger classes went Trick or Treating throughout the school from classroom to classroom and office to office. Everyone enjoyed seeing the little ones in their costumes and had goodies to share with each of them. The students have had great fun with all the Halloween activities and are looking forward the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.


On Friday evening, November 17 all students enjoyed a dance contest. The event was organized by the Student Recreation Assistant and was a big hit. The students enjoyed playing music trivia as well as competing in the dance competitions. The dance competition categories included Individual, Couples, and Mystery (make up your own style of dance). Prizes were donated by Dan Thompson. Several students requested we have this activity again soon! November 18, the ISVI Boy Scout troop took advantage of the nice fall weather by taking a nice long hike near Lake Jacksonville. They enjoyed walking down the trails around the lake.