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Overcast Students take on Braille Challenge
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They wore smiles of nervous excitement as they mentally prepared for what was ahead of them.
This was their chance to show the world what they were capable of, despite their inability to see. At the second annual Braille Challenge at Clarke, for students from grades one through 12, all competitors have a shot at being the best.
"Here they're just like everybody else," said Dr. Sheila Amato, a Clarke special education teacher who coordinated the event. "Instead of being the blind kid in school, 'I'm the kid who likes chess.'"
Clarke is the only public high school in the nation to host one of the Braille Challenge regional competitions, which took place across the country on Jan. 10. Despite a forecast of snow, 17 of the 20 registered students traveled to Salisbury with their families from New York City,
Westchester County, New Jersey and other parts of Long Island.
When the regional scores are tallied, the top 60 students in each age group - 12 competitors in each of five categories - are invited to participate in the national finals, which take place in California in the spring. Age groups range from the Apprentice division (first and second grades) through the Varsity division (grades 10 through 12).
The categories of competition include spelling, speed and accuracy, proofreading, charts and graphs, and reading comprehension.
"It is a wonderful opportunity for the kids to showcase their skills," said Patrice Dobies, director of East Meadow's Special Education Department and Pupil Personnel Services.
The East Meadow school district had two finalists in 2006, when high schooler Chris Kachao and second-grader Michael Taylor were invited with their families to compete in Los Angeles.
"To be able to say you're in the top 12 in Braille proficiency in your age group is pretty impressive," said Amato, explaining that the challenge is a blind student's version of the Siemen's Westinghouse Science and Technology Competition, the prestigious national science contest.
As Michael Taylor took the Freshman division tests last Saturday, Amato expressed confidence that the Bowling Green Elementary School fourth-grader could make a second trip to the finals.
His mother, Carolyn Taylor of East Meadow, noted that her son had been focused on his preparation. "He's been practicing very hard and he feels confident," she said. "He's a veteran."
Before the students were escorted out of the cafeteria to take their tests, keynote speaker Carl Augusto, president and CEO of the American Foundation for the Blind, encouraged them to master Braille and to always strive to attain their goals in life.
While students sat in their assigned classrooms, taking tests in the various categories of competition, parents and guests took part in workshops and activities related to education and the blind. One was a Braille "loom" demonstration by its creator, Jennifer Mayster. Clarke is believed to be the only public high school in the state to have a Braille loom to help students - both blind and sighted - learn the language. A weaver uses different yarns in the loom to represent dots in a Braille "cell." Rows of dots represent different Braille letters.
Dobies said that the looms have increased student interest in Braille across the district. There are two looms at Clarke; one was funded by the school district and the other was donated by East Meadow Kiwanis.
Christine Grassman, a Merrick resident who is blind, tried out the Braille loom. Grassman is an expert in the language, and she considers Braille education a necessity for the blind. "I think that anything that promotes Braille is a good thing," she said. "Absolutely anything, Braille loom, the Braille challenge. It is absolutely a tragedy that there are blind children not learning Braille."
Grassman, a teacher in Jamaica, Queens, began teaching her two children, who are both blind, as toddlers. Braden, 9, a student at Chatterton Elementary School, and Samantha, 13, who goes to Merrick Avenue Middle School, were competing in their first Braille Challenge.
The two other participants from the East Meadow School District were Daniel Castro, a second-grader at Parkway Elementary School, and Alex Calderon, a ninth-grader at Clarke.
When they completed their tests on Saturday afternoon, all of the competitors received trophies for their participation. The results will be compiled by the Braille Challenge's national organization within the next few weeks.
For more information on the Braille Challenge, go to braillechallenge.org.
Comments about this story? MCaputo@
liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
This was their chance to show the world what they were capable of, despite their inability to see. At the second annual Braille Challenge at Clarke, for students from grades one through 12, all competitors have a shot at being the best.
"Here they're just like everybody else," said Dr. Sheila Amato, a Clarke special education teacher who coordinated the event. "Instead of being the blind kid in school, 'I'm the kid who likes chess.'"
Clarke is the only public high school in the nation to host one of the Braille Challenge regional competitions, which took place across the country on Jan. 10. Despite a forecast of snow, 17 of the 20 registered students traveled to Salisbury with their families from New York City,
Westchester County, New Jersey and other parts of Long Island.
The categories of competition include spelling, speed and accuracy, proofreading, charts and graphs, and reading comprehension.
"It is a wonderful opportunity for the kids to showcase their skills," said Patrice Dobies, director of East Meadow's Special Education Department and Pupil Personnel Services.
The East Meadow school district had two finalists in 2006, when high schooler Chris Kachao and second-grader Michael Taylor were invited with their families to compete in Los Angeles.
"To be able to say you're in the top 12 in Braille proficiency in your age group is pretty impressive," said Amato, explaining that the challenge is a blind student's version of the Siemen's Westinghouse Science and Technology Competition, the prestigious national science contest.
As Michael Taylor took the Freshman division tests last Saturday, Amato expressed confidence that the Bowling Green Elementary School fourth-grader could make a second trip to the finals.
His mother, Carolyn Taylor of East Meadow, noted that her son had been focused on his preparation. "He's been practicing very hard and he feels confident," she said. "He's a veteran."
Before the students were escorted out of the cafeteria to take their tests, keynote speaker Carl Augusto, president and CEO of the American Foundation for the Blind, encouraged them to master Braille and to always strive to attain their goals in life.
While students sat in their assigned classrooms, taking tests in the various categories of competition, parents and guests took part in workshops and activities related to education and the blind. One was a Braille "loom" demonstration by its creator, Jennifer Mayster. Clarke is believed to be the only public high school in the state to have a Braille loom to help students - both blind and sighted - learn the language. A weaver uses different yarns in the loom to represent dots in a Braille "cell." Rows of dots represent different Braille letters.
Dobies said that the looms have increased student interest in Braille across the district. There are two looms at Clarke; one was funded by the school district and the other was donated by East Meadow Kiwanis.
Christine Grassman, a Merrick resident who is blind, tried out the Braille loom. Grassman is an expert in the language, and she considers Braille education a necessity for the blind. "I think that anything that promotes Braille is a good thing," she said. "Absolutely anything, Braille loom, the Braille challenge. It is absolutely a tragedy that there are blind children not learning Braille."
Grassman, a teacher in Jamaica, Queens, began teaching her two children, who are both blind, as toddlers. Braden, 9, a student at Chatterton Elementary School, and Samantha, 13, who goes to Merrick Avenue Middle School, were competing in their first Braille Challenge.
The two other participants from the East Meadow School District were Daniel Castro, a second-grader at Parkway Elementary School, and Alex Calderon, a ninth-grader at Clarke.
When they completed their tests on Saturday afternoon, all of the competitors received trophies for their participation. The results will be compiled by the Braille Challenge's national organization within the next few weeks.
For more information on the Braille Challenge, go to braillechallenge.org.
Comments about this story? MCaputo@
liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
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