RSD K12 School Newsletter - January/February 2024

K-12 School News

January 31, 2024

Greetings from Westervelt Hall!

Hello!

My name is Carrie Fisher-Malley. I am the Director of Student Life. I oversee the dorm program, as well as the after-school program. I am excited to explain what's happening with our dorm program! Our dorm students go to school and then they go to the dorms at 3 pm. Most of the dorm students are already very busy. They are involved in many things such as sports. They are also involved in student organizations like Jr. NAD, Yearbook Club, Academic Bowl, Chess Club, and Senior Class. The seniors get together to discuss and plan their senior year.

We have the Wildcat Zone with a game room. When the dorm students are not participating in after-school activities, they play pool and ping-pong games. Sometimes, they set up tournaments for the fun of it! Across from our game room is our snack shop. Dorm students sometimes purchase snacks and hang out together. In the lounge is a large TV where we have our movie night on Thursday nights. Dorm students agree on which movies to watch every week.

We have a homework center that is open on Monday through Thursday. We have a tutor who is Deaf and fluent in ASL. They help with any subject. We aim to have all dorm students do well in school and earn good grades!

While the dorm students do have fun activities, they also do have some down time that they need to rest and feel like they are at home. They love to hang out and talk with their friends. Every month, we celebrate students' birthdays and students make cupcakes. During quiet time (likely in between sports), we go bowling, watch open-captioned movies at a movie theater, and if they are in the mood for a yummy drink, we go to Starbucks! Our main goal of the dorm program is to make it feel like a home for our students!

Carrie

Carrie Fisher-Malley, Director of Student Life

PDF for PBIS/ZOR Presentation - English & Spanish

ASL Family Festival in Spanish

Announcements

Welcome Melly Montgomery, New Guidance Counselor

Melly comes to us from the Oregon School for the Deaf where she was employed as the school counselor. She has also worked for the Texas School for the Deaf, and she has a lot of experience with vocational rehabilitation and transition planning. Melly enjoys traveling, and her travels have brought her to over 15 different countries and counting! In her free time, she enjoys playing disc golf, and during rainy weather, she enjoys a good book. She serves grades K-12 with scheduling and testing and works closely with high school students to guide them toward graduation and college and/or career opportunities.

Carah Taylor, Acting Dean of Students

Carah Taylor, who has taught PE at RSD for 19 years, has graciously agreed to serve as Acting Dean of Students when Sarah Gordon goes out on parenting leave in the next week or two. Carah is a familiar, respected face to our students and is ready to jump right in. She's been shadowing Sarah and is excited to be working with RSD staff and students in a new capacity.

Online Auction to Support Travel Abroad Program

Do you have a special item, service, art, or trip to donate to RSD? We are working hard to raise funds to support the Travel Abroad Program (TAP), including our 2024 student travelers to Egypt and future opportunities for students.

The auction will run March 1-10, 2024, and will include a 50-50 raffle, Josh Allen football, RSD-branded ADK chair, and more!

Please contact donations@rsdeaf.org for more information.

Strategic Plan Year One Progress Report

Superintendent/CEO Tony McLetchie and his team are excited to share information about the work accomplished in year one of the five-year strategic plan. Work is currently underway on our year two goals.

See the report in English and ASL.

Camp Mark Seven Scholarships

Mark Seven Deaf Foundation provides a limited number of "camperships" each year and offers opportunities for partial financial assistance, based on the availability of funds. This includes full scholarships for persons of color due March 1.

PSA Summer Camp Scholarships

The RSD Parent-Staff Association is now accepting applications for a camp scholarship. Learn more about the eligibility/process and complete the application.

Food Pantry Open on Wednesdays & Sundays

The Rochester Deaf Kitchen Food Pantry is OPEN and thriving. They are located at RSD in Galloway Hall (use entrance/lot A) and are open on Wednesdays from 9-11 AM and Sundays from 1-4 PM. RSD families and staff are encouraged to make use of the pantry as needed. Please help us spread the word in the ROC Deaf community!

To follow and/or support the pantry, check them out on Facebook & Instagram.

News & Notes

GALLAUDET BASKETBALL TEAM VISITS

It was awesome having the Gallaudet Bisons Men's Basketball team visit campus before their game with RIT on December 8. We loved learning about the balancing act between college academics and athletics.

FEATURED BULLETIN BOARD

RSD's bulletin boards are truly amazing! They show off the creativity of students and staff and demonstrate pride, values, and perspectives. We'll be sharing one every issue to give you a feel for images and messages that are a part of our students' lives at RSD.

Huge shout out to TA Kayla Bindert-Brown for the creative inspiration from Martin Luther King, Jr. on the middle school floor.

ARTIST VISITS RSD

London-based artist and art therapist Rubbena Aurangzeb-Tariq visited RSD on Friday to share her artwork and artistic journey, which is grounded in her identity as a Deaf immigrant woman of color. She was in town for the opening of her show at RIT/NTID. Be sure to check out her show at the Dyer Art Center!

STUDENTS VOLUNTEER, FUNDRAISE FOR FOOD PANTRY

We are grateful for the incredible work that the Rochester Deaf Kitchen is doing to address food insecurity in the Deaf community, and we are proud of our students and staff for looking for ways to contribute. Before the holidays, our middle school students presented a check for $163 to Zach Ennis, executive director of the pantry. This donation will provide 820 meals thanks to the incredible buying power of the food bank system.

Our seniors also spent time helping to organize food and get everything ready for the week ahead. They were there for the Foodlink truck delivery and got some perspective on the volume of food that is moving through the pantry. Since opening at the end of August, they have distributed over 30,000 pounds of food -- the equivalent of 2.5 tractor trailers worth!

WINTER ELEMENTARY PLAY A HIT

Our elementary students delighted audiences with their winter play, Things Could Be Worse, an adaption of a Yiddish folktale with an RSD twist. So many people helped bring this to life, more than we can thank here, but a huge shout out to Director Shannon Ogden and the Student Life team for the beautiful sets.