OSSB Panther Paws Newsletter
December 1, 2018
Ohio State School for the Blind
Message from Principal Ransey
Dear OSSB Families,
As I begin my second year at the Ohio State School for the Blind, I am excited about the opportunities to serve as your principal. This year I have had the opportunity to witness our students participating in multiple areas from track and field and band events to after school activities and of course the classrooms. It is wonderful to watch them grow and develop physically, emotionally and academically from year to year.
In October, we had our inaugural stakeholders meeting in which we invited a variety of members to provide feedback to OSSB in the areas of: communication, academics, residential life, statewide support, safety and security, and facilities. We received valuable feedback that we are in the process of applying this year and the years ahead. Thanks to everyone who participated with the ultimate goal of student success.
At the beginning of the school year I asked our staff to define school culture. Collectively they defined it using four principles that describe OSSB and they are:
· We are a family
· We make learning fun
· We are student centered
· We are an accepting and supportive community
If I can add one more thing to this list above, I will add we enjoy watching students grow, learn and function independently. We are assigned a task to prepare them for life and that can only be accomplished by working with each of you to maximize student achievement!
If I can do anything to assist, please feel free to reach out to me by phone or email at dransey@ossb.oh.gov. Thank you for your continued support.
Come and get your Hot Diggity Dogs!
This is the second year of Mrs. Zollinger's class business - Hot Diggity Dogs! Each Wednesday we are open for lunch and selling combo meals that include a hotdog, chips and a drink for $3.00 and a hot dog for $1.25. And we have veggie dogs available as well. Hot Diggity Dogs offers a variety of condiments such as ketchup, mustard, spicy brown mustard, relish, onions, coney sauce and cheese.
Students are learning important skills such as how to count money and make change, how to greet customers and take their orders! Our business has 8 different jobs, and students love getting an opportunity to rotate through each job in order to gain experience in all areas of the business. Come and get your Hot Diggity Dogs!! ~Mrs. Zollinger
2018 Spirit Sprint 5K Fun
In October, OSSB had the pleasure of participating in the Orthopedic One Spirit Sprint 5k for the second year in a row! The Spirit Sprint 5k is a run sponsored by Orthopedic One to help schools in Central Ohio raise money for extracurricular activities and student experiences. This race is unique in that 100% of the $25 registration fee goes back to the school of the registrant’s choice! Moreover, the top three schools win an additional cash bonus on top of what they earn!
This year, OSSB had a wonderful turnout; we had teachers, staff members, administration, students, parents, and friends of the school all turn out to raise money and support the panthers - please see photo above! The weather was beautiful, and everyone came together to walk, run, and cheer!
Overall, the fundraiser was a huge success and raised $1,525 for our school’s extracurricular activities! We tied for fourth place among all the schools in Central Ohio for the most participation and narrowly missed the additional cash bonus. We hope to grow our team even more next year, and we’d love to see the course filled with panther pride! ~ Mrs. Parrish
Homer and Shakespeare are 'In the House' at OSSB
Things are moving right along in Mrs. Bardon’s English classes. The 8th graders are beginning a unit in conjunction with Mr. Nixon’s history class on Homer’s The Odyssey. Students will learn about the epic from both a literary and a historical angle. Freshmen and juniors are analyzing traditional short stories for elements of fiction this quarter. Sophomores and seniors just finished Shakespeare’s Macbeth and are moving on to literary analysis and formal writing techniques. ~ Mrs. Bardon
OSSB Girls Goalball 2018 Season Wrapup ~ Coach Picard
OSSB girl’s goalball team ended the season on a high note. We first traveled to Tennessee for a meet in October to open the season. We played 3 games and won 1 and lost 2. We were feeling a bit down after that showing since we felt during practice we had greatly improved over last year. We knuckled down in preparation for conference, concentrating on defense. Our mantra has always been defense wins games!
One week after Tennessee, we traveled to St. Louis for conference. We played our first game on Saturday. With our starting lineup of Yaqi Schumacher, center, Lalita Chanthapha, left wing and Sarah Cowan, right wing we faced Missouri, a team we always played hard. The game ended in a tie after regulation. After a 3 minute overtime, the teams were still tied. We then moved to a shootout where one player from each team faceoff. Yaqi won the toss and chose to have the ball first. She scored a goal. We were so excited! Now, Yaqi had to defend the throw from her opponent. We were all so nervous! Yaqi successfully defended and we won the game! We played 2 more games which we lost in close matches, but our overtime win was enough to win a third place overall.
Thanks to Yaqi for being an outstanding captain and our outstanding player for the season. In addition to our starting lineup, thanks to all the girls, Maggie Perkins-Tolle, Autum Radcliff and Emily Wilson for a great season. Here’s to next year!
OSSB Boys Goalball 2018 Wrapup ~ Coach Grim
It was once again a very exciting, educational, and extremely quick goalball season for our young goalball team. We had back to back weekends in Tennessee and Missouri and our team showed amazing improvement from one week to the next. Our defense, communication, and our anxiety levels all improved during the joining week but sadly we did not advance in the conference tournament. With the blind draw, we were positioned against the number three ranked Minnesota team and then the number two Wisconsin team. Even with the losses, we are excited about the great young players that we have and our future. I cannot wait to see players like Jason Tolle, Garrett Brammer, and Marwan Hassan in the upcoming years. Already looking forward to Goalball 2019!
Introducing the first annual “See it, Braille it” contest!
In preparation of World Braille Day, which OSSB will celebrate on Jan. 10, a contest will be held to improve the accessibility of our school and cottages. Think about areas of items in the school that are currently not accessible to students and staff who are braille readers. There are many opportunities to be found. Entries are open to students and staff and will be judged on Jan. 9. See the flyer below for details and judging criteria. Also, please note that entries do not have to be braille, if another type of tactile indicator is more appropriate.
We can’t wait to see all of the great ideas!
SEE IT, BRAILLE IT! ~Mrs. Robin Finley
OSSB 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant - Featuring The OSSB Spanish Club
New to OSSB this year is the after-school Spanish club for secondary students! Members have been busy learning about Hispanic Culture through food, dance, crafts, and games. In October, we were fortunate enough to have members from the Ohio State University Salsa Club come teach us a basic salsa dance. By the end of the lesson, everyone was dancing like a pro!
For Day of the Dead, the club made sugar skulls using a Mexican mold, sugar, and egg whites. Students also sampled authentic pan de muertos (bread of the dead) and made Mexican hot chocolate. What a treat! As the holidays approach, club members will be collaborating with the OSSB classrooms to celebrate Three Kings Day. We have a lot more fun in store! ~Mrs. Parrish
Salsa Dancing with Ohio State University Salsa Club!
OSSB Graphics Department Features New Holiday Ornaments
Our graphics students have been working on some ideas for the holidays and they are proud to have decided on a few particular ornaments this year. Of course we still offer ornaments from the past but these are some of our featured items this year.
Here is the google order form if you are interested:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScq8lU1kaGh6NmYVcBQowWH6Ej--dvP3uZGnGspORTnh5OQIQ/viewform
Some quick information:
- Items are displayed in the Panthers Den
- All ornaments are two sided except for the Gingerbread Man
- Custom orders: add $1.00 and press next at the bottom to order
- Last day to order is Friday, December 14th
- Cash or Checks Payable to OSSB
- All orders to be finished by Holiday Break (December 21st)
If you have any questions or problems, please let me know.
Thanks!
Tree Dedication for Classmate, Aidan
~ Important Dates in December ~
- December 13, 2018 - Winter Recital 1:30pm
- December 13, 2018 - OSSB Dinner 4:30pm
- December 13, 2018 - Winter Concert 6:30pm
- December 24th thru January 4th, 2019 - NO SCHOOL - Winter Break
You May Be Interested In...
Santa Reads Braille!
The Paths to Literacy website has information on several different programs offering 'Braille Letters from Santa.' Requests must be submitted by December 14-15th.
Yankee Candle Fundraiser - order online thru January 10th!
Thanks for supporting OSSB students and teachers through our PTSF Fall Yankee Candle Fundraiser. Money raised helps pay for field trips, athletic events, the Elementary Art Fair and much more!