Website: https://www.ksb.kyschools.us
Location: 1867 Frankfort Ave, Louisville, KY 40206
Phone: (502) 897-1583

Fax: (502) 897-2850
Facebook: facebook.com/KYschoolfortheblind/
Twitter: @KSBWildcats

Happy Friday Wildcat Families and Friends!

Below you will find a link to information on Ms. Freddie Peaco, an African American woman who worked at the Library of Congress for 49 years. Ms. Peaco lost her vision as a child and attended the Governor Morehead School for the Blind in Raleigh, North Carolina. I hope you enjoy reading about her and all of her accomplishments and advocating for individuals with blindness or low vision.

Ms. Freddie Peaco

Don't forget that Monday the 20th is Parent-Teacher Conference so there will be no school for students. Parents, you should have received information from your child's teacher about scheduling a conference, and there are also links in this newsletter for sign ups. Enjoy the long weekend!

• Monday, February 20, 2023-Family/Teacher Conference Day (No School) conference sign up
• Thursday, February 23, 2023-Kentucky Regional Braille Challenge (more details below)
• Friday, March 3, 2023-No School (PD Day for teachers)
• March 7-17-ACT Testing Window (grade 11)
• Thursday, March 30-Middle School Concert
• April 3-7-Spring Break
• April 18-19-Senior Trip A (more information to come)
• May 1-2-Senior Trip B (more information to come)
• Thursday, May 4-Founder's Day
• Monday, May 8-Summative Testing Window Begins
• Thursday, May 18-Prom, 6-9pm
• Friday, May 19-Field Day (make up day May 22)
• Tuesday, May 23-8th Grade Promotion; HS Awards and Junior Ring Ceremony; Graduation
  
• Wednesday, May 24-Elementary Awards; LAST DAY OF SCHOOL
• May 30-June 2-KSB Elementary and Middle Summer Program
• June 5-9-Summer Program-Statewide Elementary and Middle
• June 12-16 Summer Program-Statewide High School; Summer Work Program
  
• June 19-23 -Summer Program KSB High School; Summer Work Program

Monday, February 20 is KSB's Parent Teacher Conference Day.

Please use this link to sign up for a conference with your child's teacher(s).

If you have any change in phone numbers, home address, a change in bus routine or you need someone added/removed from your child’s safe pick-up list; please contact Beth or Linda in the front office.

Are you signed up for OneCall? KSB uses OneCall to send school information, including our Weekly Wildcat. If not, please contact Beth Baker at beth.baker@ksb.kyschools.us or 502-897-1583

❄️KSB Inclement Weather Scenarios❄️

• Students in the dorm and JCPS on delay
• KSB will delay the start of school, identical to JCPS.
• Students in dorm and JCPS cancels classes due to weather
• KSB will operate on a two-hour delayed schedule
• Parents responsible for transportation
• If a storm is predicted to cause a significant impact on the state, KSB will disseminate information (OneCall, Facebook, email, …) with the plan for the closure or delay of school. Students will take home devices and needed materials in anticipation of NTI learning.

Test your Skills!

On Thursday, February 23, 2023, students in grades 1-12 are invited to compete in a series of five skills contests demonstrating braille reading and comprehension, speed and accuracy, spelling, proofreading, and tactile graphics.

To learn more & download practice tests, visit BrailleInstitute.org/braille-challenge

Hosted by: American Printing House for the Blind 1839 Frankfort Avenue Louisville, Kentucky 40206 Regional Coordinator: Jane Thompson Phone: (502)899-2370 Email: jthompson@aph.org

In honor of that, let’s do some dress up/ down fun! The schedule is for Fridays and is as follows:

Friday, 2/24- Team Kindness (Wear a sports jersey or your KSB Wildcats spirt wear)

Participate to Spread Your Kindness!

Fifth Grade students presented their ecosystem projects this week. They chose an ecosystem, shared the biotic and abiotic factors, producers, consumers, and decomposers found there. Students shared a food chain in the ecosystem to describe the energy transfer in the ecosystem. They also described how matter cycles in the ecosystem. They did a fantastic job presenting. Ask them about their ecosystems and they will have a wonderful amount of information to share with you.

K to 2 Science students continue to work on Weather. They have looked at different types of clouds, thunder, and lightning. They are enjoying weather. The stories they are reading in ELA are also about Weather.

Middle School

In Science-All middle school science classes have remained in Outerspace this week. Specifically, we are focusing on grade level articles where students have to use context, inference, and class discussions to learn more about outer space. Research shows that dialogue with peers can result in more learning that will last a lifetime than teacher-to-student-lectures or videos. This is a great opportunity to improve reading and compensatory skills as students read aloud to each other and collaborate to respond to reading comprehension and science content prompts. We supported that learning with tactile models and manipulatives. Depth and complexity of study are differentiated depending on individual student needs and grade level discussions.

High School:

In high school, the freshmen have been working on studying heat energy in food using calorimetry. The students did an experiment where they burned pieces of food and studied how much heat was released in the burning process, and now they are writing up their findings in a lab report.

The sophomore class has been studying the basics of ionic compounds, learning about the meaning of the names of chemicals and their components. We will be shifting to learning about covalent compounds next, and then we will be studying their different properties in the lab.

In biology, we are finishing up our study of genetics and heredity with learning about how different genes code for proteins. Students are studying how DNA is transcribed and translated to build protein molecules that perform all sorts of functions in the body. We will begin our study of genetic mutations next to learn about how the DNA of different species causes changes in inheritance over multiple generations (as well as genetic disorders).

All students visited the library last week to make valentine cards for a loved one. They also participated in a community service project and made a card for KSB alumni. Extra cards were sent to some nursing home residents.

In elementary classes this week, we read a book about George Washington’s teeth. Did you know his false teeth were not wooden, but made of hippo tusks, cow and horse teeth and even human teeth? After reading the book, we felt of a large fake tooth and learned about all of its parts and then transferred our knowledge to a tactile representation of a tooth. We also felt of all of the items a dentist might wear when we visit one to get our teeth checked out.

For the month of February we will be talking about social interaction skills.Social interaction skills are skills we use everyday to interact and communicate with others. They include speech, gestures, body language and expression.

Active Listening This week let’s practice active listening. Active listening skills is the ability to pay close attention to a person who is communicating with you. Four good active listening tips are

• paying attention
• show that you are listening
• provide feedback
• respond appropriately to the topic

What's more important to you as a parent? How happy are your kids? How well do your kids achieve? Or what about how kind they are to others?

According to the Making Caring Common Project, 80% of youth in their study feel like their parents are more concerned with their happiness and achievement over whether they show concern for others. Most of these youth would agree their parents cared more about their grades than being a caring community member.

According to scientific evidence, kindness makes you healthier and happier! Dr. David Hamilton, in his book The Five Side Effects of Kindness, explains that kindness changes the brain, impacts the heart and immune system, is an antidote to depression, and even slows the aging process. Who wouldn’t want that for their kids? I think we can all agree that a little kindness goes a long way in our world, in our homes, and in our lives. But in order to raise kids who are kind, we need to value it, model it, celebrate it.

What better time to help your kids achieve your dreams of health and happiness for them than to celebrate kindness together on National Random Acts of Kindness Day on February 17th! Gather around the kitchen table, decide one thing you will do this week to show random kindness. Then celebrate what you did as a family at the end of the week. But don’t stop there. Being kind is something you and your family will have to practice every day. It can take some work to get into the habit of considering other people over ourselves. Here are some ideas to help you get started.

Celebrate National Random Acts of Kindness Day:

1. Compliment at least 5 people. (Be original)

2. Let the person in line behind you go ahead of you.

3. Leave happy notes around town.

4. Sit next to someone who is sitting alone at lunch.

5. Help an elderly neighbor take out the trash or mow their lawn.

6. Write your siblings a note about how much you appreciate them.

7. Leave your server a gigantic tip (especially if they weren’t great at it).

8. Leave a thank you note in the mailbox addressed to the mailman.

9. Send a card to someone serving in the military.

10. Hold the door open for someone.

11. Do a chore without being asked.

12. Give a fancy chocolate bar to the bus driver.

13. Bake your favorite cookies for a neighbor.

14. Donate warm coats or blankets to the homeless shelter.

15. Surprise some friends with dinner.

16. Find someone who looks like they’ve had a bad day and give them a gift card. ($5 for coffee or ice-cream would make anyone’s day!)

17. Go through the drive-thru and pay for the car behind you.

18. Clean up the classroom for your teacher.

19. Donate gently used toys to a charity.

20. Put together and give away homeless bags.

21. Smile at everyone you see.

KSB Varsity Bowling Practice Schedule will be Monday through Thursday. Monday and Wednesdays will be at the Bowling Alley and Tuesdays and Thursdays will be on campus. The Conference Championship will be held virtually on Monday, March 6.

KSB Varsity Swim practice will begin this March! Stay tuned for more information!

JV Athletics Practice schedules were sent out to participants this week. The Spring JV Meet will take place on Wednesday, March 15 at Kentucky School for the Blind. Stay tuned for more information.

Please reach out to Ms. Belcher for any questions.

• Wednesday, March 15-JV Little NC Tournament (KSB)
• Thursday, March 23- KSB Virtual Swim Meet
• Wednesday, April 12-Forensics ISBVI Virtual Day Meet
• April 14-15-ISVI Swim Invitational, Illinois
• April 25-29- Forensics NCASB Conference Championships
• April 28-29-NCASB Swimming Conference Championships, Ohio

😊 Please refer to the KSB Residential Parent Webpage for the recreation schedule and any changes. This is a live document therefore it can change as situations or staffing issues evolve, so be sure to check regularly.

Reminder:

Due to the recent flooding in the Evans Dormitory where the school clothes closet was, we lost a substantial amount of the clothes we use for all KSB students. When going through your family’s clothes, please remember that the residential program accepts used clothing that you may have and no longer need. You may donate your used clothing, accessories, shoes, etc. to the dormitory as a tax deductible donation. You would receive a letter as a receipt of the charitable donation that can be used on your taxes. If donating, please clearly identify the items and send them to Allison Chandler, Residential Director. Please accept our gratitude in advance for any donations.

*** Please note that we need everything from 4T through Adult’s XL (Boys and Girls) and Shoes Sizes children’s size 10 through Adult Men’s size 14 and Women’s size 11**

Registration Deadline: March 15, 2023

The INSIGHT Post-Secondary Preparation Program is the only program in the Commonwealth of Kentucky dedicated to promoting college and career readiness for students who are blind or visually impaired. The program is open to students who have completed grades 10-12 and are interested in attending a post secondary institution after graduating from high school. INSIGHT takes place on the beautiful campus of Morehead State University in Morehead, KY during the summer. The students stay in a Morehead University dorm, eat in the cafeteria and attend a Morehead college class. INSIGHT Post-Secondary Preparation Program was designed to promote self-advocacy and independent living for students that are blind or visually impaired so that they may experience what it will be like to go to college.

For more information contact INSIGHT Coordinator.

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