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! It’s hard to believe that it’s already September. Time is flying by and before you know it, Halloween will be here. The Bill Roby Games for our elementary students are coming on October 5th; look for more information coming soon. Our track athletes will be traveling next week to Tennessee for the Tennessee Track and Field Invitational which is our first athletic event we’ve traveled to since before the pandemic. I want you to know that safety is a top priority for the KSB community. As a parent myself, I know how important it is to feel that you are sending your child to a safe environment. As I learned in a threat assessment training recently, if you see something, say it. While these situations are very rare at KSB, it takes all in the community to ensure safety. Please make sure your student doesn’t bring toy weapons to school or wear clothing with weapons or inappropriate messages.

• Thursday, Sept 22 - How a Paycheck and a Government Check Can Work Together Online Workshop (10am or 5:30pm EDT) Do you know about Social Security’s Student Earned Income Exclusion where a student could earn up to $2,040/month and have no reduction in the SSI payment unless they earn over $8,230/year? The truth about what will happen to one’s bank account when working can set your students free! Learn More and Register Here

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

A parent/guardian should call the KSB Office (502-897-1583, ext. 0204) for each day their child will not be at school to report the nature of their child’s absence. If possible, please call the school before 7:45 am. A student’s absence can only be reported to the KSB Office.

Excused absences:

• Medical appointments which cannot be scheduled at non-school times
• Death in the family
• Student illness
• Unavoidable transportation issues
• Other just and legitimate causes, as determined by the Principal

Our Elementary students are learning lots of cool things! Our youngest learners are learning about Apples. They are learning about different types of Apples and how apples grow. They are using real life apples to explore and comparing the ones we have. The older elementary students are learning about Matter. See if your student can tell you some properties of matter.

Middle school Science has been focusing on what it means to be living, to be an organism, traits of living organisms, and a variety of examples of organisms. Middle school students were able to explore the cells of both onions and honey bee wings using microscopes and enlarged screen microscopes. The 6th graders have focused on traits of living organisms and how they are organized. 7th grade has been building on those concepts and added higher level critical thinking about systems and body systems, and 8th grade has revisited the traits of living organisms and added a more in-depth study of living organisms and cells. All Middle School Science Students were able to build their own imaginary creature with all the traits that a living organism needs to survive in Louisville.

Our high schoolers are focusing on measuring, how we measure with different tools for different things and about the metric system. In addition, some classes are building on that middle school knowledge of living organisms and working on a unit entitled "From Molecules to Organisms" where students work on the cells that make up living things.

Music

We’re already having fun in the music department! We have been going over the fundamentals of music, playing rhythms, trying new instruments in all grades. Our elementary and middle schoolers are learning to work in a group, while our high schoolers are sharpening their skills on a variety of instruments. We even got a class singing along to everyone’s favorite throwback boy band song. Who says kids don’t know the classics? We can’t wait to play it for everyone later in the year!

We recently came across the following quote about music and what a music department at a school, like ours here at KSB, can be for your child. “The Music Department is an alternative universe where pupils are often unrecognizable from who they are outside of it. The shy become confident. The agitated become calm. The lonely become included. The quiet become heard. And the lost become found. Music reveals the real child."

Art

Once again, KSB is very lucky to continue the partnership with the local company KMAC (Kentucky Museum of Arts and Crafts). We have had this partnership now for over 18 years! They provide us with four artists for the year teaching three classes one day a week. This year, some high school students, most elementary students, and most of our middle school students will get to experience instruction in a variety of mediums and fun. Our first artist for the year is Suzy Hatcher teaching the art form of clay. Students will mold the clay into a variety of different forms and items and then will glaze the products to create beautiful ceramics that students can take home when finished and enjoy for many years. In Ms. Roark’s Arts Appreciation class, we are back to being “all about wool” among many other topics and hands on learning within the arts. Using wool and wet felting, we are learning a new technique called “shibori felting”. This technique involves creating felt pieces with wool and using resists to make ball shapes for awesome textures. Fun Fact: Did you know that there are over 900 different breeds of sheep in the world? You "herd" it here first! 😉

Short course is off to a great start for the 2022-2023 school year. We continue to work on skills encompassing the Expanded Core Curriculum. Elementary students have built social relationships with peers, learned braille skills, built compensatory skills through the use of manipulatives, and worked on basic self-care skills and concept development for daily living. Middle school students deepened their knowledge of Braille, technology, and cooking while building new skills in building furniture. High school students continued working on braille, self-care skills, time management, and more complex meal planning, grocery shopping, and cooking. Students have also continued to enjoy yoga, adapted PE, and music classes while attending KSB.

All of the students here at KSB are given laptops or iPads to use during the year. These devices are all equipped with magnification and a screen reader which converts the onscreen text into speech. In addition to that, some students also require a braille device which converts text into refreshable braille that connects either via Bluetooth or USB. These devices have 32 or 40 cells and each cell requires 8 tiny electrical pins that go up and down as various dots move across a line. Six make up the cell and the bottom 2 dots show the cursor, much like a mouse points to the exact character on the screen for editing. Although these devices have braille keyboards and do allow for writing in braille, it is always imperative that every student learns to be an excellent typist because computer skills are essential for many programs and the workplace. Technology is important to everyone, but for visually impaired students, having good computer skills allows for independence and equal access to information.

Mental health is about our feelings, thinking, emotions and moods.​ Mental health is important for a happy, healthy and productive life. Just like we brush our teeth every day, we need to make sure our brains have the tools we need to be mentally healthy. Looking after our mental health is just as important as looking after our physical health.

​Stress is normal, but too much increases the risk for health problems. Everyday feelings come and go and are a normal reaction to what is happening in our lives. They are always changing and don't usually hang around for too long.​​ Overwhelming feelings hang around for a long time, change the way we feel and behave and may stop us from doing what we want to in life. You have probably heard people call them a mental health problem, mental illness, or mental disorder. ​These feelings can be difficult to admit or talk about. However, EVERYONE deserves good mental health.

This week the school counselor and social worker will be sharing a very important lesson with students regarding their mental health. We will discuss more about mental health, ways to keep your mind healthy, the difference between everyday feelings and overwhelming feelings.

Students need to know that we are in this TOGETHER, and they are NEVER ALONE!

Due to weather conditions our field trip to the Family dollar on 9/6/22 was again postponed until 9/13/2022. We are hopeful that all of the planets, mother nature, Father time and whomever else is involved will allow this to take place finally! 😊 Students have money to spend, thanks to the generosity of the KSBCF.

The Recreation schedule for next week is on the Residential Parent page . If you still have not submitted the field trip for, these may be accessed on the Residential Parent page. The form has been changed so that you can complete it online and not have to sign and return. For recreation questions or concerns, please contact Angelo Menza, recreation leader.

Please note that dormitory prepared dinner menu is posted on that recreation schedule, as well. For questions about the dormitory dinners, please contact Charity Woolums, 2nd shift supervisor.

Expanded Core Content standards have been assigned to students based on their individual needs and current skills levels. The current skill areas for September will be (depending on the individual student needs):

• Housekeeping Skills
• Mobility Skills
• Time Management
• Personal Care Skills
• Organization Skills

Most students are only assigned one task (some two) to work on. Once mastery is shown, Ms. Woolums will work with the houseparent to determine the next skill focus. Please note that there are many individual tasks under each skills area. If you have any questions about this program, please contact Destiny Woolums, houseparent coordinator.

The track team is gearing up for the meet next weekend at the Tennessee School for the Blind. Go Wildcats! 👟

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