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What's Happening in the School for the Deaf

October 2024

                  Student holding their foil boat and smiling.        A girl watches her boat floating in the water.        A boy smiles for the camera and holds his boat.        A boy smiles for the camera and his boat is floating in the water.

Elementary students in the School for the Deaf learned about different types of materials, natural and man-made. Then, they discussed which objects float and which don't. We then conducted an experiment to see if a boats with the same material, but different designs would hold the same weight. What a fun hands-on experience for these students!

October 2024                                      

                                 A student wears a heavy coat and a helmet, while Shayna communicates with her in ASL        Scott visits with two students.

                                 A boy raises his hand, another boy points to the front of the room.         A group photo of middle school students with Scott and Shayna.

Students in the School for the Deaf had a special treat. Deaf mountaineers Scott & Shayna visited CSDB to share their experiences climbing mountains with students. In 2023, they made history when they reached the summit of Mt. Everest. Shayna is the first Deaf woman in the world to reach the top, and Scott is the first Deaf American. Our students were enthralled as they learned about how the duo accomplished this amazing feat.

September 2024

 
 
               Student posing with Santa        Three students posing with Santa        Two students pose with Santa        A student poses with Santa
 
Students in the School from the Deaf and preschool and Bridges to Life students who are Deaf had a special visit with Deaf Santa at the North Pole. 

September 2024

A resin artist visited high school students in the School for the Deaf to teach a resin art activity. Students learned how to safely pour and spread resin into molds, add color, and allow the resin to harden with UV lights.

September 2024

In PE class, students in the School for the Blind enjoyed a few rounds of giant Jenga, while students in the School for the Deaf played a ball passing game in the gym.

September 2024

Elementary students in the School for the Deaf spent time learning about feelings and emotions. This week's emotion was joy, represented by the color yellow. As part of the lesson, students discussed things that bring them joy. Then, they created memory orbs inspired by the movie, "Inside Out." They drew pictures on their orb to represent happy memories.

June 2024

The School for the Deaf students studied the artist Friday Kahlo, before the end of the school year.  Middle school students created Mexican mirrors from glass pieces and mosaic tiles to honor her work.  This exhibit of folk art was hung in Gottlieb's lobby.  Thanks to Rachella Ortiz, School for the Deaf art teacher, for this photo and story.

Center collage focused on Frida Kahlo and her art. Handmade Mexican mirrors, in multiple colors and textures, hang around the center collage.

May 2024

The 8th grade School for the Deaf science class has been learning about space. In the picture, they are modeling the scale size of each celestial body, if the Earth were the size of a nickel-sized marble, and the scale distances within our Solar System compared to the CSDB campus. Thanks to Bryan Zigler for the story and photo.

line of students each holding up an object in the air. Colored arrows point to the objects.

May 2024

The middle school students in the School for the Deaf reflected on what they love most about the earth and began watercolor paintings. The 3rd-5th grade students made floral wreaths out of toilet paper rolls, the K-2nd grade students engaged in a STEM project resulting in creating a biodegradable earth ornament, and the HS students walked around outside and took pictures for a photojournalism project.

Additional Photos

a girl in a paint smock paints using watercolors

May 2024

Celebrating a member of the Class of 2024, Rosa Orantes Molina. Congratulations!
 

(Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind-Graphic Bulldog-Photo of female student-Text: "Honoring the Class of 2024, Rosa Orantes Molina, School for the Deaf, Aurora, CO")

Rosa Orantes Molina Graduation Announcement

May 2024

The 4th and 5th grade students, in the School for the Deaf, have been working on their planet research project. They are also making their planet posters which will be soon displayed in the hallway. Click for more photos. https://csdb.colorado.gov/research-project-school-for-the...
(Image: girl uses her device to research and records results on a paper.)

Girl researches on her device and records on paper

May 2024

Celebrating a member of the Class of 2024, Santiago Aguirre. Congratulations!
(Text: Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind - Graphic: Bulldog - Photo of male student - Text: "Honoring the Class of 2024, Santiago Aguirre, School for the Deaf, Colorado Springs, CO")

Santiago Aguirre Graduation Announcement

May 2024

 
Celebrating a member of the Class of 2024, Evelin Ronquillo Flores. Congratulations!
(Text: Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind - Graphic: Bulldog - Photo of female student - Text: "Honoring the Class of 2024, Evelin Ronquillo Flores, School for the Deaf, Federal Heights, CO")

Evelin Ronquillo Flores Graduation Announcement

April 2024

Celebrating a member of the Class of 2024, Serenity James. Congratulations!
[Text: Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind - Graphic: Bulldog - Photo of female student - Text: "Honoring the Class of 2024, Serenity James, School for the Deaf, Manzanola, CO"]

Class of 2024 Serenity James

April 2024

In the School for the Deaf, students learn ASL and English at the same time in a dual-language environment. The elementary 3rd-5th graders were learning about Springtime signs. They also took pictures of the signs and the letters, spelling out "spring" and other spring vocabulary.  They were so excited about spring knowing that summer was next! What a great group discussion! 

https://csdb.colorado.gov/deaf-elementary-learn-spring-signs

Story and photo by Myranda Zigler

 

 

Spring pictures and ASL signs

April 2024

 

Today begins a Senior Spotlight series, honoring the CSDB Graduating Seniors.
Celebrating a member of the Class of 2024, Sergio Andre Tapia. Congratulations!
[Text: Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind - Graphic: Bulldog - Photo of male student - Text: "Honoring the Class of 2024, Sergio Tapia, School for the Deaf, Colorado Springs, CO"]

Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind - Graphic: Bulldog - Photo of male student - Text: "Honoring the Class of 2024, Sergio Tapia, School for the Deaf, Colorado Springs, CO

March 2024

March is the month of Kindness, and in the School for the Deaf, Kindergarten through Middle School students who had art this quarter participated in the Hexagon Art Project. Each student thought about how to bring more kindness to people, animals, and the Earth and drew two representations on a hexagon template.

3rd to 5th-grade students learned about blending different soft oil pastel colors and created an animated shamrock!

Finally, K-2nd grade students created watercolor shamrocks and windsocks.

Also, middle school students took on the challenge of assembling and creating Celtic Knot artwork in honor of St Patrick's Day celebration! This was an intricate and complex assignment and they did well with it finalizing the front of it with the first letter of their names!
(Thank you to Rachella Ortiz, Art Teacher, for the stories and photos.)

Upper left, drawings cut into hexagon shapes; upper right, ten Celtic Knots hanging for display; Lower, six watercolor shamrocks hanging on the wall.

March 2024

Learning About Presidents and America

Written by Heather Beume, Teacher of the Deaf, Elementary

Over the past few weeks, the School for the Deaf Elementary has been focusing on learning all about America and some of our famous Presidents! We have read about President’s Day; famous President speeches and the laws. We read one especially fun book called “Laws for Kids” where we read and discussed laws kids had to follow and how they were important. We also discussed voting and how to vote on laws and take polls. Students were able to create their own “voters’ registration” cards. We then took a practice poll in class where students voted on their favorite animals.

Next, our class began working on our “America” projects, where students created their mini-display boards to highlight all of their newfound knowledge. Students wrote about and discussed various things such as: what continent is America on, what the flag looks like, what habitats can be found within the country, what are some cultural elements, facts about America and their favorite fact that they have learned. Students then also took their knowledge of laws and applied it to their own creative thinking by designing their own law.

Once the projects/writing were completed, we gathered the rest of Elementary, as well as some fellow staff members, for our class to do a fun presentation! Students were encouraged to share their display boards with everyone, then present facts about America and the Presidents about which they had learned. I prompted a few questions and students were eager to share the various facts they had learned. Students then also shared what law they would create if they were to become President. Once these presentations were done, we returned to our classroom where students used their “voters registration cards” to vote on which of their peers’ presentations were the best, the winner being nominated “Class President”! 

Top: group cheering, hands raised; Lower, child presents in front of others

March 2024

Congratulations on having your topic selected and great job representing CSDB!!

Rachella Ortiz and Ashley Wood, Teachers in the School for the Deaf, recently presented at the Rocky Mountain Early Childhood Conference. 70 people attended to learn about Outreach programs and ASL Community Classes that CSDB offers. Also, they explained the history of ASL, language acquisition, language deprivation, and the importance of a Deaf child becoming fluent in ASL, along with the benefits for hearing preschool children to learn sign language.
 

wo ladies stand in front of a large screen containing text "The Benefits of Sign Language for Early Childhood Education."

March 2024

 
Elementary Awards-Happy faces and impromptu dancing!
 
[This 60-second video has audio description and background music.]

February 2024

This year, School for the Deaf Social Studies/Civics classes have been following the presidential race. They watched the debates and got to know the candidates. https://csdb.colorado.gov/studying-the-primaries
[Image: Lists of state names, their primary and caucus dates with US maps nearby.]

Left, "Presidential Election November 5, 2024" with debate dates; Right, lists of state with their primaries/caucuses

February 2024

Remember last week when students, in the School for the Deaf, entered the Romero Britto art competition? Congratulations to Dania for winning the Valentine's art competition, using his prints and adding her own design.
[Image: Dania holding her prize handbag, with ASL shapes "WINNER" and "Dania" around her picture. Lower section shows her artwork full of hearts, a 1st Place ribbon and text saying, "Dania is an awesome art student!"

Dania holding her prize handbag, with ASL shapes "WINNER" and "Dania" around her picture. Lower section shows her artwork full of hearts, a 1st Place ribbon and text saying, "Dania is an awesome art student!"

February 2024

In the School for the Deaf, last week, students had Valentine's votes for the best Romero Brito-inspired Valentine's art. The winner received an art prize from Rachella Ortiz, Art Teacher. Students also learned about Yago Partal the Zoo Portraits artist. K-2nd grade students made sweater bears while 3rd through 5th grade made Yayoi Kusama-inspired Valentine's hearts. The display has polka dots around it, to match her art style.

seven portraits of bears - each wearing a unique sweater

valentine's hearts displayed vertically and surrounded by polka dots

17 heart art pictures with the text "Valentine's Votes".

January 2024

 
The students, in the School for the Deaf, are practicing as a pair to present, the Ella Mae Lentz poem, “The Dogs” to the class this week. Students have been learning about the importance of poetry in Deaf Culture class.
[Image: photo of a male and female student, who is using ASL, working with a laptop in a classroom.]

A male and female student, who is using ASL, working with a laptop in a classroom.]

November 2023

Thanks to this CSDB family for instilling the importance of community service in their children! In this video, Hollywood, a student in the School for the Deaf, explains how he is preparing food for people in need. The family gave service to homeless people over the holiday break. Great job!!

October 2023

Students in the School for the Deaf Physics class are learning all about the states of matter, changes between states, physical and chemical changes, and changes in thermal energy all while making delicious vanilla ice cream. Who says learning about science isn't messy?

Written by Bryan Zigler, Middle/High School Science Teacher, School for the Deaf

 

Seven students perform a group experiment around a science lab table.

Class of 2023-Mariah Gonzales

May 2023

Celebrating a member of the Class of 2023, Mariah Gonzales. Congratulations!
 

Mariah Gonzales Graduation Announcement 2023

Class of 2023-Daisy Martin

May 2023

Celebrating a member of the Class of 2023, Daisy Martin. Congratulations!

Daisy Martin Graduation Announcement 2023