lions day makes holiday impact at tsb holiday cheer rings out

January 1, 2016 Volume 4, Issue 5

T E N N E S S E E S C H O O L F O R T H E B L I N D

A child’s thoughts zoom in-to overdrive around Christ-mas. With all of the expec-tation and excitement, you might just say “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” It certainly is the time of the year when opportunities present themselves to influ-ence a child. With emotions in high gear, (cont. on pg. 8)

joy. As far as the per-formance went, we may look back and consider it a classic of its own. When thinking about these old songs, made popular from Christ-mas movies and shows from the past, we should remember, they are all “new” at some point to the little

tikes. And oh, how they find their own ways to suffuse the old with a twist of new life. Enthusi-asm from the children struck a chord on the sen-timental heart strings of even the most despairing of souls. Highlights from the program include Lathaniel Phipps as the Grinch and Adriel Cortez, Gavin White, Lily Norris, Gregory Harris, Colby Bowe and Easton Huffman singing White (cont. on pg. 8)

NEW FACES 2

NEW STUDENT 2

SPECIAL SCHOOL 3

CHORUS 3

ORNAMENTS 4

DIRECTOR DESK 5

MICROSCOPE 5

MAMA LOU 6

ART DISPLAYED 6

COTTAGE CORNER 7

PRELUDE TO 7

HOLIDAY CHEER 8

LIONS DAY 8

SANTA VISIT 9

SPOTLIGHT 10

SENIOR TRIP 12

TOURNAMENT 12

WIRELESS 13

DISCOVERY 14

AFTRA 14

FAREWELL 15

EVENTS 16

Inside this issue:

The

Lions Day Makes Holiday Impact at TSB

Holiday Cheer Rings Out the Old and In the New Year As 2015 came winding to a close, the enthuse- iasm to celebrate the holidays was building within the students at TSB. And for any spirits resembling the Grinch more than the Gift Giver during the final weeks of December, TSB pro-vided the perfect holi-day “tune-up” to jump start their joy machines. When the classes of LS 1,2,3,4, Map 1,2,3, Trans Map and Transition MS 2 started performing, the sparks began to fly. Now if the cuteness, laughter and excitement beaming from TSB students performing Christ-mas music can’t ignite ones holiday fireplace, then obviously one’s kindling is very wet.. soaked! This year’s program, crafted by music teacher Georgette Seay, had the theme of “Famous Christmas Classics.” Who doesn’t love to reminisce through the great music of the past, especially when it’s associated with a season of

Lions Gary & Eileen Laura from District 12-0 join TN Lions TSB

Coordinator Ralph Brewer to distribute gifts to the seniors.

The “family” Levi Dykes, Donnie Sands, Kevin Giron and Austin

Rogers perform during “Grandma Got Ran Over by a Reindeer.”

Danita Petraitis Danita comes to TSB as a companion through the Rutherford County School System. She has been em-ployed with Rutherford County in the area of Spe-cial Education for 11 years. “I have worked with many different disabilities and have job coached stu-dents with disabilities at various community sights for both career prep and the Goodwill Summer job program,” said Danita. She is serv-ing in Deedra Finch’s room as companion to Gregory Harris. Corey Smith A second companion provided by Rutherford County is Corey Smith. Corey can be found

with Ethan Hall who is this year in Mr. Baker’s room. A native of Franklin, TN, Co-rey moved to Murfreesbo-ro in 1997 to attend MTSU. Receiving a bach-elor’s degree in Archaeolo-gy he worked on several archaeology excavations between1999-2005. In

2005 he married his wife Stephanie and they reside in Murfreesboro with their cat Mr. Slick. Perusing further education, Corey earned a Master’s degree in Education from Lipscomb University in 2009. He has worked both as an EA and classroom teacher in Rutherford County 2007-2014. In his free time Corey en-joys listening to music and playing guitar.

Lara Nash In December, Lara Nash joined the residential staff to work on the charter bus routes. She is a Youth Ser-vice Worker I. Laura grew up in Alabama where she attended the University of

New Faces and New Places

Roar of the Tiger

North Alabama, the state’s oldest coeduca-tional four-year public university. The university is located in Florence. After completion of her education she moved into the Middle Tennessee area. Before coming to TSB, Lara worked as a Teacher’s Assistant at a local preschool. She enjoys walking trails and other outdoor activities. She also enjoys her time exercising at the Lang-ford Farms Club. Laura has a cat named Chester. “ I enjoy working with the students here at TSB,” Lara said. As you see her on the week-ends performing her busing duties, say hello and welcome her to the team.

Lauren Stein For those who have missed seeing Lauren recently in the business office, you can now find her working in the residential department. She is currently working with the students in cottage nine. No stranger to TSB, Lauren has been on staff at the school a number of years and also worked with the busing staff. Her mother worked at TSB as a Counselor. Lauren has chosen the responsibilities of a Youth Ser-

Danita Petraitis

Corey Smith

We welcome thirteen year old Kayla Cross, once again, to TSB. Kayla was born in Illinois but moved to Ten-nessee when she was 3 years of age. When in third grade, Kayla became a TSB Tiger. Her time at the school however was short lived when she moved back to Illinois. When Kayla was thirteen she moved to Ashland City, TN. She again joins us, this time in the seventh grade. “My favorite class is math,” said Kayla. She went on to state, “I like to play the piano, draw and I like orange tabby kit-tens a lot.” Kayla also enjoys being a big sister

to her younger, four year old, sister Kaitlyn.

Newest Student

Kayla Cross

Lauren Stein

Lara Nash

Mix hurry and scurry with laughter, music and fun and what do you get… the TSB Chorus and their travel schedule in December. The itinerary ranged from singing in caves to performing in the Commissioner’s office. The chorus's harmonies echoed from hotel meeting rooms to large audi-toriums. Ms. Judy Denning, TSB Chorus Instruc-tor and alumnus of the school, has built a tra-dition of spreading the great music of the season throughout the community while giving the stu-dents experience in exercising their talents and performing. Songs performed this year included: “Little Saint Nick”, “Grown Up Christmas List”, “Do You Hear What I Here” and “Christmas is a

Time for Joy” .

Volume 4, Issue 5

Speaking of a Special School

TSB Chorus Becomes Ambassadors of Holiday Cheer

Dear TSB Stakeholder,

As a new year begins, lots of people find them-selves making resolutions to do more physically active. This can be beneficial, yet I have also found this is a great time to perform exercises of a different sort. Take, for instance, the subject of vocation or occupation. A good exercise may come as a three step process: evaluation, vision and focus. The exercise of thinking back over the year through evaluation may bring to mind both successes and challenges. Both of these can provide good motivation as well as valuable lessons. As I think of TSB and our successes, the greatest may always come in May. Fifteen students successfully graduated this past May and are on their way to becoming contributing, participating, members of society. We, however, need to track these students to ensure their suc-cess long term. While we can celebrate the suc-cess of something like graduation, there is al-ways room for improvement within the process.

This leads to the second step of the exercise: vision. Vision is much larger than what a person can or cannot see with their physical eyes. Many visually impaired individuals have accomplished far more than their sighted peers ever dreamed. A visionary realistically sees their current circum-stances, but this is only a starting place. The for-

mation of what they see, imagine, and accomplish is only limited by how little they allow themselves to dream. What is your dream for a positive impact on the lives of those around you? What are your dreams of things you want accomplished 5 years from today? Have you thought about how that will look 2 years from now? The third step of the exercise would be to deter-mine your current focus. It will be difficult to be where you want to be in 6 months or 2 years un-less you focus on the steps you need to take to-day. I am glad to be part of a team that does such great work with the students entrusted in our care. The steps you take to be vocationally fit are easy to see. It is exciting to visualize the great things that will take place in the lives of our stu-dents this year through our collective effort!

Looking forward to a great year!

Respectfully, Nathan Travis, Ed.S., NCSP Interim Superintendent

TSB staff and Chorus have a photo taken with Tennessee

Commissioner of Education Dr. Candice McQueen when

making a guest appearance at her office. Spreading the

good cheer of the season, the chorus traveled and sang in

a plethora of different venues during December.

Christmas can seem like a long way off, when you’re young, riding a bus under a blue October sky with leaves only beginning to show their autumn beauty. However, the holiday spirit was alive and thriving at Middle Tenn- essee State University (MT- SU), October 28, when 10 TSB students joined their college counterparts, to create ornaments to adorn one of the 2015 National Christmas trees in Washington D.C. Invited by VSA Tennessee, the Vision, Stren- gth and Artistic Expression program,

the students made globe-type ornaments complete with artificial snow, a snowman couple on a toboggan, green moun-tains in the back ground, and sunset sky above. With this year’s ornament theme being National Parks, the students chose to represent the Smokey Mountains. Each student was paired with an MTSU student to create the ornament from a variety of ma-

terials including tissue paper, cardstock, wooden shapes, and foam. The globes are approximately five inches in circum-ference and will decorate the designat-ed Tennessee tree on the inner circle of state trees surrounding the National Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C. “This is our 3rd year to participate,” said Monica Leister, TSB art instructor. “In the past, VSA has invited multiple school groups to take part. As far as I know, we are the only group that was asked this year to create ornaments for the National Christmas tree that is on the White House lawn.”

Roar of the Tiger

VSA is an international non- profit organization with a mission to spread opportunity and equality in the artistic community. The organization provides people with disabilities opportunities to participate in, learn through, and enjoy the arts. The organization was founded in 1974 with a chapter established in Tennessee in 2001. “We have worked on other projects with VSA – it’s a won derful or-ganization,” said Ms. Leister. The national tree light-ing ceremony was initi-ated in 1923 by Presi-dent Calvin Coolidge. The 48-foot fir tree was decorated with 2,500 electric bulbs in red, white and green, as a local choir and a “quartet” from the U.S. Marine Band per-formed. Over 90 years later, the tree-lighting

ceremony continues, and was featured this year on PBS, December 3. TSB students who created orna-ments for the tree included: Mishon Breland, Keundre Mason, Stepha-nie Wilson, AJ Townsend, Avery Mayberry, Leah Mayberry, Elle Tuetken, Corgan Waters, Nehem- iah Rembert, and Carrie Carlisle. – Anne M. Kelley

Mishon Breland displays his

ornament near completion.

Above: Keundre Mason is glad to contribute to the National Christmas Tree. Top: Orna-ment created by AJ Townsend Bottom Right: Ornament created by Corgan Waters.

Student’s Ornaments Adorn National Tree in Washington

Leah Mayberry shows her

finished creation.

Volume 4, Issue 5

From the Director’s Desk January 1, 2016

Hello All,

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Welcome to 2016!

New beginnings are the theme. How many of you will make New Year’s resolutions? I always do and am pretty good at keeping them for about a month and then life happens and I am back to my old ways. At the beginning of Janu-ary, we will begin a new semester at TSB. Some students will be in new classes, some will stay in the ones that they were in before the hol-idays. One thing for sure is that first semester report cards and IEP Progress reports will be going out on January 8, 2016. Parents, be on the look-out for them. If you don’t get them please let us know in the school office at 615-231-7397. With a new semester beginning at TSB, please encourage your children to resolve to do their very best with regard to their school work and to set goals for improving their grades and learning outcomes. Just a little extra effort on each stu-dent’s part will go a long way on improving grades and how much each student learns. It will be April before we know it and we will be ramping up for spring testing, but the learning is happening now so let’s learn well so we will do a

good job on our state tests this year. Please feel free to contact your child’s teachers by email at any time or to contact the school administration if you have questions or concerns. We are all on the same team and want the very best for our students. While the students may be singing Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it snow, the adults are thinking hopefully Old Man Winter will be kind this year and not give us too much bad weather. In the event that we do have winter weather, we will keep you posted on the status of school closing or bussing via our robo call system and on our website. Please check our website frequently during winter weather events to determine if there will be school or not. The bottom line is safety is the first concern. We do not want any-one to risk life and limb to come to school, so if it is not safe due to icy or slick roads, stay at home. Let’s make the second semester

of the 2015-16 school year

the safest and the best ever!

Dr.

Kathy Segers Dr. Kathy Segers, Director of Instruction

Ever wonder how Santa fit down your chimney? This question and other mysteries concerning Christmas were on the front burner for stu-dents from Ms. Atwell/MAP1 and Ms. Buntin/Transition classes. On December 3, Dr. Ka-boom performed experiments and gave ex-planations to the inquiring minds of the students. The program, taking up the better part of an hour, was held at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in downtown Nashville.

Santa Under a Microscope

Pictured at left, students: Jamerius Turner, Tedarrel Brooks,

Brianna Swindall, Titus Sage, Mikayla Boutz, Michelle Davis,

Ryan Mayberry, Heaven Humphrey, Lathaniel Phipps staff:

Ms. Buntin, Ms. Ferby, Ms. Mason-Wooden, Ms. Atwell

Roar of the Tiger

The creations of TSB artists went on display in December at the main downtown campus of the Nashville Public Library. In celebration of the Main Library Children’s Area grand reopening the artwork was displayed in the children’s gal lery. A ribbon cutting

Student’s Art Showcased at Nashville Public Library ceremony with Nashville’s new mayor was held on Wednesday December 2nd from 3:30- 6 pm. The student’s art was requested for the display by the library staff. TSB was excited to have the opportunity to display the talents of their stu-dents.

Mama Lou Exemplifies the Spirit of the Season by Giving The Christmas holidays are al-ways filled with wonderful tradi-tions that involve giving. Stu-dents at TSB are fortunate to be the recipients of gifts from so many wonderful individuals and organizations during this time of year. One such individual is Mama Lou. For 36 years this kind-hearted, caring individual has organized groups of giving volunteers to fill the Christmas Wish List of the students from TSB.

This year, along with many of her friends from Lincoya Hills Baptist Church, she has “adopted” twelve of our kids for Christmas. On Monday, December 14th the students were show-ered with gifts and a Christ-mas party celebration. Much thanks to Mama Lou and her wonderful, giving friends!

TSB student’s art on display at the Nashville Public Library.

Miranda Sullivan begins

opening gifts at party.

Mama Lou

Parties, Pals and Predators: Prelude to the Holiday Break

Welcome to Cottage Corner! Decembers always fly by for the Residential Department! Lots of holiday activities, events, and festivities keep our students busy and our staff busy as well! Between choir concerts, holiday parties, and commu-nity guests, I think we are all ready for some rest and relaxation! Our students enjoyed the Community Band Concert – Santa even came to join in the fun and to hand out apples, oranges, and candy canes! The Residential Staff hosted our annual holiday party where students watched holiday movies, visited with Santa (he just LOVES to stop by TSB!), and re-ceived stockings stuffed with treats and toys! Each cottage also had their own party night, enjoying each other’s company and spending some quality time with friends be-

fore the long two week break. We are so fortunate to have wonderful sup-port this time of year from many members of our community. Helping us celebrate the holidays this year were the ladies of the Del-ta Gamma Sorority, Mama Lou, Pal Haw-kins, Ron Grizzard, Jennifer Rawls, and Crissonya Phillips. We thank all of them for their generosity and kindness! We have tru-ly enjoyed celebrating with you! This month the Residential Department wel-comed Ms. Lara Nash to the TSB family! Ms. Nash will be working in the Residential Department as a busser on the Memphis Charter Bus. Welcome Ms. Nash! I hope that you all have a very wonderful Holiday Season and a safe and Happy New Year!

Warmest Wishes to all of you! See you in 2016!

Michelle Cormier Michelle Cormier, Director of Residential

Volume 4, Issue 5

January 2016

Beginning on Tuesday the 1st of December, Mr. Pal Hawkins and friends from Old Hickory

came and donated 14 coats to students in need of a warm cover-up. Stocking caps and gloves were also donated and given to all the kids. For 20 years Mr. Hawkins has shown up at Christmas time and

provided coats and wonderful gifts for the

students. You might say he has demonstrated himself to be a genuine “Pal” and the students of TSB have come to reciprocate that love. With much gratitude we express our thanks to

Pal Hawkins, his family and friends from Old Hickory. On Thursday December the 10th, Cottage Life hosted their annual Christmas party. Santa (Donnie Bryan), made an appearance with

toys for all the little girls and boys. Christmas mov-ies were enjoyed as they played on the “big screen” throughout the party. The gals form Delta Gamma were gracious again to create and fill Christmas stockings for all the stu-dents that reside on cam-pus. A group of around 20 Delta Gamma gals were present to assist (cont.pg.15)

Barry Cannady and Stephanie

Wilson sport their new coats.

Residential staff serve

eats at the party.

Roar of theTiger

Holiday Cheer Rings Out the Old and In the New Year (cont. ft. cover)

When the children’s program changed gears, the TSB Cho-rus took front and center stage. They further infused the spirit of the season into the souls of those present with their sweet melodies and harmonies. Cody Thomas was featured in the song "Little Saint Nick." Mid-State Chorus Member, Carrie Carlisle fo-cused her attention on things needed and de-sired across our world with her heartfelt solo. “No more lives torn apart, that wars would never start, and love would fill our hearts” reverberated throughout the auditorium as she sang "Grown Up Christmas List." Joe Gregory next led the instrumentalists in the celebration. The Tiger Middle School Band played Little Drummer Boy after which the Tiger High School Band performed Morning Dance. The band was then joined by the chorus for their rendition of "Do You Hear What I Hear." Amidst staging, the crowd enjoyed numbers performed by the TSB Jazz Combo. These songs included Killer Joe, Watermelon Man and Silent Night. The program was streamed live on Livestream.com.

Christmas. Titus Sage and Kaylee Yar-brough, warmed the hearts in singing When Christmas Comes to Town. Laughter filled the air as Grandma, played by Leah Mayberry just couldn't keep from getting ran over by Santa (Brian Rock), and reindeer (KeAunte Smith and Nehemiah Rembert). Grandpa, played by Trenton Smith and the rest of the family, (Levi Dykes, Austin Rogers, Preston Taylor, Donnie Sands, Kevin Giron and Sierra Carre-ria) had their own take on the situation. So-loists Mikayla Boutz and Naijyana Hudgens joined together for a wonderful rendition of Let it Go. This musical number included a fully choreographed dance team comprised of Tren-ton Smith, Letarian Smith, Leah Mayberry, Nehemiah Rembert, KeAunte Smith and rib-bon twirler Austin Rogers. Continuing the jovial mood were the entertaining jokes and humor of Austin Rogers, Kevin Giron, Nehemiah Rem-bert, KeAunte Smith, Scott Jernigan, TaMa-yah Jordon, Preston Taylor, and Brian Rock. Additional renditions of classic songs used in the program included: White Christmas, Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, The Grinch, When Christmas Comes to Town, Let it Go and Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.

Lions Day Makes Holiday Impact (cont. from front cover)

the resources to meet the needs of reality are sometimes far apart. Even in a child's eyes the holidays can present very stressful moments and hardships. It may be as simple as facing the momentous task, in their eyes, of wanting to give a gift but not having the means. Circumstances may have them feeling all alone, helpless or that few people care. Whatever their situation, children at TSB have come to realize that Lions Clubs are made up of people who show they care. The annual celebra-tion of Lions Day at TSB finds Lions Club mem-bers from all across Middle Tennessee coming together and making an impact on the visually impaired students. After months of assimilating their time, talents and treasures into raising funds, the club’s members give and then person-

ally distribute their gifts to the students. As the student’s faces light up when receiving their gifts, it’s interesting to see a similar reaction on the faces of those

giving the gifts. It’s almost as though you hear someone saying, “It’s more blessed to give than to receive.” To all of the hard working, dedicated members of the Lions Clubs who have again made a difference in the lives of our students, we are most appreciative and say thanks!

Student Marcus Johnson receives his

gift from a Lions Club member.

Carrie Carlisle

Volume 4, Issue 5

Twas 23 days and 16 hours before Christmas when all through the school, a whirlwind of ex-citement made everything feel cool. And air from the North Pole had accompanied the sled, deliv-

ering ol’ Santa and his wife dressed in red. The kids were excited to tick-le his ears, with whispers of toys they have wished for all year. The Clauses, excited to see all the kids, cheered on good behavior and mouths not

filled with fibs. As a token of goodies and sweet things to come, Mrs. Clause gave a peppermint stick to each one. And San-ta made sure

Santa and Mrs. Clause Have Photos Taken with Kids

had photos taken with Santa.)

a smile covered each face, and a photo was taken to hold it in place. Then as quick as he came all the ac-tion just stopped, as Santa was beckoned back to the toy shop. But there is no denying that Santa was here,

cause the kids have a photo with Santa this year! (The classes of MAP 1,2,3, MAP Transi-tion, LS 1,2,3, and T-MS1

Titus Sage and Santa

Prior to the jolly ol’ man in red’s ride through the night sky on December 24th, Santa and Mrs. Clause made time for a photo

session with the students at TSB. Word on the street is, so many were showing up on his “Naughty List” this year and Santa

knew a stop at TSB would increase the numbers on his “Nice List”. It’s obvious Santa and Mrs. Clause see the bigger picture!

Santa and Mrs.

Clause pose for a photo.

Isabella Gonzalez and Santa

Naijyana Hudgens

and Santa

Adriel Cortez and Santa

Michelle Davis and Santa

Roar of the Tiger

Regina Harris Regina Harris has been the Director of School Nutrition at TSB for over eight years. This year, Ms. Harris will have worked for 40 years in Tennessee state food service. She be-

gan her career in 1976 during the legislative ses-sion as a cafeteria cash-ier. She moved into full time food service at the Tennessee Preparatory School in 1978, remain-ing there until the school closed in 2002, at which point she came to TSB. “My favorite thing about TSB is the students and the smiles on their faces

even though they have things to deal with. So many of us take our health and vision for granted,” said Ms. Harris. Ms. Harris has seen a lot of changes in food service in her 40 years with the state. “We used to have a much bigger staff,” she said, individu-als who cooked the main courses and vegeta-bles, and bakers. “We had to have more peo-ple,” added Ms. Harris, “because everything was cooked home-style, from scratch. It was a lot of hard work, but the food was delicious!” Having to comply with USDA paperwork and calorie counts, and has impacted what cafete-rias can serve. When not at TSB, Ms. Harris enjoys reading mysteries and romance, and books by her fa-vorite authors, Steven King and James Patter-son. In nice weather the Harrises can also be found enjoying their 5-seater, 18-foot boat. Liv-ing on Old Hickory Lake, with two marinas, sev-eral public docks, and two parks within a three-mile radius of the house, they have the oppor-tunity to enjoy the water frequently. “We’re usu-ally at one of them when weather and time per-mit,” she said. Ms. Harris and her husband, Bobby, have been married 43 years. They have two children, son

January Spotlight on Staff Christopher and daughter, LaTonya, five grandchildren, and one great grandchild. Sadly, the Harrises had to put their beloved English Terrier to sleep last year. However, Ms. Har-ris said they plan on getting a shelter dog when she retires – “or when my grandson talks me into it!” Ms. Harris hails from a little town call Bellsburg in Dickson County, where she grew up on a working farm. Her family raised tobacco, chick-ens, dairy cows, and pigs. They moved to Nash-ville when she was 13. “ It was a big change,” she said. Now, she and Bobby live in Hender-sonville, as does their son. And soon LaTo-nya will be moving to Hendersonville too. One thing you might not know about Ms. Harris is that she has acrophobia, an extreme fear of heights. Good thing her office is on the first floor!

Teresa Buntin Teresa Buntin, Elemen-tary MAP/Transition teacher and cheerleading coach, is in her third year at TSB. Her favorite thing about TSB is the diversity of the students. “I love that I can work with younger kids during the day, then I get to work with a very dif-ferent group of students in the afternoon and week-ends with the cheerlead-ers. Being a part of the ath-letics department is a lot of work, but very fun and rewarding!” When not at TSB, Ms. Buntin and her hus-band, Mike, enjoy spending time on their boat and jet-ski. Though their boating adventures usually occur during the warmer months, they also take the boat out for short trips when it’s cold. They like seeing the change in the leaves during fall from the boat on Percy Priest Lake. Then when it’s really cold, they might be found fishing. With a master’s degree in Reading, it

Regina Harris

Teresa Buntin

comes as no surprise that Ms. Buntin enjoys lit-erature in her spare time too. Her favorite genres are non-fiction, and Dystopian and Science Fic-tion, her favorite authors being Malcolm Gladwell and Lois Lowry. An “army brat,” Ms. Buntin was born in Tacoma, Washington, and lived in Germany, Oklaho-ma and Kentucky growing up on army bases. When her father retired from the army, the family moved to his hometown, Lebanon, which Ms. Buntin considers home. She moved to Murfreesboro, TN to attend MTSU where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Special Educa-tion, followed by a Masters in Reading. This past summer she completed a second Masters in Vision from Trevecca University. Another move is in Ms. Buntin’s immediate fu-ture – a new home in Hermitage for Christmas! Cat Coco will make the move as well, and the Buntins are sure to have numerous visits from their soon –to be-6-year old niece, Maddie. Something you might not know about Ms. Buntin is that she was a very shy child and hated grow-ing up as a redhead! She and her sister inherited their bright red hair from their father. “I was ex-tremely shy as a kid, and unless you’re a red-head, you have no idea how often people bring it up! Strangers would stop us to comment about our hair and all I wanted to do was disappear!”

Pauletta Frailey Pauletta Frailey has worn many hats in her eight years at the Tennessee School for the Blind. She began in 2007 as TSB’s Student and Family Support Specialist. She has also worked as Director of Federal Programs, Direc-tor of Support Services, and currently serves as Pupil Services Coordinator, ensuring that non-academic services provided by TSB (health, counseling and social work services, guidance services, TSB’s Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support and the Olweus Bullying Pre-vention programs) meet students’ needs. The best thing about being at TSB, said Ms. Frailey, is being able to make a positive difference for

Volume 4, Issue 5

January Spotlight on Staff (cont. from pg. 10) the students. When not at TSB, Ms. Frailey enjoys being part of the praise team at her church, and sings at wed-dings, funerals, and other services. In addition, she is involved in several com-munity outreach programs including prison and inner city ministries, a pregnan-cy care center, and AGAPE, which offers Professional Counseling and Psychological Services, Adoption Ser-vices, Crisis Foster Care and Maternity Coun-seling to families, children and adults in Mid-dle Tennessee, and plans to do more in the future. She also enjoys reading – mysteries, and historical or period fiction. Originally from southern Illinois, Ms. Frailey now lives in Donelson. She came to Tennessee to attend Freed Hardeman University in Hender-son where she received a Bachelors’ in Mu-sic. She earned a second Bachelors’ in Ele-mentary Education in 1984 from the Universi-ty of Evansville in Indiana, and later achieved two Masters degrees, one in Education Vison/Special Education from Peabody at Vander-bilt University and a Masters’ of Arts in Counseling in 2007. She is also certified and licensed in school leadership. Most of us simply bustle through the days of the week knowing the days only by their Latin origin. Ms. Frailey is much more creative. One thing you might not know about her is that she visual-izes the days of the week in colors: Sunday is yellow, Monday is red, Tuesday is blue, Wednesday is amber, Thursday is purple, Friday is white, and Saturday is black. For as long as she can remember, she has been “coloring” the days. “It’s not anything conscious,” she said. “It doesn’t influence my day or what I wear. Some dream in color and some people dream in black and white. I see the days of week with color!” – Anne M. Kelley

Pauletta Frailey

Roar of the Tiger

TSB Seniors Ski the Slopes of Colorado skating and bowling. They also made a visit to Iron Mountain Hot Springs for some deserved R&R. After all, these kids had been working hard to help fund the trip. The students did such an excellent job selling the APH print and braille calendars that addition-al boxes had to be ordered. They were also fortunate to have received some very gen-

erous donations from students’ families and friends. “We are very thankful for all the support,” said Julia. On Thursday, Decem-ber 17th the seniors returned home full of excite-ment and stories. Those on this year’s trip were, Students: Josiah Hearn, Tim Tanner, Corgan Waters, Abby Claxton, Elle Tuetken, Shelby West, Stepha-nie Wilson, Austin Mayes, Aaron Patrick, AJ Townsend, Deshawn Turner, Carrie Carlisle Chaperones: Julia Hedrick, Alicia Blevins, Joe Gray, Patrick Hector

With few exceptions, the TSB senior trip is the most anticipated activity planned over the span of the student’s senior year. So it’s no surprise that in the wee early hours of Friday December 11th, twelve TSB students and four chaperones headed to the Nashville Interna-tional Airport wired and ready for flight. Their flight was headed to Denver, Colorado, the first leg of the 2015 TSB Senior Trip. Once in Denver, vans from Challenge Aspen picked the students up transporting them another four hours north-west to Snowmass Colorado. “We were able to spend 3 days skiing with instructors and volun-teers from Challenge Aspen,” said trip coordina-tor Julia Hedrick. Now that’s a dream senior trip for any graduating senior! The week-long trip in-cluded lots of other activities in the Rockies as well. The students stayed busy swimming, ice

Tigers Host Wrestling/Cheerleading Tournament

Tennessee School for the Blind and Donel-son Christian Academy hosted an individual wrestling tournament on Saturday December 5th. Participating teams included: Indiana School for the Blind, Kentucky School for the Blind, Grace Christian Academy, Donelson Chris-tian Academy, Missouri School for the Blind and the Texas School for the Blind that flew in for the event. Wrestling began shortly after 10am and the ac-tion didn’t stop till 3pm. Indiana School for the Blind brought the largest team. They made their mark in each weight class and took the 1st place position in the team competition. 2nd and 3rd place were both within a few points of the leader. TSB first year wrestlers Nathan Desma-rais, Anthony Bonetti, Savannah Copithorne, and Candi Herrera saw lots of action, this being their first tournament experience. Avery May-berry tied for best match of the day with his

hard fought battle against Hoke from DCA. Avery won the first match and Hoke won the sec-ond to give Avery 3rd place in the 126lb bracket. Carlos Medrano and Miguel Jose went undefeated for the day winning their weight classes. Garret Meeks won two out of three matches to place 2nd in the 220lbs bracket. His only loss was at the hands of a chal-lenging opponent from Grace Christian Academy. Both the Indiana and Tennes-see cheerleading teams per-formed routines to the pleasure of the audience. Here are 1st place, individual and team, results: (cont. pg.13)

In smiles Carlos

Medrano show his

way to victory after

winning his weight

bracket

TSB Seniors and staff pose for a group photo with

members of Challenge Aspen while on their trip.

Volume 4, Issue 5

Team Effort Enables TSB to go Wireless… Completely! In January of this year, seeing the need for the TSB campus to be completely wireless, act-ing superintendent Jim Oldham began musing over the options. With the year’s last E-Rate (Schools and Library Program of the Univer-sal Service Fund) training approaching, he devised a plan. He instructed Noranda French, (Director of Business Services), to “ Make it happen, kid”. Initially reluctant, Noranda accept-ed the challenge E-Rate presented and went to work. With only a full 3-ring binder of instruc-tions and the last training, she was on a mission. “We met with the Tech guys at TSB, created specifications and guidelines, made a URL (uniform resource locator), and the emails went out,” said Noranda. Because of a need for fund-ing, a three phase plan was developed. In June of 2015, the Phase 1 of the wireless sys-tem was complete. Two additional phases still existed however in order for the campus to be completely wireless. Mr. Oldham presented Noranda with the challenge that if she could get Phase 2 completed, he would somehow find the funding to complete Phase 3. Working with three departments within DOE, Noranda would need to get three approvals. “It took a full month to get the first “yes”, said Noranda. “ But that was the spark we need-ed.” Brainstorming with Deborah Boshears-Gunter (Executive Director of Operations) the two devised a plan of action to maneuver through the bureaucratic system. Noranda be-

Team Scores Indiana – 99 GCA– 94 Tennessee – 93 DCA – 65 Kentucky - 52 Texas – 45 Missouri – 42 1st Place in Each Weight Class 106lb – Carnahan DCA 120lb – Jordan GCA

Tigers Host Wrestling/Cheerleading Tournament (cont. from pg.12)

gan a flurry of emails and worked closely with Brent Cordis, (Director of IT) in getting all of the needed specifications together to receive an-other approval. Over the next month, Noranda, Deborah, and Brent worked diligently behind the scenes. Then it happened, the final two “yeses” came through! After requesting and receiving funding approval from Interim Superintendent Nathan Travis, all the lights were finally green and ready to pro-ceed. Fortunately funding became available through campus renovations funding and was allocated to complete the much needed wireless project. Phase 2 and 3 would be to combined and completed without having to seek additional funding. After Noranda and Brent posted the specifica-tions to the URL and put together the timeline, they joined with Tim Taylor (TSB’s new Direc-tor of Facilities Management). Interested ven-dors participated in a walk though of the campus to evaluate the project. The following week JT Bassham (Procurement Officer) began receiv-ing quotes from the various bidders and started work on a purchase order. “Thanks to the entire TSB team, our entire campus will have wire-less beginning in January. A group effort has gotten our students and staff what they need,” said Noranda. Now that’s something worth, tak-ing your wireless device and, writing home about!

126lb – Medrano TN 132lb – Tello Indiana 145lb – Jose TN 152lb – Smith MO 170lb – Hack KY 195lb – Geiger DCA 220lb – Hunter GCA 285lb – Cannon KY

Photo Right: Avery Mayberry

takes control of his opponent as

the Tiger cheerleader look on dur-

ing TSB’s tournament.

Roar of the Tiger

On November 12, the classes of Ms. Mandrell, Mr. Baker, Ms. Bush, Ms. Salvato and Ms. At-well enjoyed going to the Discovery Center at Murfreesboro Springs. A number of parents and family members accompanied the group to lend their support. “This was my first TSB field trip,” said Ethan Hall, who was accompanied by his mother and sister. It was time for some Pump-kin Power, the theme of the day! The day was packed with a lot of fun and many activities. There was something fun for every student. The students became “employed” as engi neers in one activity in which they not only had to build the tallest structure, but also had to ensure that it was strong enough to support a pumpkin. Stu- dents worked in groups of two in building the best structure possible. In another activity students

got to taste parts of a plant and record data on a graph. A carrot was the root, celery for a stem, pumpkin seeds for a seed, kale for leaves, and a pumpkin muffin represented fruit. The graph showed which part of the plant the students pre-ferred. A third activity involved matching the correct seed to the correct fruit. Students were given contain-ers with 2 fruits and the correlating seeds. Their job was to tell which seed came from which fruit. When we finished with our planned activities we

The Discovery Center: Oh What a Trip!

were able to explore the museum. This was when our students transformed into firemen, art-ists, mechanics, paleontologists, shoppers, and engineers. Students enjoyed a water table, searching for fossils, trains, a creation station, a car that you could change the tire on, a 3D print-er, and so much more. This was truly a time that the students could dream and be what they wanted to be. The visit wrapped up with a short walk through the wetland trail. Birds chirped in the nesting ar-ea by the walkway while the kids played on the outdoor playground. “We all enjoyed our trip and look forward to returning to the museum again,” said Ms. Salvato.

Muriel Davis, Danny White, Johnathon Grissom, Christian

Herrera, and Sidney Little play the role of fireman.

Ethan Hall studies, with curiosity, the foam balls.

AFTRA Makes Stop at TSB

On Tuesday afternoon December 15th a spirited group from the American Federation of Televi-sion and Radio Artists came to campus. The purpose of their visit was to fill the hearts and spirits of the students with holiday cheer. And, that is pre-cisely what took place! The auditorium, and then the student’s hearts and spirits filled with music, entertainment and jingle bells! Thanks AFTRA for including TSB as part of your holiday tradi-tion. The contribution and memories you leave with our students is priceless!

Volume 4, Issue 5

Parties, Pals and Predators: Prelude to the Holiday Break (cont. pg. 7)

in handing out the stuffed stock-ings. The Youth Service Workers prepared finger foods for every-one to enjoy. It was washed down by the festive green punch. Mr. Tony Rippetoe pro-vided holiday instrumental music to electrify the atmosphere. Through the month of December a number of volunteers from the area sponsored the students,

Farewell to Longtime Friends and Employees Since publication of the last newsletter, the fol-lowing employees have retired or are no longer employed at TSB. Connie Morgan Connie served at TSB over 7 years as a Youth Service Worker having started in August of 2008. She was no stranger to the school as her husband Rich-ard was working as a se-curity guard.

Richard Morgan Richard began work at TSB in April of 1995. His departure at the end of the Christmas Eve shift marks over 20 years with the state. Richard leaves TSB being the Head of School Monitor-ing.

Rick Allison Beginning work at TSB in December of 1993. Rick re-tires after serving the school over 22 years. Rick leaves TSB having served in vari-ous positions and most re-cent as the Director of Facil-ities Management.

wanting them to have a “special” Christmas. Our thanks goes to the folks in the Donelson, Her-mitage, Old Hickory areas for giving of themselves and their gifts in December. On Tuesday December 15th, TSB students attended a Predators Hockey game. Our thanks goes to the Nashville Predators for mak-ing this activity possible.

Doris Baskin Doris Baskin started her career at TSB in October of 1979. Doris held several positions during her 36 years with the school. Her most re-cent position was in the area of Procurement as a Store-keeper. David Young David began working at TSB in August of 1997 and was employed through November of this year. After a recent illness, he passed away on November 16th. David worked as a security officer, usually on week-ends, in what is now known as the school’s Campus Monitoring Program. David attended Tennessee Tech where he played football for the Golden Eagles. He also served time in the US Army. His duty had him stationed in Germany during the Cold War era. David loved to read and study military history as his co-workers would testify. Born on January 10, 1955, he was 59 years of age. He is survived by his ex-wife Lau-ren Young and son, Ricky. He will be missed.

To the retirees, we thank you for your years of dedication and hard work, and wish you the best!

David Young

Connie Morgan

Ricjhard Morgan

Rick Allison

Doris Baskin

Johnathon Grissom enjoys seeing

Santa at the holiday party.

Tennessee School for the Blind is a state special

school established in 1844 to meet the unique needs of

visually impaired students living in the state of Tennes-

see. The school provides academic and professional

services tailored to benefit students placed in its care

through the Local Education Agencies across the state.

Beyond a tradition of academics, TSB specializes in the

instruction of expanded core-curricular areas such as

Braille, Mobility, Technology, Career Education, and In-

dependent Living Skills. Students at the school also enjoy

the opportunity to participate in team sports, campus

clubs, organizations and many leisure-time activities. In

addition the school provides outreach services to visually

challenged students, their parents, teachers, schools and

other agencies assisting the visually challenged.

115 Stewarts Ferry Pike

Nashville, TN 37214

Phone: 615-231-7300

Creating Contributing Participating Members of Society

T E N N E S S E E S C H O O L F O R T H E B L I N D

Junior

Class

Sells

Holiday

Orna-

ments

TSB’s Jun-ior Class kicked off the Holi-day Sea-son with a fund raiser that is sure to hang around!

Upcoming Events Calendar

M Jan. 4 Teacher Organizational Day/Monday Busing TSB

M Jan. 18 MLK Day/No School/Monday Busing -

Tu Jan. 19 Classes Resume TSB

Tu-F Jan.19-22 Spirit Week TSB

Th Jan. 21 Pep Rally for Wresting/Cheerleading TSB- 5th period

F-Su Jan. 22-24 NCASB Wrestling/Cheerleading Conf. Meet Kentucky

W Feb. 3 VSA Souper Bowl Reception-after school (TBA)

Th Feb. 4 Black History Month Assembly-6th period TSB

Th Feb. 11 Kingdom of Hearts Dance TSB- 7th/8th Periods

M Feb. 15 Presidents Day/No School/Monday Busing TSB

Tu Feb. 16 Classes Resume TSB

W Feb. 17 Staff Talent Show-After School TSB (TBA)

F-Su Feb. 26-29 Jazz Festival University of Louisville - Kentucky

lions day makes holiday impact at tsb holiday cheer rings out

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