Birthday Bash at St. Lucy's School

Birthday Bash at St. Lucy's School

The Braille Monitor

May 2003

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Birthday Bash at St. Lucy's School

by Lynn Heitz

Harriett

Go reads a story about Louis Braille to the students of St. Lucy's School.

Both she and the students are using Braille.

From the Editor: Lynn Heitz is president of the Keystone

Chapter of the NFB of Pennsylvania. Most readers know that January 4 is Louis

Braille's birthday. In the following article Lynn Heitz reports on a fine birthday

party that took place this year in Philadelphia. This is what she says:

It is fitting that Louis Braille's birthday is the first one

of the year celebrated by the blind community. Members of the Keystone Chapter

of the NFB of Pennsylvania in conjunction with the Pennsylvania State Bureau

of Blindness and Visual Services (BVS) did just that early this year. Seven

of us spent the afternoon of January 10 at St. Lucy's Day School for Blind Children

celebrating the birthday of the person who has had the greatest impact on the

lives of blind people throughout the world. Included in the group were Donald

Krentzman, district manager of the Philadelphia office of BVS; James Antonacci,

president of the NFB of Pennsylvania; Lynn Heitz, president of the Keystone

Chapter; Patricia Grebloski, graduate of St. Lucy's; Harriet Go, the first recipient

of an NFB of Pennsylvania Scholarship at the 2002 state convention and graduate

of St. Lucy's; and Barbara Esposito and Wiley Smith, Keystone Chapter members.

The birthday celebration included the usual storytelling,

singing, presents, and of course eating cake. Harriet read a Braille story about

the life of Louis Braille while the students followed along in their own Braille

copies. It was breathtaking to hear the loud swoosh when Harriet and all of

the students turned their pages in unison as they read the story together. Following

this, Jim Antonacci led us in singing "Happy Birthday." Then came

the presents. Lynn Heitz distributed Beanie Buddies to each of the students

and special guests. There were zebras, lions, monkeys, and puppies. The animals

were incredibly soft and cuddly. Three special Beanie Buddies were presented.

The first was to Sister Meg, principal of St. Lucy's school. The second went

to Donald Krentzman. The final Beanie Buddy was given to the oldest alumna visiting

St. Lucy's day school, Patricia Grebloski. Patricia said that she graduated

from St. Lucy's in 1956, which actually preceded the construction of the current

school building.

The most exciting part of the program was yet to come. Lynn

Heitz and Barbara Esposito had baked cupcakes that read "Happy Birthday

Louis Braille" in both Braille (using M&Ms) and tactile letters (one

letter to a cupcake). The children were so excited about this that they each

had to make sure the cupcakes were in the proper order before eating them.

It is always exciting to visit St. Lucy's because the children

are bright, full of energy, and eager to learn. The only thing that distinguishes

them from other students is that they are blind. This means that, in addition

to the standard, age-appropriate educational curriculum, they learn Braille

early on and how to use the white cane. The school participates enthusiastically

in the Braille Readers Are Leaders contest. Last year the Keystone Chapter awarded

a fifty-dollar savings bond to St. Lucy's student Rosemary Martin.

It was exciting to have Donald Krentzman of BVS, the staff

of St. Lucy's, and the members of the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania

come together in partnership on this special day. We salute the staff of St.

Lucy's day school for their dedication in teaching these students to become

fully participating members of our society. Through this partnership the students

at St. Lucy's will be able to achieve their future goals and truly embody the

philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind--that it is indeed respectable

to be blind.

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