Wisconsin School for the Deaf - The Wisconsin Times Vol. 135 No. 1 Fall 2013 | Page 4

Old World Wisconsin While studying the history of our great state, the fourth and fth graders learned about life in the olden days during their visit to Old World Wisconsin. Their farm raises historic breeds of animals that Wisconsinites relied upon for their wool, milk, eggs, meat and strength. Students imagined working on the farm with the sheep, cows, oxen, goats, pigs, chickens and horses. Petting the powerful and beautiful oxen was a unique experience. When the tour guide described bathing back in the day, students quickly decided they would not have enjoyed those olden days. Our young Wisconsinites reportedly said they were grossed out to learn that people had to take turns bathing in a narrow tub with everyone using the same water as the person before The upper elementary department takes a stroll back in time to Old World Wisconsin! them. It was considered a waste of energy to heat full pots of water over a wooden stove to ll the tub again and again. The fourth and fth grade classes were grateful to Paola Lopez for interpreting. She showed off her unique talent of signing while standing on a moving tram! Homecoming & Spirit Week in Elementary Top to Bottom, - Left to Right: Bears Day: Christopher Rawlings, ASL Specialist, uses a bear puppet to teach about bears to the fascinated preschoolers - Lena, Owen and Sophia. States Day: Bobby Paul clearly describes what Hawaii looks like. Authors Day: Pre-schoolers, Riley and Lena have no trouble describing their favorite author, Dr Suess! Cartoons Day: Katie Laurent shares humor from her favorite Deaf Cartoonists Matt and Kay Daigle of That Deaf Guy. Firebirds Day: ASL Club students lead the Firebird Promise dance. Fall 2013 - 4 Spirit Week began with a door-decorating contest. Classroom doors were covered with bold colored paper, photos, Firebirds, footballs, volleyballs, bowling balls and inspiring messages to our athletes. Each morning, students gathered in the round room to enjoy class presentations. The categories for the week were Bears Day, States Day, Authors Day, Cartoons Day and Firebirds Day. Each student signed their part of the presentation along with a colorful Power Point including pictures and descriptions to add another visual element for the audience. On Friday afternoon, we gathered in the gym for a pep assembly. Therese Pohl-Markowitz showed everyone a cheer she learned when she traveled to WSD as a high school student from the Michigan School for the Deaf in the 1970’s. Students were up out of their seats stomping and clapping doing the old (now new) VICTORY cheer. Therese led the students in exciting relay competitions between the high school classes. Everyone laughed out loud watching high school students slipping and sliding across the gym oor wearing over-sized clown bow ties and pants that were so big they had to hold them up to keep from falling down, all while carrying a lacy, white parasol. Congratulations to Ms. Aleksinski’s Kindergarten class, which won the Homecoming door-decorating contest for the elementary department. They earned a pizza party!