W.T. Clarke hosts Braille competition

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The East Meadow School District hosted the 11th annual Long Island Regional Braille Challenge on Feb. 3 at W.T. Clarke High School.

 

The Braille Challenge is an academic competition developed by the Braille Institute to motivate school-aged visually impaired or blind children to continue their study of Braille.

 

The ceremony led into three interactive workshops for participants. The first tested students in their proficiency in reading, writing and comprehending Braille. Students were also invited to take part in sensory activities like playing dominoes and creating valentines using cookie cutters, metallic paper and stickers.

 

In the second workshop, students joined with representatives from Camp Abilities Long Island and played a game called Goalball, which is similar to soccer, but uses a ball that is embedded with bells. During this athletic workshop, participants also received a hockey demonstration from New York Metro Blind Hockey.

 

The third activity also allowed students to see the athletic opportunities for those who are visually impaired. Participants met and played with members of the Long Island Bombers, a beep-baseball team. These players demonstrated their version of the sport that uses beeping baseballs and bases. The young students ran the bases and located the baseball from the sound of its buzzing.

 

Along with these workshops, parents and students were able to visit tables with representatives from Camp Abilities, New York Metro Blind Hockey, the New York State Commission for the Blind, and Helen Keller Services for the Blind to learn more about services and opportunities for the visually impaired. 

 

The regional event is the first step toward the national competition, which will be held in June at the Braille Institute’s headquarters in Los Angeles, California. Students from across the nation are in the process of completing preliminary testing in the hopes of qualifying among the top-scoring 60 contestants. Those top scorers will advance to nationals to represent their state as they compete against the best Braille students from across the United States and Canada.

 

—Brian Stieglitz