December was an exciting month for the DHH Program. Seven of our students competed in a national reading competition for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students called Battle of the Books. Students were divided into two different teams based on their reading levels. Using Videophone technology and PowerPoint, we competed against other DHH Programs like: California School for the Deaf Fremont, Rocky Mountain School for the Deaf, Utah School for the Deaf, Texas School for the Deaf and Washington School for the Deaf to name a few. Both Venado teams did an outstanding job, and advanced to the play-off round of the competition which took place in December! We are very excited to announce that both Venado’s teams beat 60 other Deaf and Hard of Hearing programs and have advanced to NATIONALS! The National Competition will take place at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C. in March. A huge congratulations go to: the Blue Team - Leah, Joecelyn, Dominic, and the Green Team - Noor, Joshua, Gabriel, and Aleena. Our students are extremely excited and have already started packing their bags. We are so proud of them! Wish us Luck! GO KNIGHTS!
Deaf Culture Fun Fact #1: There are approximately 17,000 students in California, grades K through 12 that are deaf or hard of hearing. There are more than 22 million deaf or hard of hearing people living in the United States – six million of whom are profoundly deaf.
Deaf Culture Fun Fact #2: The huddle formation used by football teams originated at Gallaudet University, a Liberal Arts College for deaf people in Washington D.C., to prevent other schools from reading their sign language and knowing their plays. A deaf center-fielder for the Cincinnati Reds, William Hoy, invented the hand signals for strikes and balls in baseball.
(Pictured from Left to Right: Standing: Leah, Aleena, Joecelyn. Kneeling: Noor, Joshua, Dominic, and Gabriel)
~ Janet Dicker, DHH Site Liaison/DHH Teacher