Wisconsin School for the Deaf - The Wisconsin Times Vol. 133 No. 2 Winter 2011-2012 | Page 19

A Job Well Done! Unwrapping the perpetual presents! Each quarter the dormitory sponsors a reinforcement trip or activity to recognize and reward student behavior for each floor; elementary, middle school and high school. On November 17, the elementary floor enjoyed a delicious buffet at Stonefire Pizza in New Berlin for their first quarter reinforcement trip. After stuffing their little bellies, everyone clamored over to the FunZone to test out their skills at a variety of games. Some of the games awarded tickets which were cashed in for valuable prize memorabilia. A tired but satisfied group returned with big smiles on their faces. Skateland, inWaukesha, was the place to be on November 10th, for the middle school reinforcement trip where some serious roller skating action took place. Some of the students showed the staff what experts they are on wheels while others showed how to polish the floor. A good time was had by all. Right after the students returned from the holiday break, on January 3, the high school students attended a performance in Milwaukee called, The Blue Man Group. For many of the students this was their first experience viewing a performance of this style, thus they really did not know what to expect. Amazing light effects made the show very visual. The three performers beat on drums, ringing out loud sound effects. Everyone enjoyed the show. To the students’ amazement, after the show ended, they met the performers in person for a photo op. A few lucky students received a good old fashioned kiss on the cheek which left blue lip marks. How cool was that! Daniel Orizaba and Dakota Kangas enjoyed the skate outing. Seniors, Lennon Morrissey and Amanda Feliciano pose with a Blue Man Group actor. Ellie Lister in her holiday best! Halina and Katelyn show us their famous holiday twirl! Wyatt and Mark check out the goodies. Celebrating the Holidays On December 13th, the elementary and middle school dorm students hosted a Holiday party. The girls came decked out in their holiday finest while the boys provided the Yule-tide spirit. Plenty of delicious food was provided by our wonderful WSD kitchen staff and other goodies were provided by chef-wannabe, dorm staff. Holiday oriented games were enjoyed by all of which the favorite one was the perpetual present opening race which boosts one gift inside of a gift, inside yet another gift, and so on. The celebration was an enjoyable time that ended with everyone in the mood for the holidays. On Monday, December 19th, the middle school took the opportunity to go on a holidays shopping adventure at the Madison East Towne Mall. This gave students the opportunity to see what sales were occurring, what gift ideas the stores had to offer and to get some family shopping done without their families knowing what they would receive. The students had a great learning experiencing in figuring out their budgets and making change with their money to buy gifts for their loved ones. Winter 2012 - 19