Wisconsin School for the Deaf - The Wisconsin Times Vol. 134 No. 2 Winter 2012-2013 | Page 12

Huff Happenings

by Heather Martens
New Look

With the rise of technology, we have
been noticing that children are socializing
less face to face. LOL, YOLO, SMH,
and other abbreviations have taken over
their vocabulary and sadly affecting
their communication skills. The Firebird
Center, FBC, is currently undergoing
a revamping to attract more students
to come down there to socialize rather
than stay in their rooms attached to their
technical devices.
The FBC has not undergone any major changes since 1995. The FBC is
aiming for a 1950’s café with retro looks with red and black booths and a
few high tables. The oors have a unique pattern with black, red, and white
squares. Belinda Carroll has a huge re-opening celebration planned for when
everything has been completed including the installation of Wi-Fi, high
tables, and more televisions. Completion date has not been set due to a few
factors but hoping for before this school year is over.

Students Transitioning as Adults in the Real World
S.T.A.R. was developed to get students who are considered at risk adults ready for the real world. In
the classroom the students discuss various responsibilities that adults are expected to do. Some of the
responsibilities are cooking, grocery shopping, laundry, and cleaning. A couple staff had donated their
favorite recipes and those recipes have been bound together to make a cookbook for those students who are
involved in the class. The class chooses to do one recipe per week and they are to write out a grocery list to
be prepared when they go grocery shopping. Obtaining the responsibility of bringing the list to the store is
a big part on top of nding the items on the list in the store. In the classroom the students learn how to do
various responsibilities and then apply what they learned in the dorm. The students also do their own cooking
on G 1 East in the dorm every Wednesday evening.
On G 1 East the oor has been set up
with abundant donations from the staff
at Wisconsin School for the Deaf which
was greatly appreciated by the students.
There is a table on the oor where the
students are responsible for setting
up before they sit down and eat what
they had just cooked that day. There
is also a washing machine alongside
a dryer where laundry skills are put to
use. Students learn how to clean G 1
East just as if it was their own home,
cleaning the kitchen, recreational,
Chandre and Kadedra cook up some fun!
dining, and sleeping areas.

Winter 2013 - 12