Wisconsin School for the Deaf - The Wisconsin Times Vol. 134 No. 3 Spring 2013 | Page 6

2012 Professional and Family Conference
Real Superheroes are not Superhuman
The Radisson Paper Valley in Appleton was the
location once again for the WESP-DHH Outreach
annual statewide Professional and Family Conference.
More than 100 Professionals and more than 100
families attended these conferences. Conferences were
held March 7 and 8 for the professionals with the
families arriving after 3:00 p.m. on Friday the 8th.
Students from across the state participated in this
year’s iSuperhero Comic Challenge. Keynote speaker,
Joe Valente (author and artist), requested artwork from
the students of Wisconsin. Artwork was completed in the form of comic strips (some one page, some multipanel). This iComic Challenge encouraged students to share a strong emotion connected with being deaf
or hard of hearing in their artwork. All thirty students who entered artwork were honored with a certificate
and medal at the conference. All artwork was on display in the Exhibit Hall or the main dining room. With
the encouragement of the WSD Art teacher, nineteen students participated. Of those who participated, four
were able to attend the conference with their families and received their certificate and medal in person.
Congratulations to Tyler Burckhardt, Karibella Ouimet, Emma Vollmar and Lawson Vollmar!
Many WSD staff members were involved in presenting as well
as participating in the Exhibit Hall. The majority of WSD’s Pupil
Services Team presented on various after school clubs and activities
unique to WSD. Director of Instruction Dr. Connie Gartner and
Program Assistant and Interpreter Maria Rivera held a Q&A session
about WSD. Librarian Nell Fleming had a table in the Exhibit
Hall as well as presented with her friend and colleague Nadene
Eisner from Illinois. Preschool teacher Rene Ambrose and Physical
Therapist Anne Lenichek offered a session titled “Read and Move”.
Dr. Connie Gartner and Middle School teacher Brian Lievens
offered a session called “Crazy for Apps”.
High school work study teacher and Sign
Song Dance sponsor Julie Holma was able
to bring several students to work with the
children and perform on Sunday.
Alyson Urdahl, who is Deaf and currently
teaches fifth grade, offered a session for
Spanish speaking families. Alyson worked in
Ecuador with the Peace Corps and is fluent
in written Spanish as well as Ecuadorean
Sign Language (LSEC - Lenguaje de
Senas de Ecuadoriano). Her session was
appropriately titled, “Valuing Many Cultures
within a Family”. Additionally, parents of
current students participated in several of the
workshop sessions, and others attended the
conference. One recent WSD graduate, Jose
Castillo, was part of the panel.
Spring 2013 - 6

This unique conference is for anyone who lives or works
with deaf, hard or hearing or deaf-blind students. Besides
the traditional Professional Conference sessions and the
similar Family Conference offerings, there was a special
track for educational interpreters with Frances Beaurivage.
A track for those who work with students who have both
vision and hearing loss was offered by Linda Alsop. For more
information on the March 2013 conferences or to find out
about the 2014 conference, go to: www.wesp-dhh.wi.gov/wesp.