Latest news with #DeafCommunity
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Oriole seniors take flight at MSD graduation, after year of dreaming big
For the new graduates at the Maryland School for the Deaf, Friday's commencement ceremony was the culmination of a year of big plans and accomplishments. The school's theme for the past year was 'Dream Big.' Class president Truly Austin urged her classmates to make the most of life as they move on from their time in 'this big, beautiful Deaf community' at the school. 'Go out there, enjoy it, and write that story,' Austin said through a sign language interpreter during Friday's ceremony in the school's gymnasium at its Frederick campus. There's a map for everyone's future, and while Friday's ceremony was the end of one part of life's journey, it was the start of another, she said. 'Remember, your map is waiting for you to create,' she said. This year's class had 24 graduates, according to Amy Mowl, the school's director of public relations. Austin, of Mount Airy, was busy during her time at MSD. Along with being the class president and a member of the National Honor Society, she played basketball and volleyball, was on the school's track team, and played softball as a freshman. She will attend the University of Maryland in the fall, and major in psychology. She knows attending college will be a change from what she's used to, but she's excited to face the challenge. 'I want to see what it's like to navigate the hearing world,' she said in an interview as she and her classmates got ready before Friday's ceremony. Tahoe Herzig-Wilcox was another multi-sport star for the Orioles, playing football, basketball, and volleyball, as well as being a member of the National Honor Society and one of the school's Top Scholars. He plans to major in accounting and play volleyball at Gallaudet University in the fall. He was still processing the end of his time at MSD before Friday's ceremony, for which he was one of two student speakers, along with Austin. 'It doesn't feel real. It's kind of surreal right now. It kind of snuck up on us,' he said in an interview through an interpreter. He said his summer would be busy with sports, attending a volleyball camp in Texas and a basketball tournament in Las Vegas. Otherwise, he will just be getting ready for college and working to make extra money, he said. In his speech Friday, Herzig-Wilcox urged his classmates to step outside their comfort zones as they move beyond their days at MSD. They will make mistakes, he said, but they'll never know what they can overcome if they don't try. 'Take the shot. Try the thing that scares you,' he said. Torriah Cunningham had attended the school since she was 4 years old. Cunningham, from Cumberland, said she loved living in the dormitories at the school, and the friends she made there. 'Really, I have a sisterhood with a lot of these girls,' she said through an interpreter. She plans to study early childhood education at Towson University, and wants to teach pre-kindergarten or kindergarten when she graduates. Over the summer, she plans to visit family in Jamaica, as well as work and get ready for college. Graduation is always a bittersweet time, saying goodbye to another class of seniors, John A. Serrano, the school's superintendent, said before the ceremony. 'Graduation never gets old to me. I look forward to it every year,' he said, speaking through an interpreter. At the ceremony, he urged the graduates to think about where they want to be, and how to get to that point. As the year went by, they saw their big dreams grow into accomplishments, he said. But their dreams won't end with Friday's graduation, and they'll need confidence to make their dreams come true, he said. Friday's commencement speaker was John Maucere, an actor and certified deaf interpreter who has appeared on television shows including 'Law & Order,' 'Southland,' and 'Pacific Blue,' and created and portrayed the character SuperDeafy in 'No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Movie,' among other credits. He urged the graduates to pursue their goals, and accept that mistakes are how to learn in life. 'Your dreams are yours. You're not chasing other people's dreams,' Maucere said.
CBC
4 days ago
- Health
- CBC
Deaf and hard of hearing students bond through beach games in annual event
Olivia Eassie is one of just two students who are deaf or hard of hearing at Spectrum Community School in Saanich, B.C., but she says she's never been self-conscious about it. That's in large part thanks to the sense of community and empowerment she gets from local events, like the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Beach Day, which was held on Wednesday at Cadboro-Gyro Park in Saanich, a municipality in the Greater Victoria area. "My mom's even told me, don't be insecure about it — and I've told her: 'I'm not, I honestly never have been.' I mean, this makes me feel comfortable that I'm deaf when I'm here," Eassie said, looking around at a group of students playing tug-of-war. The beach day, which welcomed 85 deaf and hard of hearing students from across Southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, along with teachers and parents, is an annual event hosted by the Greater Victoria School District. For more than 30 years, it's brought students from kindergarten to Grade 12 together with games and ice cream, in the hopes of them building friendships and support networks, said Megan Jantz, a teacher for the deaf and hard of hearing in the district. At a time when teachers and parents across the province are calling for B.C. to send financial relief to school districts they say are facing increased funding pressures — and limited resources to meet the needs of students with disabilities — it's a welcome moment of celebration. "That's kind of our aim, to have fun, make connections, and for the kids to meet other kids like themselves — because typically they're [one of] like one or two only in a whole school," said Jantz. "They've said they just feel less alone and can be more their true self in environments and situations like this." In addition, the event helps students learn how others have overcome everyday challenges or advocated for themselves, she said. Beach games This year, students did carnival activities, undertook a braille scavenger hunt, chased down "Waldo" — which was Jantz, dressed in a candy-cane striped shirt and a pom-pom winter hat – and competed in an Amazing Race-style competition. The day ended with the three winners of the Amazing Race heaving a trophy over their heads during an awards ceremony, as onlookers raised their open palms, twisting their wrists — a raucous applause in American Sign Language. There were also local disability agencies on hand to let students and their families know about resources. Grade 11 student Eassie has been attending the beach day since she was in elementary school and met one of her closest friends, another girl with hearing loss, at the event years ago. Now, Eassie volunteers at the beach day. Eassie said seeing the faces of younger students light up while playing games or chatting lifts her own spirits. "You don't see a lot of other kids with cochlears, or having the same sort of experience that you had, but this place does that for you," said Eassie, who wears two cochlear implants tucked between her ears and braided hair. Funding concerns weigh on educators Earlier this week, educators and parents raised concerns about funding for disability services and other programs in schools. On Monday, a group of parents across the province rallied at the B.C. Legislature, calling for more funding for public education as numerous districts face budget shortfalls and the threat of looming cuts. Carolyn Howe, president of the Greater Victoria Teachers' Association, said only 70 per cent of the cost for running services for students with disabilities is covered by the province — which can lead to other school programs like music education being cut back. A survey released by the B.C. Teachers' Federation in its 2023-24 report found only 13 per cent of the province's teachers felt the needs of students with disabilities or diverse needs were being completely met. The annual Deaf and Hard of Hearing Beach Day is possible due to partial provincial funding, Jantz said. Although the funding is not currently under threat, she said the school district has limited resources. She is one of just three deaf and hard of hearing teachers providing in-school advocacy and support across the Greater Victoria School District, which she says leaves them "spread quite thin." Accessibility tools — like classroom assisted listening devices and interpreters — also come at a cost. "Funding is definitely hard, but we put a tiny bit of our budget to this [event] because we know the importance and value of this." Events like the beach day show the importance of pushing for these services, both in the classroom and out, she said. "I actually have graduated students who are in university and college asking me when they can come and volunteer because they see the value of the friendships that they've made here, the connections that they've made … just to see that they're not alone is huge," she said.
ABC News
25-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
How bilingualism can double the joy for deaf children
Families opting to raise their kids in both the hearing and the Deaf worlds say the outcomes have been 'very rewarding'.
National Post
22-05-2025
- Politics
- National Post
MEDIA ADVISORY: CUPE 2073 to Hold Press Conference at Queen's Park on Monday as Canadian Hearing Services Refuses to Bargain
Article content TORONTO — When Canadian Hearing Services (CHS) came to the negotiating table last week amidst an ongoing province wide strike impacting thousands of Deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing Ontarians, they did so not to bargain – but to demand silence and acquiescence. Article content Article content CHS said they'd only be willing to make an offer to settle the month-long strike if their list of conditions was met; this included an end to a campaign meant to shine a light on how CHS has distanced itself from the Deaf community, and a total media blackout. These conditions would allow CHS to further mistreat workers while undermining the meaningful community support that is growing across the province. Article content Instead, CUPE representatives, frontline workers, Deaf advocates, and the NDP will be holding a press conference at Queen's Park on May 26 to share how CHS is gaslighting workers, ignoring Deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing Ontarians, and damaging collective bargaining. Article content CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn, NDP Shadow Minister of the MCCSS Lisa Gretzky, General Support Services counsellor Marriott Otchere, and Deaf entrepreneur and CHS client Andrea Zackary will be presenting. Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
National Post
22-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
CUPE: Canadian Hearing Services Comes to the Table but Refuses to Bargain - Making Demands but Offering No Deal as Strike Enters Fourth Week
Article content TORONTO — In the first day at the negotiating table in more than two weeks between Canadian Hearing Services (CHS) and CUPE 2073, there were zero proposals exchanged, and no bargaining to speak of. Article content Article content CHS came without a plan move forward, instead bringing list of demands to members, including an end to the public campaign that's seen dozens of current and former CHS clients share heart-wrenching stories of being let down by the agency. Through a government-appointed mediator, CHS indicated that they would only consider workers' latest proposal – or bring their own offer forward – if workers agreed to one-sided conditions: a media blackout and publication ban, the withdrawal of the Unfair Labour Practice that is now before the Ontario Labour Relations Board, and an end to outreach to Accreditation Canada that is encouraging the accreditation body to review CHS' appalling labour relations history. Article content 'They didn't come to the table to find a deal, that much is completely clear. It's heartbreaking to workers, who are struggling to make ends meet, and to the Deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing community who are watching this strike drag on without access to the services they need to live their lives with autonomy and dignity,' said Mara Waern, an employment consultant with more than 35 years' experience at CHS and President of CUPE 2073, representing 206 CHS workers. 'We have been so moved by the outpouring of support from current and former clients who have come to our picket lines and spoken with the media, sharing stories of what CHS used to be and can be once more. It's not just workers that CHS management is trampling on right now. It's the very people they are meant to support.' Article content Along with the powerful testimonials that Deaf and hard of hearing Ontarians have shared with the media and on social media, hundreds of people have sent letters to the CHS Board of Directors while leading Deaf, disability rights, and labour organizations have signed an open letter to Accreditation Canada. Article content CHS' demands for a media blackout come just weeks before their largest annual fundraiser, a golf scholarship tournament. The fundraiser is another sore spot that highlights the change in direction under Dumanian. What used to be a worker-friendly event that was staffed by Deaf workers was transformed in Dumanian's first year, becoming an exclusive event that brings in tens of thousands of dollars – while cutting out any meaningful participation or representation from the Deaf community. Article content 'Nothing about us without us. That's been the slogan of disability rights for decades. But where is the Deaf representation at CHS or at this tournament?' expressed Jennifer Lynch, a Deaf settlement services counsellor at CHS and member of the CUPE 2073 bargaining team. 'They want to silence workers. They want to ignore Deaf people. We will not let either happen. It's time for the Board of Directors to get involved to set this right. It's time for every MPP, every Deaf ally, every resident of Ontario who cares about access and justice to help CHS correct their course.' Article content CUPE 2073 members have been on strike since April 28. The two sides last met on May 6. There are no dates to meet again and CHS has revoked their proposals, so there is no offer for workers to consider. CUPE 2073 remains focused on securing a two-year deal with a five per cent total wage increase to secure stability for workers and the people they support. Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content
