Why is creating electronic canes for the blind so hard?

Steph Yin, WHYY, The Pulse stopped by our school to talk with the students and staff to learn more about White Canes and Orientation and Mobility. Thank you for coming out Steph.

MetroKids came to our school to learn more about our Horticulture Therapy Program, read the article here.

Learning from Plants at Overbrook School for the Blind
Visually impaired students learn about the natural world through touch, smell and taste at a new horticultural center.

BY EMMA KULICZKOWSKI

Printable version of the 2019-2020 School Year Calendar. 

Please note the following changes:

May 27 and 28

School will be closed for students and instructional staff on Monday, May 27 and Tuesday, May 28. Classes will resume on Wednesday, May 29.

June 3
Fun Day has been postponed from June 3 until next fall

June 13
Last day of school for students and staff: June 13. It is a full day

Penn Museum invites visitors with vision loss to explore the museum through the senses! Tactile Trip Around the World at Penn Museum on Saturday, June 8th - You're Invited!

The program is FREE with regular Museum admission - General Admission - $15

Trish Maunder
Creative Director
Philly Touch Tours

Tel: 609-760-8223
Email: trish@phillytouchtours.com
Web: phillytouchtours.com
Facebook:facebook.com/phillytouchtours
Twitter: @PHLTouchTours

The PERC meeting on Thursday, May 9th in Nevil Center will be canceled. A year-end meeting will be scheduled for late May/early June.

Last Wednesday, athletes from the Maryland School for the Blind and the West Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind joined the track and field athletes from Overbrook. All athletes had an opportunity to compete in their specific events in preparation for the Track Tournament this upcoming weekend in New York. Some events included 50 and 75-yard dash, 220, 440, 880 and mile runs, football, softball, shot put, the standing broad, running long, and hop skip jumps. Outside of competing, the students had the opportunity to meet new people and socialize with students from other schools. Socialization, Recreation and Leisure, Community Interaction, Adapted Physical Education, Life Skills, Health and Wellness, Orientation and Mobility are just some of the things that students are immersed in when they participate in a sport. We encourage every student, aged 13 or older to participate in all sports. Inclusion means being included, and we are in full support of an inclusive athletics program. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GRAND OPENING OF ACCESSIBLE HORTICULTURE AND EDUCATION CENTER AT OVERBROOK SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND

Center made possible by contribution in memory of late OSB Trustee M. Christine Murphy and Green Mountain Energy Sun Club grant.

Philadelphia – May 10, 2019 – Local officials will join Overbrook School for the Blind (OSB) students, staff, and Board of Trustees, for a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the M. Christine Murphy Horticulture and Education Center - a LEED Silver certified and planned Net Zero Energy greenhouse - on Friday, May 10 at 10 a.m.

The 1,780 square-foot adaptive and accessible building houses OSB’s award-winning Farm to Table program and horticulture therapy activities. The Center is named in memory of the late M. Christine Murphy, who was a former OSB Trustee, neighbor, and longtime friend of Overbrook School for the Blind. Construction, which cost more than $1 million to complete, was made possible in part by a generous memorial contribution from Murphy’s husband, and current OSB Board member, Sid Rosenblatt, as well as a grant of more than $200,000 from Green Mountain Energy Sun Club.

“The creation of the M. Christine Murphy Horticulture Education Center represents a tremendous opportunity for our students,” said Todd Reeves, Overbrook School for the Blind Executive Director/CEO. “Beyond the gardening, nutrition and health and wellness benefits, this project will no doubt amplify many long-term goals we seek to foster in our students, including vocational experiences, greater independence and the values of lifelong learning.”

“Sid and his family are extraordinarily generous supporters of OSB’s highest priority - our students,” said Warwick S. Wheeler, Overbrook School for the Blind Board President. “We are deeply grateful for Sid’s longtime partnership and his exceptional support of this project.”

“Overbrook was a place in Christine’s heart,” said Sid Rosenblatt, Overbrook School for the Blind Board Member and husband of late M. Christine Murphy. “She was forever telling people to go to campus to see the work that they do at the school. I know that this Center will improve the lives of OSB students in ways - gardening, horticulture therapy, employment training - that would make Christine proud. My family - David, Anna, Ruth and many of Chris’ family and friends - are honored to be able to support this project.”

A grant totaling $201,480 from Green Mountain Energy Sun Club provided the Center with a high-efficiency misting and irrigation system; manual solar shades that will balance the temperature in the greenhouse, and reduce the electric, heating and cooling costs; and a 50-kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) system which has been installed on the roof of OSB’s Nevil Field House.

“Green Mountain Energy Sun Club is honored to be a part of this project and to support the life-changing work of Overbrook School for the Blind,” said Mark Parsons, Green Mountain Energy vice-president and general manager. “We seek partners that share our goal of a more sustainable world, both for the environment and the community. Overbrook School for the Blind is one of those special organizations that enhances and educates the lives of the people it serves and makes Philadelphia a better place.”

During the PV system’s first year of production, it is expected to harness and distribute more than 85,000-kilowatt hours and, in the process, take a step towards the school’s goal of earning a Net Zero Energy Building certification for the Center.

“We are beyond fortunate to call the Sun Club a partner in this project,” said Reeves. “Many projects strive to include sustainable solutions, but often struggle. Thanks to the Sun Club’s generosity, our students will now benefit from hands-on learning experiences that have been infused with energy efficiency, resource conservation, and environmental stewardship. While we are striving for a Net Zero Energy Building designation, it is difficult to classify these student impacts as anything other than a net gain.”

Additional key supporters who made the project possible include: the Connelly Foundation, the McLean Contributionship, the Arcadia Foundation, the Jessie G. Roman Charitable Trust, the Philadelphia Foundation and the Howling Beagles Foundation.

About Overbrook School for the Blind

Since 1832, Overbrook School for the Blind (OSB) has developed and delivered education that enhances the options available for students with visual impairment and other challenges so that they have the greatest opportunity to experience active and fulfilling lives. Any child with blindness or visual impairment (20/70 or less, as corrected), is under 21 years of age, and is referred by his or her local school district, may be considered for admission to Overbook School for the Blind. In addition to a full academic program, OSB students receive special training and participate in different activities that are important to the development of children who are blind or visually impaired. This includes orientation and mobility, daily living skills, assistive technology, music, art, and a full sports program. Overbrook School for the Blind also serves children with deafblindness in all of its outreach and educational programs. For more information, visit www.obs.org.

About Green Mountain Energy Sun Club The Green Mountain Energy Sun Club is a nonprofit organization committed to advancing sustainable communities. As a 501(c)(3) organization, the Sun Club® invests in nonprofits and focuses on projects related to renewable energy, energy efficiency, resource conservation and environmental stewardship. Since the program’s founding in 2002, the Sun Club has donated nearly $7 million to more than 110 nonprofit organizations across Texas and the Northeast. To learn more about the Sun Club or to apply for a Sun Club grant, visit gmesunclub.org.

### Press Contacts: Gloria Yoshioka, Overbrook School for the Blind, Gloria@obs.org, 215-290-6405

Hunter Dodson, Green Mountain Energy Sun Club
hunter.dodson@greenmountain.com, 512-448-4950

Read our current and past annual reports.

2017-2018 was a year to celebrate the people who make a difference every day right here on Overbrook's campus and in the community. Read all about our "Changemakers". 

Overbrook will celebrate Earth Day Activities on Thursday, May 2nd. Each year the Farm to Table Program sponsors an Earth Day celebration where we learn more about our planet, do our share, and enjoy the wonders of nature and friendship. We can't wait to share a great day with our students! It is always a good idea to apply sunscreen before school, even if you won't be in the sun too long. 

Orientation and Mobility Specialist, Christine Wozniak, shares some great tips on how to better understand vision exams and visual acuity that you can read here. 

We welcome suggestions from students and parents on tips and tools, websites, and shops that make life easier for people with visual impairment. We love shout outs to companies that employ students, companies that develop new tools for people with disabilities, apps that make communication easier and classroom time less stressful. Here's a list of resources to check out.

Do you have a resource you would love to share? Send it to us, and we can post it for other teachers, other parents, and or students. 

Save the Date! Sunday, March 10th!

OSB students will participate in LiveConnections' “A Song Everyone Can Sing,” a community sing featuring Voces8 at the Temple Performing Arts Center, 1837 N. Broad Street.

In celebration of LiveConnections’ 10th anniversary season, they are presenting an accessible and inclusive multimedia music performance where everyone in the audience can participate in making music together. Nine of our students will join the renowned a cappella ensemble VOCES8 to present the world premiere of a new choral work.

Tickets are $1, but you must register in advance. To register, visit www.liveconnections.org/community-sing.

Unfortunately, OSB will not be hosting the Goalball matches scheduled for the 20th or the 27th. The next away meet, hosted by MSB is scheduled for March 7, 2019. We can't wait! 

Unfortunately, OSB will not be hosting the Goalball matches scheduled for the 20th or the 27th. The next away meet, hosted by MSB is scheduled for March 7, 2019. We can't wait! 

February is Low Vision Awareness Month and it is also the time we celebrate our Teachers of Students with Visual Impairment (TVI) with a special luncheon. 

We are ever grateful for the dedicated, expert staff that leads the way for our students and the community. A big shout out to our TVIs! 

We are so proud of our Cheerleading Squad! A big round of applause to the students, the coaches, and all those who made a weekend in North Carolina, at Governor Morehead School an amazing event. 

Literacy Matters!

No matter your age, reading truly is fundamental. Literacy skills are life-long skills and the students in High School love setting a good example for their younger classmates. Each month classes from High School and Elementary come together for shared activities, based on the curriculum. Reading to the younger students is a practice in public speaking, reading skills, technology skills, patience, and leadership. The students in Main 210 prepare their own accessible materials and model how there are a number of ways to access print materials - standard print, large print, braille, even a Braille note-taking device to students who are 3-5 years old. Our students learn at a young age that these are the tools they will need and begin using to find information, to read for recreation -- these are the materials that they deserve to have at their disposal. In the photograph shown, a student is showing a young student the braille that she produced. There are so many wonderful lessons that come from these activities, but most of all the students love spending time together and sharing stories. 

Glasses Are Better to See You With!

Did you know that Overbrook School for the Blind has a Low Vision Clinic monthly on our campus. 

Kennedy had her appointment at the Low Vision Clinic and someone is getting new pink glasses for the holidays! 

Any student enrolled in an Overbrook School for the Blind home, itinerant or campus-based program is eligible for a free eye exam through the Overbrook Low Vision Clinic, learn more or contact Jo Ann McNamee for more information.

Learn more about Jeff's visit.

Philadelphia, PA: Overbrook School for the Blind (OSB) will present the first Caulfield Medal of Distinction to Jeffrey D. Marrazzo and Katherine A. High, M.D., Co-Founders of Spark Therapeutics, during the fifth annual Overbrook Experience Dinner on Tuesday, October 9, 2018.

Created in honor of the legacy and pioneering spirit of Genevieve Caulfield, an alumna of Overbrook School for the Blind, the Caulfield Medal of Distinction is awarded to individuals or organizations responsible for exceptional deeds that improve society, especially the lives of those living with disabilities.

“From the moment she was old enough to attend school, Genevieve Caulfield absorbed learning wherever it appeared, an ideal that we infuse in our students every day,” says Todd Reeves, Executive Director and CEO of Overbrook School for the Blind. “The only real comment she ever made on her disability was a paradoxical one, that perhaps God took away her eyesight to divert her from the quiet world of scholarship into the world of action.”

“When we were considering recipients for the Caulfield Medal of Distinction this year, it did not take very long to determine that Spark’s own pioneering spirit and relentless pursuit of innovation are without peer, both right here in Philadelphia and like Ms. Caulfield, far beyond our city limits, as well,” says Warwick S. Wheeler, President of the Overbrook School for the Blind Board of Trustees. 

Spark Therapeutics, a fully integrated company committed to discovering, developing and delivering gene therapies based in West Philadelphia, is challenging the inevitability of genetic diseases, including blindness, hemophilia and neurodegenerative diseases. Under the leadership of Marrazzo and High, the Philadelphia-based company received approval in late 2017 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the first gene therapy for an inherited retinal disease and successfully saw the first patients treated with this gene therapy earlier this year. 

Ms. Genevieve Caulfield

Born in Virginia, Genevieve Caulfield lost her sight in an accident when a doctor spilled acid into her eyes when she was two months old. She graduated from Overbrook School for the Blind in 1905 and went on to attend Columbia Teachers College. 

Since her youth, Ms. Caulfield had dreamed of becoming a teacher to help create a better understanding between Japanese people and Americans. Her dream came true in 1923, when she went to Japan and taught English for a living as well as braille to blind students.

In 1938, she opened the Bangkok School for the Blind, partly financed by her own savings, after she learned that blind children were considered useless in Thailand. Resisting repatriation during World War II, she stayed in Bangkok and continued to work for her school. From 1956 to 1960, she organized a school for the blind and a rehabilitation center for boys in Saigon.

In 1960, Ms. Caulfield published an autobiography about her achievements entitled The Kingdom Within. The next year, she was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding. In 1963, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of her work for the blind in Asia. The award was given by President Lyndon B. Johnson in honor of President John F. Kennedy.

Her niece was the actress Joan Caulfield.

Genevieve Caulfield passed in 1972 at the age of 84.

Mr. Jeffrey D. Marrazzo

Jeff Marrazzo has led the creation and growth of Spark Therapeutics from a research center within Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) to a fully integrated, commercial gene therapy company that is challenging the inevitability of genetic disease by discovering, developing and delivering potential treatments. He also serves on Spark’s board of directors. 
Under Jeff’s leadership, Spark has received FDA approval for and launched the first gene therapy for a genetic disease in the United States, and has established human proof-of-concept of Spark’s gene therapy platform in both the retina and liver. In the four years since founding Spark, Jeff has secured more than $1 billion in capital and built an organization of more than 320 colleagues. For two years running, Spark has been named to the top 10 of MIT Technology Review’s “50 Smartest Companies”. It’s also been recognized as one of 2018’s most innovative companies in Biotech by Fast Company.

During a career that has spanned the public and private sectors, Jeff has consistently championed the potential benefits of precision medicine and healthcare reform for patients. Prior to Spark, he helped build the first genetic testing benefit management and pharmacogenomics medicines company to CVS Caremark. Previously, Jeff served as an advisor to former Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell, where he led reforms in the financing and delivery of healthcare.

Jeff currently serves as a board member of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). Jeff received a B.A. in economics and B.S.E. in systems science and engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds a dual M.B.A. / M.P.A. from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University, a program which he founded.

Dr. Katherine High

Dr. Katherine “Kathy” High, an accomplished hematologist with a longstanding interest in gene therapy for genetic disease, began her career studying the molecular basis of blood coagulation and the development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of bleeding disorders. Her pioneering bench-to-bedside studies of gene therapy for hemophilia led to a series of studies that characterized the human immune response to adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors in a variety of target tissues. Kathy’s work has evolved to encompass clinical translation of potential gene therapies for multiple inherited disorders. As the director of the Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), Kathy assembled a multidisciplinary team of scientists and researchers working to discover new gene and cell therapies for genetic diseases and to facilitate rapid translation of preclinical discoveries into clinical application.

As president at Spark Therapeutics, she has led the development and regulatory approval of the first gene therapy for a genetic disease in the United States. Spark has shown human proof-of-concept of its leading gene therapy platform in both the retina and the liver, and has received breakthrough therapy designations for three different therapeutics across two different tissue targets, the eye and the liver. In addition to her operational role, Kathy serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Spark.

Kathy was a long-time member of the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania and of the medical staff at CHOP, where she was also an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She served a five-year term on the FDA Advisory Committee on Cell, Tissue and Gene Therapies and is a past president of the American Society of Gene & Cell Therapy (ASGCT). She received her A.B. in chemistry from Harvard University, an M.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, a business certification from the University of North Carolina Business School Management Institute for Hospital Administrators and an M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. 

The Overbrook Experience Dinner

The Overbrook Experience Dinner connects guests with the challenges that students who are blind, visually impaired or living with additional disabilities face each day. More than $300,000 has been raised by the Overbrook Experience Dinner to support the M. Christine Murphy Horticulture Education Center on OSB’s campus and improve student access to adaptive/assistive technology.

The 2018 Overbrook Experience Dinner will be held on the Overbrook School for the Blind campus at 6333 Malvern Avenue in Philadelphia from 6 to 9 p.m. In addition to cocktails and dinner, the evening includes a silent and live auction, and live music performed by Overbrook School for the Blind student musicians.

Tickets to the 2018 Overbrook Experience Dinner are available by contacting Robert Smith, OSB Director of Development at rsmith@obs.org.

For more information about Overbrook School for the Blind, please visit www.obs.org.

###

6333 Malvern Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19151–2597 USA • 215.877.0313 • www.obs.org

On Saturday the TVI students went on a very exciting tour of historical Philadelphia. The tour was organized by Trish Maunder and her crew at Philly Touch Tours (who did such a wonderful job with the Italian market tour the previous weekend).  The tour started at the Philly Tour Hub, where the students were met by Chris Kuncio, who through his role as the young Ben Franklin, brings Philadelphia history to life through his knowledge of history and his witty insights into Benjamin Franklin and the rest of the founding fathers, much of which was delivered as a rap!  The tour included stops at the Betsy Ross house, Franklin Print Shop, Carpenter’s Hall and then a thrilling visit to the Liberty Bell, where just for the TVI students (and the the envy of the other tourists present) the barriers were removed so that the students could approach and touch the Liberty Bell!