ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, July 25, 1996 TAG: 9607250083
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARY JO SHANNON SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
Each spring for the past 10 years, teacher Ellen Austin has taken a group of deaf and hard of hearing children to Chicago to participate in the International Creative Arts Festival. Each year she has been rewarded when the students walk off with the lion's share of honors. This year was no exception.
Two high school students, Kelly Short and Heather McClure, took top honors in writing this year. Short, 16, won first place for short-story writing, first for playwriting and senior best of show in playwriting. McClure, 17, took first place in poetry writing.
Younger children also were winners. Jessica Adams, 9, won first place in photography, third in poetry writing, and - with a partner, Lionel Bentley - third place in performing arts for an interpretative dance.
This year, the Roanoke Valley Regional Board for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the Roanoke Valley Fund for Deaf Children provided funds for all 16 deaf children from fourth grade through high school to attend the festival, whether they competed or not.
"The festival was an invaluable experience for the students of all ages," Austin said, "because it provided an opportunity for them to spend time with highly educated and talented deaf adults, not to mention the large number of deaf children and adolescents from all English speaking countries who were present."
The festival, which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, is sponsored by the Center on Deafness in Northbrook, Ill. The stated purpose is to enrich the quality of life for deaf and hard of hearing children, adolescents and adults, and to demonstrate that the arts are vital to human development.
School divisions participating in the program are Roanoke, Roanoke County, Salem, Botetourt County, Craig County and Franklin County. Classes are offered at Virginia Heights Elementary, Woodrow Wilson Middle and Patrick Henry High School for ages 2 through 21, with teachers certified by the state to teach deaf and hard of hearing children. American Sign Language certification is also required, and 12 interpreter aides are provided to assist the teachers.
LENGTH: Short : 44 linesby CNB