Ages 12 – 15 –  Darlene Almodovar

Our 12-15 year old students have the opportunity to explore the world in a variety of ways.  The computer lab is a place where students can access everything from the newest discoveries in Science to the current rates of the Stock Market.  A regular part of everyday life for our these students includes catching up with world events as reported in the on-line New York Times Student Edition.  Mathematically speaking, we will move into Pre-Algebra, Algebra 1 and Algebra 2.  Statistics and probability problems become part of everyday discussions when as we start the day with a “let’s discuss this” news fact from the St. Petersburg Times. 

Learning expands beyond the classroom walls during field trips and the class has invited guest speakers to come and share their knowledge.  Students learn about personal finance through Junior Achievement’s New Virtual Finance Park curriculum.  In addition, the students attend important events within the local Deaf community.  Reading is a main component of our curriculum and is all about discovering ‘the classics’ including the works of Poe, Fitzgerald, and Twain.   Vocabulary words are appearing on a regular basis – but now they are in ASL, Spanish, French and English!  Reading and writing a foreign language will not be a ‘foreign concept’ to Blossom students.  Expanding a student’s language ability always serves to expand their understanding of the world.