[vip_students] Fw: Irish Girl Wins Prize at Braille Essay Competition

From: "tony sweeney" <deirton711@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "the students list" <vip_students@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2012 08:48:32 +0100
Morning, 

Posted by Dominique Farrell to another list. 

Thhought that it would be good to forward on to here for anyone not on that 
list or otherwise may not have seen the below. 

Tony. 

Ding dong! Ring ring! I can still hear the sharp sound of the school bell 
ringing in my ears as I entered my new school.
I held my Mother's hand as we strolled down the corridor. The sound of 
footsteps and the noise of children talking made me a little bit nervous.

Here my story began. I, Victoria D'Oliveira a seven year old blind girl all the 
way from Brazil beginning a new life in Ballyleague, Co Roscommon (Ireland). It 
made me feel nervous but also excited. The staff and children were so friendly 
I settled in very well.

My first challenge was to learn English as Portuguese is my native language. 
With the help of my dedicated teachers, visiting teacher for the blind and 
wonderful special needs assistant I quickly learned the subject without 
difficulty. I was ready to begin reading, writing and learning through Braille. 
I still to this day marvel at the genius of Louis Braille who invented this 
system. Braille has allowed me to enjoy a full education in so many different 
ways. It is hard to believe that a simple cell with 6 dots representing letters 
from the alphabet allow me to read and write Braille to a very high standard. 
It is a fast and effective way of writing because of the contractions and short 
forms for certain words.

My typical day at school is very similar to my companions in fifth class thanks 
to Braille. My teacher Miss Carroll begins the day with maths. I now have the 
same text book as my classmates in Braille format. I have skilfully learned a 
huge store of mathematical symbols in Braille allowing me to solve problems. 
For spelling lessons I learn how to spell the word but also the contraction for 
the spelling in Braille which appears in texts. As you can see I am blessed 
with good memory skills which allow me to keep the Braille combinations for 
letters and numbers in my head!

I am a keen reader and I look forward to each English lesson. I am proud to be 
following the same standard and books as my friends. We have recently started a 
class novel which I follow in Braille. Braille also allows me to read books for 
pleasure in my spare time. There is nothing more enjoyable than Miss Carroll's 
music lessons. My SNA Mrs Wallace helps me to Braille the musical notes so I 
can learn the tin whistle and songs with ease. I am inspired by Turlough 
O'Carolan a famous blind harper who had a successful music career. Thanks to my 
brailler I now have a huge store of tunes and songs in my music folder. I am 
determined to continue playing music now. I also study History, Geography, 
Science and Religion through Braille. My school life is busy but interesting.

Undoubtedly, I have many precious memories of my Primary School to date. I also 
have some personal memories. One such occasion was when I met Roddy Doyle at a 
Braille reading day in Dublin. I was thrilled when he praised me for reading 
with expression. Braille allows me to use my gifts and talents. I wrote a poem 
about angels and won a poetry competition. I could not have achieved this 
without Braille.

I have written about many other great events such as meeting the president and 
going to a Christmas singing concert in Dublin. My friends are curious about 
how Braille works and want to learn it. My close friend Sarah often comes to my 
house. I have taught her Braille. She is a true and loyal friend to me. We 
talk, laugh and do our homework together.

Braille is used very well in school. I would however like to see it used better 
in every day life. For example if there were Braille magazines, newspapers and 
menus in Braille format, it would make life easier.

I am now twelve years old living with my Mother, Father and adorable one year 
old brother Vinicius. I have many dreams for the future. I would like to 
continue to develop my Braille skills in second and third level. I would love 
to help people to learn about Braille and to learn languages in the developing 
world. I would like to share with them my love for music and religion. No one 
knows what my future holds but I won't let anything hold me back.
[vip_students] Fw: Irish Girl Wins Prize at Braille Essay Competition

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