Welcome to Good News!
Highlighting Achievements and Successes at
the Texas School for the Deaf.

Volume 8, Issue 3

Deaf Mountaineers Visited TSD

Shayna Rose Unger and Scott Lehmann, Deaf Mountaineers, recently achieved a historic milestone by climbing Mount Everest. They became the first Deaf Americans to reach the summit. Shayna became the first Deaf woman to accomplish this feat. They came to TSD to give presentations of their experience navigating Mt. Everest. Students and staff alike were in awe as they showed the equipment they used, shared pictures from their adventure, and told interesting facts about Everest and their experience.

Peter Bailey is standing between two deaf mountaineers, wearing TSD blue polo shirt and gray pants. The deaf mountaineers wore black shirts with their logo on the middle and the text: Seeing Beyond Seven Summits. The background is Austin's skyline with cloudy weather. A group picture of elementary students with the deaf mountaineers on the front. They were smiling.

RJ Kaufman’s 400th Win

We celebrate the outstanding coaching career of RJ Kaufman, who recently achieved a historic milestone by securing his 400th victory in his 20 years of coaching. He became the first coach in TSD history to reach 400 wins! The 400th win mark is a testament to Coach Kaufman’s leadership skills, sportsmanship, and passion for volleyball and athletes.

Coach RJ Kaufman posed in middle with his volleyball athletes, smiling. He wore coach navy blue polo shirt and holding the volleyball and the text reads: RJ Kaufman career 400 wins 2004-2023. All the volleyball athletes wore the uniforms with numbers on the front. The background has 3 silver balloons that reads "400." The front volleyball players held two posters of RJ Kaufman. RJ Kaufman checked out his new t-shirt, the text reads: Once a Ranger Always a Ranger. The volleyball logo is on the middle of the shirt. The background has three silver balloons that spells 400. RJ Kaufman is smiling to Chris Hamilton in navy blue polo shirt. The background has three silver balloons that shapes 400.

Celebrating a Legacy

Many people gathered to honor and celebrate Claire Bugen’s retirement, marking the culmination of a remarkable career. Although Claire is retired, her legacy is destined to endure. The collective memories of her leadership, compassion, and transformative influence will continue to resonate within the TSD community. The celebration was not just a farewell but a heartfelt recognition of the profound impact Claire Bugen has had on our school and the lives of those she has touched. Congratulations on the retirement, Claire!

Claire posed the front of the door, waving to the camera and smiling. She wore dyed ombre navy blue to white dress. The background door consists of Ranger logo.

Feastgiving

Feastgiving 2023 was a huge success! Thank you to everyone who made it such a fantastic event, including our cafeteria staff who prepared delicious meals, the special guest servers who helped with lunch trays, and the families and staff who joined us for this joyous occasion. Thank you all!

Peter Bailey posed with two cafeteria staff, all of them are wearing fall leaves aprons and smiling. The five elementary students sat around the cafeteria table and smiling towards the camera. A staff sat with them as well, smiling to the camera. They all have delicious lunch trays front of them.

Jr. NAD Conference

Our high school students recently attended the JR NAD conference held at the Maryland School for the Deaf. They engaged in workshops, enjoying the fun activities, and proposed a bid for TSD to host a future JR NAD conference. Wonderful news - TSD won the bid, so we are set to host the conference in 2027!

JR NAD conference attendees posed at outside building at Gallaudet University. They all wore bright blue t-shirts. 6 people posed front of the camera, smiling. All of them wore bright blue t-shirts with logo in the middle and text reads Jr. NAD. A student talked on the stage during the workshop, other 4 students looking at the student who talked. 3 people wore bright blue shirts, one person wore Jr. NAD sweater, and another person wore gray long sleeves jacket.

Middle School Students Helped Clean Nicholas Dawson Neighborhood Park

Guided by Mr. Ferrara and Mrs. Martinez, a group of 8th grade students participated in a cleanup initiative at Nicholas Dawson Neighborhood Park. They also learned new things about watersheds with Keep Austin Beautiful.

One middle schooler picked up the trash with the trash grabber. Another middle schooler held the trash bag at the creek. A staff from Keep Austin Beautiful explains about the watersheds to middle school students at a creek. Middle school students watched the presentation from Keep Austin Beautiful, outside of the creek.

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Published November 27, 2023 Print