Students Participate in Annual Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Visually Impaired Field Day

Briannah Hamilton & Isaiah Anderson of Cash Elementary School

In the Thursday, April 25, edition of the Winston-Salem Journal, reporter Wesley Young writes about the 22nd Annual Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Visually Impaired Field Day at BB&T Field.

About 175 students - most in elementary school - from Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools and other schools in central North Carolina took part in the field day events.

Ellen Loomis, who teaches hearing-impaired children in the school system, served as the coordinator of the field day for most of its history. She was there on Wednesday as one of the volunteers.

“We started this 22 years ago because the deaf kids don’t participate in the Special Olympics,” Loomis told Young. “We wanted to do something for all the kids in North Carolina who have hearing impairments.”

Christine Smits, the current coordinator of the field day and a teacher at Reynolds High School, told Young that the field day gives children a chance to socialize and have fun outside the classroom. The field day is sponsored by the school system and Winston-Salem Industries for the Blind.

Sam Dempsey, the school system’s Division Director for Exceptional Children Programs told Young that he remembers well the time that a child came to the field day from a school where she was the only student with a hearing impairment.

“Her mouth fell open when she got here,” he said. “All she kept saying was ‘Like me! Like me!’ ”

Photographer David Rolfe took the pictures. For the complete story, go to Winston-Salem Journal