Classifieds/Conferences

L'Occitane and AFB Create Essay Contest to Send Three Students Who Are Visually Impaired to France

In 1998, L'Occitane created a summer school for blind, partially sighted, deaf and partially deaf children of all ages. The school's objective is to alert the human senses to the scents, savours and traditions of Provence, promote the fragrances and the know-how concerning the world of perfume of that region, and serve as a source of information on different professions.

In recognition and appreciation of being honored with an AFB Access Award, L'Occitane has asked AFB to administer a contest for selection of the three American students, who will attend Provence dans tous les sens in mid-August 2000. High school students, not exceeding the age of 20, who are blind or visually impaired are invited to write and submit (along with an application form) a 100-word essay on the following quote from Helen Keller, who worked with AFB for over 40 years: "The nose is as complex as the eye or the ear, and as well equipped for the acquisition of knowledge."

L'Occitane, Inc., creator of prestige personal care products ranging from traditional French soaps to home fragrances, and the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) today announced a very special partnership. L'Occitane -- a recent winner of a 2000 AFB Access Award for placing Braille labels on many of its product collections -- and AFB have developed an opportunity for three American high school students who are blind or visually impaired to win a trip to L'Occitane's perfume school, Provence dans tous les sens (Provence in every sense), in France.

Entries due May 15, 2000
Entries accompanied by a complete candidate profile will be accepted in print or Braille, on disk, or via e-mail or fax, and must be received by the American Foundation for the Blind no later than May 15, 2000. All entries will be reviewed by a panel of judges from L'Occitane and AFB, including Keller Johnson Thompson, who has followed in the footsteps of her great-aunt, Helen Keller, as AFB Ambassador. Winners will be announced at the AFB-hosted Alexander Scourby Talking Book Narrator of the Year Awards in New York City on June 12, 2000. Please send all entries to:

L'Occitane Essay Contest
American Foundation for the Blind
11 Penn Plaza, Suite 300
New York, NY 10001
communications@afb.net? (Email)
(212) 502-7770 (FAX)

All flights and accommodations for the students are generously funded by L'Occitane. Students will be chaperoned to and from New York and at the school itself. Travel and the training course will occur from August 19 to 23, 2000. The American Foundation for the Blind -- the organization to which Helen Keller devoted more than 40 years of her life -- is a national nonprofit whose mission is to eliminate the inequities faced by the 10 million Americans who are blind or visually impaired. Headquartered in New York City, AFB maintains offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, San Francisco, and a governmental relations office in Washington, DC.

Overbrook School for the Blind Announces the Formation of Towers Press

The Overbrook School for the Blind has announced the formation of Towers Press, which will publish books and articles related to the work that the school does with children who are blind, deafblind, or have low vision-many of whom have other disabling conditions.

The Press' first book, Braille Literacy Curriculum, by Diane P. Wormsley, is now available and can be purchased directly from Overbrook School for the Blind. The book costs $35, plus shipping and handling charges (US priority mail: $8.50 per book; US standard mail: $6.50 per book; outside the US: $22.00 per book). Payment can be made by check, money order, or purchase order.

Braille Literacy Curriculum supports the goals of the National Agenda; emphasizes outcomes; and presents strategies for incorporating Braille into the total curriculum. It was tested in the classroom by experienced braille teachers and reviewed by independent readers. Other manuscripts that are now in the development stage include books and monographs about adaptive technology in the classroom, transition from school to work; and research projects related to special education. For further information, please contact:

Dennis Brookshire
Editor-in-Chief, Towers Press
Overbrook School for the Blind
6333 Malvern Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19151
215-877-0313 (Telephone)
dennis@obs.org? (Email)

Call for Nominations:
2000 William H. English Leadership Award for the Outstanding Leader in the Field of Blindness and Visual Impairments

The William H. English Leadership Award is presented yearly to recognize a professional who makes significant contributions and exhibits leadership qualities in the field and to students who are blind and visually impaired. During the August meeting, the COSB Board will select nominees for the 2000 Bill English Award. These names will be forwarded to the Award Committee for final selection. Members are urged to contact a board member with suggestions for nominees for this prestigious award. The board member will submit names you recommend for consideration by August 1, 2000. Please send nominations to:

Phil Hatlen
Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
1100 West 45th Street, Austin, Texas 78756
(512) 206-9133 (Telephone)
(512)206-9453 (FAX)

philhatlen@tsbvi.edu? (Email)

AERodynamics: Soaring To New Heights:
2000 AER International Conference

July 15-19, 2000
Adam's Mark Hotel
Denver, Colorado

For more information contact:
Denise Rozell
Association for Education & Rehabilitation of the Blind & Visually Impaired
4600 Duke Street, #430
P.O. Box 22397
Alexandria, VA 22304
(703) 823-9690 (Telephone)
(703) 823-9695 (Fax)
drozell@aerbvi.org? (Email)

HOWE'S NOW is a quarterly newsletter of the Council of Schools for the Blind that is circulated to approximately 500 members and vision professionals. An issue will be published during the months of February, May, September, and December. The deadline for receipt of articles and advertisements is August1st for the September issue.

Articles and advertisements may be submitted by e-mail to: rbead@aidb.state.al.us? or can be submitted on a floppy diskette (preferably in MS Word or ASCII) with an accompanying hard copy.

Advertisements must be submitted in camera-ready format or on diskette. Ad fees: full-page (8.5" x 11") is $250; half-page is $150; quarter-page is $100. Payment must accompany all advertisements. Make check or money order payable to COSB.

To submit articles or for questions contact:

Robert J. Beadles, Jr., Ph.D.
Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind
205 East South Street
Talladega, AL 35161
Telephone (256) 761-3499
Fax: (256) 761-3520
rbead@aidb.state.al.us (Email)

HOWE'S NOW reserves the right to edit articles for grammar and clarity and to refuse any advertisement.

Volume 6, No. 2, April 2000 Contents

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