u TelCiirag bear greets sfuderrfs cav Cora Aenore School V- ! " ' .' : ' 1 v. c ' 1 i . , ;-, a ! I - . : DANCE IS ONE of the activities the students at Con Amore School have been working on throughout the year. They showed their parents what they have learned during the year. i .." P . j i V ' A. i 'r .-V ' 'i 1 j EACH GRADE AT Con Amore School in Myton takes turns ' Performing in their spring program for their parents. One of the groups performed for their parents playing instruments. By Marylan Bird Expren Society Edilor Heads turn, eyes open, mouths drop, and the attention is captured of all of the students as the talking bear greets the students at Con Amore School, the handicapped school in Myton. "The children have told me they have named him "Bo," said Karen Brown, director of the school. Bo is a donation from the Telephone Company Pioneers Club, a club organized for 60 years. The bear was presented by Mont and Florence Williams from Bluebell, vice presidents; Ruth Mathews from Roosevelt ; and Jerry and Beth Larsen of Vernal, president. The club heard about the talking bear about a year ago. They ordered one for the Uintah County Preschool Services in Vernal and presented them with one in December. It has taken about six months for them to get another one for the Con Amore School. "They are all handmade by blind people," said Mr. Larsen. They are made with the best materials and made durable so they will last for children. People from the blind center in Salt Lake City make the bears. The electrical elec-trical work was installed by Western Company, according to Mr. Larsen. The employees wire and fix these and other toys for handicapped schools without charge in their spare time and during their breaks. They also installed the microphones. There is a cord attached to the bear which enables someone to talk through the bear to the children. They have the person talking on the microphone located in another room-but room-but so they can see the child. The microphone enables them to hear what the child is saying so they can carry on a conversation. Gayle Drollinger, from the Uintah County Preschool Services said the bear is for the handicapped to help them with language and autistic i disorders where the child doesn't I relate to his surroundings. She said the children are better able to relate to an , inanimate object better than to a teacher or to another child. One of the ; students who hadn't talked in six I months talked to the bear. The talking bear will help them express ex-press themselves and to be able to communicate, said Mr. Larsen. "We just feel honored that they w ould choose our school to give it to," said Mrs. Brown. "I will be even more excited when we have it in with our children on a regular day." Before the presentation of the talking I . - , ' i - NOT SURE if she should pet the talking bear, she gets help and encouragement from her teacher. -w mt r r . ! " , " n ! ; - I N ' . ' J ! k . l I N'! .- -..7 1 THE TALKING bear carries on a conversation conver-sation with a little girl at the Con Amore School in Myton. The talking bear was donated to the school by the Telephone bear, the Con Amore School held their annual spring program. "The children are working all year to develop the skills they perform," said Mrs. Brown. According to Sherry Lott, a teacher at the school, "This is the first year that we have had an actual field day." Because of the rainy weather, they had to move the field day inside. She said some of the children get to go to the special Olympics and they wanted to give all of the children a chance to perform. rr.otc oj Morykon 6-ro Company Pioneers. It was handmade by a center in Salt Lake City that employs blind people. Those going to the special Olympics have to be eight years old or older. "They all work basically on the same skills." said Mrs. Lott. "These kids really work hard." Because of this, the students performed per-formed for their parents Thursday, May 19. Different groups danced, played instruments, and even did some tumbling. Dry eyes were hard to find as a few of the students successfully suc-cessfully walked across the balance beam and back. Even though the beam is only a few inches from the ground, Mrs. Lott said that to the children it is as if they are walking on a tight rope. During the program a long time teacher, Catherine Pickett, was presented with a gift from the faculty as a token of their appreciation for her long and dedicated service to the school. Mrs. Pickett will retire this year. The school has been in Myton for about 14 years. Mrs. Brown said the help they have received from the community com-munity is remarkable. They have been very supportive of the school and helping help-ing it to keep improving. I : r J I" - - -' : ; J ' i Z - : ; . V 1 t , ,-". it - ' 4 " V I I rr- ?V 11 rj;:j ALL ATTENTION turns when the Telephone Company Pioneers bring in a bear that talks. Wondering where the words are coming from, the children study the bear. The talking bear was donated to the Con Amore handiapped school in Myton, Thursday, May 19.