Entire issue has a yellow background and has roadrunner footprints through out the issue.
Page 1 – Blue roadrunner front and center. New Mexico School for the Deaf Jr. NAD Chapter takeover. Winter 2021.
Page 2 – Table of contents. 3 welcome letter and NMSD Jr. NAD members. 4 assistance dogs of the west. 6 what do we know about roadrunners? 8 green or red chile? 10 Is New Mexico a desert state? 11 New Mexico is not Mexico. 12 Fun facts about New Mexico’s flag. 13 Smokey the bear. 14 Famous fiestas in New Mexico. 16 New Mexico Landmarks.
Page 3 – Welcome Letter and NMSD Jr.NAD Members. Hello Visitors, We, NMSD Jr. NAD Chapter, would like to welcome you to see the world of New Mexico residents’ eyes. Did you know that there are many amazing destinations and unique tours in New Mexico? Even New Mexico is the home of one of the most popular spices, red and green chilis! New Mexico has various cultures and rich histories of Pueblos, Apache, and Navajo (Native American Reservations). There are many old churches. We are incredibly grateful and willing to show you what’s New Mexico. We hope you all will learn something new about New Mexico and hope you will have the opportunity to visit New Mexico one day. President Sophia Martinez, Vice President Kieran Vollmar, and the rest of the NMSD Jr. NAD members are pleased to welcome you all! Warm Regards, NMSD Jr. NAD Members. Group photo Front Row (L to R): Adrien Ercolino (Secretary), Kieran Vollmar (Vice President), Sophia Martinez (President), and Efrim Rodarte-Estrada (Treasurer). Second Row (L to R): Chloe Willey-Saunders, Madison Bunch, and Angelique Quinonez. Third Row (L to R): Kimora Vollmar, Claire Stephens, Jodie Haley, and Santiago Lopez. Fourth Row (L to R): Sirrah Wilding, and Stacy Vargas. Not Pictured: Bruce Brewer, Jr., Dominic Harrison (Advisor), and Johanna Scherling (Advisor).
Page 4 – Assistance Dogs of the West. Photo of assistance dog with link, https://assistancedogsofthewest.org/. During the fall of 2021, New Mexico School for the Deaf (NMSD) students participated with the in-school Canine Leadership Crew program through school partners Assistance Dogs of the West (ADW), Rocky Mountain Youth Corps (RMYC), and NM-Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (NMDVR). These agencies and organizations have been steadfast, invaluable partners of our school, working tirelessly (even though the pandemic to sustain work-based programs, supports, and services) to collectively support the vision of deaf and hard of hearing youth gaining valuable skills, knowledge, confidence, and supports to succeed in life after high school.
Page 5 – One of our Jr. NAD members, Sophia M., a senior student, and veteran RMYC ADW trainer, had the opportunity to participate in this amazing program! Sophia has been working closely with Denise since summer 2019! Denise, who is a licensed social worker, instructor, and trainer, has been coordinating Canine Leadership Crews and related ADW programs for RMYC out of Taos, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque. Denise first joined ADW in 2011 as a volunteer working with Facility Service Dogs who are co-therapists providing support to many people at the hospital and domestic violence shelter in Taos. Denise started the Canine Crew through RMYC in 2016, which allowed students to experience working in a real job while earning money to save up in high school. When asked about her favorite part of her job, Denise responded that she loves it when dogs learn new tasks through student trainers, watching them learn from others, and seeing students grow their own confidence through teaching and leading. Left photo L to R: Denise, a service dog, and Sophia. Right photo Sophia trains a service dog. Written by Sophia and Claire.
Page 6 – What do we know about Roadrunners? 1. We are fast and fiery and can adapt to the environment easily! 2. We do not need to drink water, but we have to eat food to keep ourselves hydrated. 3. Our diet consists of beetles, insects, grasshoppers, and spiders! 4. All females can lay 3 to 10 eggs at once! 5. We can prey on rattlesnakes! 6. Our lifespan is 6 to 8 years. 7. We can run at 15 miles per hour, but we can sprint at 26 miles per hour! 8. We like to live in deserts, canyons, and/or open fields. 9. We are natives of the southwestern desert in North America. 10. We are extremely protecting our territory and will patrol and chase the intruders away! Written by Madison.
Page 7 – 2022 Youth Leadership Camp ad. June 29-July 24, 2022 Camp Taloali in Stayton, OR. Campers: Apply by Feb 1, 2022. Staff: Apply by March 1, 2022. youth.nad.org/ylc.
Page 8 – Green or red chile? Chile is HOT! It is often called New Mexico chile or New Mexican Chile. We debated either we liked green Chile or red Chile is better. We even have annual chile festival in Hatch, New Mexico! What’s a red chile? Red Chile is well known as a mildly hot pepper. Red Chile peppers are usually small in size. Chile peppers are often used in different international dishes that could become more spicy. We can measure the chile’s level of hotness based on the Scoville Scale. And the Red Chile is sitting on 100,000 out of 3,000,000+ scale! What’s a green chile? Green Chile is a popular staple dish that can be found in the U.S. Southwestern region. The green chiles can be canned or roasted, and common varieties include the Hatch chile from New Mexico and those from Pueblo, Colorado. Chile is both green and red. people should try both and see which one they prefer. Red or Green? Which is also the New Mexico state question. Written by Kimora and Sirrah.
Page 9 – Thank you 2021 YLC Sponsors! Gallaudet University, Google, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Rochester Institute of Technology, Sorenson.
Page 10 – Is New Mexico a desert state? We wouldn’t be surprised if you think the state of New Mexico is a desert state. Actually,you are wrong! New Mexico is a state with different types of terrain, such as deserts, grasslands, mesas, mountains, forests, etc… New Mexico has mountains and trees, at higher elevations, some on lower elevations. Some areas are dry, while some regions are not dry. Some areas of New Mexico are grasslands because there is more rainfall in those regions. A big part of New Mexico is a desert, along with low rainfall. Written by Kieran and Efrim.
Page 11 – New Mexico is not Mexico. “Hi, where are you from?” “New Mexico” “Wow, so do you need a passport?” “No, we are actually a part of the United States.” Unfortunately, this type of conversation happens more than you think! There is often a misconception that New Mexico (NM) is a part of Mexico. It is not, but we used to be part of Mexico. Now NM is part of America not Mexico. A lot of people think if we say we’re from NM it means we are residents of Mexico, but that is not true. We’re just named after Mexico with the name “New Mexico.” Although NM and Mexico have some similarities including deserts, fiestas, and they are both mostly rural, they are very different from each other. New Mexico is not a country, it is a state. Mexico has tropical weather and beaches, and New Mexico is a dry area with little precipitation. They are both awesome places to live in, but they are very different from each other. Written by Stacie and Jodie.
Page 12 – Fun facts about New Mexico’s Flag. Our New Mexico Flag has many different symbols. Yellow and red represent Old Spain. The red circle is called Zia and Zia comes from the Zia Pueblo’s symbol for the sun. Zia has four points, each point represents something. The first one is the compass, each point tells North, West, East, South. The second one is the seasons. New Mexico has four different seasons which are Summer, Winter, Fall, Spring. The third one is four different times throughout the day: morning, noon, evening, and night. The fourth one is the different stages of life: childhood, young age, middle age, and old age. Written by Adrien.
Page 13 – Smokey the Bear. Smokey the Bear is well known for campaigns against wildfires. In 1950, a spotter in a fire tower noticed some smoke rising from the trees. He quickly called the nearest ranger station to get it checked. More people started seeing the fire from far away. They had also reported the fire which caused a bigger concern. As the crews were all worked on getting the fire under control, someone notified the officials that they had seen a lonely cub wandering near the fire line. Crew members hoped the mother would come back for the cub. As the crew was battling the fire, the cub (smokey) had climbed up on a tree. He had burned his paws and was covered in ashes. Even though Smokey had some burns on his paws, he still fought to live. A ranger got the cub back to the camp and sent him to Santa Fe to get treatment for his burns. Smokey inspired many people and became the face of wildfire prevention. Smokey moved to Washington, D.C. where he lived the rest of his days in a zoo. He died in 1976 and he was brought back to New Mexico as his final resting place. Smokey is still used today as a role model to stop wildfires. Written by Santiago.
Page 14 – Famous Fiestas in New Mexico. New Mexico is well-known for Fiestas. There are several fiestas that are popular and well known across the country. The fiestas are unique and different from most of the fiestas happening in the country. The famous fiestas are International Balloon Fiesta, Zozobra, and many more! International Balloon Fiesta takes place in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is an international event where people from across the country and world bring their hot air balloons to this festival. There are no requirements for what the hot air balloons need to look like, so everyone brings different types/looks of hot air balloons. It can be from a red hot air balloon to a cow. The event lasts from October 2-10, it depends on the year but it is often around the same time. There are different kinds of events during the fiesta like hot air balloon release very early in the morning. Later in the evening, there will be a glow where all the hot air balloons glow on the ground.
Page 15 – Another unique fiesta is Zozobra! It is about their life experience and how mad he is. Did you know that it is made from papers?! This is annual celebration in Santa Fe where we all will watch Zozobra to burn down. When can we watch this?! It always happens on Friday evening before the Labor Day on Monday. Written by Anqelique and Chloe.
Page 16 – New Mexico landmarks. The Santa Fe Plaza is a National Historic Landmark in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico in the style of traditional Spanish-American colonial cities. The plaza, or city square, was originally, and is still to this day, the center gathering place in town. Many know it as “the heart of Santa Fe.” Tent Rocks National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located approximately 40 miles southwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, near Cochiti Pueblo. It’s a beautiful place to visit and it has a nice trail of hiking and you can see cone rocks formations.
Page 17 – Carlsbad Caverns National Park is in the Chihuahuan Desert of southern New Mexico. It features more than 100 caves. The caves are underground, you will go hiking down the trail thousand meters below the ground to see caves. White Sands National Park is an American national park located in the state of New Mexico and completely surrounded by the White Sands Missile Range. It used to be nuclear bombs testing center and now it become national park. You can slide down the hills of white sands with your family or friends.
Page 18 – The Blue Hole of Santa Rosa is a circle of pool or small lake located along Route 66 east of Santa Rosa, New Mexico that is a tourist attraction and swimming venue, and one of the most popular dive destinations in the US for scuba diving and training. The water in the blue hole is very freezing. Bandelier National Monument is a United States National Monument near Los Alamos, New Mexico. The monument preserves the homes and territory of the Ancestral Puebloans of a later era in the Southwest. You can hiking through the trails and you get opportunity to enter their home to get idea what it was like to live inside those caves. Written By Bruce Brewer Jr.
Page 19 – Jr. NAD National Virtual Conference March 15-17, 2022. youth.nad.org/junior-nad. $25 per chapter. Unlimited observers, 2 delegates, 2 advisors. CSD Riverside.