Bill had been doing especially great at our program lately, since we've been focusing on increasing his mobility. He has been alert and follows along in movement classes with little help, and has made some truly stunning drawings in the past few months, with some guidance and prompting from staff. It is night and day to look at all that Bill can accomplish now compared to when he came to us over 5 years ago. I'm personally going to miss Bill's honesty- I always knew that he would answer a question honestly, not bothering to spare someone's feelings- often to great humorous effect! |
Today was a tough day for many of us. The reason why, is that today was the last day of one of our most beloved clients, Bill! Bill has been with our program since the beginning, and has actually been at TCCA longer than I have! He and his wife, Amber, are moving to Indiana, and we will greatly miss him. Chris made a card for Bill that several of us signed and wrote messages in, and Bill enjoyed reading a few of them before he left for the day. Everyone here will miss our Bill, but we wish him and Amber the best of luck in Indiana and in all they do! We'll Miss You, Bill!
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I hope you guys all had as much fun as we did yesterday with the eclipse! We had a few eclipse themed art activities in the morning that turned out really nicely- eclipse art is stunning! In our music theory class, we tried to tie in the eclipse theme by using all of our music reading skills to read some of the sheet music to the song "Total Eclipse of the Heart." When the eclipse started, we didn't stay out there the whole time, but we made sure that we were out there while the eclipse was at its maximum. Some of us were really digging it and stayed out there for quite awhile, while others saw it, then were ready to go eat their lunch :) We even made a friend who lives across the way who came out to watch the eclipse with us. After lunch, in keeping with the eclipse theme, we watched Little Shop of Horrors while doing some drawing and coloring. For those of you who have never seen it, the man eating plant in Little Shop of Horrors appears suddenly during a total eclipse of the sun. So I hope none of you bought any strange and interesting plants on eclipse day! The show was a big hit, and it made for a great end to a fun day! I hope you all had fun celebrating the eclipse!
Most people who know Nicholas Pawlicki are aware of his knowledge of superheroes and keen artistic ability. But did you know that he is also a passionate martial artist? Nick had the unique opportunity to test for his black belt in Hapkido today, and we are riveted to say that he passed! Even with family and friends in the audience, a video camera in his face, and an improvised sparring match, Nick maintained impeccable concentration and executed the task at hand with focused determination. The test began with Nick opening the class, leading his fellow martial artists in a series of warm-ups, blocks, and the dan geon form. Each exercise was accompanied by a count to ten in Korean. I (Natasha) could tell by the demeanor and assertive voices of the other students that they had a lot of conviction in their practice, and were eager for their friend to be successful. After warming up, the class took their seats, and Nick had the floor to himself (along with Jason, of course). Jason tested him on the fourteen grabs and how to defend against them, target practice, knife defense, grappling, and Nick's self-made (and self-titled) "Wolverine Form." Next, Jason threw some surprise attacks, which he prefaced with the idea that you don't always know what to expect in a real-life situation. Nick was able to harness his training and reflexes to adapt to the unpredictability, sending Jason to the ground several times. The test ended with a review of the five tenants of Hapkido: courtesy, integrity, perseverance, self-control, and indomitable spirit. Jason invited Nick to explain why they are important not only in martial arts, but also in life. A few of our clients were touched by the culmination of Nick's hard work, and of course, the man himself is very happy (and relieved) to be the recipient of such a great honor. Way to go, Nick! Receiving his black belt from Jason. All the hard work paid off!
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TURN City Center for the Arts
Helping adults with disabilities to enrich their lives through the arts! Archives
June 2023
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