School News August, 2010 - Fanwood Students Perform
NYSD students enjoy spotlight Brian Heyman NEW YORK — The fans were on their feet Wednesday at Yankee Stadium, and 10 students in the white shirts from the New York School for the Deaf in Greenburgh were on theirs, too. Only they were on the field behind home plate, experiencing the thrill of a lifetime. They were performing the national anthem before a Yankees game — in sign language. "I was nervous," Julius Amankwah, an 18-year-old junior from Spring Valley, relayed a few minutes later in sign language through the interpretation of NYSD director of communications Arlene Rice. "My legs were shaking, all those people looking at me. But I signed and I had no problem doing the national anthem." About a half-hour before Alex Rodriguez exhilarated the 47,659 on hand with his 600th homer in the 5-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays, the boys and girls from the sophomore and junior classes at NYSD were having their own exhilarating time in front of the crowd. After "O Canada" was played on the organ, they stood next to the chorus from P.S. 22 on Staten Island and signed while the elementary school kids sang "The Star-Spangled Banner.'' NYSD principal Martin Keller had written a letter to the Yankees about this possibility. Rice said they found out last Thursday that the Yankees indeed wanted them to come and do it at this series finale. "So, of course, we had to scurry around because they didn't have uniform clothes to wear and their parents ran out and bought them appropriate clothing," Rice said. "We picked 10 students and we have several staff members to supervise them. I can't tell you the anticipation leading up to today. I don't know which was more exciting, the anticipation or actually being here. They are so excited." There was some practice involved. The students rehearsed together last Friday, Monday and Tuesday. And they all took DVDs home to practice there. "They all knew the national anthem because we do it at school sometimes, but not for a huge performance," Rice said. "So then they had to practice and practice for a large audience performance." Jitters still were the norm. "I was nervous and excited at the same time," signed Britney Rosa, a 16-year-old sophomore from the Bronx who was out there with her twin sister, Tiffany. "It was my first time seeing so many people at once." They didn't just get the anthem experience here. These students also went to the Yankees museum. A World Series trophy was taken out of a case, and the kids got to pose for a picture with it. And they toured Monument Park. There was food for them in a party room. And they were able to sit and watch the game from outside a suite. But they will always remember this day for actually being on the field at Yankee Stadium, showing off their signing skills. "It was amazing," Tatiana Carvajal, a 15-year-old sophomore from Mount Vernon, stated in sign language. "There's no words. I cannot put my feelings into words."
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