Kalles Junior High Siblings Create Video to Recognize Blindness Awareness Month

October is Blindness Awareness Month, a time dedicated to increasing understanding and support for individuals who are blind or visually impaired. It also highlights the importance of accessibility and inclusivity in our society. This year, two siblings from Kalles Junior High (KJH), Colton and Norah McCurdy, chose to raise awareness of this important topic by sharing a special project with their Tyee school community.

Colton, who is fully blind, collaborated with twin sister Norah to create a video about supporting and empowering visually impaired individuals. With the help of KJH teacher Thomas Haynes, Norah edited and narrated the video, while Colton starred in the video and selected the background music. The video was shown to the entire school during a recent homeroom period, with students and staff praising the McCurdys for their creativity in delivering a message that had great impact on Kalles students and staff.

"Most students that I talk to here (Kalles Junior High) don't realize that he (Colton) is fully blind because he gets around so well," Norah said. "When my friends saw the video, they came up to me and was like, 'Oh, I didn't know he was fully blind.' Colton can still do incredible things even though he has some disadvantages."

Colton expressed the importance of supporting visually impaired individuals, reminding people that asking someone if they need assistance is better than assuming.

"It's not a bad thing to be visually impaired,” Colton said. “It's ok, and people can still be there for you."

Check out the Blindness Awareness Month Video created by Norah and Colton McCurdy!