“Scarlett was a beautiful ray of sunshine...”
“I would like to speak on behalf of all the staff and students at Black Mountain School, as we share with you the experiences and memories that Scarlett gave to us while at school. These words come from all the people who had the privilege of working with Scarlett when she was at school.
“Scarlett was intelligent, bright, and often a bit cheeky.
“She had many different means of communication—using communication boards, picture symbols, facial expressions, and actions. Scarlett was very good at using creative ways to communicate her wants and needs.
“Once, during a class excursion to the mall, Scarlett was able to put her communication skills to very good use. Sitting in the food court, Scarlett couldn’t take her eyes off the McDonalds sign. As she was about to eat her custard, she was informed that she would be rewarded with McDonalds once she’d eaten all her custard. Scarlett responded to this request with a quick arm movement that sent the custard flying everywhere, followed by a hand motion towards the McDonalds—and a huge grin. As you can guess, Scarlett got her way. This is just one example of Scarlett’s witty and cheeky personality, which kept everyone on their toes with hilarious outcomes. If Scarlett had set her mind on something, no one was going to get in her way.
“During summer, we would always encourage Scarlett to drink plenty of water through the day, but Scarlett never did anything she didn’t want to. If we happened to offer Scarlett some water, and she didn’t feel like it, she would fill her cheeks with water then blow it back at us—followed by a grin. This was Scarlett’s way of saying, “I would have preferred juice.”
“Scarlett had the looks of a movie star, and she was also quite a keen movie critic, and she would let you know if your movie of choice was not up to scratch—vocalizing sweetly, but persistently, until the movie changed.
“To Scarlett, a good movie must have music, and dancing, with some laughs, and a happy ending. But most important of all, it seemed a good movie must be full of Abba songs. It was during her time at Black Mountain that Scarlett stumbled upon the best movie of all time—Mama Mia.
“Scarlett took great joy in all areas of the class program, and was always an enthusiastic participant. She enjoyed shaking a musical shaker in the morning circle, playing games on the computer and participating in communication games.
“Scarlett loved sensory games, and cooking, as well as group music lessons. Scarlett also loved the water, and with Scarlett we have fond memories of her eyes lighting up as she entered the warm water in class. Scarlett loved to splash with her hands and cup the warm water.
“When asked about what they will remember most about Scarlett, the school community speak of her beautiful long hair, her sparkling blue eyes, her cheeky grin, and her great sense of humor.
“Scarlett was a happy and energetic student, who embraced every opportunity in life with a grace that only Scarlett could possess.
“Scarlett was a beautiful ray of sunshine, and she will be greatly missed.”
Christine Kirk
Executive Teacher
Black Mountain School
October 2015
