A Red Deer Public Schools (RDPS) Grade 7 student, Brynn Larsen, took home first place in this year’s Alberta Regional Braille Challenge.  

The Braille Challenge is a national reading and writing contest that helps promote the importance of Braille literacy skills among students with vision loss.  

Larsen and nearly 50 students competed in three categories, including spelling, reading comprehension, and proofreading.   

“I really focused on my spelling this year, and listened to the words very carefully,” Larsen said.  

The challenge’s theme this year was the Olympics, and after the competition, students got to participate in activities such as curling, and a luge and ski challenge.   

Students also had the opportunity to hear an inspirational message from Tiana Knight, a lawyer and former member of the goalball national team who represented Canada at the Parapan American Games in 2015.  

Jennifer Borley, Transcriber at Central Middle School, who started with Larsen in Grade 5, said she is extremely proud of Larsen and her efforts.  

“Brynn is the bravest kid I have ever met. I could tell Brynn was laser-focused and really engaged this year,” she said. “The Braille Challenge is an awesome opportunity for kids with visual impairments to interact with one another, and it’s great as a transcriber to connect with other transcribers across the province.”