Ninth Graders Host Special Olympics, Learn about Intellectual Disabilities
Country School played host to the Special Olympics’ Unified Soccer Tournament, an annual event, which brought nearly 100 middle school students from Lower Fairfield County to the campus. Ninth graders participated in the games by serving as referees, timers, scorekeepers and cheerleaders.
"It's a great day during which our ninth graders really shine," said NCCS teacher Andy Morris who organized the event along with fellow teacher Sue Friborg. "The athletes look forward to these tournaments for days and beam with excitement while playing.”
The Unified Sports Program joins children with and without intellectual disabilities together on the same team with the goal of promoting social inclusion through shared sports training and competition.
This year for the first time, the annual Special Olympics event sparked a broader initiative to educate students about the challenges facing children with intellectual disabilities. Prior to the games, Country School hosted teenage guest speakers, Cate and Syd. Cate, who has Downs Syndrome, and her best friend, Syd, are teammates on Simsbury High School’s Unified Track Team. During their presentation, they shared their story of friendship and mutual support. Watch a video of their presentation.
“This is a story of acceptance and kindness…one friendship at a time,” said ninth grader Alexandra Truwit in her introduction to the speakers.
Alexandra, who is a member the Student Service Learning Board, introduced Country School to Cate and Syd. She also initiated the school’s participation in the international advocacy campaign, Spread the Word to End the Word. The campaign is an ongoing collaborative effort by Special Olympics and Best Buddies to “inspire respect and acceptance through raising the consciousness of society about the R-word and how hurtful words and disrespect can be toward people with intellectual disabilities.” As a show of commitment to the campaign and its message of respect and inclusion, the entire Upper School community signed a pledge to end the use of the “R-word.”
“The children not only participated in a meaningful service event with Special Olympics, they also learned—first hand through personal stories— about the need to break down stereotypes about people with intellectual disabilities,” said Lynn Sullivan, Director of Community Development who oversees the school’s service learning program. “As educators, we are always trying to move our students from participation to understanding, and eventually to advocacy.”
View photos from Special Olympics.
View photos from Special Olympics.
New Canaan Country School
New Canaan Country School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin and are afforded all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid policies or any other school-administered programs.
