I had the joy of attending a basketball competition at Los Cerros Middle School in Danville. Students from the Mauzy School, Los Cerros Middle School as well as Golden View, Green Valley and Montair elementary schools enjoyed basketball games and skills stations.
Event highlights…
The whole court – student-athletes on both teams and everyone watching – erupted with cheers after one student-athlete made a bucket.
Character counts is a huge theme at Los Cerros, and it’s not just talk. Teachers permitted test make-ups for students who had earned the privilege to volunteer at the competition. This competition isn’t a one-off thing for Los Cerros. Students there volunteer on the weekend in the fall at a bowling competition. They also Polar Plunge and take the pledge to end the r- word!
One of the skills stations is a 10-meter dribble, where student-athletes dribble a basketball down the lane and back. A general education volunteer was working with a student-athlete in a wheelchair with very limited dexterity. To make the drill more impactful, the volunteer put the student-athlete’s hand on the ball and hers on top of his. She pressed down to help him dribble and would catch the ball for him on the upswing and set it up again.
General education student Makenna said…
The students put together a video to help spread the word to end the word that they hoped was impactful and uplifting. The week prior to the competition, students saw the video on the weekly school TV show in hopes that not using the r-word would be part of daily conversation.
When asked about her involvement with Special Olympics – “It’s super fun and rewarding. It’s an awesome experience.”
One adult supporter said…
She was at a dog show and heard a woman yank her dog and say, “Stop being retarded.” The dog grunted in response, and she told that woman, “Even your dog doesn’t like that word. You never know who might have a loved one with special needs and you should know that the r-word is really hurtful.” She took a minute to sign the r-word poster!
Los Cerros teacher Mrs. O’Reilly said…
On observing the general education students volunteering – “Our kids are smiling more than anyone else. They’re grinning so big.”