It has been a busy couple of weeks for the ESE students. Between kickball, chalk drawing, board games, and selling valentines, there is plenty on the agenda.
Tundra Treasures partnered with the ESE program so they can sell Valentine balloons and stuffed animals. This program allows students to do business enterprise and learn about running a business. They develop skills such as taking orders, filling orders, delivering, and checking inventory.
“Students can make money for our ESE department and we can, in turn, buy things for the job outside of school that they go do in the afternoons when they are seniors. The money is for these students to work in programs and resources for that,” ESE teacher Tammy Harris said.
Students who want to order a valentine can use this link.
One of the major goals for ESE students is building social skills, and working in a job setting and dealing with customers is one way students receive practice. While some of these skills are practiced during the school day, another way that this happens is through after-school programs like the Best Buddies Club. The club fosters friendships between students with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities, creating a supportive and inclusive school community. Through events like this, buddy pairs have the opportunity to bond, participate in fun activities, and strengthen their connections beyond the classroom.
On Jan. 31, the Best Buddies club held a kickball and chalk event for an hour after school. A large display of chalk included hopscotch and large wolves drawn by peer buddy Jae’Lee Elcock. Snacks were provided and the buddy pairs had fun playing kickball.
“I liked it, It was a great experience, I drew a flower, and Happy Valentine’s Day,” peer buddy Veronica Kwiecinski said.
“It was really fun and great to see everyone laugh and run around and have a good time with each other and get along,” said Best Buddies president Kiera McDermott.
Within Best Buddies, there are buddies, peer buddies, and buddy pairs. A buddy is a member with an IDD who is paired in a one-to-one friendship with a person without an IDD. Together, they make a buddy pair that participates in the monthly events at school.
Sophomore Colton Mohre is a member of the Best Buddies club at school. Mohre has been in Best Buddies since his freshman year and plans to become an officer in his junior and senior years.
“I love it. I just think it is a lot of fun because you get to go and hang out with a bunch of people you don’t know personally,” Mohre said.
Best Buddies International is a nonprofit organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships. Every month, Best Buddies holds an after-school event, and the next event is a board game get-together Feb. 28.
“Best Buddies is an inclusion club, so what it does is it gets my students to interact with [regular education] kids and the reg ed kids will then be a buddy to one of the students with disabilities,” Harris said.
Between club and class activities, the ESE students are filled with projects of all kinds. But with help from their buddies and support from their teacher the class looks forward to finishing the year strong.
