Students build CONNECTIONS of caring through heartbeat of group mission
High school can feel incredibly fragmented, disconnected, and even alienating. In a school this size, both geographically and numerically, humans can slip through the cracks as ‘differences’ continue to divide instead of enrich. CONNECTED, a group dedicated to building relationships and inclusion for all, focuses on students with disabilities in an effort to break down those walls and work toward unity.
The club has been helping this connection grow for the past eight years, each with new experiences and opportunities. For senior member Rachel Weickert, the main goal is to provide support for these students.
“We advocate for building a support system for the students outside of their teachers,” she said. “CONNECTED allows the students to have friends outside of their classroom and gets them out into the community doing different activities.”
Most recently, CONNECTED traveled to Timber Rattler Stadium for a game on April 26. Not only did this provide students with a break from the hectic end-of-year agenda, but Special Education teacher and club advisor Stephanie Polak felt it was a great opportunity for students to practice sociability.
“The purpose of the trip is to practice our communication and social skills by attending an outside event in the community,” she said. “Students watched a baseball game, ate lunch, and engaged in conversation skills with limited support from adults. It truly is a peer mentorship; it was a fabulous field trip.”
The outing provided a great learning experience for the students and a chance to practice independence, which Wickert appreciated.
“We wanted to get the students out into the community and to have a chance to work with them outside of the classroom. On these trips we are given the opportunity to have more freedom with the students and we get to go out and do the things everyone else gets to do everyday with them,” she said. “I find the trips entirely rewarding because most people take for granted what they are able to do everyday and getting to share those experiences with others is a great feeling.”
Student helpers also take away useful skills such as patience, problem solving, and collaboration. Junior Hannah Wolf, who has been a part of the club for four years, values the abilities she has acquired.
“The skills I have learned in CONNECTED are just basic life skills,” she said. “I learned patience and how to be a positive mentor. I learned how to interact with different people in my community and different ways to be helpful. I learned more about different lifestyles, harder lifestyles.”
Another aspect of CONNECTED is C.A.R.E Days, which occurred on May 17, an event that brings together IDMS students and others to spend a day participating in inclusive activities together. For Wolf, these events are core memories for both her and the students she works with.
“I have been a part of C.A.R.E Days and multiple different field trips. C.A.R.E Days is a super fun day in May where all the special education students in the OASD get buddies and we participate in track events, face painting, carnival games, rock climbing, bouncy houses, and we even get a petting zoo,” she said. “These activities allow us to do so much more than we can just sitting in our W-Hour on Thursdays.”
In a world that is, hopefully, becoming more and more expansive and inclusive each day, Wolf’s inspiration for joining this group stems from her own experiences witnessing acts of discrimination.
“Honestly, I joined because people in middle school were mean. They made insensitive jokes and were rude to those who didn't seem ‘normal,’” she said. “Once I found out about CONNECTED through my friends and some teachers, I contacted the special education teachers at Traeger and joined their group.”
Turning a negative experience into positive growth, Wolf learned to value education and connecting with students who typically have fewer opportunities to excel.
“It is important to me because the kids are just as cool and fun to be around as anyone else, yet they have way less opportunities to be involved in West's social activities,” she said. “I have been buddies with the same person, Ellie, since I joined in seventh grade, and I can't imagine not seeing her every week. We also have so many more opportunities to be active in our community with field trips that take me places I'd never go without.”
Living up to its name, CONNECTED had paved easy pathways to others.
“My favorite memory from CONNECTED has got to be seventh grade C.A.R.E Days,” Wolf said. “It was super sunny and it was one of my first field trips with the club.”
For those interested in participating in these events and experiences, Polak is always seeking active volunteers.
“Students that want to be a part of the group can reach out to Mr. Schreiber or Mrs. Polak, we meet once a week during W-Hours, and then we do various field trips throughout the year,” she said.
Polak has an abundance of new ideas and trips planned for the future to keep students connecting and growing as individuals.
“We are so excited with where the club is headed; we have such a great group of peer mentors and the positive benefits for all those involved is truly amazing,” she said. “We have one more major field trip this year. We are headed to the Senior Center for a fishing/boating trip. This group is truly amazing, especially to see all the positive interaction among students!”
Diversity and inclusivity are the foundation of CONNECTED and explain why it has become so successful.
“It is important to have clubs like this because it gets students involved,” Wolf said. “It gets people from different backgrounds and different experiences together and helps us see the other sides that life has to offer. It also breaks the stereotypes about our special education kids because they are just as normal and loveable as everyone else.”
By Len Kloss
May 22 2023
Oshkosh West index Volume 119 Issue VIII