Charlottetown, PEI, December 5, 2016 – Over the past 4 weeks Special Olympics PEI has been busy hosting events to introduce school aged children (both those students with an intellectual disability and leadership students) to the benefits of sport, physical literacy, and the importance of inclusion.  These events, now in their third year, are called SO Fun Days.  Throughout the month of November, Special Olympics PEI hosted 6 SO Fun Days.  Over these 6 SO Fun Days, 291 students with an intellectual disability were introduced to Special Olympics, many for the first time.

SO Fun Days are a half day, inclusive, sport fair. Students from kindergarten through grade 12 are welcome to attend.  Students with an intellectual disability have the opportunity to rotate through a number of different sport stations, while leadership students are invited to either volunteer at the different sport stations, or rotate through the sport stations with their peers, acting as peer buddies. At each station students participate in a variety of activities that offer an introduction to many official Special Olympics sports, including: basketball, soccer, bowling, rhythmic gymnastics, athletics, bocce, and softball. Additionally, students, along with their teachers and educational assistants, visit a station to learn about Special Olympics’ youth programs – Active Start and FUNdamentals. It is here that teachers are able to see firsthand how Special Olympics programs can be used to assist students with an intellectual disability in their schools.

The six host schools for this year’s SO Fun Days were: Bluefield Senior High School, Morell Regional High School, Montague Intermediate School, Summerside Intermediate School, Hernewood Intermediate School, and Colonel Gray Senior High School.  Leadership students from host schools volunteered at their SO Fun Day, running the various sport stations. Ahead of the event, these students learned about different adaptations and modifications so that all students would have the opportunity to participate at every sport stations. 

Several host schools, Bluefield and Morell, along with Montague Regional High School, were involved in the event planning from the beginning, using these SO Fun Days as a Service Learning Opportunity.  During an in-class session with staff from Special Olympics PEI, students learned all about Special Olympics, and were given the opportunity to design the sport stations. Students were asked to create activities, for their selected sport, meant to re-inforce a paired fundamental movement skill.  The soccer station, for example, would design activities which involve the skill of kicking. Going one step further, these students then looked at ways to modify and adapt their activities for students of all ages and ability levels.  All activities planned were inclusive by their nature, with a role for the student with an intellectual disability, and a role for the leadership student acting as a peer buddy.

For Special Olympics PEI, the benefits of these programs last much longer than one event.  Following each SO Fun Days, a Youth Open House was hosted at the nearest community based Special Olympics youth program. Students, along with their families, were invited to attend these events.  Special Olympics community based youth programs run once week, in communities across the Island.  Registration for these programs is ongoing.  Those interested in learning more about registering for one of these programs is invited to call the Special Olympics PEI office at 902-368-8919.

SO Fun Days at a Glance:

During the 2016 – 2017 school year Special Olympics PEI hosted 6 SO Fun Days. Below are some highlights to give you a snapshot of the events:

• 42—The number of Schools who attended;
• 291—The number of Students with an Intellectual Disability Introduced to Special Olympics by attending an SO Fun Day;
• 701—The total number of Students who participated; these students were accompanied by 170 Teachers and Educational Assistants;
• 76—The number of Leadership Students, from 3 schools, who helped plan the SO Fun Days as a Service Learning Opportunity;
• 410—The total number of Leadership Students who participated,  169 as Volunteers at the Sport Stations, and 241 as Peer Buddies