Best Buddies Inclusion Week: Everything You Need To Know
Photo Courtesy of East Valley Tribune
This week is Inclusion Week, a week set out by Best Buddies to promote friendships, develop leadership, and encourage inclusive living for individuals with intellectual and development disabilities (IDD). Best Buddies’ goal is to change the world through the power of friendship, inclusion, and kindness and to create a better and more loving environment for those living with IDD. The Best Buddies club here at ACP include a series of enjoyable and inclusive events:
Monday: Students were shown a touching and beautiful video about Best Buddies during club time. It showcased wonderful acts of kindness and expressed that simple acts of warmth and goodwill can do so much. It is definitely a video that everyone should watch, so if you can, show it to your friends and your family.
Tuesday: During club time, each student was handed a strip of colored paper by their teacher. The students were asked to write their names and a person they know with a disability. If they didn’t know anyone, they were then asked to write what inclusion means to them. The officers of the club will then turn this into a chain of colored paper. The chain symbolizes unity and togetherness.
Wednesday: During club time, students were asked to answer the following questions: “What does inclusion mean to you/Why is inclusion important?” The first two people in each class to answer the question get a Best Buddies prize. These questions trigger meaningful conversations and initiate change within the community.
Thursday: Students are allowed to wear blue in support of Best Buddies. Being a part of the school spirit and wearing a similar color, again, symbolizes unity and amity within the students.
Friday: The Best Buddies officers will reveal the inclusion chain and hang it up in the courtyard. If you want to check it out, bring your friends to the courtyard throughout the day and see the beautiful chain.
Inclusion is extremely important because our school and the administration want our students to respect all people, regardless of their disabilities or health care needs. They should be appreciated as valuable members of the community. We hope that you have an amazing Inclusion Week. Go Knights!
