Students from Silver Creek High School, Skyline High School, and Frederick High School will be competing at the upcoming CHSAA State Unified Bowling Tournament on Friday, November 19. 

Silver Creek HS earned first place at regionals with a score of 333. They will have three athletes competing and no mentors. The entire group of bowlers that qualified, bowl 3-4 times a week. Junior Bryan Newby is a a returning state qualifier from two years ago. The other two athletes competing are sophomores Ethan Newby and Joshua Jones.  

Skyline HS earned second place in regionals to move on to the state competition. They have two athletes competing in the tournament, senior Juan Cardenas and sophomore Priscilla Grimsley. They also have one mentor senior Nevaeh Gomez competing.

Frederick’s regional winners placed 3rd. The team consists of two athletes; freshman Andrew (Drew) Hershey, senior Amber Jasmin and one mentor junior Caterin Argueta.  

Special Olympics Colorado is hosting the CHSAA State Unified Bowling Tournament at AMF Belleview Lanes (4900 S Federal Blvd, Englewood, CO 80110) on Friday, November 19 from 10am – 2pm. Spectators can attend for a $10 entry fee. 

The state competition format will be a 3-person Baker format where bowlers on a team rotate throughout play. Each team will bowl three games, with the total pin number of all the games being the winner.

Trail Ridge Middle School (TRMS) staff Lynsey Robinson, assistant principal, and Rebecca Warren, SSN teacher, are trail blazing an #InclusionRevolution with an Inclusion Club at their school. The club provides an opportunity for typical students and students with disabilities to interact in meaningful ways through Unified Sports, PE Pals, Lunch Bunch and Shared Reading. Click here to read more about these programs>>

The Inclusion Club meets once a week during lunches to plan different activities and promotions. They are currently working on creating a motto and t-shirt for the school and they will participate in the leadership summit at the Denver Zoo on November 12 (sponsored by the Special Olympics).

The club’s recent focus was working on the planning and funding of the new Coffee Cart at TRMS. The students in the SSN program are paired with an inclusion club member and they go around the building to take teacher orders, work on money exchange skills, prepare drinks, and serve.

In October, TRMS also hosted an open house for general education teachers and other school staff to learn more about students with significant disabilities. Students’ work was posted and refreshments and information about quality inclusion practices were provided. Robinson stated, “The purpose of the event was for us to become more informed of our building’s program, clear up misconceptions, and spark creativity around inclusion around the building.”

For more information about how you can create an #InclusionRevolution, please reach out to Lynsey at [email protected] x 35402 or Becci at  [email protected] x35448.

Mead High School Unified Percussion Ensemble (MHS UPE) was founded in the fall of 2019 and inspired by the Special Olympics Unified Sports and the Free Players, a drum and bugle corps for adults with intellectual disabilities.

The programs vision and mission is to provide a performance-based music ensemble for students in the exceptional learning program. The students in the ensemble work with a teacher, special education para, and mentor students from the band program. At Mead High School, the Unified Percussion Ensemble has increased their ability to provide an inclusive program with performance opportunities for their students.

After launching the MHS Unified Percussion Ensemble, three other high schools in the area have developed similar musical ensembles and MHS is currently working with a Denver high school to redesign a current music elective to create a more inclusive class and music program. Mead High School is dedicated to sharing resources and collaborating with other schools interested in increasing opportunities in music education.

The MHS UPE has performed with the Mead Mavericks Marching Band, MHS Pep Band, and the Guerrilla Fanfare Brass Band. During virtual learning, the ensemble learned and video recorded two virtual showcase performances. The MHS Unified Percussion Ensemble is scheduled to perform in March 2022 at a local Rocky Mountain Percussion Association event as an exhibition ensemble. The group continues to work in collaboration with the Mead High School Music Department with a goal of performing with the jazz choir, jazz band, and other ensembles at the school.

In an effort to provide a meaningful program, the students in the MHS UPE wear tracksuit style uniforms designed by SKAZMA with zippers and drawstrings the students can manipulate themselves and take greater ownership of their responsibilities as members of the ensemble. In addition, Mead High School is the first school in Colorado to purchase ErgoSonic bass drums, which are designed for an ergonomic playing position that is much better for the hands and body than traditional bass drums.

Please click here for more information about MHS Unified Percussion Ensemble.

The cooking group at Northridge Elementary is co-lead by Amy Moore, speech/language pathologist, and Chelsea Berthold, occupational therapist. They started the cooking group to support the development of skills that are sometimes difficult to address through conventional therapy or special education instruction.

While the group of 2nd and 5th graders enjoy making foods such as, apple crumble, pico and eggs, guacamole, and play dough, they are also learning invaluable skills. The instructor’s try to target some of the executive functioning skills, such as determining, executing, and monitoring a plan, as well as social communication and collaboration skills. Moore said, “Cooking seems like a natural fit for supporting executive functioning and since all of our students want to participate, even those reluctant collaborators are highly motivated to communicate.” The students also gain motor skills that are necessary to use kitchen instruments.

The club meets every other week for an hour and is a learning experience for everyone involved. Moore said, “Our students are enthusiastic and awesome and we all have so much fun. It’s the highlight of our week!”

The district’s School to Work Alliance Program (SWAP) is currently piloting the Workplace Skills Badge at Frederick High School, Silver Creek High School, and Life Skills ACE (LSACE).

In order to earn this digital badge students need to complete the “Bring Your A Game Anywhere” digital curriculum. This curriculum provides students with the knowledge of the seven foundational workplace skills that they can apply in any employment setting. After progressing through the 10 E-learning modules and passing the final exam, students will earn the Certificate of Work Ethic Proficiency. Students will also need to create a resume and LinkedIn profile, which will allow them to build their professional network, highlight their skills, and showcase the digital badges they’ve earned. Click here for background info on digital badging within SVVSD>>

Additionally, SWAP partnered with Junior Achievement to create the Entrepreneur Badge. This badge is being piloted by LSACE students. To earn this badge students are completing the JA Be Entrepreneurial program. This program teaches students about the mindset and the skills needed for success by aspiring entrepreneurs. Students will need to complete Design Thinking modules where they will learn about creative problem solving, how to think like an entrepreneur, and rapid business planning. Click here to read more about the JA Be Program>>