Throughout late fall and early winter, our school has repeatedly shown how grateful our community is in a season known for giving and appreciation. As a district, we have been given great honors and done amazing things for others. A few weeks before Thanksgiving, our school hosted the annual Relay for Life, sponsored by the American Cancer Society. Additionally, just before Thanksgiving, the Special Olympics recognized us as a National Banner Unified Champion School.
Fighting Pediatric Cancer: Relay for Life
Our school was chosen to host the annual relay event for Relay for Life this year. “The relay was originally hosted at another school,” says Audrey Walsh, Founder of Relay for Life, “but Dr. Yannacone, being a cancer survivor herself, really wanted to bring the relay back to Springfield.” 
The relay is a community event highlighted by the Luminara (named bags with candles inside them) that represent any deaths or survivors of cancer. Each name is listed out, usually followed by a speech honoring those who had cancer. The event also featured food, games, contests, and other organized activities, such as badminton and cornhole, with all profits going to the club’s fundraising.
Although our school was given such a large responsibility, the event went amazingly well. “We raised well over what we usually do,” says Audrey Walsh “As a school, we raised $7,000 from the event and other Relay for Life activities, [as a county] we raised over $32,000 just this year,” hitting a huge goal. Of about 15 different teams in the county, all of their profits went straight to the American Cancer Society.
Mrs. Walsh notes that it looks like our school will be hosting the event next year as well and hopes the event will be even more successful than this year.
Our Dedication to Unified Sports: National Banner Unified Champion School
As of November 21st, our school was gifted recognition as a National Banner Unified Champion School. Of only 11 schools in the state, we met the national standards of excellence made by Special Olympics. Namely, this includes honors such as creating a school environment that is inclusive for all students, participating in unified sports, and ensuring the participation of both students with and without disabilities.
Consequently, through our commitment to unified sports, unified PE, and other activities, “every four years,” we are, “able to apply to be a participant,” says Mrs. Proto, a teacher in the Special Education program. “You have to meet a rigorous ten-point criteria,” says Mrs. Proto, “We had to apply and go through that whole process, [which they] found us eligible [for].”
Out of 10,000 participating schools in the country, only 210 have been recognized so far, making us 1 out of 210 in the entire country. “It’s a huge honor,” Mrs. Proto says. This is our school’s first year with this honor, and we hope to continue our recognition as a National Banner Unified Champion School every year.
