Sixth grader Claire Drake pies Principal Bronson Curtis in the face in a recent assembly at Greenfield Intermediate School celebrating the Unified Champions program.
Submitted photo
GREENFIELD – A trio of sixth graders at Greenfield Intermediate School won’t stand for bullying.
Sawyer Chatmon, Claire Drake and Haley Perry are leaders in the Unified Champions program, which pairs them with students with special needs in a program that celebrates friendship across all abilities.
So when the opportunity came to bring in a comedian guest speaker earlier this month to spread the word of inclusion to their 462 classmates, they were completely on board. The bonus: some of their favorite teachers and principals got pied in the face as a reward for raising money for Unified Champions.
“I like that it’s about inclusion and not bullying people, and if you feel left out you can help them,” said Claire Drake, who sat next to her special needs friend during the assembly and helped him play a game of heads or tails.
Unified Champions is in several schools across the county and is a program through Special Olympics. Three general education students are partnered with one student with cognitive disabilities to compete in athletic events at a Game Day each spring.
But the friendships last all year. Students get together regularly after school to build friendships through games or crafts. They recently built friendship bracelets together, for example.
“Inclusiveness is all about helping others and helping people who are in need,” said Sawyer Chatmon as the three students talked about their love for the program just prior to the assembly.
“It hurts knowing these kids are getting bullied,” Haley Perry said. “Just saying ‘Hi’’ in the hallway to them makes them smile.”
“It’s a chain reaction – it’ll make everyone else smile,” Claire added.
“We just try to make the kids feel better about themselves,” Haley continued. “It honestly just fills my heart with joy when they smile at you.”
Amy Swartz, a district team member for Unified Champions and a GIS teacher, says she’s proud of all students who take part in the Unified Champions program, which includes 15 Special Olympians and 48 general education students.
The assembly was part of an annual requirement of the program to share the message of inclusion across the entire student body. Comedian Craig Tornquist did so with stories of friendship interspersed with games and jokes.
“I hope students were left with a better understanding of what inclusion means and how they can be inclusive of people who might be different,” Swartz said. “Students also learned not to judge others based on how they look and act. One of the biggest lessons was to take risks and try new things, even when it doesn’t feel comfortable.”
GIS students raised more than $1,075 for Unified Champions. Of that, $250 of that was donated Indiana’s Special Olympics program, the rest for local projects like T-shirts, equipment, lunch and more for the upcoming athletic games.
They sold more than 400 friendship bracelets and teachers had collection jars in their rooms. Students tossed in coins and bills into the jars of the teachers they wanted to see get a pie in the face at the assembly.
The lucky winners of a pie in the face were: Principal Bronson Curtis, Assistant Principal Patrick Crouch, teachers Hailey Johnson, Christie Hammelman, Brenda Shoenlein; and instructional assistant Jaquie Voigt.
G-C instructors are looking forward to Game Day coming up in May. Lynnea Case, assistant director of special education for the school corporation, said GIS has great students, families and staff that plan a successful Game Day, and the assembly was a part of that.
“This is done through fundraising, whole school engagement activities (like the assembly) and practicing for the big day,” Case said. “The GIS staff, students and their community are what makes Game Day so enjoyable for everyone.”
