Thoughts and Reflection

10/13/2015

The support that I received from both school’s administrators and other faculty staff has been fantastic. Each time I go to discuss various aspects it seems as though the faculty at Cedar High School is willing to do everything necessary to make this project idea a reality. Principle Dodds offered to let us use the school. Transportation for the students was provided by the district upon request.

11/11/2015

As we are closer to the event Honor Society members have offered to help with refreshments, as well as providing gifts for the students to help make their Christmas a better experience. The student governments are becoming very excited to be involved. It will be great to have them involved in order to incorporate peer interaction amongst all of the students.

11/15/2016

In order to create a more active and engaging environment as decision was made to move away from the ‘dance’ plan. Now the plan is to create more games and create more of a carnival feel. In discussing this with teachers this decision was made in order to make sure the special education students feel more at ease rather than having a distinct dance-like environment.

11/30/2016

While assembling games I have had to use a creative side that I was not sure existed. The craftiness necessary to make these games fun and inviting has stretched my ability to draw and paint. I believe these games will be fun and festive for the event.

12/11/2016

The involvement of the faculty, staff and students at both schools was fantastic. If the Honor Societies, Janitorial staff, teachers, advisors and student governments had not helped out, the event would not have had the effect that it did on the lives of these students.  The smiles of the special education students’ faces made all of the stress and long hours painting and gluing worth it. They were so happy to see the decorations and knowing that all of this and all of the students were there to make sure they had a good time. Some of the students were more comfortable than others. A few of the special education students were very involved, while others felt more comfortable staying toward the outside and talking to one another or in smaller groups rather than participating the activities and games as much. It was interesting to see the various personalities in the classes and the different things that attracted attentions.