The Social Connections Club is looking for new members. Their foundation is acts of kindness and making new friends between special education students and other LHS students. They meet in Room 100 every Thursday during Liberty Hour.
Officially, the goals are to enhance friendship, increase social interactions and improve self-confidence through interactions with peers and adults, but to the members of the club, it means much more than that.
“It is really a chance for all students to interact and enjoy each other’s company but it gives [special education] students the opportunity to see other students that they wouldn’t normally see on a regular basis all different areas to interact with the members of the group,” sponsor Adrienne Fowler said. “It’s awesome seeing them have fun. Last time we even played ‘Let’s Dance.’ It was a fun time to let loose and enjoy ourselves.”
Freshman Ryan Bremer agreed. “I like the games we get to play,” he said.
Sponsor Jessica King explained how the club got started.
“It was really an idea to get students a space where they can naturally socialize, feel safe, and sometimes even provide games they can play. However, other times we let natural socialization happen in a comfortable classroom so it’s not as intimidating as the Commons or the lunchroom,” she said.
“I like how we can play games and how other people show up so we can make new friends,” freshman Rebecca Nestlerode said.
When they get together, club members do a lot of fun things, ranging from video games to going to events.
“We like to play video games when we meet and even card games whenever we can. Just anything to get together to relax and have some fun,” Fowler said, “We’ll even try and go to a school play. Last year, we went to see Shrek and even went to a basketball game. This year we are going to try to go to another play, but we’re still working it out.”
The sponsors have a deeper connection with the students.
“I just really enjoy working with the kids and I had just started to teach a class for them this year so this was an additional way to work with them,” Fowler said.
Head down to Room 100 on Thursday during Liberty Hour to have fun and make new friends!