Joy fills the air as the high school students of the Bowie Buddies program participate in the Bowie Buddies Olympics. Bowie Buddies is an organization that aims to make sure Bowie remains inclusive by working with and mentoring high school students with special needs.
The Bowie Buddies program hosted its Olympics on Friday, April 25th. The program was split up into two teams, which competed against each other in different sports and games. The games were led by teacher assistant Janna Sweeny.
“Bowie Buddies Olympics has been around for a while; however, since taking over the club, I have changed it up,” Sweeney said. “It used to be an event during FIT, and now it is an all-day event with different activities. It’s a day for the Bowie Buddies members and their buddies to have fun and spend the day together.”
The first event was a 20-yard dash, and to ensure that there was only one winner at the end, everyone participating was put into a bracket and would move to the next round by winning their race. Kids in the special education program were also able to race against their buddies or teachers.
“We had two teams, Team Wonders and Team Zebra, and the whole day we did competitions,” Bowie Buddies member junior Joaquin Flores said. “In the end, Team Wonders won, but it was very fun. We had activities like kickball, extreme eye spy, giant hockey, basketball, and a track race.”
According to another Bowie Buddies member, sophomore Sofia Zamora, the Bowie Buddies Olympics were a way to get both groups of the Bowie Buddies program up and active. She loved that it allowed all the members of Bowie Buddies to spend time together while incorporating team building and friendly competition.
“Bowie buddies is a program where general education students can work and hang out with students in the special education program and make sure they all get included in our community,” Zamora said. “I like being able to hang out with everyone and making sure that every kid with special needs is happy and content.”
According to Sweeny, the Bowie Buddies program provides a space for the members to make new friends, help their fellow students feel included, and allows the Bowie community to remain inclusive. She enjoys watching the members form long-lasting friendships with their buddies.
“My favorite thing about Bowie Buddies is how dedicated the members are to their buddies and the cause of the club, and I hope Bowie Buddies can help make all Bowie students more comfortable interacting with my students and other students who have disabilities,” Sweeny said. “As the Bowie Buddies sponsor, I set up our Friday FIT Socials and parties, invite members to come bowling with us once a month, educate members on disabilities, and delegate other work to the club leaders, who are all amazing”.
Many club members believe that Bowie Buddies is a great way to make new friends while getting involved in the school’s development as a community. According to Flores, it’s an ama
zing way to unite every aspect of Bowie into one group of people.
“It makes the Bowie community a whole lot better because it involves everybody and brings everybody much closer,” Flores said. “Sometimes we can be distant from each other, but being in that program puts us all under that Bowie umbrella.”
