2022-23 School Year
Special Olympics Vermont schools and community programs have returned to activities!
The Special Olympics Vermont Fall Games took place on September 17-18 in Saint Albans, Vergennes, and Manchester, and included competitors with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) from elementary, middle, and high schools around the state in Track and Field, Cross-Country Running, Soccer, Softball, and Golf.
On Thursday, Oct 13, 2022 Norwich University will be hosting our Special Olympics Vermont Unified Champion Schools soccer tournament. The event is open to Unified Sports teams (featuring athletes with IDD and Unified partners without IDD training and competing together), from elementary, middle, and high schools around Vermont, and will feature 5-a-side Unified Soccer as well as an Individual Skills Competition. We welcome registrants and those interested in spectating to learn more about Unified Sports or Unified Champion Schools to reach out to Rachel Hamm Vaughan (rhamm@vtso.org) for further information.
As in previous years, SOVT has again secured funding to support inclusive community-building activities in all school levels Pre-K through College. Some items of specific interest to the Middle Level include:
Building an Inclusive School Community Annual Planning Guide and Grant application: UCS Annual Planning and Grant Application.pdf
Typical Mini-grant awards range from $500-$5000
***NEW*** ALL grant funding will be distributed directly to schools - school-based fiscal contact required
Unified Classroom: engaging “plug and play” lessons and activities highlighting inclusion through a different theme every month while aligning to Common Core State Standards and CASEL’s 5 Social Emotional Learning Competencies. All materials and resources are broken up by grade level groupings and are available through Google Classroom (Class Code: 6bzgiix), Microsoft Educator Center, and Google Drive.
Inclusion Think Tank Inclusive Youth Leadership Challenge:
Overview and instructions: Inclusion Think Tank Presentation.pptx
Monthly Planning Calendar Inclusion Think Tank Calendar.pptx
Key Dates (so far!):
9/14 – UCS Soccer registration opens (5v5 Unified Team & Individual Skills)
10/13 – UCS Soccer Tournament at Norwich University, Northfield, VT
Late Fall / Winter – Unified Bowling, League Format Pilot (more info to come)
2/4/23 – Cool Schools Penguin Plunge
2/24/22 (TENTATIVE) Middle School Unified Basketball Tournament - ADL, Essex, VT
3/1/23 – Global Annual Day of Awareness: Spread the Word: INCLUSION (https://www.spreadtheword.global/resources)
3/14/23 – VAMLE and Special Olympics Vermont present: Beyond Bullying Conference
ISO: hosts for a UCS SNOWSHOE competition
5/10/23 – UCS Bocce Tournament, Brattleboro Union High School
ISO: hosts for a UCS BOCCE competition, Northern VT