Northland Pines High School establishes *new* Club and Elects Officers

Students at the Northland Pines High School recently  joined a new club called Project UNIFY: Agents of Change whereby youth promote a school community where all young people are agents of change - fostering respect, dignity and advocacy for people with and without intellectual disabilities.  Through Project UNIFY, students at NPHS will have opportunities to support many programs including being an active member of the Agents of Change committee, Unified Sports, Spread the Word to End the Word Rallies and Be a Fan Campaign.  Elected Officers are:

Co-Presidents - Morgan Kolinski and Lexi Nelson

Co-Vice Presidents - Brett Hughes and Kylie Rhode

Co-Treasurers - Terry Satran and Kaitlin Nellessen

Co-Secretaries - Matt Meyer and Alex Camp

Special Events Co-Coordinators - Samantha Pusetari and Taylor Kings

Team Northland Pines

Northland Pines High (NPHS) Coordinating Team

Emily Rhode - Special Education Teacher - Speech and Language Pathologist

Robin Indermuehle - Regular Education Teacher - High School Science Teacher

Nicole Deditz - Special Olympic Athlete - Freshman at NPHS

Lexi Nelson - Special Olympic Volunteer - Freshman at NPHS

 Northland Pines Project UNIFY: Agency of Change

This year, the Northland Pines High School is offering a new club for students to participate in.  Project Unify: Agents of Change is a unique Special Olympics Wisconsin Project UNIFY sponsored, school based program that teams students with and without cognitive disabilities, through training and sports competition, social and recreational opportunities.  Project UNIFY: Agents of Change provides opportunities to build student character, increase acceptance of disabilities, develop leadership and other skills in a service-learning environment, and enhance their school community.  It is a program that teaches beyond the classroom and expands students’ social horizons. 

Agents of Change will meet on a regular basis during resource and may also meet outside of school hours.  We have tentatively scheduled the following activities to take place during resource: making T Shirts, game day, craft day, and a scavenger hunt.  We are hoping to host the following afterschool and/or evening activities:  holiday sleigh ride, open gym, and movie night.   Agents of Change have also been asked to wrap presents for the NPSD Cares Toy Drive on Saturday, December 10th from 8:00-1:00.

Students will determine the activities and events he/she wish to participate in throughout the school year.  In addition to social and recreational activities, students will have the option to participate in Unified Sports, an inclusive sports opportunity (teams consisting of Special Olympic athletes and peer partners) that provides training and friendly competition.

Special Olympics Project UNIFY® is an education-based program that uses the sports and education initiatives of Special Olympics to activate youth to promote school communities where all young people are agents of change – fostering respect, dignity and advocacy for people with intellectual disabilities.

Project UNIFY is a U.S. national project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education and is an innovative response to the unequivocal research that shows Special Olympics local programming can contribute to eradicating the social and environmental walls to inclusion.

Special Olympics Wisconsin received nearly $125,000 of Project UNIFY funding (from the US Department of Education) for the 2011-12 school year to continue to expand Project UNIFY core programs and initiatives.  Using Special Olympics programs and initiatives as a vehicle, schools throughout the state are applying for additional grant funds to further engage youth and become Project UNIFY Schools, which is the next initiative by SOWI.  Essentially, a Project UNIFY School incorporates inclusive sports, youth leadership/advocacy, and a school–wide Special Olympics activity. In a “Project UNIFY School” there is an understanding that Project UNIFY is not just an incident or event that happens for one day, or a single experience, but rather year-long or seasonal activities. In a Project UNIFY school there is an expectation that acceptance and inclusion are everyday occurrences that change entire schools and impact the whole student body.

Northland Pines students have already participated in some of these SO programs and initiatives, including Spred the Word to End the Word adn Young Athletes .  To engage our community and peers of our Special Olympic athletes to become fans, last year, the Northland Pines Middle School supported a Pep Rally for those going to complete at the State Bowling Competition and a community parade for those going to State for Track and Field.

Mrs. Emily Rhode, Speech Pathologiest with the Northland Pines School District and Manager with Northern Access Special Olympics, is involved in the grant application process for the Northland Pines High School to become an official Project UNIFY School.  Northland Pines High School was selected to receive funding and, therefore, will be fullfilling the requirements in the 2011-2012 school year.  Becoming a Project UNIFY School is initially being funded through this grant with intentions of becoming self-sufficient, but more importantly it is providing students of the Northland Pines High School the opportunity to become actively involved in the opportunities and was shared with High School students at the assembly on Wednesday, October 19, 2011.  When it is successful, there may be the opportunity to get other schools in the district involved.