The annual Olympic Games Day in Switzerland has returned from a 3-year hiatus due to the pandemic. This year’s culminating event provided an opportunity for all age groups, graduating and alternative course students, to socialize and bond in an open environment that cannot be experienced on campus.
“This is an off-campus event that incorporates students of all learning abilities to exercise and practice their social skills. The Olympic Day event encourages community solidarity, healthy competition and engages students who don’t often participate in outdoor physical activities,” said Telpher Youman, Dean of Students at the Switzer Learning Center.
Each Olympic Day station has been set up so that groups of students can experience and participate at their own pace. Events included the long run, hanging arm, free throw, football throw, 40-yard dash, sit-ups, trunk raise and jump rope. Staff and volunteers were on hand to help and encourage students to meet each challenge. Many students needed support and encouragement to participate, but as the day progressed, the increase in their self-confidence was evident.
The day ended with students and staff gathered to celebrate with a barbecue lunch featuring fresh produce donated by the Children’s Community Center.
About Switzer Learning Center
The Switzer Center is a non-profit organization founded in 1966 with a mission to “nurture children, teens, and young adults of all abilities to believe, succeed, and thrive.” The Switzer Learning Center’s coeducational, nonpublic, special school and clinical services in grades 5 through 12 serve children, adolescents, and young adults with mild to mild learning, social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. serious. Students work with a highly trained team of Certified Special Education Teachers, Licensed Psychologists, Licensed Speech-Language Pathologists, Art Therapists, Certified Crisis Intervention Specialists, and other related service providers who dedicated to helping students achieve academic, professional, and personal goals unattainable in conventional educational settings. To learn more about the Switzer Learning Center, visit www.switzercenter.org.
