The date? January 23rd. The place? Plant High School. What is happening? The Plant High School Special Olympics spring season is back! 

The Special Olympics club is dedicated to inclusion for the Special Education students in all that high school sports have to offer. The upcoming season is dedicated to soccer, track and field, and bocce. The partners and athletes met every Monday near the baseball and softball fields for their weekly practice. Each practice is around an hour and athletes and partners prepare themselves for their upcoming tournaments.  

The club is sponsored by teacher, Ms. Renaud, and presidents, Maddie Pope and Neil Diasti. 

Diasti, a junior at Plant, said that he is looking forward to this season and hopes the teams can make it to states. 

“I really hope we can work hard enough to get to states, but most of all, I hope everyone, athletes and partners, have fun,” Diasti said. 

The club’s goal is to help spread the message of inclusivity in all places, not just in the school environment. In fact, the club met at a Publix event to help raise money for the club and to raise awareness of the organization. Every student who participates in the club allows for Special Education students to have the opportunity to participate at Plant and show their Panther Pride. 

The website tagged below is the national Special Olympics website. Information about the organization and their mission is in further detail within the website. 

https://www.specialolympics.org 

The link tagged below is the Plant Special Olympics Instagram, which is updated for every event that the club participates in. 

https://instagram.com/specialolympicsplant?igshid=YWJhMjlhZTc=