1 week Ago By By Angela Guglielmino [email protected]
A festive scene, the Rotary Club of Marysville hosted 180 Yuba County special needs students for a holiday lunch and gift-giving occasion at the FIVE30 Event Center in Marysville on Tuesday. “They get an amazing meal, and they get, more importantly, quality time with Santa and his elves and a gift that has been chosen just for them,” Rotary Club of Marysville President DeDe Cordell said. For this event, which occurs annually, teachers ask the students what they want within a price range, according to a former chairman of the event, John Weiler.
“I guess we are up to about 20 bucks now,” Weiler said. “When I first started doing this in 1986 it was 10 bucks.” Showing up for the kids, Weiler dresses up as an elf for the gathering.
“These kids, I mean, they have incredible challenges, and I dress up and look stupid every year because some of them smile,” Weiler said. Smiles abound, it can be an emotional gathering. “A lot of us have kids that are older, so we don’t really see that same level of excitement.
And it’s heartwarming to be able to see the reaction of the kids when they get their gift,” an organizer of the event, Nina Singh, said. The event is also a huge opportunity for students to be able to participate and be involved in the community, according to Samantha Chan, a principal for the Yuba County Office of Education Regional Moderate to Severe Special Education Program. “So often, the events that are housed at our school sites, where our students are located, they’re not geared toward our population of students,” Chan, who works with programs at general education school sites, said.
”(This event) allows our students to participate while still having a lot of the sensory supports. It’s done with a schedule that benefits our student population. It takes into consideration the students’ dietary needs.
” Some of the sensory supports at the event included a space where kids could run and move around and an area in the back for students to separate from the noise. In terms of the educational value of this gathering, Chan said there are endless pieces that the students learn from. “It’s them, I mean, just being in the environment, being comfortable being here, learning the rules of being somewhere else other than the classroom – social skills.
What does it take to go up and say, ‘Hi’ to Santa?” Chan said. “There are so many different social skill pieces and sensory pieces; the whole day is a learning experience.” Students are even prepped for multiple weeks before going into this event on social stories.
“What is it going to be like? What are those transitions going to be? The school day is going to look different so teachers start before Thanksgiving starting to prep the students for these events,” Chan said. While a lot of planning goes into the event overall, cherished memories do come from the gathering. “One year, there was a piano, and we ended up having a student from the Virginia School walk up and start playing the piano.
And we ended up singing and doing Christmas carols while the student was playing the piano,” Chan said. The event takes a well-oiled team. Community Services Chairperson Vangie Bushnell and Youth Services Chair Mike Cowley were essential in making the event happen.
Additionally, John Nicoletti and the volunteers were instrumental in preparing the food..
