Fun day for special needs students

It was a lively scene of excitement and friendly competition at the Rubis Sports Club grounds in Spring Garden, as several students, parents, and teachers descended on the playing field for the joint sports of the Sunshine Early Stimulation Centre and the John Payne School for Exceptional Children.
Just after 10 a.m. students from the special needs schools began an exciting day of activities, with a number of races and other competitions being put on in support of the excited children.
In speaking to Barbados TODAY, the Centre’s vice principal Alison Pierre said after a long break because of the COVID pandemic, the student body and parents were excited to once again have the opportunity to partake in the sporting activity.
“This is the very first [sports day] since we returned back to school in our in-person teaching and instruction, and part of our extracurricular activities [for] our Family Fun Day.
“Today we have just about over 30 children participating, and we have the parents as well, so all together I believe we have maybe close to 70 persons on the compound. Some of the races you can see here, we have our 50 dash, and these are the younger children from our Sunshine Early Stimulation Centre, being supported by their teachers,” Pierre said.
She said many of the races conducted during the day were a staple of the school’s curriculum.
“These activities are activities that we do at the school involving hand eye coordination, following instructions and overall gross motor development, so the children are already quite familiar with these types of activities and tasks, and today is just their way of showcasing their capacity and their strengths.
“We are here to applaud all of our students and their families,” Pierre explained.
(SB)