School of the Future Archives - Special Olympics Pennsylvania

On October 17, 2018, Jefferson University hosted the 2018 Unified Youth Summit with the theme of “Make Inclusion a Lifetime Trend.” Students gathered to learn how to work together with students with different personalities, how to be a leader who actively includes and motivates others around them, how to conduct successful Unified Club meetings, and tactics for fundraising. Participating schools included Abraham Lincoln, Ben Franklin, Edison, Frankford, Furness, George Washington, Hill Freedman World Academy, Kensington Health Sciences Academy, Martin Luther King, Northeast, Sayre, The School of the Future, Strawberry Mansion, and Universal Audenried Charter High Schools.

The program had kicked off with remarks from Chase Trimmer, Director of Special Olympics PA – Philadelphia, James Lynch, Executive Director of Athletics at The School District of Philadelphia, and Matt Aaron, President and CEO of Special Olympics Pennsylvania. During welcoming remarks, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln high schools were recognized for being Unified National Champion Schools. Once the opening remarks wrapped up, students split into groups with a facilitator from Jefferson Athletics. Throughout the morning, Jefferson student-athletes lead students through various activities to help them become better leaders within their school. Students started by sharing activities in their school that were student-led and student-driven. Next, each group was able to come up with new Whole School Engagement activities and create a plan for it. Students then learned the importance of how Spread the Word to End the Word (STW) and Respect campaigns are a good way for them to get more attention.

The activities took a break for lunch where the students were able to speak freely with one another in their groups and get to know each other better. Once lunch ended, students learned about the 2018 Philadelphia Polar Plunge and how they could participate in the Cool Schools Plunge. The Cool Schools Plunge is for high school students from around the city to support Interscholastic Unified Sports Programs (IUS). During the event, students partake in an educational activity followed by a plunge into icy waters. They also discussed various fundraisers which they could do to support their participation in the Cool Schools Plunge. Overall, the students who attended the 2018 Unified Youth Summit were able to leave Jefferson University with the knowledge on how to raise money for an important cause and how to lead their schools in becoming more inclusive.

2018 IUS Soccer Season consisted of four league play days at various high schools to prepare students for the championship in late May. Ten high schools participated in this years soccer season. Schools included

AUD- Audenreid (lt blue), FRNK- Frankford (red), GW- George Washington (blue, navy), SAY – Sayre High School (white), TE- Thomas Edison (green)

AL- Abraham Lincoln, FURN- Furness, KHSA- Kensington Health Sciences, MLK- Martin Luther King, SOF- School of the Future

The Philadelphia IUS Soccer Championship is on Wednesday, May 30th at George Washington High School.

League Play Day 1

Abraham Lincoln High School hosted the first league play day after the original date was postponed due to snow. The first League Play Day was held on Wednesday, March 28th, it was a little chilly, but the sky was clear and the ground was free from snow. Lincoln High School welcomed Furness High School, Kensington Health Sciences High School, Martin Luther King High School, and School of the Future. As teams arrived, Lincolns students were ready to welcome them to their school with high-fives and warm greetings. Besides competition, every team got to participate in training – regardless if they played in the player development model or competitive model.

	Field 1	Field 2	Field 3
Round 1	SOF 1 (2) v AL 1 (4)	MLK 2 (2) v AL 2 (2)	FURN 2 (0) v KHSA 1 (5)
Round 2		FURN 1 (2) v AL 2 (0)	KHSA 2 (4) v SOF 2 (1)
Round 3	MLK 1 (2) v SOF 1 (1)	KHSA 1 (5) v MLK 2 (0)	SOF 2 (1) v FURN 2 (0)
Round 4	AL 1 (2) v MLK 1 (2)	KHSA 2 (3) v FURN 1 (4)

AL- Abraham Lincoln, FURN- Furness, KHSA- Kensington Health Sciences, MLK- Martin Luther King, SOF- School of the Future

League Play Day 2

After rescheduling due to weather, the second IUS Soccer league play day turned out to be the perfect day for soccer. The sun was shining and there was a slight breeze in the air. Frankford High School hosted Audenreid Charter, Geroge Washington High School, Sayre High School and Thomas Edison High School. Athletes, partners, coaches, and volunteers alike were excited to get the day started as the schools participating in this league play day were anxious to get their season started. To kick things off, Frankford High School Color Guard presented the colors as the national anthem was played over the loudspeaker. After the colors were presented, a few quick announcements were made and Frankford’s mascot even stopped by to say hello to the teams and support the home team. Like the first league play day, players participated in player development or competitive model training.

	Field 1	Field 2	Field 3
Round 1	AUD 1 (1) v GW 1	TE 1 (1) v FRNK 1 (0)	SAY 1 (3) v TE 2 (0)
Round 2		SAY 2 (3) v GW 2 (1)	AUD 2 (3) v FRNK 2 (0)
Round 3	AUD 1 (2) v FRNK 1 (1)	SAY 1 (2) v GW 2 (1)	TE 2 ( 1) v AUD 2 (2)
Round 4	GW 1 (1) v TE 1 (0)	FRNK 2 (2) v SAY 2 (5)

AUD- Audenreid (lt blue), FRNK- Frankford (red), GW- George Washington (blue, navy), SAY – Sayre High School (white), TE- Thomas Edison (green)

League Play Day 3

Thomas Edison High School hosted Abraham Lincoln, Frankford High School, George Washington High School, and Kensington Health Sciences on Tuesday, April 24th. It was the perfect day to be outside, especially after the first two league play days were postponed due to snow. The sun was shining, and along Edison’s track was a tree in bloom where it snowed petals. Everyone much preferred this “snow” to the earlier snowstorm in the season. After everyone arrived, Thomas Edison’s Junior ROTC, led by Cadet Bullock, presented the colors and Cadet Vega sang the National Anthem.

	Field 1	Field 2
Round 1	TE 1 (0) v GW 1 (5)	FRNK 2 (1) v GW 2 (4)
Round 2	KHSA 2 v TE 2	KHSA 1 v FRNK 2
Round 3	GW 1 v FRNK 1	KHSA 2 v GW 2
Round 4	FRNK 1 v TE 1	TE 2 v KHSA 1

League Play Day 4

School of the Future hosted the last League Play Day on April 26th. Although the weather wasn’t as warm as the third league play day, it was just as sunny with a breeze keeping steady throughout the day. Audenried, Furness High School, Martin Luther King High School, and Sayre High School joined School of the Future to round out the last of the league play days. To welcome the other schools, School of the Future had their drum line out and they were ready to pump up the athletes and partners as they prepared for their games.

	Field 1 Competitive	Field 2 Player Dev.	Field 3 Player Dev.
Round 1	AUD 1 v SOF 1	AUD 2 (1) v MLK 2 (1)	FURN 1 v SAY 1
Round 2	SOF 1 v MLK 1	SAY 2 v SOF 2	MLK 2 v FURN 2
Round 3	MLK 1 v AUD 1	SAY 1 v AUD 2	SOF 2 v FURN 1
Round 4		FURN 2 v SAY 2