In October 2023 LMDSS ran a Essay contest on Inclusion, which was open to all schools in BC. Here are the winners:
Grade 1 – 3
The winning class was Shellene MacInnis’s class from Salmo Elementary School.
Shellene’s introduction:
Good afternoon,
Thanks so much for this rich learning opportunity provided through this writing competition. We, as a class (Gr1-3), read many books and watched videos about Down syndrome, challenges faced, interests of a variety of kids and young adults, Q&A videos, stories from the perspective of siblings and parents, etc.What we did was create a fictitious “new student” that came to join our class. We created a bit of a profile of this new classmate with Down syndrome (one student chose to write a story about a student with autism) his/her struggles and interests. After some education and discussion over a number of days, we created our classroom essay and then students wanted to write their own fiction stories addressing point number 2 from your contest description:
2. How do you include a person with Down syndrome as well as other neuro-diverse learners in all activities during class time, recess, lunch and after school activities?
Thanks again, so much! Now to send it before time runs out! 🙂
Shellene MacInnis
Grade 1,2/3 Teacher
Salmo Elementary School
Grade 4 – 7
The winning class was Heather Vardy, and winning individual student was Tom.
Grade 8 and up
The winning essay was written by Grade 8 student Juliet.
