EVENT TEACHES SPIRIT OF GREEKS.Byline: Tracy Valeri Daily News Staff Writer Third-grader Syed Hussaini maneuvered his small motorized mo·tor·ize tr.v. mo·tor·ized, mo·tor·iz·ing, mo·tor·iz·es 1. To equip with a motor. 2. To supply with motor-driven vehicles. 3. To provide with automobiles. wheelchair wheel·chair or wheel chair n. A chair mounted on large wheels for the use of a sick or disabled person. wheelchair, n up to physical education teacher Jan LeVine to show off his first- and second-place ribbons for the softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' throw and the 50-yard dash. LeVine poured on the praise. ``He's a great kid. He's smart and he has overcome a lot of obstacles,'' she said. Hussaini was among the dozens of students at Andasol Avenue Elementary School elementary school: see school. participating Wednesday in the campus' Mini-Olympics, a yearly program designed to blend pupils who have disabilities and special needs with other students. The sporting events - which often paired students with their disabled peers - included 25- and 50-yard dashes, a softball throwing competition, long-jumping contests and motorized wheelchair racing Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs, typically by athletes who are unable to run. Like running, it can take place on a track or as a road race. The leading competitions take place at the Summer Paralympics, although it has been included as demostration sport in the . Clusters of students proudly held up their ribbons, shouting out which events they had mastered. ``I won third place for the ball throw!'' said 8-year-old Oscar Luna. Andasol, where 15 percent to 20 percent of the students are special education students or have physical disabilities, has a specially equipped campus to encourage similar integration throughout the school day, officials say. ``There are benefits for both disabled and nondisabled students when kids with special needs get to participate in everyday activities,'' LeVine said. ``The disabled kids are a part of society and the nondisabled kids learn not to be afraid of people that seem different.'' LeVine, who has worked with special needs children at the Northridge school for four years, says the key to keeping the children on equal ground is lots of one-on-one interaction. ``The support staff of aides, assistants and volunteers helps so that no one in the classes are slowed down by the kids with special needs,'' LeVine said, as children raced by trying to win first place in a relay race relay race Race between teams in which each team member successively covers a specified portion of the course. In track events, such as the 4 × 100-m and 4 × 400-m relays, the runner finishing one leg passes a baton to the next runner while both are running within . CAPTION(S): 3 Photos PHOTO (1) Children at Andasol Elementary School storm around the track during the Mini-Olympics held in the spirit of ancient Greece The term ancient Greece refers to the periods of Greek history in Classical Antiquity, lasting ca. 750 BC[1] (the archaic period) to 146 BC (the Roman conquest). It is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the foundation of Western Civilization. . (2) Monica Smith and Andre Zouen drop a baton during a relay. (3) Kendra Topps, left, and pupils cheer at the Mini-Olympics. John McCoy/Daily News |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion