{"id":178730,"date":"2024-03-05T09:01:55","date_gmt":"2024-03-05T14:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/?p=178730"},"modified":"2024-03-05T09:01:55","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T14:01:55","slug":"helping-make-best-buddies-for-people-with-disabilities-in-maine-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bestbuddies.org\/maine\/thornton-academy-celebrates-becoming-unified-champion-school","title":{"rendered":"Sami, Brooke, and Thornton Academy celebrate becoming Unified Champion School"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\">[vc_row][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;178732&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221;][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;178731&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;178733&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=&#8221;1\/3&#8243;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;178734&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221;][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][vc_column width=&#8221;1\/2&#8243;][vc_column_text]Thornton Academy in Saco has been recognized as a Special Olympics Unified Champion School, and is one of five schools in Maine to hold this distinction.<\/p>\n<p>To qualify to be a Special Olympics Unified Champion School, a school must meet 10 national standards of excellence. To meet these standards, schools must offer Special Olympic Unified Sports where students with and without disabilities train and compete as teammates. They also must have inclusive youth leadership and whole-school engagement activities that promote social inclusion.<\/p>\n<p>The achievement was celebrated on Friday with an assembly at the school\u2019s Linnell Gymnasium. The event began with students cheering as unified athletes entered the gymnasium through an archway while \u201cEye of the Tiger\u201d by Survivor played. Students and faculty gave speeches and the assembly ended with unified athletes doing \u201cThe Cha-Cha Slide\u201d dance.<\/p>\n<p>Student Brooke Helgesen, president of Best Buddies, a club that builds one-to-one friendships between people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities, has also been active with the unified basketball and bocce teams. She said her friends with disabilities have taught her resilience, compassion, and dedication, and how to be a better person both on and off the court. Brooke said she has been fortunate to be able to spend time with happy, funny, honest and kind people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome of the students we have class with here at TA, play sports with, and have lunch with, may have different abilities, but we are all teenagers going to the same school, and we have the same interests,\u201d she said. Brooke\u2019s Best Buddy, Sami Woodcock, said she likes dancing with the friends she\u2019s made through Unified Sports, and being part of the program has made her more independent.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re so proud of you Thornton! Keep up the great work![\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<a href=\"https:\/\/sacobaynews.com\/thornton-academy-recognized-as-a-special-olympics-unified-champion-school-p2738-1.htm?fbclid=IwAR1xX7r5dY_C5uum_mJreRjdGbON7bM5J7nv6OKTwRP4GB13COlsqDDBGhs#google_vignette\" class=\"hb-button hb-default hb-default-button no-three-d\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"-webkit-border-radius: 2px;-moz-border-radius: 2px;border-radius: 2px;\"><i class=\"icon-chevron-right\"><\/i>Read the full story<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You should try being a Buddy: you\u2019ll leave with a full heart.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2080,"featured_media":178732,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"me-single-post.php","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1601],"tags":[4531],"class_list":["post-178730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-maine-news","tag-maine-news","post_format-post-format-image"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.1 - 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