What are the Special Olympics?
Special Olympics is a nationwide program that encourages students with special needs to participate in a variety of sports. Thanks to Mr. Conyer, Mr. Contreras, and Ms. Craig, Hinsdale South students have the opportunity to compete in Special Olympics Illinois, region C. At the state level, Special Olympics Illinois is year-round and offers 36 different activities. Ms. Craig has the power to connect students to sports they can not participate in at the school level.
Ms. Craig is a hard-working teacher in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing department at Hinsdale South. She teaches all of her classes in sign language, including biology, chemistry, math, English, and driver’s ed. This is her 24th year at Hinsdale South.
“[Hinsdale South has] one of the biggest offerings of any school in DuPage County. Most other schools offer two, maybe three sports, we offer five,” Ms. Craig states. These five are basketball, swimming, track, soccer, and bowling. “Even though our school is so much smaller [than other schools in the area], our number of athletes is very similar, which is good because that means we have a lot of kids involved.”
Because of Hinsdale South’s newer and well-maintained facilities, the school is able to host many events including basketball games, the Dupage County soccer tournament, and despite not having a team of their own, the Regional tennis tournament. Ms. Craig earned her “Above and Beyond” award from Special Olympics Illinois by organizing/coordinating volunteers, concessions, teams, and school staff at these large events. She is also involved at the regional level, helps to sell merchandise, and works to bring new, fun activities to Hinsdale South.
To celebrate her achievement Ms.Craig was invited to a luncheon, took pictures with the people at Special Olympics Illinois, and was sent home with food which she shared with her fellow Hinsdale South staff members.
Ms. Craig wants people to understand that the Special Olympics are about more than just sports. It is about learning teamwork, cooperation, direction following, and building lifelong healthy habits. Once you find a sport you love, you can continue doing that for the rest of your life by joining adult leagues and playing recreationally with your friends.
“From the kids that are just learning a sport, to the kids who have been playing forever, we want every kid involved.” Other students may help by volunteering, Ms. Craig says, “We need people that keep score, we need people to…be referees, we need people to…chase balls that go flying…There [are] other ways that you can get involved.”
