Students celebrate World Down Syndrome Day at PS372

World Down Syndrome Day at PS 372.

 
Next Tuesday is World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD) and GiGi’s Playhouse NYC is spotlighting one of our amazing families who are going above and beyond to create a welcoming community for their son Micah, who happens to have Down syndrome.  Micah’s parents, Ian and Nicole worked with Micah’s school, PS 372, to bring a Down syndrome awareness event for the students, and have chosen to raise money for GiGi’s!  Thank you Ian, Nicole, and Micah for doing your part to change perceptions!

From Micah’s Dad:

My son, Micah Cooley, is one of two kindergarteners with Down syndrome this year at The Children’s School in Park Slope, Brooklyn. They are the first in a long time, and the school has welcomed Micah (as well as Clive) into their inclusive family with open arms. The teachers and staff have all shown great enthusiasm in helping us to coordinate their first-ever World Down Syndrome Awareness Day on Tuesday, March 21 (this date represents the triplication of the 21st chromosome). In conjunction with this event, the school has asked each family to donate $1 or more to Gigi’s Playhouse, in recognition of the fantastic work it does in the Down syndrome community of NYC and for the amazing services and events that it provides our loved ones with DS.

Although many ideas on how to properly celebrate this event were considered, we decided as a group to keep our ambitions modest for this first year. The school will hand out blue/yellow ribbon stickers to all students and staff; fact sheets and an open letter from a prominent individual with Down syndrome will be sent home with the kids; large posters have been made by the fourth and fifth graders to be hung at each entrance to school; students and staff are encouraged to wear wacky socks or to wear socks in a wacky way at school on that day (something that has become associated with Down Syndrome Day as a way of starting conversation); and each of the kindergarten classrooms will enjoy blue and yellow frosting cupcakes. Finally, we also encouraged each family to decorate a picture of socks to be sent in with their little one(s) and hung all around the school building. Attached to this blog post, you will find three sock templates that can be colored.

Some of the more ambitious ideas that will likely be implemented in subsequent years included hosting a school-wide bake sale, with proceeds being donated to a Down syndrome related organization; having Nicole and I speak at a school-wide assembly; and inviting a prominent member of the Down syndrome community to speak at an assembly.

My hope is that others with little ones might be inspired to motivate their own respective school(s) to initiate some form of recognition for this day, as well. Collectively, we can build awareness of and dispel outdated stereotypes about Down syndrome!

For more information, please see: https://worlddownsyndromeday.org/wdsd-2017

Thank you to the Cooley’s!  GiGi’s Playhouse NYC is a Down Syndrome Achievement Center that provides FREE programs for individuals with Down syndrome of all ages and their families.  For more information on how to support, volunteer, donate, or participate, go to our website , check out our calendar, or call us at 646-801-7529!

We will be celebrating World Down Syndrome Day on 3/21 from 4:30-6:30pm at the JCC Manhattan.

Celebrate with us!

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2 Comments

  1. hrodriguez on March 17, 2017 at 7:06 am

    So awesome!!!!

  2. Richard Reilly on March 22, 2017 at 7:57 am

    Dear Folks, an inspiring post. There is a world in need of invitation. The event you helped create opens doors to understanding and acceptance, a first step in inclusion. Your “learning” day at school says too that there can be a fun side to disability (my 8 year old grandson with Down syndrome reminds me of this all the time). Thank you all for your generosity to GiGi’s Playhouse. Playhouse advocates would relish speaking in a forum with you at an event in the future. Children’s School, you are Generation G!…Be Kind, Be Generous, Be Accepting. Big Love! Richard Reilly – The Grandparent Connection.

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