Kenny, the celebrity at Ogden

Kenny is in the 1st grade at Ogden Elementary School. It didn’t take long before he won the hearts of the student body and faculty members. As he walked down the hall, the other students greet him with high-fives or fist bumps and call him by name.

Kim, Kenny’s mom, called us at GiGi’s Playhouse Chicago and explained how his class, as well as the other first grades, are completing a project for their IB unit on “Sharing the World”. A part of completing this unit was taking action to demonstrate how everyone is unique but should be accepted. Kim went on to say that they were focusing on World Down Syndrome Day. The students wanted have an active role in advocating for their friend Kenny and others with Down syndrome. She wanted to know if we had any suggestions on things they could do as a class to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day, and elevate their knowledge and acceptance of individuals with Down syndrome. It sounded like a lot of what they were doing was already in line with #GenerationG. We decided to go out and visit Ms Sheriff’s class on March 21st and help Kenny’s class take the #GenerationG pledge!

1st Grade Went All Out for World Down Syndrome Day!

The first graders decorated their hallways in crazy colored socks, hand-made posters about Down syndrome, and outside of Ms. Sheriff’s class writing assignments were on display. The topic was about their classmate Kenny, Down syndrome, and the traditions for World Down Syndrome Day. One student wrote, “We celebrate World Down Syndrome Day. Our friend Kenny is special to us. He is different but that’s ok. He’s so much fun.” Another wrote, “Room 212 is celebrating our friend Kenny for World Down Syndrome Day. Kenny has 3 chromosomes and it’s hard for him to learn. Wear crazy socks and blue and yellow.” First graders were on the morning announcements over the loud speakers and gave out information about Down syndrome and the celebration for that day.

The Lesson of the Day

The main message the students took away that day is even though individuals with Down syndrome may seem different, they really are a lot like all of their other classmates. They deserve to be treated kindly, and don’t let their diagnosis deter them from being friends. Ms. Sheriff’s class took the #GenerationG pledge after getting a heart with a G in the middle drawn on their hands. After the pledge was said, several kids gave each other “G – high fives” where they would high-five using the hand with the G drawn on it. Living a life of more acceptance, kindness, and generosity should be exciting and celebrated. Watching these first graders have a sense of pride for what they were doing and a motivation to be kind was very inspirational.

A Memorable Experience!

Thank you to all the faculty and staff at Ogden Elementary for wearing your crazy socks and donning blue and gold on World Down Syndrome Day. It was very heartwarming to see a school come together and celebrate the Down syndrome population! Thank you to Ms. Sheriff for welcoming us into her classroom. She did an incredible job educating her students on what it means to have Down syndrome and to ensure that everyone felt accepted. A very big thank you to Kim and Kenny who reached out to GiGi’s Playhouse Chicago and shared their celebration with us. We hope to see you participating in our programs soon!