Each year, the Common Bond club and its sponsor, Schoolcraft special education teacher Amy Green, invite all the high school students to an X-Treme Kick-Off party. It is a time when all students, whether they have challenges or not, come together to just have fun and blend in together, Green said.
“Our students with challenges get to know other students who they can count on in the school and bond with, and our students who are mentors get to know that their peers with challenges are really just like them – they share the same music and styles. It’s a win-win! I’m always blessed with staff and administration who volunteer their time to help, too,” Green pointed out.
Common Bond, formed to promote such blending, is made up of about 75-80 students. Anywhere from 20-60 attend events at a time. Students are mostly high schoolers, though more and more middle schoolers are participating.
“I have some funds available to bring in the inflatable obstacle course and the mechanical bull. Parents donate food and pop and we pay for the pizza through funds we save by collecting cans and bottles. We go to Airway Lanes every November and lots of parents send in extra money to help pay for kids who don’t have the money to go – we never turn any kid away due to not having money for an event,” Green said.