SHS to host ‘All Star Olympics’ for special education students Friday

It all started with an idea by special education teacher Zachary Ponder.

After a challenging year of pandemic precautions and limited time in school, Ponder thought it would be nice to provide an end-of-the-year activity for the special education students at Sandpoint High School.

Ponder, who’s been teaching physical education to his life skills class because students didn’t have their adaptive P.E. teacher during the second semester. He pitched the idea to one of his teaching assistants and, before he knew it, things were taking off.

“I was like, ‘let’s have an Olympics at the end of the year,’” he said. “The Gen Ed teachers got involved and the student council got involved and now it’s blowing up.”

Initially, he said, his students were open to the idea. They started warming up to it more when other teachers and students got involved, but most of all when the event got mentioned by the Cedar Post student newspaper.

“We’ve been slowly pumping it up with the involvement from the other teachers and students,” he said. “I think what really turned them onto it is when we got our slide on the announcements.”

Now, he said, 18 students will be competing in four events at the “All Star Olympics,” including a 400-meter race, shot put, a 100-meter dash and a relay race.

The event will also include some of the life skill students from Sandpoint Middle School, Ponder said. The group is planning to bring it back next year, and is also discussing inviting other students from Bonner County and surrounding districts in the future.

The event, in large part, is taking place thanks to efforts by two of his TAs, Molly Balison and Taylor Sadewic.

“I brought the idea up and they ran with it,” Ponder said.

Since then, the event has gained traction and support from people throughout the school and parents.

Student council started making banners and fliers for the event, he said, and a business class created T-shirts for the competitors.

Welding helped create medals to award students, SHS cheer donated pom-poms, and Balison and Sadewic’s parents are donating fitness equipment and snacks for the event.

The event will start at 10 a.m. Friday at the SHS track, with an opening ceremony, award ceremony and closing ceremony, as well as a pizza party for participants after the event.

The whole school is getting involved in supporting our special needs students,” wrote SHS staff member Miles Small, “as well as many in the community including the Elks Club, Missy Balison Fitness, Riverstone Century 21 Realty, and many others.