Today the students of St. Catherine Academy were filled with anticipation for this weekend’s Duckie Derby race and Decorator Duck contest. Each of the 21 students has a race duck number and each of the 21 students have tapped into their creativity and decorated a duck for the upcoming beauty contest. Perhaps their excitement and anticipation runs deeper then the fun of yellow rubber ducks. They know this event is for them because they matter to us. For years these beautiful children have been struggling with disabilities. For all of them, mainstream public education was not the best fit. On the kindness spectrum, these students have perhaps the biggest hearts, the quickest smiles and the deepest compassion for one another. On the educational spectrum, they also have some of the greatest challenges often compounded by physical limitations.
St. Catherine Academy has a wonderful approach to the elementary, middle and high school programs. The combination of academics and life skill training prove to be a powerful combination as evidenced by the stories of the students’ growth. These success stories are deeply emotional and inspiring. St. Catherine Academy is a school located here in Fairfield where learning and caring lead to personal best for children with significant special needs. On Saturday May 22nd, the Duckie Derby proceeds will go to purchase supplies for their media room at the school. This media room is a place where students, staff and volunteers can come together and work on individual educational projects, ranging from computerized flash cards to resume writing for job placements. Just down the hall is another special class room where the students work with volunteers to make the “Perfect Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches” that they then carefully wrap and donate to homeless people at Merton House in Bridgeport. It is a school where “learning and caring lead to personal best.”
Please join us at Mill River at on Saturday, May 22nd at 1:00. The event is free to attend but we encourage you to sponsor a $10 race duck and help us meet our goal to supply the SCA students’ media room with equipment that will facilitate their learning and develop caring relationships with each other and community volunteers who will tutor them. Let’s all join the SCA students on the kindness spectrum by showing that we too have big hearts, quick smiles and deep compassion for one another! For more information on SCA, please visit www.stcatherineacademy.org or call Helen Burland 203-540-5381 to arrange for a visit.
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