{"id":12214,"date":"2024-05-31T08:55:21","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T12:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=12214"},"modified":"2024-05-31T08:55:21","modified_gmt":"2024-05-31T12:55:21","slug":"tallwood-high-school-hosts-the-little-feet-meet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/tallwood-high-school-hosts-the-little-feet-meet\/","title":{"rendered":"Tallwood High School hosts the Little Feet Meet"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Student athletes and their peer buddies enjoyed the Little Feet Meet on May 8 at Tallwood High School. From left, Kempsville Elementary students Logan Pugmire, Keonta Harris, and Dylan McLane.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kempsville Elementary special education teacher Hannah Davis said everyone benefits from the Little Feet Meet, where students with developmental disabilities compete in track and field events with the support of their general education peers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really cool because they get to build relationships,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n

Logan Pugmire said he enjoys spending time with his buddy Keonta Harris. \u201cI just like helping him,\u201d the Kempsville Elementary fourth grader said. \u201cIt\u2019s fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Tallwood High School students volunteered at the Little Feet Meet on May 8 at their school. All the athletes earned ribbons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Student athletes and their peer buddies filled the Tallwood High School stadium for the annual event May 8. Most of the more than 300 athletes and buddies stepped off school buses and marched proudly into the stadium amid cheers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>About 100 Tallwood High student volunteers cheered on and helped the students at the event, which is a partnership with Special Olympics Virginia.<\/p>\n

Superintendent Dr. Donald Robertson Jr. welcomed the crowd during the opening ceremony and led the reciting of the Special Olympics athlete oath: \u201cLet me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Members of the Virginia Beach Sherriff’s Ofice and Virginia Beach Police Department participated in the Little Feet Meet’s opening ceremony.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Members of the Virginia Beach Sherriff\u2019s Office and Virginia Beach Police Department carried a lighted torch, signifying the fun and games were in session.<\/p>\n

The field buzzed with track and field activities, including volleyball, soccer, an obstacle course, 50-meter dash, and lots more. Participants also danced, blew bubbles, and took plenty of water breaks. Everyone earned ribbons.<\/p>\n

Peer buddies serve in mentor roles for students with developmental disabilities during the school year.<\/p>\n

Several Kempsville High football players also joined the Kempsville Elementary crew for the day.\u00a0 They began helping the athletes prepare in January during their physical education classes.<\/p>\n

Junior Colton Wheeler said the players benefited from their weekly visits to the school, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe now have such a special relationship,\u201d he said. \u201cThey persevered and got better and better each week.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Anne Marie Vaughan-Meer helped her daughter Skylar, who attends Pembroke Elementary, during an obstacle course at the Little Feet Meet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rashawnda Rives watched her daughter Blythe send a parachute into the air with her buddy, fourth grader Kylie Matel.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s having a ball,\u201d Rives said. Her daughter attends Glenwood Elementary.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe peer buddies are amazing and awesome and are always there to cheer them on,\u201d Rives said.<\/p>\n

Cameron Stevenson gave his buddy Kenley Mennona a big hug before they headed to the water station after participating in lots of activities.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Kenley Mennona gave a thumbs up with Cameron Stevenson. The Windsor Woods Elementary students were part of the more than 300 students who participated in this year’s Little Feet Meet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The pair attend Windsor Woods Elementary, where Cameron visits Kenley\u2019s fourth grade classroom most mornings. Kenley said being a peer buddy since second grade has made her a responsible student.<\/p>\n

\u201cI make good decisions and I like to help others,\u201d she said. \u201cIt makes me feel happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tallwood High seniors Zionte Corprew and Trinity Silmon served as volunteers. They high-fived the athletes as they crossed the finish line after running 50 meters.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great thing to help these kids,\u201d Trinity said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing these kids have fun is what it\u2019s all about,\u201d Zionte added.<\/p>\n

Brooke Dorsey, a Three Oaks Elementary fourth grader, coached her buddy Zoey Nava as she focused on the long jump. \u201cYou can do it!\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Brooke said the pair practiced every Wednesday at school, and they always say hi when they see each other in the hallway.<\/p>\n

Three Oaks Elementary special education teacher Meghan Jackson said the event shows students how they can achieve their goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday they have the chance to showcase what they have worked for all year,\u201d she said. \u201cThey are all capable and all winners.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Three Oaks Elementary student Zoey Nava prepared for the long jump at the Little Feet Meet while being encouraged by her classmates.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
More than 300 athletes and peer buddies participated in track and field activities at the Little Feet Meet.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Students ran 50 meters during the Little Feet Meet on May 8 at Tallwood High School.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kempsville Elementary special education teacher Hannah Davis said everyone benefits from the Little Feet Meet, where students with developmental disabilities compete in track and field events with the support of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":12219,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12214"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12233,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12214\/revisions\/12233"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}