March 21st is World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD.) “It is a global awareness day which has been officially observed by the United Nations since 2012. Down Syndrome International (DSI) encourages friends all over the world to raise awareness of what Down Syndrome is, what it means to have Down Syndrome, and how people with Down Syndrome play a vital role in our lives and communities.” Watch this link –   WE ARE MORE ALIKE THAN DIFFERENT

Now we would like you to meet a few special people related to our Cottage Lane family.

Meet Stevie Star!

Welcome to the world, Stevie Star Grennan!  She is Mrs. Grennan’s new grand niece.  Stevie lives in New Zealand and was born on February 16th.

Meet Lily!

Quinn Rann, a fourth grader at CLE, has a little sister named Lily who also rocks the extra chromosome! Lily is in first grader at WOS and loves going to school every day.  She likes to play with her friends, hug her teachers, make art and play on the monkey bars! Lily loves to do gymnastics, dance, and eat yummy food.  She’s quick to take care of sick sibling or a sad friend. Her favorite activity at home is to call her all of her extended family members and see how their day is going.  It’s hard not to smile when Lily is around!

Meet John!

John is Mrs. Traynor’s nephew. John is 16 years old and attends McDowell Intermediate High School.  He plays baseball and won a bronze medal for bowling in the Special Olympics.  John loves Night to Shine Dance, Nightmare at Christmas, and spending time with his best girl, Sophia.

Meet Michael!

Michael is Mrs. McBride’s nephew.  Michael is 19 years old. He is a super senior at Nanuet High School.  Michael loves spending time with his cousins and enjoys bowling, floor hockey and basketball. His favorite restaurant is Noonan’s in Pearl River.  He is everyone’s biggest fan, and we are his!

So… Are we more alike or different?

Check out all these wonderful resources from Mrs. Traynor to learn more about World Down Syndrome Day.

What can you do?

1. Please sign the pledge (as a class or with your parents) to End The R-word here.  This video explains why you should stop and encourage others to do the same –  END THE R-Word.
2. To help spread awareness wear#LotsOfSocks! But not just any socks…wear official #LotsOfSocks socks, other brightly colored socks, long socks, printed socks, 1 sock… even 3 socks for 3 chromosomes.
3. Walk with the SOCSD Community on Tuesday, March 21st from 4:30-5:15 at the TZHS track.
4. Wear something people will ask you about so that you can tell them all about WDSD and not to use the R word.

We would like to highlight this video because it just warms our heart!