Every February, Oshkosh North hosts a Valentine’s day dance for students with disabilities from all around the district. This year it will be held on February 16th from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm in the Oshkosh North field house, and they are currently in need of donations for food catering. Ms. Michalski has started a Mighty Cause fundraiser, with a goal of $600. The food will be sourced from OASD catering, and the menu will consist of some crowd favorites: chicken nuggets, fries, and a cookie! 

This dance is incredibly important for these students as they often do not attend other school dances. It gives them the opportunity to have fun and socialize with their peers, as well as meet new people! After four years of running the dance, Beth Simon has now stepped down from that position and Ms. Michalski, the new adaptive teacher, is overseeing the preparations for the dance.

“These students have disabilities and face various different barriers that don’t always allow them to participate in extracurriculars,” she said, “so this is important to them.” Many of these students also face difficulties with transportation as some of them have mobility aids. The Valentine’s Day Dance allows for these students to be taken to North safely and efficiently, as the dance is also mobility aid-friendly. 

There is also an adaptive P.E. course at North taught by Cindy Suess, who has been working at the dance since it began. “The Valentine’s day dance is an opportunity for the students in adaptive P.E. class to have a dance that’s basically about them,” she said, “most of them, you know…don’t attend homecoming, winter formal, or prom. This is all three of those dances culminated into one. They get super excited about it.”

Please consider donating to a good cause, and supporting students from around the district!

Link: Mighty Cause Donation Site