Integrated P.E. isn’t like the other gym classes. The class is filled with laughter, smiles, and a ton of energy. There’s never a dull moment in the class.
Integrated P.E. is a gym class that combines students with intellectually disabled students. They have a lot of fun, grow many new friendships, and of course, get active.
Mr. Dan Gooris, who has taught integrated P.E. for eight years, says he loves teaching the class.
“My favorite part of class is getting to watch the buddies interact with the leaders and see how the relationships in class grow throughout the year,” Mr. Gooris said. “I also enjoy getting to see the students in class grow from their freshman year to their senior year.”
Class begins by being serenaded into the locker room by junior Mallory Marvin,and is followed by scaring each other around the corners.
After that, they make their way to the designated gym to play games, run around, and do fun activities. It’s basically just like any other gym class in the sense of what they do everyday. They play games like soccer, tennis, floor hockey, badminton, basketball, and swimming.
But every person agrees that their favorite game to play is “dodgeflag” (a combination of dodgeball and capture the flag). Even though senior leader Justin Jost joined Integrated P.E. at the beginning of this semester, he could not have been happier with his decision.
“Every day you don’t know what to expect, but you always know it will be fun. I’ve gotten really close to the kids — I think of every one as my friend,” Jost said.
Senior leader Megan Derrig said that Integrated P.E. is the best part of her day. She thinks it is “super inspiring how motivated everyone is” in the gym class and how everyone has such a positive attitude. She loves the whole atmosphere of the class and how nice everyone is.
“It’s just genuine people learning to do physical activity. There is rarely a day you will see someone upset, or if there is someone that is upset, you know there are three people around the corner ready to help,” Derrig said.
Senior Nick Zaccari, a buddy in integrated P.E., loves to go to gym everyday. He loves being with all his friends and enjoys playing all of the heart-racing, enjoyable games (especially dodgeflag).
“[Integrated P.E. is] way better than middle school [gym]. It is way easier and it’s more fun,” Zaccari said.
Freshman Mason Reyes, another buddy in the gym class, also looks forward to going to his gym class.
“My favorite part about the class is the fun activities, Mr. Gooris, and my friends,” Reyes said. “Our friendships have grown a lot. They are my best friends.”
The buddies and leaders all hang out outside of gym class too. For instance, they will go out to lunch, bowling, or a movie, have sleepovers, or just hang out and watch TV together. Senior leader Tara Eyre was excited to join Integrated P.E. her junior year (the class is only open to juniors and seniors for leaders) because she loves how she was able to get to know a bunch of different people that she wouldn’t have able to meet otherwise.
“I wouldn’t have classes with the buddies, so it was a cool chance to get to know them,” Eyre said.
Because of the high demand of people wanting to join Integrated P.E., many people may apply (with an application from their counselor when registering for their classes the year before) but not get accepted into the class. Don’t worry though, everyone is able to join Best Buddies (a club at LHS that meets every other Tuesday) to meet and get to know the buddies.
