The third annual Bear Creek Winter Ball took over the high school and gave students a chance to have some fun who may not normally experience an event like this.
The region’s Life Skills classes descended on Kodiak grounds for the party that started at 10:30 a.m. and continued till 1 p.m. Lisa Caccia is not only an educational assistant in the Life Skills classroom but also helped greatly in making sure the event went according to plan. After the theme is picked, Caccia and her team get to work on decorations to make the Ball a memorable one and bigger than the year before.
“This year’s theme is Love and Friendship which should be a theme everyday,” said Caccia. “People are amazed when they come and see how big the event is, they always say that they weren’t expecting it to be like this. It’s like a big prom or a wedding really. Everyone from students to staff are all decked out and ready to have a blast.”
The Ball isn’t just for Bear Creek students as 25 schools around the region participate on the day and range from elementary to high schools.
Close to 300 students and 100 staff are on-hand to ensure that students from the Life Skills classes enjoy a day that they may not be able to otherwise. A local radio station was on hand along with Telus who were giving out gift bags. Caccia is very proud how everyone pulls together to help the kids have a good time.
“This is for all special needs kids and classes county-wide,” said Caccia. “Not all kids with special needs are able to go to the regular prom or semi-formal; they need supervision and to feel safe with staff who are able to properly support them. This gives them that chance to participate with everything they need and have the school memories that all kids should have.”
The Bear Creek Life Skills classroom came up with the idea for the dance a few years ago and Caccia says they are always very proud of how well it goes. Caccia credits the facility as well as other schools for being able to host events for those who need it.
“We came up with this idea for the dance and party style event, but other schools host events like track and field and such so it is really a team effort,” said Caccia. “We do the event always on a turnaround day so there are no other kids in the building and we can really focus. Some of our kids in the program need to take a break so we have a quiet room, a sensory room in order to handle that situation.”
All kids attending come with staff from their particular school and upon entering the foyer of Bear Creek, they are approached by volunteers to take their coats and escort them to their designated tables, equipped with centrepieces with their school name on it.
One student who has been to every event is 19 year old Isabelle who was excited to see her friends from other schools showing up throughout the day.
“I love the fun of it,” said Isabelle. “It’s so much fun to see my friends and I can’t even decide which part of the day is my favourite because I look forward to all of it.”
