Turner Today
Special Olympics
By Gregory Rogers
The Turner Special Education department participated in the Greater Dallas Area Special Olympics Bowling Competition. There was lots of cheering, clapping, and striking to be enjoyed by parents, teachers, and CFB students alike at USA Bowl in Dallas.
"My favorite part is seeing the enjoyment on the kids' faces," said Mrs. Eshenour, Developmental Center Teacher at R.L. Turner.
The Special Olympics tournament was started in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver (sister of John F Kennedy) in honor of their older sister, Rosemary, who had Intellectual Disabilities. Since then, Special Olympics has allowed those with special needs to compete in competitions the same way their peers would without being stalled by their disabilities.
"My favorite part was being with Kym while I bowled," said Elizabeth Harley, Turner student.
Peer helpers and a select group of R.L. Turner athletics were also invited to attend the competition to help students bowl and cheer them on while they played. There was also another guest, Channel 5 news made an appearance to televise the event.
"I was excited to be on Channel 5 news, it was really cool," said Josh Soriano, Turner student.
The Greater Dallas Area Special Olympics hosts the 10 day Bowling Competition in Fall, and the Track and Field Games in Spring. There are also Dallas area teams for golf, basketball, and even bocci ball.
"We practice hard to play hard," said Karl Pezoa, Turner student.
The students practiced bowling weeks in advance for this competition, and on the actual game day they gave it their best. During the competition students like Katie Schuh made plenty of strikes, and at the end everyone won medals.
"We practiced hard for Special Olympics to get better, and to be the greatest athletes," Josh said.