Every Tuesday at Buchser Middle School in Santa Clara, a group of sixth grade students dine together. While this doesn’t seem out of the ordinary in that many groups of students sit together weekly or daily, this group of students is part of a special group: Buchser Circle of Friends. COF is a friendship group that aims to integrate and promote social inclusion of children with disabilities. During lunch, the students play games, talk about strategies to help those with disabilities, and participate in team building activities. Recently the group, which started in February, developed its own handshake. On March 21, World Down Syndrome Day, the Circle of Friends wore their WDSD buttons for a very special friend with Down syndrome, Jeremy Hovey. Instead of excluding someone with a disability, Circle of Friends students make everyone feel warm, welcome and wonderful.
