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Members of the Knights of Columbus chapter in Pella will gather at local grocery stores for the final day of their Campaign for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities.
They’ll be joined by athletes from Pella and Pella Christian high school to receive donations that go to both districts and Christian Opportunity Center.
Nicole Van Wyk is a special education teacher at Pella Christian High School, and says they are expanding their program to include improved science education.
“This year we’re starting something new, I’m going to be working with a biology teacher and going into the biology classroom to work with a variety of different students,” she says. “We’re actually going to be in the classroom doing hands-on with labs and everything that every other student is doing.”
Van Wyk says they typically have 8-12 students throughout the various grade levels with special needs, but they face challenges with their resources.
“Sometimes, there are things that we want to do, such as get out into the community or get them those hands on life skills in the community, or get somebody to be in the classroom with them,” she says. “I’m going into biology because that works this year, but there are others classes that we think, ‘oh, if there was person or extra teacher, parent, or aid that classroom, that’d it be very beneficial for the student.”
The Knights of Columbus Campaign for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities ends today.