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Health & Fitness

The Duckie Derby is Coming to Town!

The Duckie Derby is back again and benefits St. Catherine Academy, a school in Fairfield for children with special needs.

Hey there Fairfield, we needed help sorting and counting ducks for the Duckie Derby scheduled for May 19 on the Mill River.

What’s that I hear? The job has been taken by the students at St. Catherine Academy who said they wanted the job? That is just GREAT!

St. Catherine Academy is a school right here in Fairfield for students with special needs and intellectual disabilities. I think we can all agree, that the children we all know with a special need are often the first to share a smile and the last to say anything negative; they are refreshingly honest, charming and filled with joy.

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Not long ago, I had lunch with a wonderful young girl at St.Catherine Academy and she shared the names of all her classmates with me. She told me they were all “really good friends”  who cared for each other and helped one another. This young gal also told me about her teachers and how much the meant to her. She looked around at her school and her eyes glistened. She was filledwith joy and felt safe, nurtured and loved. Given her needs, St. Catherine Academy is a perfect fit for her educational and emotional needs.

No doubt, mainstream education in the public schools is a good approach for many students and many families. Yet, it is also true that different students have dramatically different needs. Having St. Catherine Academy as an option has proved to be a blessing for many families!

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St. Catherine Academy is a wonderful option for the students who need a more specialized and individualized approach to education. Many students are placed here by their school districts; others are placed by their families. Everyone agrees that St. Catherine Academy is a one of a kind gem of a school for children with significant special needs. Please look into the academic, life skills and vocational skills approach to the curriculum. More than half the students are in job placements as the get older and ready to graduate reinforcing the mission that students with significant special needs can lead meaningful and productive lives.

This May, students at St. Catherine Academy will be sorting over 1,000 numbered rubber ducks for the big race on May 19 at the Mill River. What a fun way to reinforce math skills, organizing skills,motor skills and team work. All children love rubber ducks but for thesestudents it means so much more because 100 percent of the proceeds raised for the event helps to offset the tuition costs for families. 

Won’t you be a part of our big day?

Go for it…. Have some fun and buy a Duckie Derby race duck ticket, get it for yourself or in honor of these students or a person you know struggling with a special need! Get your Race Duck Ticket for a $10 donation or for $15.00 get a big duck to decorate for the annual Beauty Contest. Come to the Duckie Derby and cheer on your duck. I bet you might be a real winner!

To get ducks, just visit our sponsors: The Bank of Fairfield or Whole Foods Market of Fairfield. We hope to see you on May 19 at Mill River. The festivities begin at 1 p.m. The young at heart and people of all abilities are welcomed whole heartedly!

For more information, visit www.fairfieldcountyduckiederby.com or www.StCatherineAcademy.org

Friend St. Catherine Academy on Facebook!

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