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Page 12
January 2014
arlington high school
Something to Shout About...
Best Buddies: Making New Friends at AHS
Story by Terry Louderback
Photos courtesy of AHS Cheer
AHS Varsity (top) & JV cheer (bottom) teams pose after winning the
2013 State titles on Nov 23 in Murfreesboro.
Photo Courtesy of Best Buddies
These Best Buddies are all smiles at the Arlington High -White Station Basketball Game
on December 10 .
Tigers Sign Letters of Intent
Zach Randall, Christian Brothers University
There’s a new group in
town and it has a lot of
buddies. Best Buddies, that
is. Best Buddies is part of an
international organization
designed to promote
f r i en d sh i p s be t we e n
students with and without
intellectual
and
developmental disabilities
(IDD). When AHS Special
Education teacher Kristi
Slappey was approached to
start a Best Buddies chapter
at Arlington High, she knew
she could count on students
Carlie Carter and Ashley
Owens to help. The pair,
now juniors, were already
TAs for Special Education
classes, and serve as
President and VicePresident for the club.
After Slappey and
Carter returned from
training in Indiana and held
signups for the new club,
the response from AHS
students was overwhelming.
“But it’s a good
feeling,” Carter explains as
over 70 students joined in
the first months with “tons
of kids” applying to be peer
buddies, who are matched 1
to 1 with an IDD student.
Slappey identifies these
peer buddies as the key to
the organization’s success
in providing the IDD
students with the
opportunity to interact with
typical peers.
“Some students have
never been invited over to
someone’s house just to
watch a movie,” Slappey
states. She adds that with
some st udent s, t he
relationship can be a little
stilted at first, “but it
quickly moves to become a
standard high school
friendship.”
At AHS, ten peer
buddy pairs exist; the
remainder of the club’s
members participates in
monthly outings with group.
In December, the Buddies
attended the AHS – White
Station basketball game,
cheering the Tigers to a nail
-biting finish.
Slappey sees the impact
that participation in the
program has on the students
she teaches every day.
“They are more relaxed,”
she says, “and act like kids
instead of students.” When
peer buddies visit her
classroom during Tiger
Time, their buddies “light
up.”
Carter, who plans to
major in special education,
has known Livi, a Best
Buddy participant, since
their elementary school
days. “My friends know
that Livi and I are a team,”
she says. Because of Best
Buddies, “everyone sees
Livi as Livi, not Livi-thegirl-with-Down’sSyndrome.”
Photo by Alan Campbell
(Seated L-R) Kaylee-sister, J. Randall-father, Zach Randall, Karen Randall-mother, Austin Randall-brother.
(Standing L-R)Asst. Coaches- Rodney Patterson, J.J. Devine, Ben Glasgow, Head coach-Chris Ring, Asst. CoachShane Jackson.
Arlington High School and Head baseball coach Chris Ring are proud to
announce that Zach Randall has signed a letter of intent to continue his baseball career at the Christian Brothers University. Pitching coach Shane Jackson says "Zach is a talented pitcher with good arm-action paired with a
strong work ethic. He will be a be a great addition to CBU". Last year Zach
posted a 1.94 ERA in 13 appearances.
Juwan Burney, Delta State University
Photo Courtesy of Best Buddies
Buddies gather before the game in the AHS rotunda with a friendly tiger.
Arlington Wrestling Succeeds at Bobcat Classic
by Chris Nettleton
Photo by Alan Campbell
(Seated L-R) Jalisha Burney-sister, Nancy Burneymother, Juwan Burney, Jada Burney-sister. (Standing L-R)
Head coach-Chris Ring, Asst. Coaches- Ben Glasgow, Mike
Thees, Rodney Patterson, Shane Jackson..
Arlington High School and Head baseball coach Chris Ring are proud to
announce that Juwan Burney signed a letter of intent on November 20, 2013
to continue his baseball career at the Delta State University. Coach Ring says
that “Juwan has come a long way and worked very hard to get where he is.
He has made many contributions to the program and is very deserving of this
opportunity to play at the next level.”
The Arlington Wrestling
club hosted its annual Bobcat
classic on 12/14 at Arlington
High School. The tournament
featured talent from Shelby
County as well as wrestlers
from the Nashville area,
Jackson, MO and Little
Rock, AR. Approximately
225 wrestlers competed for
top honors. The tournament
was a success thanks to all of
the AWC members that vol-
unteered their time to ensure
that all of our guests had a
great experience and will
continue to travel to Arlington for years to come.
The Bobcats wrestled
some tough bouts, many
coming down to the wire and
exemplifying the team motto:
“Finish Strong.”
Special recognition goes
to Tournament Champions
William Westbrook, Chris
DeLuca, Doug Sattler, Luke
Kerns, and Clay Spicer.
The Bobcats will compete in two more local tournaments before they begin
their heavy travel season in
preparation for the AAU
Regional and State tournaments in March.
For more activity and
result, follow the team at
Facebook.com/Arlin