Forsyth Central Hosts Greatest Gift Week

CUMMING, GA — Forsyth Central High School DECA is hosting The Greatest Gift Week to celebrate the school’s exceptional students, teachers, and special education programs. The week will take place on Dec. 2-6 at Forsyth Central High School. This week will help to advocate for the acceptance for all students regardless of their exceptionalities.

The students at Forsyth Central are promoting awareness of a different exceptionality each day. Monday was dedicated to Autism Spectrum Disorder awareness, Tuesday educated students on Specific Learning Disabilities, Wednesday will be dedicated to Orthopedic Impairments, and Thursday will raise awareness for Severe and Profound Intellectual Disabilities. The students will end the week with a Christmas and Holiday Social, which will bring exceptional students and general education students together to build relationships and celebrate the holidays. They will make Christmas ornaments, decorate cookies, play games, and get to know one another. Students will also have the opportunity to volunteer each day to spend time getting to know exceptional students through various sensory activities during the school day throughout the week.

The Forsyth Central Administration and teachers are also excited about the opportunities this week brings to general education students and exceptional students. When discussing The Greatest Gift Week with Forsyth Central’s Special Education Lead Department Chair, Julie Ellington, she explained that “This week will allow more students to spend time together. This allows them to become more aware of their differences and understand each other . The more that we understand each other, the more that we get involved and support each other as a family."

Forsyth Central High School Principal Mitch Young believes that all students can benefit by being involved with this event. Young stated, “The Greatest Gift Week is an outward reminder of what we are about as a school. We are all about selfless service and giving back to our community. We work to make sure that everyone feels included and connected at our school. And this is just an outward extension of that culture that we have here.”