Cooper attends a local mainstream primary school ( at this stage Cooper is the only child at his school who receives integration support and funding) in the State of Victoria. We love his school, he loves his school. It has around 300 kids, a strong community spirit, and really really wonderful kids and teachers.
Within Victoria the Australia Day Committee support a program called Aussie of the Month. Schools all over Victoria participate and each month each school chooses a student to receive
this award.
At assembly on Friday, Cooper was the recipient of the award for his community spirit both within and outside the school. He received a badge to wear all month, a certificate and big applause from his peers. He used his walker to get into the little lift, pressed the button to go up and accessed the stage independently.
He was so so proud of himself. His sister was his biggest fan all weekend saying how proud she was of him on the stage.( pictured below hitching a ride on his powerchair up to the Farmers market)
He will proudly wear his badge to school tomorrow. We are just so proud of this Little Aussie!
Posted with Blogsy
15 comments:
Love your work Cooper!
Fantastic. Well deserved - very impressed they have a lift on to the stage! Is it a BER building? And just have to ask - what's with the cow on the stage?! ;) x Di
Yeahh - Go Cooper! - Very well deserved.
Although, I am very shocked that Cooper is the only child to receive funding in Victoria - are there no other kids with SEN integrated into the mainstream setting?
Oh sorry to clarify I meant at his school! ( and the point was moreso to comment on what a great job they do even though they have not had any CP experience) Naturally there are lots of fantastic inclusive schools across Victoria and other states here in Australia that include kids with the support of gov integration funding.
Hi Di, the school got a complete overhaul approved just before the Stimulus packages were announced. The lift is good, just two steps height and good for anyone who attends or visits the school with mobilty issues. ( i have had to on a few occassions explainn to parents its not " coopers " lift, it was in the building plans beforee he enroled and is part of the gov making sure buildings meet better access regulations. ;)
Thanks Alison! How are you and the family? Think of you all very often x
So many reasons to be proud!! I love the lift too. When Campbell was in a mainstream class he was carried onto the stage :/
Fantastic Bron! Congratulations Cooper! Love the pics xoxo
Cooper really is an inspiring wee lad! Congratulations :)
Hello Sara, so lovely to hear from you xx missed you since i went cold turkey from facebook! ;) hope you are well xx
That's great. We have a wheelchair/walker lift that was added to the school last year - but it goes up about 20 steps to access the main building from the rear. Sadly it got vandalIsed in last summer hols but is back working again now. But on onto stage would be great! Di
Thanks Anna, lovely to see you here x
Thanks Melissa, yes indeed many a reason! I think the ability to get the award independently won me over the actual award ;) he is lucky to have good access at school makes up for the inaccessible home!
Greetings from the USA! Thanks for stopping by on my blog! I must say congrats to your Cooper! What an amazing honor! And I'm very impressed with his school and their commitment to providing accessibility for all. It gives me a lot of hope for my little boy with CP.
Yaye Cooper!!! Congratulations!!!
Post a Comment