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S5 E4 - Unstoppable Spirit: The Magic of Unified PE · Inside the OSD

• 0:00
  SPEAKER 1: Today we are talking with instructors and students of our Unified Physical Education class at Oregon High School.
• 0:07
  This class is a model of inclusivity and we can't wait to hear about their most recent activities.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER 2: Welcome to this episode of Inside the OSD podcast, where it's all about the kids.
• 0:21
  Here is our host, lifelong educator, community member, and our superintendent, doctor Shannon Anderson.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER 1: Welcome to Inside the OSD. Let's start with introductions.
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  Please go ahead and introduce yourself, sharing your name and your role at Oregon High School.
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  SPEAKER 3: All right. I'll go first. My name is Caitlin Cox.
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  I am one of the teachers for Unified PE, and I've been here about ten years.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER 4: Hi, I'm Griffin Rear, I'm the other instructor for the Unified PE, and this is my second year at Oregon.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER 5: Um, I'm Liliana Rios, and I'm a junior.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER 6: I'm Murphy Coyle, and I'm also a junior.
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  I'm Tucker Malueg, I'm also a junior and I'm 17 years old.
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  SPEAKER 1: Thank you. So I would like to start with our class instructors.
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  Can you please just give us a brief overview of this class and how it came to be and how it works?
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  SPEAKER 4: Sure. Unified PE. It is an inclusive PE class where we have students with disabilities that we refer to as our athletes that are partnered
• 1:34
  up with our regular Ed peers, who we call our partners.
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  So before I came to Oregon, they already had an Adapted PE program, which laid a great foundation,
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  which had some peer helpers that came in and helped the class.
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  Last year, we started this transition to go into Unified with the idea that we can get closer to a 1 to 1 pairing and shifting more from that helper
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  dynamic from the partners into a leadership position for them.
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  SPEAKER 1: So what do you see as being really special about this specific class and the group of students who are enrolled in the class?
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  SPEAKER 3: If you walk into--the studio is where we meet every day.
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  You will see a wide range of people, from our athletes to our partners to the EAs,
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  to the instructors. There's a lot of us in the room, and we all have different strengths,
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  different weaknesses, but it all works together.
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  I'm actually going to steal something that Lily said in class the other day is that we are more than a class.
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  We're a family, and that it really is. Everyone is there for the same goal to be active and included,
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  but it has gone beyond that to be just this special place where everyone gets to be themselves and their needs get to be met in a physical activity.
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  SPEAKER 1: That sounds like a really strong sense of community.
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  SPEAKER 7: It is.
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  SPEAKER 1: So I'd love to hear now from our students.
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  What is it like being part of this class and what what are your favorite parts about the class?
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  SPEAKER 6: I think my favorite part about the class by far is being able to take like a leadership position and,
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  and help people, but also have other people teach me things like, uh, there isn't a day in that class where I don't learn something new
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  that isn't the most interesting thing I've ever heard of.
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  SPEAKER 1: Oh, I love that.
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  SPEAKER 6: So there's always something going on.
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  SPEAKER 1: Yeah.
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  SPEAKER 5: Um, yeah, I just say it's enjoyable and it's a very welcoming space.
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  And our athletes get to move at their own pace and we help cheer them on.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER 8: And I would probably would say my favorite thing is doing like freeze tag in gym class.
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  SPEAKER 1: Freeze tag is pretty fun. So, um, maybe just in 1 or 2 words.
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  How would you each describe the energy in Unified PE?
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  SPEAKER 6: It's very upbeat, like it's going. Okay.
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  SPEAKER 8: Energetic.
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  SPEAKER 6: Energetic.
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  SPEAKER 3: I would say it's heartwarming. Um, and with a dash of chaos.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER 4: In one word, I would say joyful, joyful.
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  SPEAKER 1: So I know this class recently held a special pep rally in honor of homecoming.
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  Um, instructors, this was an event that I think really went above and beyond just regular course duties.
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  Why was it important for you to create this event and what all was involved in putting it together?
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  SPEAKER 3: So last year, when it was Mr. Rear's first year in the district, and we were kind of going over what to expect around homecoming,
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  he just said he just stopped. I remember vividly in his office, he goes, "what if we did our own pep rally?" And it was one of those moments
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  where we made eye contact. We're like, "all right, we're in. We're doing it. Let's see what happens." So it was our trial year last
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  year. And all of the students with us today, Lily, Murphy, and Tucker experienced it last year.
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  Then this year we decided we're going to try to go a little bit bigger.
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  Mhm. Um, but it was it was very successful and a lot of fun.
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  SPEAKER 4: Yeah. It has been a highlight of my time.
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  I've been here two years, but it is, it is definitely a highlight of my time here and the class.
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  And it just brings everything together what the class is about.
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  With the teamwork and, and coming together to a common goal and the amount of joy that it seems to bring.
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  Everybody makes it all worth it.
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  SPEAKER 1: So students, what was it like to be a part of the pep rally and see all the fans in the audience?
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  SPEAKER 8: The dance off, I would say.
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  SPEAKER 1: Yeah. Was that your favorite part?
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  SPEAKER 8: Uh, yeah, because I was enjoying it and it was super duper great.
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  So first off, with our song, we did like a little bit like a starting point where a SpongeBob SquarePants song and then a song from
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  Turbo. And then "I Got The Feeling" from Trolls.
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  And then, uh, "You Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story.
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  SPEAKER 1: I'm impressed that you remember all the songs that were in the dance. That sounds awesome.
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  SPEAKER 5: I love seeing everyone, like, come and, like, cheering on each other and like, seeing everyone's contributing
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  contribution to it and how fun and energetic everyone was.
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  SPEAKER 7: Mhm.
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  SPEAKER 6: I just liked hanging out with that meant that was, that was my favorite.
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  SPEAKER 1: So is there anything else that you would like to share about the class or the pep rally that you want to make sure our listeners hear?
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  SPEAKER 3: I'll add that it's more--our class is doing a lot of the work.
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  The partners are crucial in helping this be successful.
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  They're the ones driving how to dance, but we also reach out to student council to figure out what the games are going to be,
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  so we can model them in our pep rally and our own way.
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  And so it's really great to get that whole, um, group atmosphere in there.
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  SPEAKER 7: Mhm.
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  SPEAKER 1: So, um, I'm curious if students are interested in becoming partners, um, in Unified PE,
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  how, how would students get involved in this class?
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  SPEAKER 4: We welcome any student that would be interested to apply now because of the nature of it.
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  And there is a big leadership component.
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  Miss Cox and I will look through each of the people who want to be a part of it,
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  and we're a little more selective just because of that. But the things that we're looking for,
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  we're not necessarily looking for the best athletes.
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  We're looking for people who have the most heart for this kind of work, right?
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  People who bring a lot of empathy. A lot of patience, a lot of positive energy,
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  and a desire to build meaningful relationships with some different students that they may not normally come across.
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  Which are things that we see in Murphy and Lily and all of our other partners that we have.
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  It's also a great opportunity if anybody is interested in going into fields in education,
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  special education, health care, this would be a great way to kind of springboard that.
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  And anyone who is interested and thinks that might be something you're interested in,
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  please sign up.
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  SPEAKER 1: It sounds like a really great opportunity.
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  So before we wrap up, I would love to hear from each of you.
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  What is one key takeaway or piece of advice that you would like to leave with our listeners,
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  and would you be willing to start us off, Tucker?
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  SPEAKER 8: It's fun getting to work with different partners.
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  SPEAKER 1: So you get to work with different partners in the class.
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  SPEAKER 8: So yeah, so far I've been with like Violet and Rowan and
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  Teagan, so far. Okay.
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  SPEAKER 1: So you get to meet a lot of different students? So that's a good part.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER 8: Yep.
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  SPEAKER 1: Thank you.
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  SPEAKER 6: Yeah, I think I think that's definitely also my favorite part is the working with different people and like switching around.
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  You get to meet so many different new people and try different new experiences.
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  And the switching weekly keeps it kind of routine.
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  SPEAKER 8: Is that your favorite thing too, Lilliana?
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  SPEAKER 5: Um, I say like, everyone moves at their own pace and like, there's no judgment in the class and like,
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  you'll walk away feeling like you did something good for them.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER 8: Oh, okay.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER 4: Yeah. So this is a class where you might find something in you you didn't know that you already had.
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  SPEAKER 7: Mhm.
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  SPEAKER 3: I think one of the best parts of teaching, there's lots of parts of teaching this class that are very amazing,
• 10:00
  but it's the little moments that you get to witness between athletes and partners.
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  Um, just today, seeing an athlete and a partner before I got there, sitting together and talking about who knows what,
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  but they were both just really into their conversation.
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  SPEAKER 1: Excellent. Well, thank you so much for your time today and telling our listeners a little bit about Unified PE and what a great experience it is.
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  Um, for all of our, our students here at Oregon High
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  School. Thank you.
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  SPEAKER 4: Thank you so much for having us.
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  SPEAKER 9: You can find this podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts and links to all episodes are on our website at Oregonsd.org.
• 10:45
  Make sure to subscribe and follow Inside the OSD so you'll never miss an episode.
• 10:51
  We'll see you next time on Inside the OSD, where it's all about the kids.