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Farley FCCLA Team Brings Home State Title
An FCCLA team of 7th grade students from Farley Middle School is advancing to the national competition in Atlanta this summer after winning the recent state competition in Dallas.
The team of Alexx Davis, Claire Mellors and Ella Overholser competed in the category of Focus on Children - Junior. They worked to research the specific disabilities of functional academics and life skills students in order to create and execute a holiday party where those students would feel included. The students worked with functional academics teachers Mrs. Gass and Mrs. Armstrong to learn more about the individual needs of the students, as well as conditions such as Down Syndrom, Cerebral Palsy, and Autism. They came up with several fun and creative sensory appropriate games for the students, chose snacks and prizes that worked well for them and even recruited a Santa for the party. The girls worked with other volunteers to help make sure that every student felt special and had a good time.
For the state competition, the team competed against 18 other teams in their event. One other team was comprised of middle school students, and the rest were high school students. For winning first place, the girls get to compete at Nationals, and they were each awarded a minimum scholarship of $4,000 to Texas Tech University.
The team of Alexx Davis, Claire Mellors and Ella Overholser competed in the category of Focus on Children - Junior. They worked to research the specific disabilities of functional academics and life skills students in order to create and execute a holiday party where those students would feel included. The students worked with functional academics teachers Mrs. Gass and Mrs. Armstrong to learn more about the individual needs of the students, as well as conditions such as Down Syndrom, Cerebral Palsy, and Autism. They came up with several fun and creative sensory appropriate games for the students, chose snacks and prizes that worked well for them and even recruited a Santa for the party. The girls worked with other volunteers to help make sure that every student felt special and had a good time.
For the state competition, the team competed against 18 other teams in their event. One other team was comprised of middle school students, and the rest were high school students. For winning first place, the girls get to compete at Nationals, and they were each awarded a minimum scholarship of $4,000 to Texas Tech University.
"I am so proud of them, not only for their hard work on their project but that they understand what it means to be a Hippo. They learned valuable life skills that will serve them well," said FCCLA teacher Lynette Gutierrez. "Their time management, collaboration, public speaking and research skills were dramatically improved, and as a result of FCCLA, their confidence skyrocketed! The girls are compassionate, hardworking and dedicated to making sure that differences are celebrated not excluded. These are the type of leaders that Hutto ISD is helping to succeed and I am honored to be a part of it!"
The team members said they are very grateful for the opportunity and the scholarships but, most of all, they are so thankful they were able to provide a fun event for students who often get left out of the general education activities.
The team members said they are very grateful for the opportunity and the scholarships but, most of all, they are so thankful they were able to provide a fun event for students who often get left out of the general education activities.
(L-R): Alexx Davis, Ella Overholser, Claire Mellors