The lanes at the Tivoli Bowl the afternoon of Jan. 19 were filled with the sounds of students and teachers laughing, giving each other high-fives, and just enjoying each other’s company.

This was an outing of O’Neill Middle School’s brand-new STARR Club, which stands for Students Together Achieving Rewarding Relationships. The brand-new club already has about 45 members, 30 of whom participate every week.

Downers Grove North and South high schools each have a club that facilitates relationships between the special education and non-special education students. While O’Neill had something along these lines in the form of the recycling club, co-sponsor and O’Neill Developmental Learning Program teacher Sean Rhoads thought it could be turned into something even more meaningful.

And so the STARR Club was created.

“This is a chance for all members to learn about students with different abilities. It’s a great experience,” said Charlie Caton, an O’Neill social worker and the club’s co-sponsor along with Rhoads and O’Neill AEP teacher Katelyn Conrad.

Rhoads and Caton teamed up and e-mailed their colleagues at O’Neill, asking them to select students whom they thought would be assets to the club. Every single student that was invited to participate accepted—and the club continues to grow, with two to three new members joining the ranks every week or two.

“It’s really been magnifying more than we anticipated,” Rhoads said. “The students are so receptive, and so willing to lend a helping hand, and that’s what it all comes down to.”

The club meets after school on Thursdays. They have continued working together to take care of the school’s recycling program in order to maintain a focus on service and the environment, but afterwards  they participate in a fun activity to promote relationships and building social skills. These have included playing board games, card games, and Wii.

And thanks to generous sponsorship from the Downers Grove Rotary Club, STARR participants are enjoying some fun community outings, like their recent trip to the Tivoli Bowl.

“This gives us a chance to take the social skills our students have been working on and apply them in the community,” Rhoads said.  

All of the feedback from staff and parents has been extremely positive, and the students are enjoying the experience immensely.

Eighth-grader Bridget Healy said she thought STARR Club would be a great opportunity.

“Most schools don’t have a group like this for special needs students,” she said.

Healy said the group has made posters throughout the year and hung them up throughout the school, including Thanksgiving posters about what they were grateful for. They also collect the recycling from all of the classrooms, which is a big job, she said.

Seventh-grader Steven Jordan said participating in the club has been a very positive experience. “Every time I come here, I get happier and happier,” he said. “I’m really glad it’s here.”

“I think it’s a great program—it’s a chance to meet new people and get to know new friends.  I’m getting to know people better every week,” said seventh-grader Sam Adank.

Caton said STARR Club is an opportunity for a students with a great mix of varying talents to spend time together and learn from one another.

“This club will have a lasting impression on our students,” Rhoads said.