Beyond sharing school grounds, the two schools
have a history of shared programming. The students
attend monthly Masses together and participate
in the Best Buddies program, where students from
each school are paired and given opportunities to
develop friendships through group activities
and outings.
The schools see the bocce team as an opportunity
to broaden their interscholastic programming and
further develop their relationship. “We want our
students to be treated as equal peers. And that’s
happening through Unified Bocce Ball. General
education students and students with special needs
come together to form one team where everybody
is treated equally,” says Kathleen Gould, Director of
Special Education at the Office of Catholic
Education (OCE).
Meet the
Student— Athletes
Archbishop John Carroll
High School
Fatima Brown (senior)
Madigan Gallagher (senior)
Mirabelle Gallagher (sophomore)
Mikayla Kloc (sophomore)
Elizabeth Woodland (freshman)
St. Katherine School
Rose ‘Muffy’ Tulskie (20 years old)
Matt Rodgers (17 years old)
Matt McKeon (17 years old)
“Everybody carries their own weight and is part
of that team,” Gould continues. “Not only does
this promote independence for our students with
special needs, but it also promotes awareness for
everybody—to show abilities and not disabilities.”
The team practices twice a week for 60 to 90
minutes, following Pennsylvania Interscholastic
Athletic Association (PIAA) bylaws. PIAA also
requires that no more than 60 percent of the team
be composed of either general education or special
education students.
“We have been very fortunate to develop a great
working relationship with Mike Bovino at Special
Olympics Pennsylvania, which provided funding for
uniforms, a coaching stipend and the materials to
set-up the bocce court,” explains Executive Director
of Athletics at OCE, Stephen Haug. “In addition, Tom
Quintois, Archbishop Carroll Athletic Director, has
been a tremendous asset to this endeavor and was
very familiar with Unified Sports from his previous
work experience at Souderton High School.”
17