Author: Sandy Selig

Summer at Felicity is a time where we are offered the opportunity to work on social skills in non-stressful settings. We had plenty of fun on these adventures and staff enjoys providing our students with these rewards for their hard work over summer. Here is the list of outings students have gotten to attend on Fridays: Par King, Antioch Theatre, River Rand Bowl, Lambs Farm, and a trip to the Equine Center.

Park King: At Par King, students and staff were able to enjoy a round of 18 at one of the most well-known mini golf courses around. Whether they were just there to have fun, or competing with staff members for the highest score, laughs were heard all throughout the course!

Antioch Theatre: Staff and students were treated to a private viewing of DC’s newest movie “The Flash”. Established in 1924, Antioch Theatre provides a cool throwback experience, that reminded our older staff of times gone by.

River Rand Bowl: The competitive juices were flowing at River Rand Bowl, as students went head-to-head against their fellow classmates, and staff in 3 games of bowling!

Lambs Farm: Lambs Farm in Libertyville provides endless entertainment for staff and students to enjoy, while appreciating all types of disabilities. They give out bags of hay so that students can feed the animals (some of the animals included are Goats, Llamas, Cows, and even a Camel).

When they weren’t feeding or petting the animals; students could be found on the mini golf course, or in different buildings that house reptiles, birds, and even an adoption center where the students got to look at some adorable puppies!

Equine Center: For our last field trip of the year, we got the chance to head out to the Equine Center. The Equine Center is a large plot of farmland with horses, a pond, and plenty of open space for outdoor games!

Students have the freedom to grab a fishing pole and catch some fish, head over to the stables and check out the horses, and even spend their time swimming! Watching the students smile and laugh throughout the day was a perfect way to spend our last Friday of summer school at Felicity!

One of our administrative assistants, Jenny Sugarman, shared that Bella Ru Catering, was taking initiative to utilize extra catering supplies to start a food pantry nearby and taking volunteers to help pass out the food and making sure each family would receive a proper amount. After Ms. Sugarman discussed the work done with our Felicity students and families, each Monday there is a set aside amount of bags, coordinated with a pastor in Waukegan to ensure there is enough to provide to multiple families, while supplies last.

Felicity is lucky to partner with local organizations who believe in our mission and want to support our families by going above and beyond to provide extra supplies, save some families a trip to the grocery store or an easily made dinner.

For more information, please visit the below link: https://www.bellarucatering.com/

Felicity students and staff have gotten the unique opportunity to attend a weekly boxing class over the past few weeks at Marvelous Fight Studio in Wheeling. Coach Six has been a great role model for each of the students to take non-traditional boxing techniques into consideration, debunking common myths with boxing and safety techniques with self-defense.

He also demonstrates direct communication, consistency in learning and staying on task, which further enhances life skills. Each class involves perfecting techniques of beginner’s boxing techniques and increasing endurance across each type of workout, with adding new challenges for each workout to build on skill sets. Please see the photos below for a behind the scenes look at some of the lessons with our students!