Monday was World Down Syndrome Day and students at St. Viator Parish School in Las Vegas takes that celebration seriously.
Luke Sylvestri, center, is surrounded by his eighth grade classmates.
They joined with people around the world in wearing mismatched socks, in order to celebrate the differences and what makes people unique, while supporting people with Down syndrome. Mostly, they wore their colorful socks in support of their classmates Luke and Amanda who have Down syndrome.
Both are students in St. Viator’s Micah Program. The program — the only one of its kind at a Catholic school in the state of Nevada — takes its lead from the Book of Micah, in the Old Testament: “Act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with God and each other.”
Amanda and Luke pose with Mrs. Angela Sligar, director of the Micah Program.
Luke is an eighth grade. He is following in the footsteps of his four older siblings in attending St. Viator, and over the years, he has blossomed his teachers say. Outgoing and confident, he now serves as the unofficial ambassador for the school. Amanda is in her third year at the school and she continues to make great strides. Last year, she was one of two students in the Micah program to receive her first communion.
Rocking their socks has come to be a much anticipated tradition at the school, but its benefits last far longer than one day.
“While some see disabilities, we see possibilities,” says Principal Tracy Brunelle. “Above all, we see the face of God in each child. We are all blessed by them.”