There are many clubs here at NHHS. One that stands out among the plethora of options is Working With Angels.
The club was started to create more opportunities for special education students to connect with general education students, considering they are typically more isolated from the general school community.
Ms. Salcido, the club’s current sponsor, said, “The mission of the club was to get general education students to integrate with our population which is special education [students]. They’re mainly in my class, they do go out for PE and electives, but it was to help them make friends with the rest of the school.”
At meetings, the club has a variety of activities. Some days they do trivia events, board games, or movie days. These activities are done in groups of about seven based on turnout.
Working with Angels also hosted specialized larger events, and these events wouldn’t be possible without the help of board members, club members. and volunteers. The events they have planned are usually on Holidays like Valentine’s Day, Easter, or Halloween.
The most recent event hosted by Working With Angels was their Halloween Festival. It was hosted on October 30th, 2023, and featured games, prizes, and small-scale trick-or-treating for special education students.
Mario Diaz, a volunteer who assisted with the Halloween Festival, stated, “I carried pizzas, I blew up balloons, I hung up a banner. I also hung donuts on a string. It was fun.”
These activities and events have helped to create a more welcoming atmosphere for the special education students, but have also created a space for general education students to learn to interact with other students and build understanding.
“My students love the club. They’ve made friends,” Ms. Salcido continued, “For general education students, it’s great because when they graduate and leave here, everybody gets thrown in together and [they] have the realization of what it is to have a disability.”
While Working With Angels has not had any recent events and has not met as much during the latter half of the school year, they hope to resume activities soon.
Ms. Salcido chirped, “Let’s keep the club going, it’s awesome!”
They meet in room C143 (right by the main entrance of the Colfax Building) on Mondays and Thursdays during lunch. While attendance on both days is not required, they offer service hours.
