POD Partners held their first meeting in special education teacher Reece Benzel’s class, established by sophomore Stone Wagner.
“Every day when walking to One Lunch, I would pass Mr. Benzel’s class, and I always wondered why his students did not join the rest of the school during lunch,” Stone said. “I had the idea that instead of his class joining us, we could join his class and bring One Lunch to them.”
POD Partners is a club where members socialize with special needs students, which serves as an avenue for forging new friendships. The club had their first meeting on Oct. 7, 2024.
“The first meeting went great,” sophomore Logan Saltisiak said. “We were able to play games. My favorite was ‘Connect Four,’ and I am looking forward to playing [Hedbanz] with them next Tuesday.”
The meetings take place weekly during lunch in Rooms 119 and 121.
“When Stone came to me about starting POD Partners, I was super excited,” Benzel said. “I cannot wait to see the growth of this club and the sense of community it builds at Ocean Lakes.”
The new club aims to grow in popularity and gain new members. It will also be starting an Instagram page soon.
“We are beginning to think about Fall Fest and are always open to new ideas and especially new members,” Stone said.
POD Partners has new activities in the works for potential afterschool meetings and future general One Lunch meetings.
“We have ideas for many different activities,” Stone said. “From after school to maybe field trips like to the zoo or museum or aquariums.”
