Thursday, July 17, 2025
Over 110 students with intellectual and developmental disabilities from across Nassau County enjoyed an event-filled day on the Hewlett High School football and softball fields.
The Friendship Games is a field day event that allows students with disabilities to participate in several outdoor activities.
Organized by the PE Leaders Club, a student run organization, helped to promote, organize and take charge during the games to ensure it ran smoothly.
Hewlett High senior Ava Morgan is the president of the organization and said that she and her team really got to improve on the foundation that they built for the event last year.
“Sports are really unifying, and just to be to be able to play sports solely for fun and not, you know, worry about winning is something that we don’t really get to do often, at least at a high school level,” Morgan said. “We have unified bowling and basketball, but besides those two seasons, it’s very limited, and a lot of these students don’t really get the chance to participate at a high school level, so, bringing all these schools together is really cool.”
Morgan and a group of her friends brought the games back to Hewlett High after a two-year hiatus.
Students from surrounding districts including Lynbrook, Lawrence South Side, and West Hempstead took part.
Hewlett High physical education teacher Monique Ciccarelli, an event adviser, said students worked hard to bring the event back and that the participants’ reactions are always priceless.
“The amount of enjoyment that they get from this event, and watching their faces is amazing, it fills your heat with such joy,” Ciccarelli said. “The kids are always smiling and happy and loving every part of it, even if it’s as silly as carrying an egg on a spoon across the field, it’s enjoyment for them, it’s nice to watch them love every minute of it.”
Following an Olympic theme, the games kicked off with a walk around the track for the students, where each district and school had their names announced.
The students participated in several activities, including relay races; javelin throws with foam noodles, frisbee tosses and a bounce house, which was provided by the Hewlett-Woodmere Special Education Parent Teacher Association.
Ariana Ciampone, the social media coordinator for the games, said she loved being able to be a part of all the different stations and capture the interactions and emotions from all of the students participating.
“I think it’s an important event for the school because it unifies all of the different demographics in the school along with other schools in the district and surrounding towns,” Ciampone said. “I love the role that I play because I was able to be all over the event, at every station, interacting with all the kids and not just one group.”
