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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Bo Finch, a freshman at Mountain Brook Junior High School, fishes during the Gone Fishin’, Not Just Wishin’ event at Oak Mountain State Park for special education students in Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills and Homewood city school systems on May 15.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Rickey Jackson, a fourth grader at Crestline Elementary, touches a small fish that he caught.
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Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Robert Rinkoff, a kindergartner at Brookwood Forest Elementary, paints his hand as he makes a handprint painting with Sarah Tranum, a special education classroom aide.
What better way to close out the school year than an officially observed opportunity to play “hooky”?
More than 200 children with disabilities and their parents and teachers from Homewood, Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills city schools enjoyed a special field trip on May 15. The annual Gone Fishin’, Not Just Wishin’ event enabled students to experience the joys of fishing and other fun activities such as inflatables, arts and crafts, face painting and lunch at Oak Mountain State Park.
This year marked the fourth year of participation for students from Homewood, Mountain Brook and Vestavia, but the event itself is a tradition dating back almost 30 years, which covers multiple days and is open to students from Jefferson and Shelby County Schools.
“The big part of the day is teaching these kids and their parents — families are welcome — to come be a part of a lifetime recreational activity, something they can share as a family,” said Debbie Bailey, the event coordinator.
Even if students didn’t succeed in landing a fish, they did walk away with a free T-shirt and some good memories.
The event was supported by a group of approximately 60 volunteers, including students from the UAB Physical Therapy program, PNC, Cadence and Regions banks and the Homewood, Mountain Brook, Pelham and Vestavia fire departments.
