Described by Lindsey Karchem as “a compassionate setting where differences fade away and similarities blossom through bonding experiences,” Friendship Club sounds like a pretty cool place to be. The special ed class and other TL students meet a couple Thursdays a month to participate in anything from creating fun crafts to playing frisbee outside to planting in the garden.

I have been in Friendship Club for the past two years, and it has been a pretty awesome and rewarding experience. These students are some of the most positive people I know. It is an easy, welcoming, nonjudgmental environment to hang out with students who are truly inspiring.

Throughout the school year, there are Friendship Club dances hosted by different high schools from around the county, such as the Halloween Dance and the Valentine’s Day Dance, which are both hosted by Redwood High School. These dances are a district-wide activity where students participating in Friendship Clubs from the surrounding schools come to dance and make new friends. Every year in May, the Friendship Club Prom is organized by Terra Linda High School, and the students dress up in their finest, and have a fun night of dancing, food and music in the TL cafeteria. Laughter and tears blend together in this last Friendship club dance of the year. These dances and gatherings are so important for students, because it enables them to create relationships that produce friendship, understanding, and happiness.

This year’s prom will be on Friday, May 27th from 5:00-7:30 PM with a luau theme. There is a $10 entrance fee. Get there for a night of music, food, and great company!