text: Forest Hills Eastern High School was selected in 2017 as the first school in Michigan to be a Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools National Banner program.
  "It's overwhelming," said Chris Thomas, a Forest Hills Eastern teacher. "To be the first one to be recognized is really special."
  A Special Olympics Unified Champion School exhibits a commitment to an inclusive school climate that promotes a sense of collaboration, engagement and respect for all members of the student body and staff. Standards for determining a National Banner Unified Champion School are based upon the three over-arching components that include Special Olympics Unified Sports where students with and without intellectual disabilities practice and compete together, Inclusive Youth Leadership and Whole-School Engagements.
  "I couldn't do it without the students,” said Chris Thomas. "We're getting recognized as a Unified Champion School because we have so many students who come out and help."
  On 13 April 2018, leaders from the European Fair Play Movement (EFPM) joined Special Olympics Europe-Eurasia (SOEE) Leadership Council and Sports Committee at the official Slovak Olympic Team Training Center x-bionic in Samorin, Slovakia to sign an Memorandum of Understanding that helps to promote the strengthening of fair play, tolerance, peace and inclusion through and within sport.
  The system, also used in the Olympics, will now be a part of Special Olympics competitions for years to come.
  When Eunice Kennedy Shriver hosted the first ever summer camp for people with intellectual disabilities in her backyard, it would have been hard to imagine that 50 years down the line, Special Olympics would be taking the lead to discuss an urgent issue in today’s society, the marginalisation of those already on the margins, namely, refugees with intellectual disabilities.
  The December 2017 meeting brought together UNICEF officials, Special Olympics Kosovo staff, teachers, families, coaches and children.
  Special Olympics Northern California made history when it held the run, which took place inside the California Correctional System.
  Ever wonder what it's like for athletes at Special Olympics World Games? See the 2017 World Games in Austria from their eyes.
  Choosing the Right Acoustic Equipment for your Theatre - Specialty Theatre - Passion for Performance - Theatre Curtain,
  Anyone who knows anything about theatre knows that acoustics are vital to a show’s success. If your actors can’t be heard up the back of the hall, or your instruments drown out vocals, your performance is affected. While some events will need to have loud sound, others will need sound dampening. Choosing the right acoustic equipment for your theatre or performance space is vital.
  First, it’s important to identify any acoustical problems you may have in your audience area, such as hot spots where sound concentrates, dead spots music never reaches, and flutter echoes and excessive reverberation.
  By using the right solutions, such as a combination of ceiling clouds and acoustical panels, these problems are easily solved.
  Absorber Panels are suited for a wide range of music environments. They are designed to neutralize the reverberation and loudness of a room and engineered to absorb sound across a broad frequency range.
  Convex Diffuser Panels are designed to scatter and blend sound, and diffuse middle- to high-range frequencies that define timbre and articulation. They come in two types, with Type II being significantly larger than Type I panels and also selectively absorbing low-frequency sound.
  Quadratic Diffuser Panels are engineered to provide the most effective diffusion in the 750 Hz to 3300 Hz range and are designed as easy-to-apply ceiling in-lays.
  Pyramidal Diffuser Panels are impact-resistant ceiling and wall diffuser panels, which feature an offset pyramid shape to treat specific acoustical applications.
  You should also consider how the fabrics you’re using can affect the sound. If you need lighter sound dampening, draperies can be valuable tools. One of the most important considerations when using a drapery for sound absorption is the weight of the material.
  Heavier materials will deaden sound better. For instance, a light muslin curtain will absorb almost no sound at all, but a curtain made from heavy velour or satin will dampen it considerably.
  Performers and audiences deserve the best your performance venue is capable of delivering, so make sure you choose the right acoustic equipment.
  Katie Price has been ordered to pay £1,220 after pleading guilty to failing to stop at a red light near her home in West Sussex.
  Price initially pleaded not guilty to the charge in April, but later changed her plea to guilty at Horsham Magistrates’ Court.
  The court heard how the offence took place not long after she had given birth to her fifth child, Bunny.
  ‘There was a lot on her plate, it looks like she has decided to keep going as the lights have turned red.’
  Price was fined £700, ordered to pay costs of £450 and a victim surcharge of £70. She was also given three penalty points for the offence on the A24 at Buck Barn, West Grinstead.