Kristy Kendall gazed up at the speckled ceiling thinking about the question her teacher had just asked the class. About five seconds later she shouted out, “We can call them our ‘spriends.’”

After working with their “spriends” all year, the Teen Leadership II class will host a Challenge Day at Rose Park for the FALS class on May 19.

“I thought of the name because they’re special to us and we’ve spent enough time with them to build a bond of friendship,” junior Kendall said. “So I put those two words together and got ‘spriends.’”

After learning about their new friends, the Leadership students taught the FALS class a Pink Fest dance and spent their class time playing games and getting to know them.

“Working with the spriends has just really opened my eyes to see that people with special needs aren’t that different from us,” junior Zach Hodgeson said. “It’s given me a great respect for them.”

During the Challenge Day, the PTSA plans on grilling burgers and hotdogs while watching the group play team building games throughout the event.

“I’m really doing it for the FALS class because they mean so much to me,” PTSA member Kathy Severe said. “I’ve been working with them for two years now, so I have built a strong relationship with them.”