In the Life Skills classroom at SCHS, special education students gain the tools needed for everyday life. The Bruin Buddies club, run by the Life Skills class, allows for special education students to interact with general education students. The club organizes annual field trips where special education students are able to practice the skills they learn in an environment outside of the classroom. On May 2, 2025, the Bruin Buddies club went on a field trip to Sunnyvale Golfland and In-N-Out Burger.

This year’s field trip allowed many students to step out of their comfort zone. Life skills teacher Cris Syquia noticed how the trip provided an opportunity for students who are otherwise timid to interact and spend time with their classmates.

“I saw a lot of the kids were more themselves. They were really going out of their comfort zone, talking to different people outside of their group,” Syquia said. “Just carrying a simple conversation with someone new is already a big thing for these kids. I saw a lot of them today hanging out, talking to someone and having fun.”

In addition to practicing social abilities, students on the trip also were taken to In-N-Out for lunch, where they applied concepts practiced in class.

“There’s a lot of skills that were learned today, like problem solving skills, getting along with other people, navigating the golf course, taking turns,” Syquia said, “When we went to In-N-Out, the kids advocate for themselves, how to order the food, and then also manage money and be able to clean up after themselves.”

Students in the life skills programs can be misunderstood due to differences in learning. Speech and language pathologist James Chow believes that the Bruin Buddies club allows each member to demonstrate their skills and collaborate with one another.

“Some students have difficulty with visual-perceptual. (They) can’t tell how far away something is, or control their motor patterns. Then the kids who are good at it tell them to position this way, to help them out, help them meet their needs,” Chow said. “Different abilities can be together to kind of help each other where they lack.”

The Bruin Buddies club also welcomes general education students as a way to spread awareness for those with special needs on campus. Junior Shade Rodriguez believes in fostering an environment where special education and general education students can have a safe space to socialize with one another.

“I feel like some people can be judgmental. Some people might think they (special education students) are weird, but we try not to convey that in the club,” Rodriguez said. “As we know that there are people like us too who have feelings and validation. So we’re trying to make sure that this place (the club) is safer than it was before.”

Like Rodriguez, senior Yadhira Ramirez appreciates what Bruin Buddies has to offer. She hopes to be able to spend her last year at SCHS encouraging more individuals to join the club.

“One thing before I graduate is to welcome people (into) life skills, so they won’t see us as, yes, kids with disabilities, but they also see that we have a condition, and that each person is different, and that we’re normal, regular (people),” Ramirez said.

Chow, along with other Life Skills teachers, hope to expand the Bruin Buddies club in the future. He believes that support from the community at SCHS could allow students and staff to grow the program, allowing for special education students to be more involved outside the classroom.

“I hope field trips (will) integrate more of the community within where they live. We can maybe do something more vocational as well, like getting a tour of a business building,” Chow said. “I’m hoping it expands more than just hanging out, to more learning about these different aspects, (expanding it) in that way where there’s more community involved.”