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How to join the Special Olympics Event?
How to join the Special Olympics Event?
Làm thế nào để tham gia Sự kiện Thể thao Đặc biệt?
Làm thế nào để tham gia Sự kiện Thể thao Đặc biệt?
Get ready for a day full of fun, movement, and excitement!
We are thrilled to invite families to the SENBOX × SSIS Special Olympics – Inclusive Sports Day,
happening on 20 January 2026 in Ho Chi Minh City.
This event is completely free and full of joyful activities designed especially for children who love to run, play, explore, and celebrate their strengths. With music, sports stations, a parade, and lots of positive energy, your child will enjoy an unforgettable day of movement and smiles.
Hãy sẵn sàng cho một ngày tràn đầy niềm vui, vận động và hứng khởi!
Chúng tôi vô cùng hân hạnh mời các gia đình đến với SENBOX × SSIS Special Olympics – Ngày Hội Thể Thao Bao Gồm, diễn ra vào ngày 20 tháng 1 2026 tại TP. Hồ Chí Minh. Sự kiện này hoàn toàn miễn phí và đầy ắp các hoạt động vui nhộn được thiết kế đặc biệt dành cho các em nhỏ yêu thích chạy nhảy, chơi đùa, khám phá và tỏa sáng khả năng của mình. Với âm nhạc, các trạm thể thao, diễu hành và năng lượng tích cực, con bạn sẽ có một ngày đáng nhớ đầy vận động và nụ cười.
We thank Dr. Dan Long, Director of Activities and Community Engagement at SSIS, for making this collaboration possible. His support reflects the shared commitment of both institutions to advancing special education and creating meaningful opportunities for children with diverse learning needs.
Why This Event Matters
Why This Event Matters
Tại sao Sự kiện Này Lại Quan Trọng
Tại sao Sự kiện Này Lại Quan Trọng
Many children with special needs rarely have the opportunity to join community events, play outside with peers, or take part in group activities. For some families, financial limitations, lack of accessible programs, or concerns about behaviours and support needs make it difficult to find safe and welcoming environments.
This Special Olympics event is designed exactly for these children — those with higher support needs, those who may be non-verbal, those who need extra emotional regulation, guidance, and patience.
This event is for you: A safe, structured, understanding space where every child is welcomed, supported, and celebrated.
Nhiều trẻ em có nhu cầu đặc biệt hiếm khi có cơ hội tham gia các sự kiện cộng đồng, chơi ngoài trời cùng bạn bè, hoặc tham gia các hoạt động nhóm. Với một số gia đình, hạn chế về tài chính, thiếu các chương trình tiếp cận được, hoặc lo ngại về hành vi và nhu cầu hỗ trợ khiến việc tìm kiếm một môi trường an toàn và thân thiện trở nên khó khăn.
Sự kiện Special Olympics này được thiết kế chính xác cho những trẻ em đó — những trẻ cần nhiều hỗ trợ hơn, những trẻ có thể không nói được, hoặc những trẻ cần thêm sự điều chỉnh cảm xúc, hướng dẫn và kiên nhẫn.
Sự kiện này dành cho bạn: Một không gian an toàn, có cấu trúc, hiểu biết, nơi mọi trẻ em đều được chào đón, hỗ trợ và tỏa sáng.
"Small Moments, Big Learning: A Shift to Service in Action"
"Small Moments, Big Learning: A Shift to Service in Action"
Tanya Olander December 12, 2025, SSIS
The Plaza was already buzzing when students from SENBOX Special Education Center arrived on campus. Twenty-four SSIS high school students waited to welcome them, ready to guide some simple activities, share a snack, and see what would unfold.
The recent two-hour visit was a pilot, or “proof of concept,” for our work with SENBOX. Yet it captured something much bigger: the kind of real, human encounter that helps empathy grow—the exact kind of experience that marks a “Service in Action” program. As Director of Community Engagement and Activities, Dr. Dan Long has been helping teachers and students rethink what “service” can be.
What Service in Action Means
What Service in Action Means
Deeply rooted in our core value of Dedicated Service, Service in Action is a key priority in our strategic plan. Dr. Long describes the purpose clearly:
“We want every student at every grade level to have the opportunity to grow in empathy through meaningful service. It might be a one-hour activity, a single day, or something that happens several times a year, but the goal is not to merely complete a task or check a box; it’s to create an experience that changes the student’s heart.”
Dr. Long stresses the importance of creating opportunities for meaningful connections to truly nurture empathy.
Traditional service-learning often begins with curriculum: read a book, discuss an issue, write a reflection, and complete an evaluation activity.
At SSIS, we still value those experiences—they build important knowledge—and students still read about global challenges and discuss what it means to help. But Service in Action asks a different question beyond that work: How do we give students the chance to stand face-to-face with another person, to listen, to feel, to stay present, and to express kindness and care?
As Dr. Long puts it, “Empathy is difficult to grade on a scale. You cannot assess how deeply a student cares. But you can create moments where empathy has a chance to grow. That is the goal for Service in Action at SSIS.”
SENBOX: A Pilot for Empathy in Action
SENBOX: A Pilot for Empathy in Action
The SENBOX Special Games brought 20 SENBOX students to SSIS for an adapted series of games facilitated by our high school students. Most SENBOX students are on the autism spectrum and experience the world in ways that can feel unfamiliar to their teenage partners. As an organization, SENBOX shares the core values of service to others, inclusivity, and community impact, making it a natural partner for collaborative Service in Action.
Before the event, Dr. Long reminded SSIS students that inevitably things would not go as planned—and that this was part of the learning.
And that prediction held true. Some SENBOX students needed time before engaging. Some ran away from their SSIS buddy, crossing to the other side of the field instead of joining an activity. Others communicated in ways that were new and confusing to our students.
But slowly, connections formed. One pair of students spent nearly the entire morning tossing a basketball back and forth. Another student simply sat nearby, offering quiet companionship.
These outwardly simple moments carried significant weight. At the end of the morning, one SSIS student, usually boisterous and playful, teared up, deeply moved by the experience.
For Dr. Long, these are the moments that show why Service in Action matters.
Hard Work, Real Growth
Hard Work, Real Growth
The SENBOX visit is not the only example of this deliberate shift toward growing empathy. Recently, the ACE Housing Club visited an orphanage in District 12.
Expand to read more
The club members expected to discuss some of the hands-on improvement projects the orphanage needed. Instead, caregivers asked them to help carry the children to the physical therapy room and support their physical therapy exercises.
Members of the ACE Housing Club experienced the joy of making a difference in someone's life, during a weekend visit to an orphanage.
At first, the SSIS students hesitated, not knowing how to move a severely disabled child or how to communicate with them. Regardless, they stepped forward—lifting, carrying, and gently following the caregivers’ instructions. Hesitant handling became warm interactions.
The students gently stretched out limbs, massaged backs and heads, and soothed the tense muscles of the little children. One SSIS student later reflected that the experience had been even more meaningful than what they originally thought they were going there to do.
Moments like these are what Service in Action aims to create: experiences that challenge assumptions, require patience, push students out of their comfort zone, require action, and expand a young person’s understanding of others.
Building a K–12 Framework
Building a K–12 Framework
Service at SSIS is not a new concept. Many of our students already participate in clubs, drives, and outreach activities. What is new is the commitment to ensuring that every SSIS student, from our youngest learners to our graduating class, grows in empathy through meaningful service—not just those who join a club or sign up for an event.
By 2026–2027, SSIS will have an articulated K–12 Service in Action framework. Each division will develop and articulate age-appropriate activities.
For example:
A first-grade class might explore what “community helpers” do by supporting our facilities team for a day.
Fifth graders might continue reading about global issues and deliver care packages to a local center, connecting classroom learning with real-world encounters.
In high school, partners such as SENBOX and other local organizations could offer more complex opportunities for students to build a deeper understanding of others through action.
These experiences are intentionally varied, but the purpose is the same: to help students develop empathy that they can carry into adulthood.
A Growing Story - We Want to Hear from You
A Growing Story - We Want to Hear from You
Parents will hear more about Service in Action throughout the year as our partnerships expand and events develop. The work is long-term and intentionally challenging, but it aligns with our ultimate goal, for our students to lead purposeful lives built on character, understanding, and the willingness to serve others.
As Dr. Long puts it, “Our students have so many gifts—skills, resources, opportunities. When you pair that with empathy, they don’t just ask how successful they can become. They begin asking how many lives they can change.”
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If your family is connected to local organizations that could offer empathy-building service opportunities for our students, we would be happy to hear from you. Please contact Dr. Dan Long (dlong@ssis.edu.vn), Director of Community Engagement and Activities.
If you would like to have an event with special needs in mind, you can contact the SENBOX team. We are happy to support your inclusion efforts:
Director and founder of SENBOX, Mr D. Mueller, Mueller@senbox.org
Participation Conditions
Participation Conditions
Điều Kiện Tham Gia
Điều Kiện Tham Gia
This event is specially designed for children who have been formally diagnosed with a developmental, learning, or behavioural condition.
Participation is limited to 50 children, and spaces are offered based on lack of opportunity and first-come, first-served basis.
All families must complete registration through the SENBOX App to secure a place.
Professional SENBOX photographers will capture the event; personal photography is not permitted due to SSIS policy.
Confirmed participants will receive full instructions and the event schedule directly through the SENBOX App.
Sự kiện này được thiết kế đặc biệt cho trẻ em đã được chẩn đoán chính thức với các rối loạn phát triển, học tập hoặc hành vi.
Số lượng tham gia giới hạn 50 trẻ, và các suất sẽ được ưu tiên dựa trên thiếu cơ hội tham gia và theo thứ tự đăng ký trước – được phục vụ trước.
Tất cả các gia đình phải hoàn tất đăng ký qua Ứng dụng SENBOX để đảm bảo chỗ tham dự.
Các nhiếp ảnh gia chuyên nghiệp của SENBOX sẽ ghi lại toàn bộ sự kiện; không được phép chụp ảnh cá nhân theo chính sách của SSIS.
Các bé được xác nhận tham gia sẽ nhận hướng dẫn chi tiết và lịch trình sự kiện trực tiếp qua Ứng dụng SENBOX.
If you wish to have an event with special needs in mind, contact us.
If you wish to have an event with special needs in mind, contact us.
We are happy to support your inclusion efforts:
We are happy to support your inclusion efforts:
SENBOX tự hào mang đến cho các bạn giải pháp toàn diện trong lĩnh vực giáo dục đặc biệt, nhằm hỗ trợ trẻ em khuyết tật và đáp ứng nhu cầu can thiệp sớm của các bé. Với các phương pháp can thiệp tiên tiến và kế hoạch giáo dục cá nhân (IEP) được thiết kế riêng, chúng tôi cam kết mang lại môi trường giáo dục hòa nhập, giúp các bé phát triển ngôn ngữ, kỹ năng sống và học tập hiệu quả.
SENBOX proudly offers a comprehensive solution in the field of special education to support children with disabilities and meet their early intervention needs. With advanced intervention methods and personalized Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), we are committed to providing an inclusive educational environment that helps children develop language skills, life skills, and effective learning abilities.
Chúng tôi cung cấp các dịch vụ trị liệu tâm lý, trị liệu ngôn ngữ, và trị liệu vận động chuyên nghiệp, đặc biệt dành cho trẻ tự kỷ và các trẻ có nhu cầu hỗ trợ học tập đặc biệt. Với đội ngũ chuyên gia tư vấn giáo dục giàu kinh nghiệm, chúng tôi luôn sẵn sàng đồng hành cùng các bậc phụ huynh trong việc đảm bảo quyền lợi và sự phát triển toàn diện của trẻ em khuyết tật.
We offer professional psychological therapy, speech therapy, and physical therapy services, especially designed for children with autism and those with special learning support needs. Our team of experienced educational counselors is always ready to accompany parents in ensuring the rights and comprehensive development of children with disabilities.
Tại trung tâm giáo dục đặc biệt SENBOX, chúng tôi xây dựng chương trình giáo dục đặc biệt tiên tiến, giúp hỗ trợ gia đình có trẻ khuyết tật và mang lại những dịch vụ hỗ trợ đặc biệt tốt nhất. Chúng tôi cung cấp các dịch vụ đánh giá và chẩn đoán chính xác, từ đó đưa ra các giải pháp can thiệp hiệu quả, giúp các bé phát triển toàn diện.
At SENBOX Special Education Center, we build advanced special education programs to support families with children with disabilities and provide the best special support services. We offer accurate assessment and diagnosis services, from which effective intervention solutions are developed to help children thrive.
Hãy đến với SENBOX để trải nghiệm dịch vụ giáo dục đặc biệt chất lượng và uy tín. Chúng tôi luôn đặt lợi ích của trẻ em khuyết tật lên hàng đầu, cam kết mang lại môi trường học tập và phát triển tốt nhất cho các bé. Để biết thêm thông tin chi tiết, vui lòng truy cập trang web của chúng tôi
Come to SENBOX to experience quality and reputable special education services. We always prioritize the benefits of children with disabilities, committed to providing the best learning and development environment for them. For more detailed information, please visit our website
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