Motivation, responsibility, integrity, respect, and leadership are the five character words that Oakville High School lives by. Each of the these words have an important meaning and are quickly being shown by many students throughout OHS.

On Feb. 20 roughly 200 students were signed up and ready to meet their buddy with special needs to participate in the first ever SOMO (Special Olympics Missouri) basketball tournament held right here in Gym B.

Throughout the day the athletes got the chance to make several new friends and really get to know their buddy.

The special needs students came from many schools including,  Affton, Hancock, Lafayette, La Salle, Marquette, Rogers Middle School, Selvidge Middle School. Some of the buddies were even students from OHS.

Not only was there a basketball tournament held in the gym, there also were a few booths set up in Olympic Village (otherwise known as the OHS commons). Each booth had a different activity ran by a group of students. Some of the booths included hillbilly golf, a fishing game, and a noodle toss.

“It was a very successful day, it ran well, and everything was organized.”, said special school teacher Laura Klotz.

The SOMO basketball tournament had over 200 athletes and each athlete had a student from OHS to be their buddy.

The basketball tournament was an overall fun and rewarding day, not just for the school, but for all of the students and athletes involved.

“The event was very successful and I was able to contribute to making Oakville a school of character and would definitely like to participate in more SOMO events held here.”, Brendan Coon (12) said.

Both staff and students alike hope to host another SOMO basketball tournament in the future and continue to be a school of character.