Waubonsie students become honorary Aussies

A small group of Waubonsie Valley High School students threw their own meals on the barbie and became Aussies for a day during a behind-the-scenes tour of the local Outback Steakhouse.

Seven special needs students in teacher Liz Kolkay's class took the restaurant's Joey Walkabout Tour last week to learn about the many different positions on the kitchen staff as well as in the dining room, and helped the kitchen staff prepare their lunches.

The outing was one of several weekly trips the students take throughout the community to have everyday experiences to help them learn life skills to use when they're not in school.

"Throughout the year we take them to a Laundromat, a bank, a grocery store where they buy food and then prepare a meal in class," Kolkay said. "Community trips are all about making them familiar with experiences you and I may take for granted so that the situation is less stressful when they encounter it on the outside."

The partnership with Outback was formed last year with the help of special education teacher Alena Jirjis, who moonlights at the restaurant, and manager Lindsey Adams, a 2003 Waubonsie Valley graduate.

"When I learned about the Joey program, it just seemed like a perfect opportunity to add to the class's community trips," said Jirjis, who assisted with the tour by explaining to students some of the different jobs, including how to host and wait and bus tables. "These are jobs they may be able to do when they are ready, so it's important for them to see that they exist and can be fun."

Adams said the Naperville location provides various levels of the Joey program, making it available to many local organizations and school trips.

"I don't know that most schools know we'll open up early and do this for them if they ask," Adams said. "But we get great feedback from the teachers and students who come through, so we'd love to do a lot more (Joey tours)."

After preparing, eating and cleaning up their meals, the students and teachers talked about their trip back in their classroom.

"These experiences are invaluable to them so we discuss them in-depth and stress that these are things they can do too," Kolkay said. "It's neat when they realize that and take advantage."