For a few hours Monday, 15 Special Olympians from Westport got to leave everything behind and just focus on competing.

Sophia Siddal was as competitive and driven as ever. Ethan Cabral and Ethan Julasak, seventh and six graders, respectively, got into the spirit. And all the athletes gave it their all.

Monday’s regional Special Olympics meet at Dartmouth High School drew nine teams from across the region and was the Westport athletes’ biggest competition of the year. 

Middle school special education teacher Dianne Pereira Aldrich cheered from the sidelines, as did her colleague at the high school, Erin Mello, and a large crew of helpers and cheering friends and family.

This year, the athletes competed in memory of fellow student Jaden Araujo, who passed away unexpectedly last August at just 18. The athletes wore brown shirts that honored his memory with his name on the back.

“He was a sassy kid,” Pereira Aldrich said. “So smart. He had an attitude — that’s what made him so lovable.”

“I had him for three years,” added Mello. “It was supposed to be seven but I only got him for three."

While the athletes were the stars of the show, they weren’t the only ones who had a good day.

Pereira Aldrich has been teaching in Westport for 13 years and started her career in elementary education. But when she came to Westport, “I realized that was the job for me.”

For her, one of the most important things about the work is inclusion — making the kids feel honored, appreciated and welcomed. With a big team this year that is expected to grow next year, it’s a lot of work but the kids teach her every day, she said.

“Compassion, empathy, and just appreciating life. These kids go through such adversity with a huge smile on their face every day. We (brought) our general education kids too to make it more inclusive. That’s how life should be, right?”