The trilingual 9-year-old loves cake, football and pizza – and is a colorful feature in the classroom.

– Simon, you have such a beautiful smile!

It’s Tuesday morning, and the good words are pouring in for Simon Raffelsberger (9). In a yellow-orange hat and a backpack with teddy bear reflexes on it, he meets his friends in the parking lot, getting ready for another day at school.

Today was a little special, and at home the family had prepared wearing two different socks.

– I think Simon probably realized he was a bit more of a focal point today than he could be otherwise. He thought it was kind of a birthday, because it was a party, and a party because it was his birthday, says his mother, Ruth Schwienbacher.

– He motivates me

Ruth and dad Niclas cuddled up, and let big sister Sanna (12) take over. On the last leg of the trip to the international school in Tromsø, they left in teams, and more friends arrived.

Simon ran, farted, and joked along the way.

– What I really like about Simon is that he’s always happy, says his sibling’s good friend, Leoni Bischoff (11), and lightly exhales on the 9-year-old:

– Right, you are happy all the time?

March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day, where knowledge of the diagnosis is shared and celebrated. Simon was among 59 children born with the syndrome in Norway in 2013.

In the last three years, 14 children have been born in Troms and Finnmark with the diagnosis.

The boys opened the school door, and in the locker room Simon went to his place, took off his shoes and closed his jacket. Class had started, but he had been cleared for an interview first.

Sanna, who also wrote a reader letter about her brother on the occasion of the day, had lots of good things to say:

– Simon is very kind, and really motivates me. He always comes to comfort me when I’m angry or sad, he started.

He said he was happy to have a younger brother with Down syndrome.

– I noticed that mom and dad have much more to do, they have to send a lot of messages and have more meetings at school. But it really is, he said and smiled, a little humble.

Enjoy baking

Congenital conditions have varying degrees of developmental disability, but many lead full, fulfilling lives. In 2020, 147 pregnancies were registered with information about Down syndrome, 27.2 cases per 10,000. This is the highest number ever recorded in the Medical Birth Register.

In the small group room, it was difficult for Simon to sit still. He gestured, exclaimed, tickled the girls around him. But all the time with a twinkle in his eye.

– What do you like to do when you are not at school?

-FIFA! Fortnite!

– No, corrected the sister calmly.

– Yes, he insisted.

He continued:

– Simon and his brother Timo really like to play soccer, so they do it a lot. We also do a lot of drawing, cycling and skiing. Simon also loves to cook, and wakes up early to bake.

– I like to bake muffins, he said.

Leoni laughed seductively:

– Oh, I remember an episode my mother told me, when it became a little flour?

– Yes, the whole kitchen turned completely white and we washed it down with flour. But that was when Simon was a bit smaller, Sanna added.

– That’s a tall cake, right up to the school window, said Simon and laughed.

– Learned a lot from him

After the interview, the students trudged across the hall to Simon’s classroom. Here his fellow students and teachers were waiting for him, and colorful balloons decorated the wall above his desk.

The text that the parents wrote about him was displayed on the big screen, and the children read paragraph by paragraph, each in turn, in fluent English.

Teacher Elin Nordby said that the school, as an international school, really values ​​diversity. Today they ate colorful cakes and gave Simon a little extra attention.

– Simon has made an outstanding contribution to the class. He was the first and only one we had with Down syndrome at school and we learned so much from him, he said.

Sanna’s older sister joins her class as support during grading. She thinks the day is important because it shows that we are all different, and therefore it is okay to have Down syndrome.

– They are just like everyone else, only they do things a little differently, he smiled proudly.

pizza night

He feels that his younger brother has many friends who care about him, both at school and at home in Skulsfjord.

– At first they were a bit cautious around him, a little unsure how to be with him. But in the end they like them to other people. He has a friend at home named Saga, and they are good friends.

– And girlfriends, said Simon and laughed.

– Do you! I didn’t know that, commented Leoni and chuckled.

Later, when the school day is over, it is Simon who decides what to serve for dinner before dessert is served. He’s quick on the trigger when it comes to what he wants, which is pizza.

– He’s a bit picky about it, so it’ll be sausage, pasta or pizza. He likes “birthdays”, said Sanna with a grin.