It's lunchtime Thursday which means it's party time for the kids of The Woden School as they log into the online disco their teacher Luke Ferguson has organised during lockdown.

The school, which has students from year seven to year 12 with an intellectual disability and/or autism, has always had Thursday discos and the students were worried they would fall by the wayside in lockdown.

But Mr Ferguson, the school's youth support worker, made sure they kept going, to keep the kids connected and give them something to look forward to.

And with the help of DJ Mister Nige, the students are loving the Facetime discos, the screen showing the young people jumping up and down, waving excitedly at their friends and laughing along to the 1990 hit Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now).

Kara, 17, is in year 12 at The Woden School. She has cerebral palsy and autism and is non-verbal. She can't understand why the school bus is not picking her up every day during lockdown.

Her sister Maddie, 13, is in year eight at St Mary MacKillop College. She is a national-level BMX racer and itching to get back on the track.

Maddie, who is a massive support to her big sister Kara, says lockdown has been "boring" and "lonely" without her friends or her racing. The discos have been a welcome distraction.

"It's just a way of escaping," mum Ali said.

Maddie enjoys watching her sister smile and"dancing with sissy" during the discos.

"She's crazy and happy all the time," she said.

The online discos have proved a hit, with even principal James Malone getting involved and doing some classic dad moves to the Macarena.

"It's so fun watching them up and about dancing with their families," Mr Ferguson said.

"It's a chance to introduce some joy and musicality into organised chaos. They've got online classes which they join in on, but they know me as the one who organises the fun, crazy stuff, so I can't let them down."

Ali, an early childcare educator, said The Woden School had been amazing during lockdown.

"You've always got someone to lean on and be there for you. They're brilliant," she said.

They are all going to miss it once Kara graduates this year.

"It's so inclusive," Ali said. "They don't just focus on one person. It focuses on everyone. It's a whole community."

The Woden School is no stranger to thinking out of the box to do the best for its students.

In 2018, a rap song the students wrote and the accompanying video, celebrating their differences, called Labels Don't Define Us, went viral.