Beyond the classroom: Schools offer varied menu of activities to students
Students from Laurel Highlands High School travel to Monarch Meadows Personal Care Home weekly to participate in Art & Aging: Seniors, Students and Synergy. (Photo courtesy of Mike DeFazio)
Courtesy of Mike DeFazio
Courtesy of Mike DeFazio
Laurel Highlands High School students and residents of Monarch Meadows Personal Care Home collaborate on artwork.
Courtesy of Rachel Nagy
Courtesy of Rachel Nagy
Elementary students in the California Area School District get ready to CRUSH It!
Peyton Laughner puts the finishing touches on a drink at The Coffee Tree Roasters at Peters Township High School shortly after it opened in 2021. (Photo by Paul Paterra)
From painting with senior citizens to learning Mandarin Chinese to operating coffee shops, today无毛视频檚 students are engaging in a myriad of extracurricular activities.
School districts are finding different ways to give students avenues to pursue various interests while possibly charting a path for their future.
Dr. Laura Jacob, superintendent of the California Area School District, is a big proponent of extracurricular activities. In fact, the district无毛视频檚 website lists about four pages无毛视频� worth of options for students.
无毛视频淭hese activities cultivate critical attributes like time management, teamwork, leadership, and problem-solving skills,无毛视频� she said. 无毛视频淢oreover, they stimulate creativity, foster a sense of belonging, and instill self-confidence, all of which positively impact academic performance. Students who participate in extracurriculars often exhibit improved discipline, motivation, and a deeper connection to their school, ultimately leading to heightened academic success and an enriched educational experience.无毛视频�
One of those activities 无毛视频� for students in kindergarten through sixth grade 无毛视频� is CRUSH It!, short for California Raises Up Student Health.
无毛视频淢yself, our school psychologist and various teachers volunteer to run the club two days per week for a six-week period each fall and spring,无毛视频� said Rachel Nagy, elementary principal. 无毛视频淲e begin each session with a mini social emotional lesson, practice various stretches and complete a HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workout before cooling down with guided yoga stretches.无毛视频�
Among other diverse district offerings are the Bee Club, Violin Club, 3-D Printing Club and Mandarin Chinese, which involves learning about the Chinese language and culture.
Collaborative pursuits involving the community, such as a new arts initiative in the Laurel Highlands School District, are also being met with success.
Art & Aging: Seniors, Students and Synergy is being offered to high school students through the Rural Arts Collaborative, the Hillman Foundation and the Fayette County Cultural Trust. Each week, high school art teacher Mike DeFazio and 12 students travel to Monarch Meadow Personal Care Home in Uniontown to work in various art forms.
无毛视频淎 variety of works will be created throughout the year, some individual projects, and a larger group mural,无毛视频� DeFazio said. 无毛视频淎ll of the projects will involve collaboration between the L-H art students and residents of Monarch Meadows. We are very early in the implementation process, but students and residents are excited about the opportunity to collaborate in this creative endeavor. We look forward to deepening the bonds that are already forming, as well as the interesting artwork that will result.无毛视频�
The Avella Scholarship Foundation was formed in that Washington County district to strengthen the bonds between community and school. Co-directors Joelle Cooper and Jamie Scears wanted to change what they perceived as a negative climate surrounding the school, students and community.
无毛视频淲e wanted to bring a positive spark back to the community that had been missing and we felt this was the best way to do it,无毛视频� Cooper said. 无毛视频淲e wanted to form a tight bond between the community and school that may not have been as strong in recent years.无毛视频�
Among the foundation无毛视频檚 functions include funding activities for various events such as a summer camp, which attracted 60 elementary students, 40 high school volunteers and eight staff members.
无毛视频淪tudents became mentors to younger kids, and it was really rewarding to see all of the hard work come to fruition at our first event,无毛视频� Scears said.
Avella Elementary students are engaging in a number of programs that extend beyond the classroom, such as recently creating 240 birthday cards to help celebrate the 100th birthday of three McMurray Manor residents and the annual creation of blessing boxes for Thanksgiving.
Student-run coffee shops 无毛视频� Bic Mac Beanery at Canon-McMillan, Best Buddies at Beth-Center, the Coffee Cart at Avella and Coffee Tree Roasters at Peters Township, South Park and Chartiers Valley 无毛视频� have cropped up at schools.
Aside from traditional athletic teams, students are also being given the opportunity to excel in lesser-known sports programs.
Connellsville is home to a clay target team for grades 6 to 12, where about 60 kids are involved in skeet, sporting clays and trap. The sporting clays team won a national championship in 2022.
无毛视频淲e have a lot of kids cross over from other sports, but we get a lot of kids who don无毛视频檛 necessarily play your traditional sports,无毛视频� said Ken Brooks, head coach. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 just a good all-around sport. Our first year, we had 28 kids and it无毛视频檚 grown ever since. It无毛视频檚 been very good for our school.无毛视频�
Geibel Junior-Senior High School also has a team, and Uniontown is starting a program.
Bocce is a relatively recent offering and is part of the unified sports program of Special Olympics. Washington, Bethel Park and Trinity are among districts fielding teams.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 nice for us to give our kids who might be in that realm the opportunity to participate in an after-school sport,无毛视频� said Ricci Rich, Trinity athletic director. 无毛视频淚t partners both our Special Olympics population with our other students to participate on a team together. We无毛视频檝e got a good set of kids who are really getting excited about it.无毛视频�
Ultimately, giving students more opportunities to explore their interests is the goal of extracurricular activities.
无毛视频淲e feel it无毛视频檚 essential,无毛视频� Rich said. 无毛视频淓very kid needs an avenue to explore not only what they enjoy, but what they look at down the road. We try to provide kids with opportunities to learn about what you want to do and where do you want to spend your career before you move on to the next level.无毛视频�