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鈥檚 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鈥檚 website lists about four pages鈥� worth of options for students.
鈥淭hese activities cultivate critical attributes like time management, teamwork, leadership, and problem-solving skills,鈥� she said. 鈥淢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.鈥�
One of those activities 鈥� for students in kindergarten through sixth grade 鈥� is CRUSH It!, short for California Raises Up Student Health.
鈥淢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,鈥� said Rachel Nagy, elementary principal. 鈥淲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.鈥�
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.
鈥淎 variety of works will be created throughout the year, some individual projects, and a larger group mural,鈥� DeFazio said. 鈥淎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.鈥�
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.
鈥淲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,鈥� Cooper said. 鈥淲e wanted to form a tight bond between the community and school that may not have been as strong in recent years.鈥�
Among the foundation鈥檚 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.
鈥淪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,鈥� 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 鈥� 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 鈥� 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.
鈥淲e have a lot of kids cross over from other sports, but we get a lot of kids who don鈥檛 necessarily play your traditional sports,鈥� said Ken Brooks, head coach. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just a good all-around sport. Our first year, we had 28 kids and it鈥檚 grown ever since. It鈥檚 been very good for our school.鈥�
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.
鈥淚t鈥檚 nice for us to give our kids who might be in that realm the opportunity to participate in an after-school sport,鈥� said Ricci Rich, Trinity athletic director. 鈥淚t partners both our Special Olympics population with our other students to participate on a team together. We鈥檝e got a good set of kids who are really getting excited about it.鈥�
Ultimately, giving students more opportunities to explore their interests is the goal of extracurricular activities.
鈥淲e feel it鈥檚 essential,鈥� Rich said. 鈥淓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.鈥�