Kids Club giving Clarks Summit Elementary new experiences

The students at Clarks Summit Elementary are having fun after the school day has ended. They are experiencing new things and learning as well in the PTA’s sponsored Kids Club.

Th Kids Club is open to students in grades kindergarten through fourth. Parents sign their children up for an hour after school, and the students attend the events from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. The club is held Monday through Thursday four times a year in five-week sessions.

“Our PTA does a tremendous job of organizing high interest and engaging after school opportunities for our students through the CSE PTA Kids Club program. Students who participate enjoy making new friends, learning and having fun after a hard days work in school,” said Mario Emilliani, Clarks Summit Elementary School principal.

There are over a dozen clubs to choose from. Club members can use beads, rubber bands, string and other items to create friendship bracelets. They can learn to play chess, how to draw cartoons or learn to type.

They can get exercise in yoga, gym games or extra recess where they play kick ball and jump rope. There is also a book club, a think spring where they use recycled materials to build a birdhouse or make a nature inspired suncatcher and a LEGO club among others.

Thorsten Daun is a parent volunteer with the PTA and is a co-organizer of the Kids Club. His daughter, Kati Tettenborn, is in fourth grade and a member of the Kid’s Club.

“The kids learn so much that they can’t learn in school,” he said.

The Gardening Club is a new Kids Club. It is led by Courtenay Deagon, Clarks Summit Elementary learning support aide.

“I proposed the idea to the PTA because I wanted to add a garden around our Clarks Summit Elementary School sign and thought that would be a great way to get the kids involved on a school project. I am not a huge gardener. I only plant in my pots at home and have a garden of mostly green bushes at home. My daughter, Sydney, and I do plant vegetables at Marley’s Mission each year, and I do start the seeds with my students so that they can watch them sprout. We do it near Earth Day and my daughter and I plant at the farm near the end of May,” said Deagon.

The older students were paired with younger students. They started the event learning about what depth meant which they needed to know to how deep to plant the seeds.

The students shared a tray and put soil in it. They got to choose what seeds to plant such as cabbage, watermelon, green beans, squash, pumpkin, peppers and sun flowers.

The students looked at the seed package to see how deep to plant the seeds. They used a ruler to mark a spoon to the right depth. They then used the spoon to dig the holes and then planted the seeds.

They also planted sunflower seeds in individual pots that they will take home.

Luis Avelar is in third grade and was planting cabbage.

“This is my first time gardening,” he said. “It’s fun.”

Quinn Gaughan is in first grade and has participated in Kids Club extra recess.

“I have dirt on the side of the driveway and want to dig it out and put flowers there,” he said.

“My Nana comes over and plants with me,’ said Madelynn Kuney, who is in second grade.

“I hope the students learn the science behind how flowers grow, the basics in starting their own garden and they enjoy the process from start to finish. I think the students really enjoy taking a break from their typical school day to do something meaningful with their friends,” Deagon said.

Adalee Hoenie is in third grade and she also participated in the slime club.

“I can watch the seeds grow. My sister had a garden, but the bunnies ate everything,” she said.

Mikey Fogley who is in first grade was planting jack-o-lantern seeds.

“I can do this at home with my mom,” he said.

He and Libby LoVallo were planting sweet pepper seeds and neither said they tried them before.

Danny Whalen is in first grade. “I like to get messy and excited to be planting,” he said.

Aisihi Asawa is in third grade and planting cantaloupe seeds.

“I like planting and helping out a lot of people,” she said.

Stephanie Mainato, Willow Compton, Jack Grotzinger, Arianny Franco, Ananya Sharma, Margot Vass and Aliza Hoenie are also members of the gardening club.

Future activities will have the students put mulch down and plant flowers around the school sign in front of the school.

The students in the Community Club visit businesses throughout Clarks Summit. The have visited the Clarks Summit Borough Building and the Welsh Tea Shoope.

They learned about Welsh history, language, culture and traditions. They also learned about coal mining history. The students learned about Clarks Summit’s connection to the Welsh city of Ystradgynlais and will be pen pals with students there.

The students will visit the Clarks Summit Fire Station, Clarks Summit Police Department, Community Bank, Abington Heights Administration Building and the Clarks Summit Post Office.

While at the post office, they will mail their letters to elementary students in Ystradgynlais.

“I think the students really enjoy taking a break from their typical school day to do something meaningful with their friends. I am so appreciate of our PTA for running the after-school program. Keeping kids connected to their school in a positive way is so valuable, providing experiences outside of the classroom keeps them excited about coming to school and their experience a memorable one,” said Deagon.