First week of STAR Club
We have our first week of STAR Club in the books and we couldn’t be more grateful! Thank you so much for supporting us as we worked to get STAR Club going again. We have been talking about STAR club for the last 3 months and I had a certain idea of what it would look like, but it is far better than I had imagined.
This last Monday, our first day back, I rode the bus from Orchard Center with the 3rd and 4th graders while Brandon and Ann, one of our volunteer mentors, drove the 5th graders to the community center. When we arrived at the school, there were a few parents waiting, so it was quiet, but once the doors opened to release the kids for the day, they flooded out of the school in full force.
I have to admit that I didn't have a full grasp of what that moment would be like, but the most pleasantly surprising part was how excited each student was. Immediately, each kid was telling me their name and asking me a barrage of questions. “Are you my mentor!?”, “What do we get for snack?” “Can we play dodgeball??”
When we got to the community center, we got right into the flow of the day. The kids got their snacks and they were divided into groups of 4 and 5 with their mentors. Rocky, our STAR club coordinator, led us as the students decided on the norms and rules of STAR club. We spent some time playing games and getting to know each other, then did a tour. Before I knew it, parents were arriving to pick up their kids.
Day 2 was on Wednesday and everything went so smoothly! We did the same pickup routine and everyone knew what to do, we did snack then played some quick games before getting into our stations. My group was at the sewing station. I was so impressed by how focused each student was right away. Carolyn, our sewing station leader, and Rocky meticulously cut out dozens, if not hundreds of fabric pieces to make pot holders. Each student was paired with a volunteer and a sewing machine. Everything went seamlessly, see what I did there?? But, honestly, the volunteers did an incredible job and so did the group!
Overall, I was impressed with each kid. They are so eager to be there, to build relationships and to learn. I can’t wait to see how this week and each week following goes. If you are interested in partnering with us in some way, or would like to know more, feel free to send me an email at jeremy@millwoodimpact.org.
