Weekly Media Roundup: April 7, 2021

Moscow School District’s Adventure Club Returns with Adjustments Aimed at Keeping COVID-19 at Bay, Moscow-Pullman Daily News (Idaho)

This summer, students in Moscow, Idaho will benefit from a robust summer learning experience offered by the Adventure Club, the Moscow School District’s out-of-school time program. It will keep students engaged and help them prepare for the new school year with fun activities including environmental education, day hikes, free play, hands-on projects and field trips. Third grader Keyon Springs told the Moscow-Pullman Daily News that without the Adventure Club’s afterschool and summer program, “I know what I’d be doing — I’d be sitting in my mom’s work being bored to death. Literally. I love [the Adventure Club]. I’ve done it last summer, and I love that too because there are a lot of people and there are activities like rock climbing, ice skating and swimming.”

Kids’ Orchestra Developing Leaders Through Music With Your Help, WAFB 9 (Louisiana)

At the Kids’ Orchestra afterschool program in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, students get help with homework and learn to play orchestral instruments. The free program uses music to help students express themselves and teach them key life skills like responsibility, collaboration, perseverance and more. Amy Hoffman, whose daughter Paige has been inspired to pursue a career in music because of the program, told WAFP 9 she’s appreciated watching Paige “be self-motivated. I saw her self-confidence grow, and more importantly, or just as important as those things, I saw the work ethic.” Afterschool Ambassador Samuel Trevathan is education director at Kids Orchestra.

Afterschool Program Expanding to Eight Sites, The Rogersville Review (Tennessee)

The Greater Kingsport Family YMCA will soon open six new afterschool sites, with a goal of serving 230 students in Hawkins County, Tennessee. At the programs, students explore science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), get tutoring, take part in physical fitness activities and more. The Greater Kingsport Family YMCA plans to engage volunteers and local businesses to offer workshops to help students explore their interests. “While our main focus in the afterschool program is to increase the students’ literacy and math skills, we also working on building social and emotional skills,” Director of Youth Development Elizabeth Chappell told the Rogersville Review.

Opinion: 'Boys and Girls Club of Central Ohio Has Transformed My Life', The Columbus Dispatch (OH)

In a recent guest column for the Columbus Dispatch, 16-year-old Brandon Everett shares how the afterschool program at the Boys and Girls Club of Central Ohio in Columbus has given him a consistent support system and the tools he needs to succeed as he copes with the changes and uncertainties of foster care. Everett says the emotional support he’s received from the program’s staff has inspired him to pursue a career in art therapy. “I felt that I belonged from the moment I stepped foot inside the club. It was a safe space for me to be myself,” Everett wrote. “I have been able to showcase many skills and strengths that were hidden within me before.”