Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
As part of the after-school program – SPLASH – at Green Bank Elementary-Middle School, site coordinator Lesa McCarty organizes special projects for the students to do after they finish their school work.
Last week, the students put finishing touches on butterfly houses they built. The houses are an extension of one of last year’s projects in which students made birdhouses for the Green Bank Senior Citizens.
McCarty hopes the projects will lead to after-school clubs which will take place once a week.
“We’re trying to get clubs started and hopefully that will be next year,” she said. “We’ll have a chess club, a nature club, robotics. There’s a Young Life club. This [project] is kind of like mixing two of them together. We did a survey with the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth graders and forty-four of them said they would like to do some type of woodworking and twen-ty-nine of them would like a nature club.”
Once the butterfly houses are complete, the students will take them home, with the exception of two students who decided to leave their houses at the school.
McCarty said she has received lots of help from the community in the form of donations of materials and time.
“I’ve been really amazed at the things folks in the community will do if you just ask,” she said. “I’m really impressed at how people come out to help.”
While this school year isn’t over yet, McCarty is already thinking about next year’s after-school projects. She hopes to start a sewing club in November for students and members of the community.
“Sandy Ervine has agreed to be our instructor,” McCarty said. “Classes will be every Tuesday from 4 to 6 p.m. The classes we will offer are basic sewing for students and adults and basic quilting for students and adults.”
Since the club is new, McCarty said there are a lot of materials needed for the students. Included in the list are: sewing machines that can make button holes, zig-zag and straight stitches, rotary cutters, seam rippers, thread dual duty and cotton, poly blend material at least 50 percent cotton, cotton material, tape measures, six inch rulers, sewing scissors, hem gauges, machine needles and notions.
The club also needs volunteers to assist the students. Individuals or civic organizations interested in donating items for the club may contact McCarty at GBEMS at 304-456-4865, or at home between the hours of 7 and 9 p.m. at 304-456-5501.
Suzanne Stewart may be contacted at sastewart@pocahontastimes.com