Staff vs. Members Basketball Game

A Little Theatre and A Lot of Imagination

The STARS group decided that they wanted to create costumes in the art center last week.  Once they created their costumes, they wrote and acted out a short play.  It is wonderful to see our members stretch their imaginations and use their creativity.

Here is a picture of one of our STARS members in her princess costume she created herself, complete with a bouquet of flowers.

Great job to our volunteer Samantha for making an engaging lesson for our members!

Join Us for National Night Out

Please join the West Side Boys and Girls Club in celebrating our National Night Out Celebration on August 5th from 4-7 pm.  It will be an early evening full of carnival games such as the three legged race, gunny sack races, relays, the water balloon toss, face painting, bean bag toss, ring toss, a cake walk and much much more.

We will also have a bouncy house, music, and a dunk tank for our guests to enjoy.  Food will also be served.

We look forward to seeing you!

Join Us For Our Back to School Night

On August 20th, please join us in our first annual Back to School Night starting at 4:30 pm.  We will begin the night with a PowerPoint presentation looking at our fall programs and what to expect here at the West Side Boys and Girls Club.

In addition, we will have free backpacks and school supplies for all members that come with their membership card and three written goals for the school year.  Once our program is finished, please join us for dinner. Look forward to seeing you!

July Members of the Month

Lucille Brooks is one of our STARS members.  She always has a positive attitude and is willing to help others.  She loves to participate in the art room as well as our literacy stations. Keep up the good work, Lucille!

Gabe has been chosen as our Cadet Members of the Month.  Gabe always has a positive attitude and participates in various programs available at the club.  Gabe is an excellent role model. Keep up the good work, Gabe!

Lailah Storay is one of our Cadet Members of the Month.   Lailah always has a positive attitude and is willing to help out others.  She likes to create art in the art room and participate in our literacy stations.  Keep up the good work, Lailah!

Diego Sikaffy has been chosen as one of our STARS members of the Month.  Diego always has a positive attitude and is respectful to members and staff.  He participates in our literacy stations and is willing to help in any way he can.  Keep up the good work, Diego!

Lupe Toralin has been chosen as our Teen Member of the Month.  Lupe participates in many of our programs here at the club.  He is currently employed through Youth Farm where he works with younger kids gardening as well as cooking.  He also has been active participant in our Career Launch Program where he has learned the importance of a good cover letter and resume. Lupe is respectful to all staff and members and always willing to help in any way he can.  Thank you for being a good role model, Lupe.

Alejandra Hernandez has been chosen as our Teen Member of the Month.  Alejandra is always respectful to members and staff and has been doing a great job volunteering in the STARS room.  Keep up the great work, Alejandra!

Coca-Cola Presents World Cup Soccer

On August 5th the West Side Boys and Girls Club would like to welcome you to our Soccer World Cup 2014.  Our staff with the help of Coca-Cola will be hosting a day full of socer shoot outs, soccer drills and tournaments complete with prizes.  Coca-Cola will also be providing lunch hot from the grill.   Come to the club for this fun event!

July Junior Staff of the Month

Xavier Storay has been chosen our Junior Staff of the Month because of his hard work and dedication to our members. Xavier takes initiative in running and managing members in all program areas and does a great job helping at the front desk.  Thank you, Xavier!

July Staff of the Month

Rudy Lugo has been chosen as our Staff of the Month.  Rudy has been working at the West Side Boys and Girls Club for three years and was a club kid himself.  Rudy is the most dedicated, hard working person who cares about the well being of our members.  He creates engaging, high yield activities in the gym that are age appropriate for all.  Rudy is very active in coaching baseball here at the club as well and puts in long hours to make sure they succeed.  Thank you for your dedication, Rudy!  

July Volunteers of the Month

Nolan Santosa has been chosen as our Volunteer of the Month.  We have had the privilege to partner with the MN Literacy Council, and Nolan has been our Summer VISTA volunteer to help with our literacy program.  Nolan is hard working and dedicated to our mission in making sure that all members are engaged in learning this summer.  Thank you for your service, Nolan!

Brianna Schmidt has been chosen as our Volunteer of the Month.  We have had the privilege to partner with the MN Literacy Council, and Brianna has been chosen as our Summer VISTA volunteer to help us with our literacy program.  Brianna is hard working, passionate, and dedicated to our mission in making sure that all members are engaged in summer literacy.  Thank you, Brianna!

Samantha Hausken has been chosen as our Volunteer of the Month.  Samantha has been volunteering at the West Side and comes every day.  She is a student at the University of Minnesota and is seeking a degree in Family Social Science.  She helps mentor our youth and takes initiative in creating meaningful and engaging art activities in the art room.  Thank you, Samantha!

Our new STARS Coordinator

We, at the West Side Boys and Girls Club would like to introduce to you our new STARS Coordinator, Teria Masterjohn.  She has been a wonderful addition to our team.  She is passionate and dedicated to our members and just happens that she used to be a club member herself.

Teira has created engaging literacy stations for our STARS program focusing on reading and writing.  She also uses the computers to support this initiative with our online reading resource Tumblebooks.

In this particular picture, she is holding up one of her students' All About Me books that they created which helped our members improve their skills in both reading and writing.

She is seeking her degree in Family Social Science at the University of MN.  Please welcome Miss Teira to our team.  We are lucky to have her!

Voyageur Camp

Each week, our members have the opportunity to attend Voyageur Camp for anywhere from three nights to seven days of camping. This camp is owned and operated by the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities.   While at camp, members get the chance to go canoeing, kayaking, swimming, have bonfires and enjoy nature.  Here is a picture of one of the groups going to camp this summer. The link to learn more about camp is here: Boys and Girls Club Voyageur Camp

Fox Sports North Member of the Month

Name: Bella Ramos Age 10

Bella Ramos is an All Star Athlete in both volleyball and softball and has the opportunity to participate in two state tournaments this year.  Her flexibility and willingness to fulfill any role needed on her softball team shows her dedication and true grit.  She is seen as both a role model and leader to her teammates and coaches.  She clearly understands the importance of having a strong work ethic and the importance of teamwork which will help her succeed in life both on and off the field.

Engaging Programs for Youth

This week, we have had various engaging programs for our members. In the morning, K-3, Grades 4-8, and Grades 9-12 have time set aside for them to explore their artistic side with age appropriate art projects.  This week members wrote acrostic poems, created self portraits, and created their own books.

In Mr. Hammel's room, Grades 4-8 spent time learning about science, math, reading and writing in creative and engaging ways.  Members also participated in high yield games as well as educational board game and building projects.

Above is a collage of the week.  Great job staff and members!

Throwback Thursday Boys and Girls Club Photos

While cleaning at Jerry Gamble Boys and Girls Club, they came across several old photos. One of those found is of our very own Branch Director at the West Side Boys and Girls Club, John Hardeman.  Even then he was inspiring members to succeed.

Farwell to Leah Kreibel, our former Program Director

Members at the West Side Boys and Girls Club planned a farewell party for Leah Kriebel last week thanking her for her two years of service to the club.  In her time at the West Side Boys and Girls Club, she has made a big impact on our youth in creating meaningful programs and partnerships with staff and community members.

Members at the club presented her with cards and a cake and many members stood up to share with the group all of the different ways she had impacted their lives.  The Keystone group followed this up with a beautiful scrapbook that they presented to her and they took her to dinner at Buca.

We plan to continue our connection with Leah through a new literacy program entitled Letters to Leah where members will have the chance to exchange letters with Leah as well as photos and updates on club life.

Thank you for your service, Leah.  You will truly be missed!

YMCA Partnership this Summer

We are pleased to have partnered with the West Side YMCA this summer to facilitate swimming lessons to our members aged 8-10.  Each week on Wednesdays, specific members that have turned in their registration forms will be bused from our site to the YMCA.  Many of our members are excited about this opportunity and so are we.

Thank You Youthworks!

We have been privileged to partner with the Youthworks this summer.  This is an organization that plans specific youth mission trips across Minnesota.  We are pleased to have 10-15 volunteers coming in each week to help mentor and volunteer their time at our club.

Last week, one of these goups donated art supplies for our art room as well as presented us with a 100.00 check that will be used by our Keystone Group.

Thank you, Youthworks!  We appreciate your donation of time and money.

New Summer Program

In the hopes to have members that are highly engaged and involved in activities at the club, I created a new summer schedule that allows both staff and members to best utilize their time in meaningful ways.  In the morning, members enjoyed a nutritious breakfast followed by Early Bird Games in the gym and games area with Rudy Lugo and our Junior Staff Xavier Latimer-Storay.

At ten o'clock, members are seperated into their learning groups.  Our STARS program is for K-3 members, the Education Center is for grades 4-8, and then the Teen Center is for teens.  Each group has time in the art center creating age appropriate art as well as highly engaging literacy activities that work on keeping their academic mind challenged.

Today in the Art Center, our staff member Laura Reyes, along with our St. Olaf Intern Megan and Sam created beautiful collages with the members where they looked for photos that showcased their goals in life. Once every member finished their collages, they had a chance to present their collages to the group.

In the gym, Rudy Lugo did an excellent job of engaging members in physical fitness activities such as soccer, volleyball and basketball.  He also has incorporated a Girls Gym session which has been a great addition to our existing program.

In the Games Center, members were able to participate in tournaments centered around foosball, bumper pool, Wii, and Xbox as well as a highly engaging game created by Matt Haritty for his Game of The Week.

In the STARS room, our new STARS Coordinator, Tiera Masterjohn had literacy stations in place where members played educational computer games, played educational board games, created art and participated in reading buddies.  In addition to this, she is running our Tumblebooks program so that all members will meet the goal of reading by the age of third grade.  STARS also had outdoor recess where they played a game of kickball as well as a hula hoop contest.

In the Education Center Hayden Hammel has done a great job of engaging our middle members in education by making this experience engaging and fun.  He played several high yield games as well as math puzzles, coloring and building projects.  He also spent time running our Netsmartz program with members as well.

Below are some great photos from the day!

West Side Club makes Fox 9 News!

On July 3rd, Fox 9 News came to our club to feature us in our efforts to inspire young members to consider a career in the information technology field.  Here is the West Side Club on the news featuring our junior staff Xavier Latimer-Storay, Dianna Gadea. West Side Club on Fox 9.