After our big Halloween Celebration last night, we continued the Halloween fun today as well. Members had the opportunity to decorate wooden Halloween masks with our Theme Director, Laura Reyes.
Once members decorated their wooden masks, Samantha Hausker, our Education Director helped them frost pumpkin shaped sugar cookies. Above are some photos from the day.
On October 30th from 4-7 pm, the Al Lenzmeier West Side Boys & Girls Club hosted their annual Halloween Carnival Party for 200 members and their families.
Members and their families had the opportunity to participate in several carnival games. One of the games offered was called the Guessing Game where they could guess how much candy was in the jar, and the person closest to the actual amount was able to take this home as a prize.
We also had a cake walk where members and their families could win cupcakes and other baked goods. Some of the other carnival games consisted of the witch hat ring toss, the clown bean bag toss, the pumpkin pond, pin the nose on the pumpkin, and mummy bowling.
One of our other features of the night was the West Side Village of Body Parts that was constructed by our members under the direct supervision of our Theme Coordinator, Laura Reyes. It is here where members had the chance to put their hand into the opening of each house and had to guess the body parts for a chance to win some candy.
While our guests played carnival games, we served freshly popped popcorn to our guests. Around 5:30 pm, we announced that a spooky dinner would be served in the cafeteria. Once our guests were seated we served hot dogs and macaroni and cheese to approximately 200 families.
After dinner was finished, our guests had the chance to play Super Bingo for prizes and even have their fortune read by Miss Samantha, our fortune teller. Special coupons were raffled off to guests for a free s'more that they could redeem on the outside patio.
I would like to extend a heart felt thank you to all of the people who made candy donations, as well as all the volunteers who came to help us run our carnival games. We could not have done this without you!
Below is a video presentation of our wondereful event!
In partnership with the After School Alliance, the Al Lenzmeier West Side Boys & Girls Club participated in the Lights On Afterschool Celebration October 23rd from 4-6 pm.
Members had the chance to visit the Girl Scouts of America informational booth and learn how they can have their very own Girl Scouts troop at the club.
Members were also busy practicing their Thanksgiving Play Production in the STARS room. The play will take place at our Thanksgiving Dinner and Awards Ceremony on November 25th. There are eighteen members who have joined this club and they meet twice a week. Members have the opportunity to have active roles in the play, work on set and prop design, or costume design.
We also had our Power Hour and Goals for Graduation programs in session. These programs run from 3:00-5:00 pm daily where members complete their homework and get free tutoring help. Once their homework is completed, members had the chance to participate in additional, engaging literacy stations. Members worked on creating their own colorful light bulb that stated the most important program they participated in while at the club. They also worked on their math skills. Members had the choice between completing a color by addition assignment or practicing their fractions by charting their own name.
Teens were busy signing their Pledge to Graduate From High School through the Taco Bell Initiative and the Keystone Leadership Group ran their weekly meeting where they disscussed how to improve monthly Teen Nights, upcoming Keystone elections scheduled for November 5th, and looked at ways that they can give back to our community.
The Athletic Director, Rudy Lugo, also had the end of the season soccer championship tournament taking place in the gym. While the games were in session, members of our Keystone ran the concession stand selling snacks and Powerade to the participants and guests.
Overall, it was another successful day at the club. If you do not have a membership, please come down and see what we have to offer youth after school. The opportunities are endless.
We are fortunate to have a volunteer who has graciously donated her time and talent in teaching our teens how to play guitar. Each week on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 6-7 pm, teens will be given introductory guitar lessons. We had six participants this week and we look forward to having them perform at our Thanksgiving Dinner and Awards Ceremony on November 25th.
Every week, our members have the chance to participate in the bell choir. Augustana Church has generously donated bells for our bell choir and have been volunteering their time teaching our members the bells. This is their second rehearsal and are preparing for their first performance at our Thanksgiving Dinner and Awards Ceremony on November 25th.
Members were given 20 pieces of spaghetti, a yard of string and some tape and were told to make the tallest structure in a limited amount of time. Members worked hard with their teams to figure out how to do this and were very engaged in this activity. Thank you, Samanatha Hausker, our Education Director for facilitating this woncerful STEM activity.
As our Halloween Carnival Party approaches, our members, under the direct supervision of our Theme Coordinator, Laura Reyes, have been busy constructing our West Side Village which will be on display outside of the club where all members can trick or treat. The villages are coming together very nicely. Great job members!
