Boys & Girls Club Kids Celebrate End of School Year at Anna Hause Elementary

Editor's Note: The author is a member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the San Gorgonio Pass board.

The Eighties came back in a flash as the Boys & Girls Clubs of the San Gorgonio Pass celebrated the end of the school year with a musical review and awards ceremony at Anna Hause Elementary School in Beaumont.

Thirty children, from Anna Hause and Sundance schools, and a room full of parents, family and friends participated in the celebration.

Set to hit songs of the eighties, Site Director Katie Wick ensured each child was part of the choreographed routine.

After each song, children were presented with certificates that highlighted special talents or positive attributes.

The children who attend the club at Anna Hause and Sundance are in Kindergarten through fifth grade. However, The Boys & Girls Clubs offer expanded programing for youth through twelfth grade.

Wick gave a special thank you to the out-going fifth grade students as she wished them luck and presented them with certificates.

“I want to thank my fifth graders.” said Wick. “I have known these girls for a long time and I am really going to miss them.”

As a Board member of the non-profit organization, I have the privilege of attending club events and enjoy watching the kids blossom.

Today's event was no different. I'm sure parents wondered who I was....the lady, who entered and exited with no children, but sat proudly at the back of the room holding back tears.

It might have been that I was facing my own realization that my children are grown and I won't have an opportunity to feel the joy of watching little feet dance and tiny voices sing out of key anymore.

But, even more so, it was seeing the mission of the Boys & Girls Clubs come to fruition in those little feet and tiny voices.

In the two years of being a Board Member, I have watched shy children become gregarious and disrespect replaced with courteous, well-mannered personalities.

The children ranged in age from five to ten and it was wonderful how they all worked together as a team to make the production successful.

The older kids watched out of the corner of their eye to ensure the younger ones kept in line and offered gentle reminders if they were falling behind.

During the last number, The Go-Go's 1982 hit “Vacation,” one little boy had trouble keeping time with the music as they swayed side to side. The child to his left and right put their arms around him and gently led him into the rhythm of the music.

Even though the school year is coming to a close, the Boys & Girls Club of the San Gorgonio Pass will continue to offer programing during the summer.

The twelve Boys & Girls Clubs locations in the pass area will be reduced to three and include Nicolet Middle School, Three Rings Ranch, and the Roosevelt Williams Clubhouse.

The Summer Camp program will be available from 7:00 am until 6:00 pm starting mid June and will continue through mid August.

The normal schedule and additional nine locations will resume in in September with the commencement of the 2011-2012 school year.

The organization will hold their annual golf tournament on Friday, June 17^th at the Morongo Golf Club, Tukwet Canyon in Beaumont, formally known as East Valley Golf Club.

Sponsorships are still needed and Foursomes are still available. Please contact the Boys & Girls Clubs of the San Gorgonio Pass for more information.

Editor's Note: The Boys & Girls Clubs of the San Gorgonio Pass web site is http://www.bgcsgpass.com/