School culture and community are a focus of Rotary’s high-impact EarlyAct Club at Sycamore’s North Grove School according to principal Ryan Janisch. Although somewhat limited by Covid-19 restrictions, the fifth-grade extra-curricular activity retains its 11-year run of helping build leadership and philanthropy.
Janisch said club participation generally runs between 50 and 70 kids with normally two club meetings per month. Activities center around 10 character-traits like collaboration, citizenship, honesty, integrity, etc. The club will choose a character trait upon which to focus and then create announcements, posters, game activities, service projects, newsletter blurbs, and even a video to highlight it. A recent “citizenship” focus included a bulletin board “mask” montage to promote good Covid-19 mitigation efforts. Janisch credits the club with making community service and character-trait learning “fun.”
The EarlyAct Club has an impressive record for service according to Janisch. One example was their Kazo Project in Rwanda. A Sycamore student heard about a school requirement that the students in Rwanda needed two pencils and a pencil sharpener to attend class. An aggressive collection effort took place with ten-thousand pencils (along with sharpeners) amassed followed by a matching donation from the School Toolbox Company of Sycamore. The result was enough supplies for students in two Rwandan towns. A highlight of the project was an exchange of videos between the Sycamore and Rwanda students. Other projects included help with “Feed My Starving Children” meal packing; building a bookshelf for a Habitat for Humanity home; Operation Gratitude that sends candy to troops overseas; visits to a city council meeting and WLBK radio; building a special recess buddy-bench; and problem-solving skits performed for the whole school. Janisch gave a shout-out to past and present Rotarians Brian Adams, Julie Sgarlata, and Riley Oncken for their special help with the EarlyAct club.
Janisch said club participation generally runs between 50 and 70 kids with normally two club meetings per month. Activities center around 10 character-traits like collaboration, citizenship, honesty, integrity, etc. The club will choose a character trait upon which to focus and then create announcements, posters, game activities, service projects, newsletter blurbs, and even a video to highlight it. A recent “citizenship” focus included a bulletin board “mask” montage to promote good Covid-19 mitigation efforts. Janisch credits the club with making community service and character-trait learning “fun.”
The EarlyAct Club has an impressive record for service according to Janisch. One example was their Kazo Project in Rwanda. A Sycamore student heard about a school requirement that the students in Rwanda needed two pencils and a pencil sharpener to attend class. An aggressive collection effort took place with ten-thousand pencils (along with sharpeners) amassed followed by a matching donation from the School Toolbox Company of Sycamore. The result was enough supplies for students in two Rwandan towns. A highlight of the project was an exchange of videos between the Sycamore and Rwanda students. Other projects included help with “Feed My Starving Children” meal packing; building a bookshelf for a Habitat for Humanity home; Operation Gratitude that sends candy to troops overseas; visits to a city council meeting and WLBK radio; building a special recess buddy-bench; and problem-solving skits performed for the whole school. Janisch gave a shout-out to past and present Rotarians Brian Adams, Julie Sgarlata, and Riley Oncken for their special help with the EarlyAct club.