Weekly Media Roundup: May 13, 2020

OCCA Develops “Art Kits” For 21st Century After School Program, The News Guard (Oregon)

This school year, the Sam Case Elementary 21st Century Afterschool Program in Newport, Oregon partnered with the Oregon Coast Council of the Arts (OCCA) to facilitate four-week art classes for students. While in-person programming is suspended due to coronavirus, the program has found a way to continue these classes through ‘art kits’ distributed to students’ homes. The kits include materials and instructions for map-themed ‘art challenges’ that teach students about shape, texture, lines and more. According to the News Guard, “McKenzie Purdom of the 21st Century program reports that the kids are very excited about the Art Kits and their Art Challenges.”

Boys & Girls Club Offers Familiar Face, Virtual Place During Pandemic, The Barnstable Patriot (Massachusetts)

Each day, the Boys & Girls Club of Cape Cod is providing two hours of interactive, live afterschool programming on Zoom while in-person programming is suspended due to the pandemic. The programming includes “Mad Science” workshops, “Girl Talk” sessions, karate, yoga, music, English language arts, tutoring and more. The Club is also partnering with community members to expand programming, including a police officer who will conduct a ‘virtual tour’ of a police cruiser and the Mashpee, Massachusetts police station. “We often don’t realize how stressful this (new coronavirus situation) is for kids,” Executive Director Ruth Provost told the Barnstable Patriot. “They need a familiar routine and (they need) to be able to see people they know and like.”

How this North Omaha Program is Reaching Kids Even While It's Closed, Omaha World-Herald (Nebraska)

The NorthStar Enrichment Center provides tutoring, meals, college prep, lacrosse and more in an afterschool program for boys in Omaha, Nebraska. While the pandemic has meant the suspension of in-person programming, the center is busy distributing around 200 boxed dinners on Monday nights, breakfast and lunch on Fridays, and grocery boxes on Wednesdays. NorthStar President Scott Hazelrigg has also been visiting students from a distance by bringing lawn chairs and doughnuts to their front yards to check in and connect them to learning opportunities. The center is planning a summer learning program and distributing iPads so students can participate. “If it’s really hot, there are no jobs and people haven’t had structure, bad stuff happens,” Hazelrigg told the Omaha World-Herald.

Parks and Recreation Center Providing Virtual Classes to Keep Kids Active During Pandemic, KVEO-TV (Texas)

Students in Pharr, Texas are engaging in workout classes, martial arts, dancing, crafts, guitar classes and more thanks to virtual afterschool programming from the Pharr Parks and Recreation Center. The program started offering online classes to help students stay active and healthy during the pandemic. “Whether it’s dancing, taekwondo, [or] guitar, it keeps your mind off some things sometimes, so it’s a little bit of everything,” Recreation Supervisor Sara Guerra told KVEO-TV.