Happy New Year!
The Squash on Track team is really excited for the opportunities that lay in 2022 and we hope you’ll continue to follow along our journey. I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on how much we’ve grown in the past year!
As a response to the pandemic, the program was heavily limited to running programs only once a week during closed hours with a small group of students. As the vaccinations were rolled out, Richard decided to hire a full-time program coordinator, Alana Poole (hello!) to get the program back on track.
We started with three students in September and quickly reached our program capacity of 10 students by the first week of November! We have provided consistent programming on Tuesdays and Fridays after-school.
Richard leading a warm up activity.
Here is a little break down of how we have spent our time so far:
23 hours of Squash, 12 hours of Tutoring, 9 hours of STEAM lessons/activities, 4 hours of Social-Emotional Learning/Wellness Activities, and 13 hours of Social Recreation (games, outdoor play, cards, ping pong, etc.).
We have hosted our first 3-day Fall Break Camp and 5-day Thanksgiving Camp!
During the Fall Break Camp, Squash Drive came over to join us and our Squash on Track kids got to learn from some of their coaches and play with their students! Their coaches held a small mock-tournament to get some more experience playing new opponents and learning the set-up of a mini tournament.
Our Thanksgiving camp was a day camp that ran for 5 days. We had extra time to work on our squash skills, go to the playground, play some games, and work on our animal research projects! Each student got an animal to research and created a profile for them. Their surprise was meeting those animals at CuriOddyssey, an interactive science museum and zoo! At CuriOddyssey, we took photos with our animals, explored the various science exhibits and even participated in their “Build it Break it” Workshop. They got to build mini bridges using popsicle sticks and tape and measured the weight it could support and improve their designs as many times as possible. It was wonderful seeing their ideas fly around the room and them getting excited to test their builds.
Build it Break it Workshop at CuriOdyssey
We also held our first series of parent-teacher conferences which will continue to be held once a semester. The students were given a self-evaluation form to reflect on their behavior and presence in our program and I reviewed these forms along with their report cards with their parents. This also gave me the chance to get their feedback and touch base with them about the plans for the upcoming year. I was able to show them the Social-Emotional Competencies that we prioritize at Squash on Track and how our projects align with building these competencies. I loved getting to know them a bit more in a one-on-one capacity without the kids around and I am really happy to serve as a partner in their students learning and growth.
We also had a World Squash Day Breakfast Fundraising Tournament! This was a great event to see so many Squash Zone members come together to play in a fun morning tournament and we ended up raising nearly $5,000! Thank you all to those who participated and donated!
Our final fundraising event of the year was our silent auction at the Squash Zone Holiday Party! We had a night of fun and many wonderful auction items to bid on. It was an incredible turnout and we ended up raising over $16,600. A huge thank you to everyone who attended, bid on auction items and donated items. This
Volunteer Coach Justin rallying with two students, Jose-Luis and Junior.
Finally, we have grown our Squash on Track volunteer team! We currently have 12 tutors and 3 coaches who regularly come to work with our students! Keep your eye out for a volunteer team page coming soon! They have been a joy to work with and I am so grateful to have people who are willing to donate their time to our program. Our kids love working with our tutors and I can’t wait for them to keep building their relationships together. Our tutors just completed their first tutors training which went over some program objectives and philosophies for working with children, protocols and the program plans for the upcoming year. This was also a great opportunity for me to get their feedback on the program and figure out how to better support them.
Volunteer tutors Olivia and Gerard working on a fractions worksheet with the students.
Overall, it has been a fun and packed three months and I am really excited to keep sharing our progress as we continue on in this new school year. Kids will be back in the club starting tomorrow on Tuesdays and Fridays. We will be hosting our first Saturday community service project—check back to see how that goes!
Thank you all for a great 2021, looking forward to another wonderful year!
Marshmallow tower building activity.