Helping Hands logo
January 2020
Upcoming Events
January 10th - Knights of Columbus Free Throw Competition 4-6 PM, Ages 9-14
January 11th - Free Fustal Soccer Clinic 1-3 PM, open to all registrants
January 20th - Club Closed for MLK Day
January 22nd - Nantucket Public School Early Release, Club Open 12-6 PM
January 31st - Family Fun Night 5:30-7:30 PM

Quick Links
  
Like us on Facebook
  
  

Follow us on Twitter

 

View on Instagram

 

View our videos on YouTube
Club News  
 
1st Grader, Member, and Youth 
of the Month !

Isobel Gordon -1st Grader of the Month 
Isobel spends a lot of her time in the Learning Center with Danny and Alissa, where she attends Power Hour, the national Boys & Girls Club homework program. After Power Hour, Isobel will most likely be in the Games Room participating in tournaments and playing games with her friends. Isobel's commitment to her homework, her positive attitude, and her willingness to try new things at the Club make her a leader and role model for her fellow first graders. Congratulations Isobel!
Favorite(s)
TV Show/Movie  -Elf
Book - Pig the Pug by Aaron Blabey
Color - Pink
Food - Mac & Cheese
What do you want to be when you grow up?: Vet
 
Raffi Matheney and Shain Mahat - 
MEMBERS of the Month 

Raffi Matheney - Member of the Month
Raphelia 'Raffi' Matheney  is a bright ray of sunshine at the Club. She never stays in one place for very long and has participated in almost every activity and program offered at the Club. Her favorite activities include drawing in the Art Room, editing photos during Photo Club, and playing Uno in the Games Room. She also loves to play in the Gym and outside, especially Basketball. Raffi is a staff favorite, and will take time out of her busy day to talk to and play games with the staff.  Congratulations Raffi!
Favorite(s):
TV Show/Movie: Movie - Frozen II
Book: I Survived (Book Series) By Lauren Tarshis
Color: ALL kinds of Blue
Food: Pizza
What do you want to be when you grow up?: Artist
 
Shain Mahat - Member of the Month

Shain Mahat stays busy by spending a lot of his time in the Art Room, participating in the many activities and programs that are offered. Shain's favorite program at the club is Drama Matters, where members are taught and encouraged to participate in hands-on performing arts activities. Last year, Drama Matters culminated in an in-house play, "The Day the Crayons Quit", where Shain starred as Duncan, the main character. Shain is also part of the Music Makers Club and sang at Christmas Stroll. When he has downtime, Shain enjoys playing with Legos during Lego Free Time and spending time with his friends in the Computer Lab. Congratulations Shain!
Favorite(s):
TV Show/Movie: Movie - Can't think of any!
Book: All Sonic Books
Color: Blue
Food: Dumpling
What do you want to be when you grow up?: Mechanic

Gaven Smith - Youth of the Month
Gaven Smith loves spending time at the club with his friends and brings his great attitude and energy everywhere he goes. He is currently play DI Basketball for Fusaros, and can't wait to start competing. When he isn't attending practices or games, Gaven is often in the gym practicing his skills, outside playing football with his friends, or in the Computer Lab playing virtual reality games. He also loves hanging out with staff and attending Thursday night teen nights. Congrats Gaven! 
Favorite(s)
TV Show/Movie -  Uncle Drew (TV Show), SpongeBob the Movie
Book - Harry Potter (ALL 7 Books)
Color - Pink
Food - Fries
What do you want to be when you grow up?: NBA Player

What's Happening
Art Room
The Art Room  wrapped up the year 2019 with two amazing events. "Gift Week" projects were successfully created and given out to our members' families and friends, and our members' performance at Stroll was a big hit! A big shout out to our Art Room Coordinator, Doreen, who every year manages to pull off a great Stroll showing while simultaneously decorating the Club for the holidays and running her numerous programs.

Congratulations are in order for Peyton Barrett, a second grade club member, who won the Rockland Trust Holiday Card Coloring Contest. She received a $100 Visa Gift Card and 25 printed holiday cards that featured her drawing. Congratulations to Stephanie Chavez and Garvia Lee, who came in 2 nd and 3 rd  place respectively. We are so proud of all our members who participated in the contest.

202 0 will bring new and exciting programs to the Art Room .  The Doodle Dash Challenge will be offered every day from 2:30-3:00 in the  Art Room while the kids transition from school to Club. Members have the option to stay anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes to complete the challenge. Their artwork will be posted in the hallways throughout the year! Lessons in Art will also begin in 2020, which is designed to teach a wide range of skills and techniques using basic art supplies. This program is designed to expose our members to different and unique art mediums. Drama Matters will begin soon, and the play will be a sequel to last year's "The Day the Crayons Quit". More information to follow as we move into February. If you'd like your child to participate in any of these programs, please reach out to Doreen in the Art Room! 


 

Learning Center

The Power Hour Homework Club is going strong! We have members trickling into the Learning Center all day to work on their homework, with over 130 new and returning members who have already been in so far this year! Our second Power Hour Party of the year was held on December 13th, and our next will be on February 7th! Members who sign a Power Hour contract and attend Power Hour regularly are invited to monthly Power Hour parties! Power Hour takes place Monday through Thursday from 2:30-4:00.

BookNook takes place after Power Hour and seeks to develop our members' reading and comprehension skills.  BookNook is a fun, web-based reading app that selects short books and vocabulary words for our members based on their reading level. The 20-30 minute lessons mix games and interactive questions with the reading and adapt in difficulty as your child learns, teaching them different reading standards as they progress towards the next reading level. BookNook time in the Learning Center is Monday through Thursday from 4:00-5:00.

Whether your child is a struggling reader who could use some help catching up to their grade level, a strong reader who would like to improve, or somewhere in between, BookNook can help! If you're interested in signing up your member or finding out more about the program, please visit Danny in the Learning Center or send an email to  [email protected]

The LEGO Robotics team had their competition on Sunday, December 8 th  at Worcester Polytechnic Institute! Our six 4th -6th  graders competed in the  FIRST LEGO League, a world-wide competition where teams of 4th -8th  graders compete against each other in a robot competition and share a project relating to that year's theme. This year our Robot got the 8th  place score out of 24 teams. The judges enjoyed our project about maintenance drones and the teamwork they displayed. Going forward, Robotics will be on Thursday afternoons at 5:00 PM!
 
Computer Lab
Our members were ready to get back into the Computer Lab on their very first day at the Club after the holidays. In the new year, our older members will begin to assist our first graders with their computer choices and help teach them tips and tricks to make their computer use easy and fun! Our members, young and old, continue to love MyFuture, the national Boys & Girls Club Program that teaches kids how to utilize technology, and the many games offered in the Computer Lab including VR (Virtual Reality), Beat Saber, making maps, coding, and Nitro Type.
 
Photo Club
Photo Club will continue into 2020, with new lessons, activities, and field trips. Photo Club has officially started their own News Show, where they will work on creating a unique news script that will be recorded and edited into a newscast. The members have also been busy designing their own T-shirts, working on member portraits, and exploring the island to take beautiful photos. Our members continue to improve on their picture taking and editing skills. We are excited to see what they will come up with this year!

Teen Room
In the Teen Room , our members have been playing Dominos, creating peppermint holiday ornaments, and attending the last Date Smart of the school year. Date Smart was an interactive program for sixth  graders and up, where members could ask questions in a judgement free zone and learn better how to form and manage personal relationships. Many of our teen members assisted with our Holiday Party by running the ice cream bar in the teen room. Thank you to Lily Potter and Stephany Zavala who did an amazing job. A big thank you to our Torch Club members who also helped.
 
Teen Nights  are always popular among our older members. Curling at the rink on Friday nights and volleyball and soccer on Saturdays keeps teen members busy. There have also been glow in the dark games outside on the field, including soccer, foursquare, and manhunt. 
 
Thursday night Teen Nights are from 6-8 PM and are offered for members in 6 th grade and older. Friday night Teen Nights are from 8-10:30 PM and Saturday nights from 7-10 PM. Teens in 8th grade or older may attend Friday and Saturday nights for FREE!



Junior Chefs 
The Junior Chefs  created so many delicious dishes in December, including homemade hot pockets, calzones, and holiday cookies. In January, they will make omelettes, soups, sandwiches, and lasagna. Their dish for the first week back in January was chocolate chip zucchini muffins which were delicious. Keep it up Junior Chefs!




 
Field Trips
Our two most popular field trips of last year will continue to happen regularly in the year 2020. Kids on Ice is free for all members up to 5th  grade, and has been a major success with over 50 members participating last year. Kids on Ice takes place every Thursday, from 2:45-4:00 PM. Elisabeth, our Computer Lab Coordinator, will either walk or drive them to the rink depending on the weather. A signed permission slip is required for participation in the program. Please see Elisabeth or the Front Desk for a permission slip.

Sea Pony Farm field trips have been educational and exciting for our members, who love being able to interact with and learn how to care for horses, alpacas, and donkeys. There will be two Sea Pony Farm field trips in January - the first on January 16th, at 3 PM. Please see Tara if you have any questions! She is our Teen Coordinator and will most likely by in "The Nest" (aka Teen Room).
A thletics
Welcome back! We hope everyone enjoyed their break. With basketball in full swing, we are in  for what is sure to be another exciting season. This Friday, January 10th  at 4-6 PM we will be hosting the Knights of Columbus Free Throw Shooting competition. This event is open to everyone 9-14 years of age. Please see Joe or Matt to register.

This year we are participating in another Cape Cod Youth Basketball season. Our 4th grade travel boys team has had an undefeated season so far, and our 6th grade travel boys team has had many close and exciting games. If you'd like to cheer on any of our teams, please check our website for dates and times of home games. If your child is participating in the in-house basketball league, s chedules can be found online here:
https://nantucketboysandgirlsclub.org/2020-basketball-schedules-are-out/ . 

Thank you to all of our volunteer coaches. Without your time and support, the basketball league would not be possible!

The Club is partnering with the Nantucket Soccer Club & Grassroots League to offer a 5V5 Futsal League, beginning in January. There will be a free Futsal Clinic on Saturday, January 11, 2020 open to all who have registered from 1-3 PM. Games will begin the week of January 13th, and will be played on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Register online at:  nantucketboysandgirlsclub.org  or call 508-228-0158.








Community
We are partnering with the Children's Cove, The Cape & Islands Child Advocacy Center, to run a moderated group discussion on Tuesday, February 4th , 2020 from 6:00-7:00 PM. This focus group is seeking to understand ways in which to better our island community and we need your help! We are inviting our parents to participate in this discussion.

Free childcare will be provided for children ages 6 years and older by program staff members during this period. Refreshments will be available for participants and dinner will be provided for children in childcare during the session. Sign ups and registration for child care are needed by Wednesday, January 29th, 2020. Please help us in joining Children's Cove to create a community where children are free of abuse, have a voice that is heard, and where they enjoy healthy, safe, and empowered lives. More information is below.

We'd like to end this newsletter by giving our thanks and gratitude to the Harvey Foundation and Cape Cod Five, who have continued to support the Club and our members. Without these two organizations, the Club would not be the bright and positive place it is. Our members would especially like to thank the Harvey Foundation for providing them with free Basketball shoes for their upcoming season. We are so lucky and proud to be part of the Nantucket community.





 

 
 
Stay connected with the Club and all the exciting programs we will be offering this year. Check out our calendar on our website and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! You can also stay up to date with our text alert system- simply text NANTUCKET to 84483.

    
Nantucket Boys & Girls Club | PO Box 269 | Nantucket, Massachusetts 02554 | 508-228-0158