The sometimes simple questions take effort to answer. When Emerson third-grade teacher Nathan Sliva asked himself, “How do we get our students more active?” on a car ride from Lincoln, more than just his tires where turning.
“We saw a lot of these kids aren’t in activities outside of school,” Sliva said. “I wanted a way for these kids to get out and do something positive.” And after a few weeks of logistics and coordination, the Emerson Activity Club was born.
The new program gives Emerson students a chance to participate in sports and activities on Saturday mornings. “They may not have had exposure to these things otherwise,” Sliva said.
Sliva came up with the activities by observation, picking a few of the most popular playground sports. He wanted to be sure both girls and boys can participate equally. Soccer, track and field and basketball took place in September. Band and baseball/softball run the first two weekends in October.
Each activity is lead by the CHS students, Sliva said. “It doesn’t need to be a focus on me, or with me. I let the high schoolers know what we’re planning and they go for it. They really seemed to be having fun with it all.”
“I wanted to get the high schoolers involved and them meeting our students. Lunch hour wasn’t going to work. This is a great way that they get to show these kids something they enjoy and they can strive to, to play or do when they grew-up and become highschoolers themselves,” Silva said.
Activity Club’s first week brought out close to 30 students, Sliva said. “We had at least five in each grade level, too. That’s somewhere’s around a quarter of the school out here,” he added. “Since the first week, I’ve got slips back and it’s already growing.”
Emerson parents will need to fill out a liability form and have their student return it to their grade-level teacher. Particpants need to arrive between 8:45 and 9 to check-in and are to be picked up at 10:10. In case of inclement weather, students will use the gymnasium. Masks will only be required if activities are moved inside.
Anyone who has signed up will get a coupon to a local restaurant or a snack.
“We’ve had a lot of community support, too. And they’ve been helpful in making this possible,” Sliva said.
Two weeks remain on the schedule.
On Saturday, members of the CHS Band will preform and on October 9, students will play baseball or softball. Students will need closed toed shoes and they can bring a glove if they have one. If they do not have one, one will be supplied.
If you’re on the fence about coming out, Sliva said there should be no hesitation.
“Come out and play. It’s an hour on a Saturday with your friends,” he said. “Mom or Dad, drop them off, run your errands or just have an hour to yourselves. We’ll make sure they have a good time.”