MAHS received a 2018 Education Excellence Award and $2,500 from the SET SEG Foundation in partnership with the Michigan Association of School Boards for its Love Clubs program, which gives kids a chance to broaden their experiences while gaining hands on knowledge.

This is the third award MAHS has won in the past four years for its educational programs.

“We won for our Rock the Socks Program and we won for our She Believed/Dudefest,” said Cindy DePetro, MAHS teacher.

This year’s program was Love Clubs, five clubs designed to challenge students in ways that combine critical thinking, physical activity, problem-solving and community outreach.

Jim Derocher, account executive for SET SEG, talks to the audience during the assembly. (Photo courtesy of Cindy DePetro)

“We created these five Love groups and then gave the kids the opportunity to sign up for which one they wanted to be in. Twice a month we do activities with these Love Clubs and there’s quite a variety,” DePetro said.

The five options were Grow Group, where students learn to grow herbs and foods “to grow as a person;” Reading and Ancestry Club, where students read and explore genealogical heritage; Cycling for a Healthier Life, where students not only get to ride bikes, but get to work on and maintain bikes; Music and Sound Production; and Ecological Studies and Improvements.

“We want our students to have an opportunity to learn something outside of the core classes that will make them a much healthier, well-prepared, well-rounded human being. It gives them kind of a mini-course of sorts to explore and learn another talent that they otherwise would not have available to them,” DePetro said.

“I think it’s really healthy for kids to do something to expose them to new things so that they can learn work with their hands and their minds more extensively than just math, science, english and history.”

DePetro, who runs the grow club with another teacher, Kim Matulewicz, said with a laugh, “we now literally and figuratively have seed money.”

Now the clubs will be able to purchase hydroponic resources and more. DePetro said funds would be able to go to things like inviting guest speakers, purchasing chains for bike repairs, and expanding the program next year.

“It makes some of our dreams possible … It’s nice to have the resources to extend (the program) and really be able to plan for it, not to mention being given a budget and saying ‘now you plan what you want to do with that budget.’ We’re working with the kids to decide what to do with that to make our clubs better.”

“It’s an honor for us to recognize Marquette Area Public Schools and their educators, and to help support and advance their efforts,” said Lisa Truscott, SET SEG Foundation Executive Director, in a press release. “Dedicated, passionate teachers and staff in public schools are what help provide opportunities to learn, grow and build brighter, stronger futures for students and our communities and state.”

Rachel Oakley can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 243.