LPS clubs and activities: A winning formula for student success

September 9, 2024

Lincoln High School students Silvia and Nina are prime examples of how club activities are part of winning academic and social equations for students.
 
Silvia and Nina are co-presidents of the school’s math club and math team this year. They and hundreds of other Lincoln Public Schools students have found joy, friendships and classroom success from a wide range of enriching activities. Both said their involvement in math club has multiplied their social and academic well-being throughout the day – two goals connected with the LPS 2024-29 Strategic Plan. 
 
“I have loved getting people who don’t normally gravitate towards math involved, as well as showing people different ways to involve math in everyday life such as building rockets for a club day!” Silvia said. “It’s just been great to build such an open and welcoming community overall.”

“I really enjoy the community being created in math club,” Nina said. “It is not exclusive at all; anyone from any math class or level is welcome to join. I love how many different perspectives people bring to the team, especially compared to my classes where it’s often the same people with me the whole school day.”

 
LHS math teacher Pat Janike has watched students like Silvia blossom in math club. He led members in many activities during their monthly meetings last year. They worked with spirograph art, designed and launched paper rockets, held a Pi Day celebration in March, solved math puzzles and built marshmallow-and-toothpick towers.
 
“The goal is to help students see math as fun and interesting,” Janike said. “Our meetings are usually very lively, interactive and busy. For our math club, I just hope students feel the joy that can come from playing with mathematics.”
 
Multiple research-based studies have shown a wide range of benefits for students who are involved in school-based extracurricular activities. They typically earn better grades, learn how to set goals, create more friendships, have better attendance and develop traits like empathy, kindness and teamwork.

 
Janike said those benefits can happen regardless of which club students attend.
 
“It may not be surprising to hear that if a student is in math club, they will be more likely to do well in math,” Janike said. “But studies suggest that the club and class connection doesn’t matter. So being a part of, say Just Dance Club, helps students feel more connected to school and therefore can also result in better performance in math class.”
 
LPS middle and high schools provide many opportunities for students to join clubs each year. Some groups meet once a month during the academic day, while others gather more often on an after-school basis.

 
Christine Foy, a teacher of the deaf/hard of hearing at Southeast High School, leads a sign language club during the year. She teaches basic communication skills in American Sign Language and knowledge of deaf culture. She said involvement in clubs is “extremely important” for students.
 
“It gives the students something extra to look forward to, to make school fun and to meet like-minded peers,” Foy said. “School involvement invokes a sense of school pride. Students who are involved and feel pride in their school tend to be more successful, and they can look back on their time here as some of the most important and influential years in their journey to becoming successful, well-rounded adults.”
 
Abby Berry has guided students at Pound Middle School for 12 years. Prior to her current role as a school counselor, she taught sixth grade and hosted clubs such as cooking and card games. She said Pound’s clubs help the school live out its motto of E1B, which stands for Everyone Belongs.
 
“It’s incredibly important for students to be involved in something,” Berry said. “Belonging and connection are essential needs for all humans, and offering clubs lets students gather with a common interest.”
 
Former school counselor Rene Hodges founded Pound’s program and added new club options each year based on student feedback. Berry is continuing that student-centered approach by offering more than 20 clubs this year. In addition to time-tested hobbies such as chess, guitar and woodworking, new activities like color guard – the art of spinning and tossing flags for marching band – have sprouted up for 2024-25.

 
Those efforts are bearing fruit with record-setting attendance. Berry said 2023-24 marked the best total in Pound’s history, with students making more than 2,100 individual visits to club meetings.
 
“It is so cool to see students excited about getting involved, and I totally nerd out on all the possibilities clubs could lead to,” Berry said. “What if a student meets their lifelong friend at a club? Or someone tries a new hobby and it sparks a lifelong passion? Or a student makes a great connection with the club sponsor, who they would have never had as a teacher otherwise?
 
“There are so many possibilities that start with just showing up to something, and that’s what fuels me to make Pound’s clubs appealing and accessible.”

Silvia and Nina said math activities have helped them learn about teamwork, problem solving and communication skills.
 
“I’ve also been lucky enough to see many people who normally don’t gravitate towards math start to find some enjoyment in it after seeing it in a new light,” Silvia said. “It really has shown me how a new perspective/approach to a topic can change someone’s opinion a lot. Overall, it’s been the best experience I could ask for!”

“Through the course of last year, it became more and more natural to communicate openly and exchange ideas with one another,” Nina said. “It was a really fun experience and I am so excited to not only be a part of it again this year, but also make a space for more people to have opportunities like I did last year.”
 
For club leaders like Berry, Janike and Foy, their top goal is helping students realize they are valued, respected and cherished at school. That knowledge can help them form a large number of positive memories at LPS.
 
“I hope students learn they belong here and that we care about them as a whole child,” Berry said. “Their interests and passions are important.”
 
Interested in getting involved? LPS students and families can learn more about club activities by contacting their schools. Check out our school directory to get in touch with your school’s main office, or use the blue Contact Us button on your school’s website.

Do you have a story idea? Share it with the LPS Communications Team by filling out this form!

---