After-school clubs are at last back in full swing! To add to the excitement, TDSP has a new after-school club program director Ms. Jenni O’Brien! Aside from teaching First Grade Boys English, Mrs. O’Brien has coordinated fun, new clubs for the 2022 school year including Taekwondo, Dancercise, Tigers’ Basketball, and Junior Tigers’ soccer classes.
Though this is the first time working in this program director position, Mrs. O’Brien has “had many years of planning and helping with [my own] children and all their activities throughout the years.” Mrs. O’Brien believes that having these after-school activities is important for children to have some sort of physical activities available that help promote healthy growth and development. In one of many ways, Mrs. O’Brien affirms “physical activities help with the development of better motor, concentration, and thinking skills”.
The TDSP Tigers have returned after two years off due to Covid. Hopefully with all of the practices, Mrs. O’Brien hopes that our basketball team will be able to compete in the leagues against other schools. The Junior Tigers soccer team also has fun competing with each other and practicing their best kicks, which may or may not go into the other game of soccer, and then that may cause a mix-up and the other game uses two balls...In any way shape or form, the spirit of the game draws others in to watch and even cheer the players on! Mrs. O’Brien specifically chose sports as an after-school activity since they “are a great way for children to learn teamwork, work together, and bond through friendships for a lifetime. Another plus is that the players stay physically healthy and happy with the sports... in school!
Mrs. Sunny Levi’s Taekwondo classes for girls have been a huge hit! The 1st through 8th Graders enjoy learning new self-defense techniques while even getting the chance to work on some middos (character traits) such as self-control, respect, and determination. The training in Taekwondo highlights certain traits and self-disciplines that are necessary in order to obtain mastery of this art. Believe it or not, this art of self-defense is not only about kicking, screaming, and punching!
Lastly, there are those mysterious Dancercise classes that begin in early November. What is Dancercise? Literally defined by dictionary.com, Dancercise is vigorous dancing done as an exercise for physical fitness. In other words, “the point of the dances will be to exercise the muscles of a classic workout” explains Miss Naomi Zweig, the future Dancercise instructor, “but more excitingly and interactively than a regular workout.” Dance moves will be somewhat repetitive and easy to learn within the 40 minutes of the class as well as have an intensity similar to exercising. Miss Zweig wants for “the girls to be huffing and puffing by the end of class, while also having a feeling of accomplishing a fun workout.”
But wait, there is more in store! Our after-school activities coordinator reveals that she has more dancing, music, and perhaps even art activities planned for the girls, as well as league competitions and Taekwondo classes for the boys after winter break. At its core, the interests and investments of the boys and girls are what truly infuse the clubs with that palpable excitement. In order to have the best and most interesting after-school activities possible, Mrs. O’Brien would appreciate any suggestions, feedback, ideas, and even contacts of those who have experience with a type of art or hobby that would be of interest to the TDSP students. Feel free to email Ms. Jenni O’Brien at [email protected] for suggestions and contact information.
To sign up for after school sports, please visit www.tdsp.org/sports/