Valerie Cassity
Special to the Sun

Kernville Elementary School offers hope for the children of working parents each day through their after school HOPE program, and last Thursday, Oct. 22, they worked to ensure that that chance is given to children across the country when they partnered with after school programs across the nation to present a Lights on After School program.

The 10th annual program consisted of approximately one million people rallying at more than 7,500 schools, community centers, parks, city halls, shopping centers and other venues across the country for the after school programs that keep kids safe, inspire them to learn, and help working families.

Maar Crabtree serves up samples of African cuisine at Kernville Elementary School’s “Lights on After School” program last Thursday. Brown rice with yams and fried bananas are staples of many Africans’ diets and students were encouraged to take a taste.

“Local Lights On Afterschool events give youth a chance to showcase the skills and talents acquired at their afterschool programs, and to send the message that millions more children need afterschool programs,” said Jodi Grant, Executive Director of the Afterschool Alliance, which organizes the event.

At Kernville Elementary School, HOPE Director Christine Pierce organized the event, which took place there from 4-6 p.m. The event gave a taste of what the HOPE program offers, and began with the children getting the opportunity to roller skate, some for the first time, as well as try out the spooners and yo baby boards, which are “wheeless skateboards. The skates and boards were newly purchased with the HOPE budget, and the protective gear was on loan from Wallace Elementary while they wait for their own gear to arrive. Some of the parents even laced up skates and gave it a go for the first time in many years. Most parents enjoyed helping their children learn to use the skates, and loved seeing a glimpse of what their kids do after school every day. “I love that my child receives excellent care and exercise while getting the chance to play with other kids, which is great since PE has been cut from the school budget,” said parent Wendy Otero.

After the kids had the chance to expend some energy, they were directed inside the cafetorium where there were displays of different art projects they had done. The educational aspect of the program includes “HOPE around the world,” which focuses on a different continent every six weeks.

The first continent has been Africa, so there were art displays of masks, sculptures of volcanoes, and colorful maps that the children had created in the program with African tribal music playing in the background. HOPE staff members also served up delicious African cuisine; brown rice with yams and fried bananas. Also in the cafetorium were various games and activities, such as books to read, chess, checkers, Jenga, a Wii bowling tournament, and the Dance Dance Revolution game with the mats. The children also proudly performed a song and dance they had been working on for two weeks about healthy eating, and the cuteness factor was off the charts. “I like all of the different stuff we get to do at HOPE recess,” commented HOPE attendee Brenna Acosta.

Pierce just began directing HOPE at Kernville Elementary this year, after working with the program at Wallace for the past four years as a teacher. She is trying to incorporate the great things that the program has offered in the past with new activities, such as the HOPE around the world program and an intergenerational program. “HOPE is an extension of the regular school day,” explained Pierce. “It’s still academic, but it’s fun and more relaxed for the kids.”

To learn more about the HOPE Program at Kernville Elementary school, call Christine at 376-6075.