All Hands on Deck: Increasing a Sense of Belonging for Students and Staff at Eastwood
At Eastwood Middle School, belonging isn’t just a goal, it’s a commitment. This year, Principal James Tutin takes a major step forward with the launch of Eastwood’s first Club Day. This “all hands on deck” initiative is designed to strengthen community, elevate student voice, and create meaningful opportunities for connection beyond the classroom. On Club Days, students are given an opportunity to experience a traditionally extracurricular activity during the normal school day, with no prohibitive cost barrier.
Club days create connection
Feedback from our Panorama student surveys made clear that our students are craving more opportunities to feel connected to school. Students in grade 6 through 8 crave connection not just academically, but socially and emotionally. Subsequently, Club Days were born directly from this need.
On Club Days, the energy is undeniable. Students fill hallways, classrooms, and common spaces with excitement. Once together, they connect through shared interests, from coding to gardening to flag football and board games. Principal Tutin is proud to lead this initiative. However, the real magic comes from the collective effort of the entire middle school staff. Teachers step into roles as club sponsors, sharing their creativity and passions with their students.
Eastwood’s project builds a diverse, inclusive set of student-selected clubs that reflect the interests of our school community. Markedly, students and staff collaborate to create clubs that span a wide variety of topics. Each club is then supported with funds from an inclusive Washington Township Schools Foundation grant.
A Wide Variety of Interests
Music and Performing Arts are represented with clubs like the Eastwood String Ensemble which received brand new sheet music. STEM Exploration is also encouraged through Coding Clubs powered by new Raspberry Pi kits. Mindfulness and Journaling clubs now feature personal journals and hands-on creative materials. Sports and movement activities are also available, including a rapidly growing Girls Flag Football club, complete with flag belts, footballs, and yard markers. Creative Expression is explicitly celebrated in Cooking, Gardening and Wildflower Clubs. Games Clubs inspire social connection from Deal Me In card clubs to the Board Game Club, freshly stocked with Ticket to Ride, Codenames, Qwirkle, Clue, Mantis, and more. Fandom and fun are enthusiastically welcomed in Pokémon Club (powered by actual card packs!)
The First Club for Many
For many students, Club Day is the first time they have had the opportunity to experience being a member of a group of peers with similar interests. Comparatively, most clubs and teams meet outside of school during evenings or weekends. Even the clubs traditionally offered at our schools meet after school hours. Significantly, they require students to have transportation arrangements and pay fees that are not feasible for every family.
By taking away those prohibitive barriers, each club at Eastwood clubs becomes a doorway to a place where students discover passions, strengthen friendships, and build relationships with caring adults. By investing in this project, the WTS Foundation helped remove barriers to participation. Subsequently, we are able to celebrate student choices and voices and create inclusive spaces where every student can belong. With your generosity, we are supporting deep, joy-filled engagement that strengthens our entire school community
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Looking for ways you can support Washington Township Schools? Donate today and help our foundation support programs to enhance the educational experience for our students and provide resources for MSDWT teachers and staff.
