Spring Extracurriculars Offer Benefits for Students

Spring has sprung and students at schools throughout the area have begun joining a variety of extracurricular activities. Along with keeping kids out of the house and active, extracurriculars offer a variety of benefits.

Chesapeake High School principal Frank Drazan said that sports are especially popular during the spring, along with other clubs and service organizations.

"They all give kids the opportunity to develop their talents in an area outside of the academic arena," said Drazan. "That's what really creates the whole person."

Drazan added that he believed the key benefit of extracurriciular activities are the opportunities that they offer young people.

"They give kids an opportunity to enhance talents that they would not be using normally in school," said Drazan. "In some cases, there's volunteerism and the opportunity to help others. Our environmental club, for instance, goes around, collects recyclables and takes them out. All the different clubs offer different opportunities."

"Really they're a way to give kids an opportunity to apply themselves," added Drazan.

Barrett McClure, principal of Lake Shore Christian Academy, said that extracurricular activities are a good way to keep kids active.

"If they're just sitting around at home, then joining an activity would be an opportunity for exercise," said McClure. "It would let kids learn mroe about various things, help them get their schoolwork done or offer them social options and a chance to better get along with one another."

McClure said that sports and gymnasium activities are popular at Lake Shore.

Along with providing opportunities for personal growth and physical fitness, extracurricular activities are also a key factor in academic performance. Many activities, sports in particular, require a minimum GPA for attendance.

"I think kids do better in school with extracurriculars," said Charles Jansky, principal of Bodkin Elementary School. "Kids that are connected in school in ways other than just academic shows that the kid is interested in school, and research shows that kids who take on the extra burden of extracurriculars do better at school."

Jansky said that the fifth grade robotics team is popular at Bodkin, as are the Girls on the Run program for fourth and fifth grade girls and the 24 Club nationwide math contest. He also said that the band and chorus programs at Bodkin are popular, especially for an elementary school.

Extracurriculars also play a significant part in college admissions. Common knowledge states that getting into college all but requires some degree of extracurricular activity and Drazan agrees that it's certainly something that admissions departments are interested in.

"Colleges look for students who are involved and are well-rounded," said Drazan. "They look to see if students are involved inclubs, athletics and other activites. That doesn't just mean school activities, though - they're also looking for kids who do volunteer work for organizations like the ASPCA."

"They're looking for well-rounded people," said Drazan.