Education highlight: Flowery’s S.T.A.R. after school program

Katie Holden | Special to the Sun

As the program director at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley’s Flowery Elementary site, Danielle Suico has big plans for Club members. Called S.T.A.R.S. – which stands for Specialized Tutoring of Academics and Recreation for Students – the after school program currently has 84 members and four strong program assistants that lead participants in enriching programs that provide new opportunities for students to learn and grow every day.

Suico herself has been with the Club for almost a year and this summer was responsible for coordinating all sports and rock climbing camps at the Maxwell Clubhouse. Her experience playing four years of intercollegiate volleyball at Sonoma State paid off when she coached a third- through fifth-grade girls team this past season at the Club. Coaching also helped her create a successful volleyball camp that focused on fundamentals, important skill-based drills and fostering a genuine love for the sport.

In addition to playing volleyball, Suico creates custom jewelry and crafts items out of leather. She received her master’s in Early Childhood education in December 2011 and is determined to a build a strong connection linking the school day and after-school programming and enrichment.

In keeping with that goal, one of the current enrichment activities the members of the Flowery S.T.A.R.S. are able to participate in is called Garden Gnomes. Led by program assistant Nicole Deas, the children learn the importance of taking care of the environment and learning about the cycles and nature of plants and vegetables.

A second program assistant, Elva Rodriguez has the important job of assisting first graders with reading and homework completion and helping them build positive practices. This is a pivotal time for the young ones as they become acclimated with the new concepts they are learning in the classroom and the routine of the after school day. Rodriguez is also leading a quilting project for older members discussing the history of the art and giving valuable hands-on experience of completing a project, start to finish.

Jaime Cardenas is Flowery’s sports enthusiast and gives members opportunities to develop teamwork, sportsmanship and specific physical skills through dynamic wellness programs like Triple Play and intramural sports leagues. Throughout this year the Flowery members we will be challenging the Sassarini Boys & Girls Club afterschool sport leagues in several sports.

As the newest addition to the S.T.A.R.S. staff, Arabella Paradis has hit the ground running. She is currently facilitating programs like TNT’s Drama Matter and Music Makers giving members a chance to build self-confidence, spark creativity and become acquainted with the arts.

Additional information about the Sonoma Valley Boys & Girls Clubs programs can be found at bgcsonoma.org.