Lights On program begins

The Lights On After School program for Ralph Witters Elementary and Thermopolis Middle School kicked off this week, and Program Coordinator Elisa Daniels said there are already 200 students registered between the two schools. Regular hours of operation are 3:45-5:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 12:35-3:30 p.m. Friday.

The elementary will utilize the Vocational Building next to the Ralph Witters Elementary playground for activities. Daniels said previously the school was also used, but it be came difficult for staff to have students going in between the buildings. Having all of the programs under one roof, she noted, helps provide staff support and overall things are more fun.

Ralph Witters programs have theme-based weeks, such as “Growth Mindset” this week, “Science” the week of Sept. 18 and “Engineering” the week of Sept. 25.

The middle school programs will be at Thermopolis Middle School, using the vocational room and Maker Space library, as well as a couple classrooms for study halls.

As for the programming, Daniels explained at the middle school there is more freedom. Students are a bit older, and there are a variety of clubs offered, including math, woodworking, art, screen printing, production studio and student business. Students also don’t have to go every single day if they choose not to. At the elementary level, students are expected to come every day.

Daniels noted if parents register their kids for the program and the kids don’t show up it can be worrisome for the staff. She recommended parents keep them notified if their children are not going to be there a certain day if they know in advance, as this helps keep lines of communication open and ensures everyone knows the children are taken care of. It’s also important to notify staff if you’re going to be picking up kids early or late.

The elementary level will again have consistent Friday programming. Daniels explained the Friday programs stopped last year due to funding cuts at the state level. Friday programs were also the least attended, she said, but when they were stopped overall attendance also dropped. At the middle school, Friday programming is scheduled for those days when there is early release for staff training. These days are marked on school calendars at the Lights On calendar. As there are a lot of school day teachers helping with the program, the Friday schedule could change if a person is available.

The high school has Robotics again this year, led by London Jenks and Curtis Hamer every Tuesday and Thursday, 4-8 p.m.

There is also doing a Fire Science class from Sept. 18 through Nov. 6 from 4-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday. This class is 80 hours that will give students the knowledge and training of wild land fire fighting. It is free for high school students and will give them the equipment and certification hours to be able to use in the field of wild land firefighting if they choose to do so. The high school also has Lunchtime Intervention Tutoring on Friday afternoons from 12:30-3:30 p.m.

Registrations are still open, with a requested $30 donation per family. The money goes to help pay for student snacks.