After School Activities
For club descriptions and schedules, please view our After School Activities Calendar
Art Club
Outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art
The goals of the program are to develop self-expression through art, to enhance critical thinking skills through artistic problem solving, introduce students to career opportunities in the visual arts through interaction with Museum staff, and to provide a safe, welcoming and supervised environment where students can spend after school hours in stimulating, creative activities with friends.
Students work with a variety of artistic media including painting, ceramics, sculpture and printmaking. The students are exposed to a multi-cultural curriculum, studying art from places such as China, India, Europe and Japan. A special emphasis is placed on African America and Latino contemporary artists.
After the 14th week of the program, The Philadelphia Museum of Art holds an exhibition of student work in its Education Gallery. To celebrate the exhibition and the students' accomplishments, the students and their families are treated to a special reception at the Museum and a performance in their honor.
Chess Club
The RBCS Chess Club grew to over 100 students playing chess twice weekly in 2008-2009 school year! Chess teaches students to become critical thinkers and problem solvers. They learn to strategically analyze, solve multi-step problems, understand the relationship between consequences and rewards, and develop camaraderie. Chess whizzes earn a spot on the Russell Byers Knights Chess Team that competes in statewide and national tournaments each spring. In March 2009, the Knights traveled to Carlisle, Pa., for the State Scholastic Championship and returned home 1st place winners in their division. In April, they placed 8th out of nearly 40 teams in their division at the U.S. Chess Federation Super Nationals Tournament in Nashville. One team member, Ayannah Woods, finished 55th best player in the nation and among the top 10 females overall! The Knights are gearing up for another great year of chess!
Science Club
The RBCS Science Club is open to all students grades 4 through 6 and allows students to investigate scientific topics that would not normally be covered in elementary and middle school classrooms. We use a collaborative, hands-on approach to research different natural phenomenon that are of interest to students. The Science Club continues to be a fantastic way for students to enjoy and explore the sciences!
Some of the projects in the 2008-2009 school year included:
- Trout in the classroom: For seven months, science club members explored the lifecycles
of trout by raising over 100 fish in classroom aquariums. After learning everything
from tank maintenance to the politics of maintaining native ecosystems, students
release the trout into the Wissahickon Creek with their parents and friends cheering
them on.
- Alternative energy: Students studied and designed models that did not need conventional sources of power, including solar cars, rubber band robots, winches and fans.
Tutoring
Tutoring opportunities are available for volunteers who have participated in a tutoring training session and have obtained all necessary clearances. Tutors work with individual students or small groups of students who need extra support in literacy, numeracy and mathematics. The tutoring session includes skill development, review of topics that have already been covered in class and assistance with homework. Tutors work closely with classroom teachers to become familiar with the curriculum and the students with whom they will be working. Tutoring sessions usually last for one hour and are held most often after school, but sometimes occur before school and during the lunch/recess hour.
WATOTO
Michelle Robinson, a former teacher at Russell Byers, saw a disconnect between traditional after-school programs and the curriculum and culture that students experienced during the school day. She developed WATOTO (Swahili for "child") to bridge the gap and provide programmatic continuity, focusing on cultural arts enrichment and experienced-based learning. WATOTO provides homework and tutoring support for over one hundred 4 year old kindergarten through 6th grade students at the Russell Byers Charter School. WATOTO is staffed with aspiring teachers and provides them with professional development and training before they even begin their student teaching experiences. The WATOTO program gives these neophyte teachers a unique opportunity to craft their skills as educators while at the same time providing the needed support and structure to the students at the Russell Byers Charter School.
For more information about the WATOTO after school program, including fees,
