Middle School Receives Competitive Grants to Fund Key After-School Clubs

Warren Middle School has received $7,160 in competitive grant monies for the 2016-2017 school year that will be used for three afterschool clubs.
The grants, awarded by the Somerset County Youth Services Commission to the middle school and the Warren Youth Services Commission, will be used to fund a stress relief program that teaches yoga and mindfulness skills to decrease stress and anxiety. The money also will be used for an after-school student leadership program for selected seventh and eighth graders who complete an 8-week program on media literacy.
“These students then plan activities for “White Out Against Bullying Day” in May,” says middle school social worker Carol Brown who wrote the grants. “The students also participate in a workshop with the Diversity Club at Watchung Hills Regional High School and attend a diversity conference for middle school students at Kean University.”
The middle school will allot $2,500 of the grant monies to a guided study program to help students who are struggling academically. Selected students attend the program for a minimum of six weeks; parents must give permission. Guidance counselors staff the program and provide study skills training and homework assistance, while providing progress updates to designated teachers and parents.