New group at Gerritts school builds relationships

BY SHARON HANUSZCZAK-FROBERG
POST-CRESCENT EAST

KIMBERLY — Twelve-year-old Hunter Wille often requires some coaxing and prodding to get up on school day mornings.

But Menasha mom Julie Wille has no trouble getting the seventh-grader to rise and shine in time for J.R. Gerritts’ Tuesday morning Breakfast Club, which meets once a month at Tanners Clubhouse in Kimberly.

“I think he was out of bed in two minutes,” Wille said during the club’s second gathering last month.

The brainchild of school counselor Tim Handrich, the Breakfast Club serves as a way for Gerritts Middle School students, teachers and parents to socialize and build relationships outside of school.

For $5, participants can enjoy an all-you-can eat breakfast buffet, which includes scrambled eggs, pancakes, toast, sausage and milk or juice; watch music videos or sports highlights; and play volleyball or shoot some hoops with friends to jumpstart the school day.

“It’s just to build relationships. It’s just something we wanted to try,” Handrich said. “It makes a huge difference in the culture of the building because I think our kids feel that they’re special. They feel like the teachers care.”

Combined Locks resident Mitch Edwards took his son up on the breakfast invitation and was impressed by what he saw.

“It’s kind of nice to see all the kids hanging out, just kind of casual, and getting a good breakfast to get started,” Edwards said. “There’s more people here than I thought, which is really nice. I see a few parents, which is good. And the teachers are involved, which is good too. It’s nice to see.”

His son, Calvin, said he looks forward to the breakfast spread each month and enjoys spending one-on-one time with his dad.

“I really like the food and the fact that some of my friends come here,” the seventh-grader said. “There’s a lot of nice people here. It’s really fun.”

Seventh-grader Jenna Smarzinski said she and her girlfriends enjoy shooting buckets or playing volleyball after consuming a hearty breakfast.

Smarzinski, who attended the first meeting in September, said she doesn’t mind getting up a little earlier for Breakfast Club.

“I get to hang out with my friends and the food is pretty good,” she said.

Spanish teacher Stacy Skarda was pleased that the club’s second event drew nearly 50 parents, students and teachers.

“I think it just starts them off on the right foot, gets them ready and gets them chatting with their friends in the morning,” she said. “I’m happy to see the parents show up and support their kids.”

Tanners Club owner Bruce Hawley, whose son, Griffin, is a seventh-grader at Gerritts, said he had no qualms about opening the restaurant early to accommodate the group when he was approached by school staff two months ago.

“Any time you get a group of kids together and get them up early and get them moving around instead of laying around, watching TV all morning, it’s a benefit,” he said. “I think Kimberly itself is into promoting healthy lifestyles for kids. It works out well with having the basketball hoops and the volleyballs they can shoot around and get some exercise before school.”

Principal Cathy Clarksen said the Breakfast Club fits in with the school’s mission to build strong relationships between students and staff.

“It’s great energy for our building,” she said. “It’s solidifying the relationships that teachers work every day to build.”

Sharon Hanuszczak-Froberg: 920-729-6622, ext. 27, or shanuszc@postcrescent.com