Boys & Girls Club opens at Colina Middle School
By Eliav Appelbaum eliav@theacorn.com

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers WALKING THE RED CARPET- Colina Middle School sixth-grader Jonathan Mowlavi, 11, and his dad, Cyrus, walk the red carpet as they leave the newly opened Boys & Girls Club of Conejo/Las Virgenes at Colina Middle School in Thousand Oaks on Monday.

Eighth-grader Johnny Hadzipetros carefully looked over his grand opening speech, handwritten in pencil on looseleaf paper.

He had nothing to worry about. After all, Johnny was the first Boys & Girls Club member at Colina Middle School, having joined in early 2006. He knew what he was talking about.

On Monday, Johnny joined distinguished members of the community in the ribbon-cutting celebration of the club's new 10,000-square-foot facility.

"It's a nice place to hang out with friends," he said. "I like being here. I finish my homework here . . . and then play video games when I get home."

The club at Colina, whose membership has grown from four to 500 since January 2006, opened the doors to its new facility in June.

The club offers a variety of after-school education programs, including Power Hour, where students must work on homework for the first hour after school. Other education programs include Algebra Assistance, Tech Training, Ramp-Up Reading and Writers' Workshop. The Torch Club, a leadership program, gives students a chance to work at the snack bar and answer phones.

Cal Johnston, chair of the board of governors for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Conejo and Las Virgenes, thinks the club provides middle school students with tools for life.

"This is an age where kids are forming habits. If they're able to learn how to schedule their time, how to get their homework done and how to be a leader, then these things will help them all their lives," Johnston said. "It particularly helps them for high school. When they get to high school, their habits are already formed and they know how to act. . . . By learning early, it gives them a real advantage."

Dianne McKay, president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Conejo and Las Virgenes, cut the yellow ribbon in the ceremony attended by Mario Contini, superintendent of Conejo Valley Unified School District; Donald Zimring, superintendent of Las Virgenes Unified School District; Terilyn Finders, president of LVUSD board of education; Andy Fox, Thousand Oaks mayor; and Mike Waters, principal at Colina.

Afterward, many student members of the club gave tours of the sparkling new facility.

Bryan Oliva, 13, an eighthgrader at Colina and a Torch Club member, was one of them.

"I've done five today," Bryan said. "I think I've done the most today."

BryanTomasguided adults through the multipurpose room filled with two foosball tables, two pool tables, a pingpong table, chairs and desks.

In the teen center, Torch Club members hold meetings and students can watch movies or play video games. In the fine arts room, students can draw or paint. There's also a learning center, a quiet room used exclusively for students to work on homework, and a music/ video room where students can play their own instruments.

Volunteer Tomas Martinez, 17, a senior at Newbury Park High School, helps students in the tech lab. He encourages them to work on typing skills and practice Power Point using one of the 38 new computers.

"I enjoy seeing them at their stage of life," Tomas said, "and how they act and react. It definitely reminds me of how I acted in middle school."

The grand opening of the Colina club precedes the fifth annual Stand Up for Kids Gala Dinner and Auction on Oct. 20 at the Four Seasons hotel in Westlake Village. The fundraiser helps pay for part of the cost of facilities like the one that opened in Colina.

"This is an ongoing project," Johnston said. "We need supporters and sponsors and people who can help us achieve these goals." Planning for the Colina facility began three years ago, and construction took 18 months.

Johnston envisions the Colina club as a model for future clubs around the nation. Most other clubs are located in a central area, not on school grounds, which means the respective club has to pay for transportation, drivers and insurance.

At Colina, the students are next door. By building smaller facilities on campus, more clubs can be built. And that means more students can find a place to go after school.

Johnston hopes four more clubs will be built on middle school campuses in Conejo and Las Virgenes districts in the near future, including possible buildings at Lindero and A.E. Wright middle schools.

"There's a lot of great programs for youngsters and high school students," Johnston said. "Unfortunately, there's not a lot for middle school kids. They are a forgotten group. It's a tough group to serve. . . . Our main objective is to make kids better citizens and better students."