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The Covington Club summer camp has provided many boys and girls with a summer filled with excitement and fun!

For one of their summer field trips, the Covington Club went to the skating rink on June 24 for a fun-filled day!

“We went to the skating ring for a field trip. It was fun when I got the hang of it. When we first got there, we all had to take our shoes off and put on the skates. When I first stood up in those skates, I almost did a split. That was scary and funny.”

Antreneeka, 9

On June 15, Covington boys and girls went bowling, and they loved it!

“I like bowling with the Boys & Girls Club. I bowled and I made a strike. And then I made three more and I won the game. I had 117 points. I like going to the bowling alley.”

Erin, 10

The Covington boys and girls tested their skating skills for one of their field trips!

Kara Turner, Covington Club member, Age 12

I went to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival during Spring Break with the Boys & Girls Club of Covington, Louisiana. My group and I had a wonderful time. We did a lot of fun activities. We painted a picture of anything we wanted. I drew a picture of a pretty purple butterfly. We also ate a lot of wonderful food. We ate foods like fried chicken, jambalaya, snowballs, huck-a-bucks, and more. We visited the kids’ tent. They did some really great African dances. My group and I had a wonderful time at the New Orleans Jazz Fest.

Milyn Johnson, Westbank Club member, Age 8

Do you know about cheerleading? I do!  There’s a group I know called the Louisiana Stars Express. The head coach is Myrtis Robins. The co-coach is Deatrice Smith. They are helpful with our arm motions and our safety. They are very important to the group.

As cheerleaders, we learn how to do splits, jumps, and motions. I used to go as low as the ground in my jumps, but now I go sky high!

I asked people who know the team very well to tell me what they think. My friend A’Janna said, “We have bright colors!”  My other friend A’Maya said, “We do things to help us with school.”

We practice at Johnny Jacobs and the Westbank Boys & Girls Club. It is fun to have company to watch us practice and tell us how dazzling we are! Often times after we cheer, the group gets comments from the spectators, and it feels like a competition with what they say.

We practice on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I don’t mind because I am a healthy, fun girl. My friend A’Maya Hill loves cheerleading on these days, too.

A’Maya Hill, Westbank Club member, Age 9

At the backpack giveaway, we got free backpacks with supplies in them. Many people came to see us. People from the Microflex Company came to give us backpacks. I found a cookie in my backpack! We had about 20 people from the Boys & Girls Club come on the trip.

Mr. Mike, the Westbank Boys & Girls Club director, and Ms. Nadiyah, the learning center coordinator, both came to the event. I interviewed a girl named Ashley and she said, “The field trip was fun and exciting.” She also said, “It was fun because we got to meet new people.” It was fun to everybody that went on the field trip. I hope that on the next field trip, more people can come!

Imana Bailey, Slidell Club member, Age 10

The Slidell Boys & Girls Club has a Teen Room created especially for its teen club members. The room has really cool decorations that were donated by ESPN and Disney. Those two companies also sent workers who designed and decorated the room.  There is a real mountain dirt bike and several snowboards hanging from the ceiling.  There are huge posters all over the walls that are from ESPN Magazine covers. They have famous athletes from around the world on the posters. Several of them even signed the posters. The room has a big flat screen TV, so we can watch movies, play video games, or sing along to karaoke songs. There are two black leather recliners from ESPN that have the Saints logo on them. We also have huge bean bags and colorful mats to sit on.

The UPS Driving Simulator is also in the Teen Room. This is a simulated car that the 13 and ups can use to practice safe driving. Old Navy in Mandeville recently donated a Kinect for XBox 360 that club members can dance along with. We can also play video games on the Kinect. ESPN donated an air hockey table for the teen room.

“Since it’s called the Teen Room, the older teenagers get to hang out and talk to each other at the end of the day,” said Valencia Mitchell, 14 year old club member. ”There’s a television, a Driver’s Ed program for us aspiring drivers, and many other games and activities to do. We never get bored… literally!”

“The teen room is a place where teens can chill out and hang out with friends,” said Kyleigh Giddens, 13 year old club member.

The Teen Room is not only for the teenagers. At times, the younger club members get to hang out and watch movies, play board games, or dance and sing karaoke in the room.

“I like going in the Teen Room because we play games and other fun things,” said Kelsey Wills, 11 year old club member.

“I like the Teen Room because it is fun and we get to watch movies,” said Chelsea Harrington, 10 year old club member.

By Chelsea Harrington, Slidell Club member, Age 10

The Slidell Boys & Girls Club has a huge game room. The game room is a place where all age groups can play pool, ping pong, bumper pool, foosball and board games, along with many other things. The room is divided into two sections. One side is for club members ages 10 and up, while the other side has the younger members, ages 7-9. Many people like the game room because they can play cool games with their friends.

“My favorite part about the game room is playing Mancala with my friends,’’ said Brooke Brazil, 12 year old club member.

“I like playing ping pong and foosball with my friends,” said Eddie Johnson, 10 year old club member.

“I love to play foosball in the game room,” said Matthew Kelley, 8 year old club member. “It is like playing soccer but with a smaller ball.”

My favorite part about the game room is bumper pool.  It is fun to play with your friends. I also love ping pong because it is so challenging.

The game room has so many fun things for you to do with your friends.  Club members enjoy playing games with their friends.  There is a closet filled with many different types of board games such as Candy Land, Monopoly, Clue, Mickey Mouse Bowling, Connect Four, Mancala, Memory, Guess Who, Scrabble, Uno, puzzles and much, much more.

By Sayann Williams, Iberville Club member

The Iberville Boys & Girls Club is a great after school program for the children in the neighborhood.  It keeps them active and out of trouble. At the club, kids socialize with each other and with the counselors. We have video games, and the kids have someone to talk to if they have problems. We also have extracurricular activities such as basketball and dance. All players must maintain a 2.5 GPA in order to stay on the team. Our players know that they are student-athletes first and that school comes first at all times. We want our kids to go to the best high schools, colleges and universities that will offer them many opportunities for a successful future. We also have college students that help the kids, and they perform community service at the camp. We also go on field trips, college tours and campus visits so that our kids will get the experience of a university. Everything done at the club is for the children. The faculty of the Boys & Girls Club wants to influence the youth to work hard and strive for their goals and they offer us much support.

By Danny, Westbank Club member,  Age 15

My friends Carlos, Jeremiah and I were sitting in courtside seats watching some of the New Orleans Hornets players pregame warm-ups with a group of our friends from the Boys & Girls Club when, I saw my favorite basketball player, Chris Paul, walk on the court and start warming up.  While he was shooting around he did a crossover dribble on one of the coaches that had our whole group cheering.  It was amazing!  Then he came to the side of the court next to us to do his exercises.  He was only two or three feet away from our group when suddenly he said to me, “Hey, how do your abs look?” After I said I had a six pack he asked me to sit down and do some exercises with him to help build up my abs.  I thought to myself, “this is the opportunity of a lifetime and I’m not going to pass it up.”  First we did sit-ups.  Then, I laid on my back, put my arms straight up in the air and had to get my legs all the way up to my hands without lifting my back off of the ground.  It was the most difficult exercise I’ve ever done.  After five of those, he asked my name.  I said, “My name is Danny.” He said, “Alright, Danny.  Good job.  My name is Chris Paul.”  I said, “I know.  You’re my favorite basketball player.  You’re my idol.” He told me he liked me because I was respectful and then asked me if I had any plans on playing basketball in the future.  I said, “I’d like to play at LSU or North Carolina…or, maybe Wake Forest.”  Looking back at this experience I now know what it’s like to exercise with a professional basketball player.  I know that they don’t just show up to the games and play.  There’s a lot of hard work that goes in to getting ready for each game.  Thanks to all of the people that helped make this opportunity possible.

By Sharda, Slidell Club, age 10

On a recent Friday afternoon, the Slidell Boys & Girls Club had a Fun Friday Dance Session. All of the club members, who wanted to dance, went in the teen room. We played music and danced to different songs.

“I have so much fun here,” said Donnielle Cyprian, nine year old club member. “After dancing in the teen room, the staff gave us frozen cups. It was a great way to cool off after the Dance Session.”

You can’t compete with what’s cookin’ here at the Slidell Boys & Girls club. We like to think positive and let each member have a chance to participate in all activities. The Club always plans exciting things for us to do.

“I love the Boys & Girls Club,” said Eboni Owens, 12 year old club member. “The Club always surprises me with cool stuff to do.”