The Junior Beta Club at Gray Station Middle School is passing the love to others for Valentine’s Day by making gifts for students, teachers and residents of Autumn Lane.
Meredith Barnwell, PEC teacher at Gray Station Middle School, said she’s excited for Valentine’s Day at the school and to see the reactions of each student as they receive their gift.
“A big part of Beta is serving others, so we take that to heart,” she said. “The Junior Beta Club here at Gray Station is giving every kid in the school a sucker for Valentine’s Day and a quote to inspire them, they are also giving each teacher a snack, a card they made and they are giving the local nursing home a card and a snack. Each member of the Junior Beta selected a teacher to do something special for this Valentine’s Day.”
She said it’s important for Junior Beta Club members at Gray Station Middle School to do these things, because it teaches them to do things for others and help them feel special. She said it’s important to instill kindness to students in ways such as the Junior Beta Club does it.
“The Junior Betas really enjoy being able to do these things for others. They will go around this Valentine’s Day and pass out the cards and snacks. They enjoy seeing everyone get so excited about receiving something for Valentine’s Day and instilling that love for others,” Barnwell said.
Madison Occhino, an eighth grader in the Junior Beta Club, said she joined the Junior Beta Club in seventh grade. Even though she was nervous at first to join, she’s glad she joined now. She said she plans to become a nurse or doctor in the future, and she feels the Junior Beta Club has helped her gain more confidence to try for her future goals.
“We go to the nursing home across from us, which is Autumn Lane, and we give each person a card and other stuff,” the student said. “We don’t just do this for Valentine’s Day, but also Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and other holidays. This is important, because we get to make others happy and help Mrs. Simpson with our Beta Club activities.”
The teacher said some of the main pillars for the Junior Beta Club are leadership and service, so they really work on building those skills with leadership conferences, competing in different events and more. She said she’s sure some of the students will go on to become great leaders of the community in the future.
“It’s wonderful seeing so many members want to stay after school to help. So many of them enjoy staying after school to finish up things for Valentine’s Day and other events,” Barnwell said. “The Junior Beta Club really gets these students thinking about how they can do things for other people, which is something great to see.”
