Art Club gives students a chance to relax after school

Many students from Jenison High school attend Art Club, a relaxing and easy going time after school to work on what you want.  Mrs. Buzzitta and Mrs. Griffore, who both teach art at the school, started Art Club and its sidekick 2 years ago. They welcome anyone that wants to join and use the supplies the school owns with just a small fee.

“We charge $5 for the year for Art Club. Students are not required to attend every week, but we ask that if they plan on attending at all that they give a little help for the extra supplies. We mainly use the money to buy paper and paint brushes because that is what Art Club seems to use up the most!” said Mrs. Griffore 

From 3-4pm, Art Club’s large rooms contain student work, people can sit wherever, talk to friends, and listen to music. Both Mrs. Griffore and Mrs. Buzzita talk about how relaxing it is and the benefits of this atmosphere.

“Most students come to hang out with friends and doodle, knit, paint, etc. So it is very social atmosphere and low stress. I think the benefits of Art Club is that it gives students a safe place to hang out with their friends after school and create things that they are interested in. It is also nice to give them an opportunity to use school supplies so that they don’t have the need to figure out how to go out and buy their own.” Said Mrs. Griffore. 

Mrs. Buzzitta said that their goal is to “give students an opportunity to have a creative outlet and work on art of all mediums” and come in whenever they need to. 

Tanae Meyer, a student, commented on how it allows “time for me to catch up on work I could not get done in class” and Mrs. Griffore said she likes being able to connect with students more.

“I love that it is super relaxed and social. I can talk to students about their lives and get to know them more. It also gives me a chance to help students learn things that they are interested in. For example, this week I got to teach a student how to use the potter’s wheel, which I wouldn’t have been able to do during the school day,” said Mrs. Griffore. 

Both the teachers and the students I talked to said that there is nothing they would change about Art Club and they love all that it has to offer.

“I don’t know if I would change anything about Art Club! I think it is just a great way to unwind at the end of the day every week,”  states Mrs. Buzzitta 

Overall Art Club is a great opportunity for anyone who enjoys doing stuff with art or is even interested in it.