The staff and students in Cranston's extended day and summer programs are getting ready for one of their favorite winter events. The second annual Snowflake Ball is just ahead, on Feb. 17 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the YMCA Teen Center and will be focusing on a theme of the Youth Empowerment Zone and student leadership. The monies raised will be going towards the summer Camp XL programming. The event is hosted by the Bain and Kidventure staff and students, and the students have been doing a great deal of leadership work to plan the event and the activities that will be taking place at the event, including a raffle prizes, music, awards and the opportunity for formal family photos as well as photo booth fun.

"The Snowflake Ball is something that I first did when I worked in Norwich, Connecticut, at a school there," said Ayana Crichton, Director of Expanded Learning Programs. "Our PTO there had members who hadn't ever been to a prom when they were in school, and the idea developed from there. We made the event like a family prom, and we started the idea here last year."

The idea for the Snowflake theme is fitting for wintertime, but is symbolic of something even more than the seasons.

"We were trying to come up with a way to showcase our diversity, to celebrate our differences, and Sarah DeCosta from the Elizabeth Buffum Chace Center who works closely with our programs, came up with the idea of snowflakes because every snowflake is different. The students in our before and after school programs have been designing snowflakes to represent them, or their culture, or where they are now, or whatever they'd like them to represent. It spans the entire spectrum of how students identify themselves and what they represent," Crichton said.

Most importantly, this event is helping students to strengthen their leadership skills.

"This is a totally student-run and youth-led event," Crichton said. "The students have been doing everything from getting the donations for the raffle, to sending letters to the VIP guests, to figuring out the date, time and venue and decorations. There will be food from local business donations, including Aramark, our district's foodservice provider."

Last year, the event drew in over 100 families, and this year the goal is the same, if not more, than last year.

"This is a community event," Crichton said. "Everyone is invited, all are welcome from our community. This is taking place right in our city and it's a great way to kick off the winter break, which starts the next week. It's a way for our community to come together and all of us support these programs and really make a difference for these kids."

Crichton and her staff know that for every student enrolled in their programs, there are many who don't have access to them. Proceeds from the Snowflake Ball will aid in providing more learning opportunities for more students in Cranston.

"We need to have more things for our students to do," she said. "There are so many students who are looking for something to do after school. They hang around their old elementary schools and middle schools. They are looking for those affordable opportunities that work with their family unit. As a community in Cranston, we need to make sure that we are keeping these programs in Cranston, to show how important they are in Cranston and to expand them so that we have more opportunities for more of our students. That comes with more community involvement."

Besides student leadership skills and support, the school year and summer programs focus on STEAM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math, plus Computer Science, and according to Crichton, students at every grade level are being exposed to those types of learning experiences in their programs, thanks to great curriculum coordinators and to community partnerships with places such as Mystic Aquarium. Mystics new grant opportunity from the Sea Research Foundation and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has provided an opportunity for new curriculum to be implemented in the programs.

"Students will be working with mentors, and learning things like Robotics, Math, Physical Motion and Movement, and Ocean and Local Waterways, in this year-long pilot program," Crichton said. "We have Cranston Public School certified teachers working with us and we are looking for mentors to join us as well from the local high schools and community. We're looking for anyone from high school to 100 years old to work as mentors from 3:30 to 4:30 [p.m.] on Tuesdays or Thursdays. It's a great opportunity for high school students to work with elementary students."

In addition to STEAM, the summer programs specifically help to curb summer learning loss in the areas of reading and math, and the academics are integrated throughout the many activities that take place as well as having a specific half-hour per day of instructional time in each of the two academic areas.

For more information about the Snowflake Ball and the various expanded learning programs in Cranston, visit www.cranstonafterschool.com.