Doing it all isn’t always a bad thing. English teacher Susan Frenck sponsors five clubs which have flourished this year under her direction: National English Honors Society (NEHS), Dungeons and Dragons, Gay Straight Alliance, The Writing Center, and the Korean Club.
The Robinson Writing Center in particular has grown rapidly in the two years since it has begun. Currently; there are 27 student tutors, and an average of 15 students who come for help during RAISE. It is an inviting environment where help on any type of writing is provided.
“The writing center is not a space for remediation. It’s a place for writers at all levels to get one on one feedback on their work. We hope students from IB seniors to freshmen come for support on assignments, whether from science, social studies, English, or just stories they are working on,” Deborah March, a co-sponsor of the writing center, explained.
With Dr. Frenck’s help over the six years, Dungeons and Dragons has a record breaking 33 members this year. This club started six years ago when a student wanted to start a club and asked Dr. Frenck for help. She said yes, and Dungeons and Dragons club was established. Dr Frenck has made the Good Morning Robinson clips to help promote the club.
Having a co-sponsor can make running busy clubs much easier and less stressful. “I also have co-sponsors in some of the organizations like NEHS and that helps a lot.” Frenck said.
Dr. Frenck also finds ways to integrate students into club administration, easing the work. “NEHS now runs very well. We have officers who do a fabulous job. Once it’s laid out, it’s pretty easy,” Dr. Frenck said.
Some ideas for new organizations come from already established ones. “Writing center actually came from NEHS, there was going to be a writing center, it didn’t happen, and then students in NEHS were really excited about the writing center. It was going to be tutoring, but me and Dr. March decided to make it a full writing center,” Dr. Frenck said.
Dr. Frenck even takes on the challenge of topics she is not familiar with. She knew little about Korean culture before she started sponsoring the club, yet she was ready sponsor a Korean Club. “I’ve learned a lot [Korean culture], they show videos and they have great information,” Dr. Frenck said.
Sponsoring all of these clubs keeps Dr. Frenck very busy, but she enjoys it. “It can be a little bit of a juggle. I do have to be very careful about my schedule and sometimes I have to be careful about double booking, but luckily, students are very flexible,” Dr. Frenck said.
Of course Dr. Frenck wishes that she had more time to sponsor clubs and activities because she enjoys getting to know the students and watch them presume their interests “I’m very, very busy but I enjoy it,” Dr. Frenck said.