After-school activities benefit your child in ways that might surprise you. According to studies, children who participate in after-school programmes are more engaged in and have a better attitude towards learning, perform better academically, and enjoy an increased sense of accomplishment, competence, and self-esteem.

Participation also lowers children's risk of becoming depressed, using drugs and alcohol, and experiencing other behavioural problems.

Unfortunately many students with zero participation, poor academic performance, inadequate attendance, or poor behaviour are most likely to be barred from extra-curricular activities. Education Officer, Counselling, LeeAnn Simmons would like to change this.

She believes counsellors should instead advocate that struggling students be allowed to join clubs and participate in non-academic activities: "We have students who aren't engaged, are not coming to school, why aren't we trying the opposite and get them involved in activities and then get them to come to school and get their grades up.

"We know that there are so many issues in our community and we always hear about our disenfranchised and disengaged young people, so we look at ways to re-engage them. We advocate for students to be part of something that will help them connect. Not everyone connects with the core subjects like English, Math and Science, so we have to find ways to develop their other talents."

One way to do this is to encourage, for example, young boys interested in motor mechanics to understand why they need Math and how taking the Infotech course could benefit them in making sense of manuals. It also gives them hands-on experience.

One way of getting the message of the importance of extra-curricular activities to parents is through the Individual Planning Meetings. Counsellors start at the P5 level: "During this interview the students are asked what they're interested in, what their strengths are and what extra-curricular activities they are involved in."

When these meetings first took place in the 2005/2006 school year, counsellors found that many P5 students were not involved in any extra-curricular activities.

"They would go home after school and vegetate in front of the television or computer, so a lot of our advocating now is with parents in getting their children involved in extra-curricular activities," she elaborates and while progress has been slow, there has been an increase in student activities at the public schools.

Mrs. Simmons believes children will be able to make better decisions concerning their future career choices if they participate in activities that will give them some exposure. For example if a child shows an interest in marine biology, they can enrol for a summer programme at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo (BAMZ).

One excuse she hears often from parents is that they don't have money to enrol their children in extra-curricular activities. However, the Department of Youth and Sport offers free activities for children at the various community centres across the Island, including the Angle Street Centre.

Mrs. Simmons points out that there are also scholarships and free workshops — like Masterworks — and it's up to teachers and parents to be creative.

"We also have people who sponsor activities," she says. "We don't want parents to say they don't have the money for their children to be involved. There are also clubs at schools that children can get involved in.

"Everyone always think of sport, but there are also the Girl Guides, the Sea Cadets, the Boy Scouts and the churches have youth groups on Friday nights and during the week, " she suggests. Most of the time the church will pay for the activities.

Mrs. Simmons adds that there are also affordable community courses that parents can do with their children. These include cooking courses, karate, pottery, Pilates, football, motor mechanics, Salsa Dancing, Spanish and golf, to mention but a few.

The next Island-wide courses begin in September and the booklets listing the courses are usually dropped in post boxes.

She suggests parents do one of these courses with their child, which translates into spending quality time together, while also learning something in the process.

"Getting students involved in appropriate, supervised activities is going to keep them focused, more engaged and teaches them valuable social skills," she says. "When a student is referred to us for not having any social skills, the first thing we do is try and involve them in an activity they will like."

However, she warns that children can end up doing "too much" and says the fault lies with parents pushing their children to do more than they are capable of handling: "You need a balance. Research suggests between two and three activities, and even that might be too much."

She suggests that children have time to do their homework before engaging in extra-curricular activities

"Successful time management is the key, and it starts with the parents," she says, adding that counsellors and teachers are always willing to help parents if they are having trouble managing time and getting their children involved.

She suggests PTA's organise parent nights and one school that excels at doing this is Paget Primary, which last year brought in guest speakers and offered various activities for parents during planned parent evenings.

"If your school doesn't offer anything, just ask and stay involved in your child's education," she insists. "Recognise that it's OK if your child is not totally academically inclined and not getting all A's. If they have talents that need to be nurtured, let's do that."

Lastly, both CedarBridge Academy and Berkeley make it a requirement for students wanting to participate in their graduation ceremony to have completed a certain amount of community service and extra-curricular hours.

Mrs. Simmons points out that this can include working as a Candy striper at the hospital, clean ups with Keep Bermuda Beautiful (KBB) and working at BAMZ, to name a few. A complete list is available online from the Bermuda Centre on Philanthropy at www.centreonphilanthropy.org.