COVID-19 had a huge impact on students at Hays STEAM Academy, so to help them heal music teacher Krystal Davis and PE Coach Klarisa Dominguez formed the Girls Running Club.
At her previous school in Michigan, there was an organization called Girls Who Run, which is like what they are doing at Hays. Girls Who Run is a national organization, but it’s not offered in West Texas.
The Hays version is for girls in third through fifth grade.
“… The inspiration came from the need for SEL, which is social and emotional learning,” Davis said.
She and Dominguez, who are best friends, teamed up to work through the social-emotional learning issue together and focus on young girls.
“We’re working on things such as confidence building, communication, friendships and just working through those limiting beliefs that young girls face at this age,” Davis said.
With 27 members, the club meets three times a week. More girls are asking to join and Davis said she doesn’t turn any of them away.
The girls start out in the music room, journal, have a group discussion then head out to the track. If the weather is bad, they will use the cafeteria.
Each week, Davis said, they’re going to pick a topic they think is important to discuss. The week of March 28, the topic was inner beauty.
“We’re talking about all of the things that makes somebody beautiful on the inside, rather than just appearance and looks. We always start with a journal prompt where they write things that they’re grateful for and they can circle the emotions that they’re feeling. That’s like a daily check-in. It gives them a few minutes to themselves every day just to check in with their self,” Davis said.
That’s followed by a discussion group.
“We’ve been passing around a talking stick and having people describe someone in their life that’s beautiful on the inside. And then we have a word bank … of different qualities — creative, strong, athletic, curious, kind, gentle. Words that can describe you on the inside. We challenge them to use those words while they’re describing that person in their life,” Davis said.
That’s when the running comes in.
“We think that running is a great tool just to heal and center the mind. And it’s a physical way for girls to set and accomplish their goals, but something that we’ve incorporated is little mirrors. Every time they run a lap, they’re going to pick up a mirror and they’re going to say something that makes them beautiful on the inside. Our goal is that, hopefully, they can start telling others why they’re beautiful on the inside and kind of spread that kindness and spread that joy,” she added.
The grade levels in the group is where Davis said they are seeing the most emotional conflicts at Hays.
“As a campus, we’ve been really focused on working with those grades on SEL concepts,” she said.
Davis said she doesn’t know if it’s these age groups in particular, but she does think technology plays a big role in how the girls are feeling.
“With COVID, they were on the iPads and the cell phones and the computers and on TikTok and all sorts of social media. They got all of these things thrown in their face, and they kind of forgot how to talk to one another. They forgot how to communicate and be a person outside of their technology,” Davis said.
She added that she sees the social media impact more with the older children than the younger ones.
In Running Club, the girls walk the first lap and they are supposed to talk to each other. This week (April 4) they are going to challenge them to talk to someone new.
“And we’ll give them little conversation starter cards and stuff just to encourage that conversation starting that I think they’ve lacked since COVID,” Davis said.
She added that the club has helped her and Dominguez as much as it’s helped the girls.
Dominguez said it’s a way to connect with the girls a little more and talk to them about physical and emotional health.
“… we’re planning on going over healthy foods and snacks that we should consume before going out and running, or walking the track,” Dominguez said.
She added that they eat something small to give them a little energy boost like a small bag of pecans or nuts, or fruit if possible.
March 31 was only day three of the club, but Dominguez said she noticed that the attitude in PE had changed a little bit.
“They’re a little nicer with each other like if they see someone that’s by themselves, they’ll go and talk and try to connect with others,” Dominguez said.
Grace Gibson, a 10-year-old fourth grader, Sadie Medina, a 9-year-old third-grader, Symphany Taylor, a 10-year-old fifth grader and Ruby Zubia, an 8-year-old third grader, are all club members.
Medina said she wanted to join because she wanted to “have fun and run because I like to run a lot.”
She added that she likes being around Davis and Dominguez.
Gibson said she wanted to make new friends and get to know some other girls.
“And I also love running and journaling and I just felt like it would be really good for me to learn how to get my emotions out on paper,” Gibson said.
She added that writing out her feelings has helped her a lot.
Taylor said she joined because she wanted to make new friends.
“And like Gracie said, I like getting my emotions out on paper. But it’s not just that … It’s like a safe place. No one makes fun of you. Like in school, they might make fun but they think they’re playing, and there, you know it’s a safe place. No one’s going to make fun of you. It’s just amazing,” Taylor said.
Zubia said she joined because she loves running and her favorite teachers are Dominguez and Davis.
“… I love running and running makes me be more confident and just builds up more of my strength,” Zubia said.
Some of the girls knew each other before the club.
“You really get to know the other kids in the school and their interest in why they journal and why they just need somewhere to go. But most of the time, it’s just nice to have some other girls to talk to,” Gibson said.
Taylor said the club also allows the girls to make more friends, so as friends move away, they have more friends.
Zubia added, “You can you can lose some friends, but you’re not going to lose them as family because you still have some other good friends.”
