The Dublin Coffman Mountaineering Club
We got to talk with Anna Klei, a senior at Dublin Coffman High School and the student group leader of the Coffman Mountaineering Club. Klei founded the club, which now has 50 members and meets once a week. It’s open to all students and staff who have an interest in rock climbing, mountaineering, biking, hiking, camping and other outdoor activities.
“I always really enjoyed the outdoors. It’s been a part of my life as long as I can remember,” Klei says. “I had a group of friends that would go and climb with and I wanted to build a community to go out and do things on a regular basis.”
The club typically meets on Fridays at a rock climbing gym called Vertical Adventures, and occasionally makes trips to Chambers Purely Boulders. When the weather gets warmer, the group heads outside to Hocking Hills.
In the future, Klei would like to see the club become more structured and a bigger part of the Coffman community. If you or your child would like to get involved, send a message to the group’s Instagram @coffmanmountaineering.
Grizzell Middle School’s Girl Up Program
Girl Up is an international program with a mission to help girls who work for equality. Girl Up was founded by the United Nations Foundation in 2010 and continues to work with a global community of partners to achieve gender equality worldwide.
Grizzell Middle School in Dublin is proud to be part of that community. Last spring, the school’s Girl Up club worked to aid female students attending school in Guatemala. The efforts began thanks to the then eighth-grader Caroline Gross, who is now a sophomore at Dublin Jerome.
Gross visited her aunt in Guatemala and, through the Girl Up program, delivered self-care kits with items such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, combs, tampons and deodorant. She also delivered hygiene packages as a way to help alleviate period poverty.
The club at Grizzell now has about 20 members and continues to work toward the mission of uniting girls to change the world.
Chapman Elementary School Lunch Program
With students tackling mountains – both physically and metaphorically – it’s important to be fed the most healthful and wholesome foods possible to keep up the charge.
Chef Parmjit Singh, the district chef of Dublin City Schools, sees to it that even the pickiest of eaters have healthy options they will enjoy.
“I memorize most kids’ orders,” Singh says. “I like to think that’s what brings them back.”
According to The New York Times, school lunch popularity has taken a nosedive. In 2012, the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act created regulations on what nutrition had to look like in cafeterias in order to encourage healthy eating. Many schools were flummoxed with how to handle replacing greasy burgers and fries with broccoli, and failed to create a lunch menu that was tasty and attractive to kids.
Chapman Elementary is unique in the sense that it serves food that isn’t just dubbed “cafeteria” food, but tasty, healthy meals.
One of the many nutritious breakfast options that Singh prepares is the breakfast tacos, which are made-to-order from scratch. Singh has a rotating schedule for pancakes, omelets, burritos and more.
“It’s sometimes the drive they need to get up early in the morning,” Singh says, laughing.
A popular lunchtime favorite reminds us of a dish you’d see at a favorite restaurant – the buffalo chicken personal pan pizza. Long gone are the days of boring, cafeteria-style sheet pizza! Another awesome option is the salad bar, which always has the freshest local produce made available daily, perfect for young vegetarians. Additionally, the one lunch line offers a variation of fresh burrito and burrito bowl options – like Chipotle, only better.
Dublin is certainly a unique community, where kids are off trekking up walls, extending helping hands across borders and already eating healthy, sustainable food for their well-being. You never know what to expect next, and that’s the way we like it.
Caitlyn Blair is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
