Last week the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School club named “Beyond the Book Club” visited Brunner to celebrate Thanksgiving and complete fun activities centered around giving gratitude. Twice a month the club meets to discuss and plan activities for their future visits to either Evergreen or Brunner.
This visit in particular was also in celebration of the club’s one year anniversary.  In order to celebrate accordingly the club completed a series of fun and interesting activities to entertain the elementary school children while also teaching them valuable life lessons. 
“It was great to see the students unleash their creativity when designing their turkeys, and adding their own touches to the project,” Gabrielle Klausner, founder of Beyond the Book Club, said.
Some of the activities done were reading to the kids a book named “Bear Says Thanks” and they followed up this reading with Thankful Turkeys.  Thankful Turkeys is an activity in which the students create a turkey out of colorful paper and each feather represents something that they are thankful for. 
“Many students said they were thankful for their family, friends, and pets. They also highlighted basic necessities like water, shelter, and food,” Gabrielle Klausner said. “One of my favorites that I loved was when one of the students said she was thankful for school and her education.
The club has done a lot to positively impact our community, such as partnering with the YMCA, collected over 1,000 books in their Read Across America book drive, and connect our student body with the kids from our elementary schools.  
The club is always looking for new members and if you have any questions for joining you can email [email protected] and make sure to follow their Instagram @beyondthebook for more information.