![Before school, senior Meghan Clark meets in art teacher Jerry Howard's classroom with other seniors to have a group breakfast. "I enjoy building relationships with people that come to our Breakfast Club," Clark said. "It really helps [us] to start off each day with a bit of positivity."](https://www.mvnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/REAL-AD-2011-2012-900x600.jpg)
Before school, senior Meghan Clark meets in art teacher Jerry Howard’s classroom with other seniors to have a group breakfast. “I enjoy building relationships with people that come to our Breakfast Club,” Clark said. “It really helps [us] to start off each day with a bit of positivity.”
Senior Meghan Clark spends every morning with friends in art teacher Jerry Howard’s Room
Clark and other Mill Valley seniors have created a breakfast club which has helped them bond with each other
At some point or another, nearly every student in high school finds a place on campus to kick back, relax and hang out with friends. This place can be on a sports field or in a locker bank, but for senior Meghan Clark, this place is in art teacher Jerry Howard’s room.
Clark became involved with the art program at Mill Valley her junior year when she took Art 1 taught by Howard. Since then, she has taken Survey of Fine Crafts and is currently enrolled in Sculpture and Drawing.
According to Clark, she arrives in Howard’s room around 7:30 every morning during the school week to hang out with about six to 10 other students.
“We call it the ‘Breakfast Club,’ kind of, because half of us eat breakfast in there,” Clark said. “We [hung out in Howard’s room] last year too.”
This is not the first time a group of friends have spent their mornings in Howard’s room. According to Howard, this has become a commonplace during his teaching career.
“It’s kind of been an ongoing trend, every year I have … kids that will meet in my room every morning and hang out until the five minute bell where they go all of their separate ways,” Howard said.
Clark and her friends chose Howard’s room as the location for their breakfast club since nearly all of them have Howard as a teacher from one point or another.
“Some of us are also in art club and he’s the sponsor for the art club so it is [the place that] we like to hang out,” Clark said. “Most of us are involved in art, so at some point or another, Howard has been our teacher.”
Howard thinks that this group is a good way for friends to spend time together before school and learn a little bit more about each other.
“I don’t exactly know why it happens, other than that I am usually here fairly early by 7:15 or 7:30 every morning,” Howard said. “So it’s just a good place to come unload, converse and do their social things that they do.”
Clark thinks that Howard’s room is a good place to relax and hang out with friends before the school day.
“Most of us are usually here around 7:30 [and], we sit,talk and pretty much just chill before the [school day starts],” Clark said, “If I ever need help with any of my homework, some of the kids in [Howard’s room] are in my classes so it is helpful.”