Greater Latrobe Key Club Holiday Babysitting Event

Key Club spreads holiday kindness by watching teachers’ kids while they go Christmas shopping.

Abigail Allias

December 15, 2023

The best way to spread Holiday cheer is by giving back to people and helping out in any way that you can. On Friday, December 1, 2023, Greater Latrobe’s Key Club hosted an event in the CSC from 5:00-7:00 pm where they babysat the senior and junior high teachers’ kids.

“In years past, before COVID happened, Key Club started this event where they babysat the teacher’s kids while they went Christmas shopping,” said Gianna Lewis, Key Club President. 14 Key Club members attended, with three of them being officers, and six teachers’ kids. The Club officers were Gianna Lewis, Sarah Lazeski, and Sophia Bisher.

The children of Frau, Mr. McIntyre, Mrs. Mahleic, and the granddaughter of Mr. Synder came to the event. “I thought it was something nice to do not only for the teachers but for the kids as well,” said Sophia Bisher.

The club hosted holiday-themed activities in the CSC to pass the time. The kids were able to decorate cookies or Rice Krispy Treats with frosting and sprinkles, color festive-themed coloring pages, make paper Santas, and eat pizza while holiday music played in the background. The kid’s favorite activity seemed to be decorating cookies. “I think the kids absolutely loved it, especially the cookie decorating,” said Sophia Bisher.

In addition to those activities, the kids also just got to hang out with other kids and teenagers. “My favorite part about it was all the smiles the kids had on their faces,” said Sophia.

Key Club unfortunately wasn’t able to do this event for a couple of years, but they were able to bring it back. “We decided to start it back up to try and get more involvement in our school and community,” said Lewis. “We haven’t done it since I was in 9th grade, so this year, my senior year, I was like I think we should bring it back,” said Gianna Lewis, “Since I’m the president I thought it would be a good decision and I went up with my fellow officers and asked them. We took it to the club and we all agreed it would be fun.”

All of the kids and Key Club members had a blast and are excited to host this event again next year. Sophia said, “I’d say it felt good to help out teachers that put so much effort and care into us and give them a night to themselves, so they can get everything that they need to be done without any hassle.” Gianna said, “It made me feel happy and just joyful that I was able to be there hanging out with these kids and to give their parents some time to themselves. It was so nice to see them smile, play with each other, and have fun.”

Photo by Gianna Lewis

About the Contributor

Abigail Allias, Staff Writer

Abigail Allias is a sophomore at Greater Latrobe Senior High School. This is her first year on the staff of The High Post. Abigail enjoys spending her free time dancing, reading, and traveling. She has been a dancer for seven years and takes classes in a variety of different genres including Lyrical, Ballet, Jazz, Pointe, Hip Hop, Modern, and Tap. When she isn’t at the dance studio, she is usually found reading a book. As an avid reader, she will read any and every kind of book. She also enjoys traveling and feels lucky to have taken many vacations with her family. Her very favorite place to visit is San Diego, California. She loves the weather and the positive, laid-back vibe of the city. Abigail also enjoys taking her dogs, Joy (a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) and Ginger (a Labrador Retriever), for walks around the neighborhood each day. Abigail’s family is very important to her. She has learned from her parents what a diligent work ethic looks like and is going to carry that on to her work at The High Post. Abigail is excited to be working on The High Post as a writer since she enjoys writing, learning about current topics, and sharing her opinions. She looks forward to learning about journalism and further developing her writing skills. Her plans after high school are to further her academic career by attending college. Although she is unsure what she is going to major in, she is looking forward to figuring out what she is passionate about and what she is meant to do in the future.