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Cheetahs Club Boosts Girl Power By LINDA KANE When girls at Monroe Elementary School raise their pinkie finger at each other in the halls and give a "woo-who," it's a special signal. It means they're a part of the fifth-grade Cheetahs - an all-girls club — and they're proud of it. The fifth-grade girls are largely outnumbered by boys in the classroom, with 44 boys and 23 girls, so the dozen girls in the club take comfort in meeting weekly after school. Monroe is at 2250 30th St. Every fifth-grade girl was invited to join Cheetahs. The meetings provide a place where what they share is held in confidence, and they can hang out with other girls. "If you have anything to say, you don't have to be scared to say it here," said Raydene Buckner, 10, from Des Moines. The program is led by case manager Paige Bower. Kristin Lengeling, 10, from Des Moines said she likes the program because she's learned about different girls in her grade. She's gotten to know people better, Kristin said. Chloe Soklov, 11, from Des Moines said she, too, has made good friends. "I just like having fun with my friends and I like what we do in the group," she said. The Cheetahs plan different activities and had a pizza party before winter break. At the party, the girls got hot pink T-shirts representing their group and could hardly wait to put them on. They quickly decided they would all wear them the next day. During that meeting, the girls wrote short biographies about themselves without signing their names. Everyone selected someone else's biography, read it out loud and tried to figure out who it belonged to. Some picked the author right away. Others weren't so sure. It demonstrated to the ladies how much they've learned about each other in the first semester, Bower said. The girls listened to a CD by the Cheetahs musical group while they wrote the letters. They danced and scribbled their names on the chalkboard and laughed with each other. "I love it," said Ann Strom, 11. Bower hopes the Cheetahs members will build friendships, become better all-around students and be more prepared for junior high. They follow several rules, such as getting along and allowing one person to talk at a time. Bower said each girl in Cheetahs is there only because she earned a seat in the program. Students who face disciplinary problems have to resolve them before they can join. "They have to behave in a way that shows they want to be in our group," she said. The after-school girls group is sponsored by the Chrysalis Foundation. Many other schools participate, such as Granger/Mitchell, Longfellow, Moore, Willard, Capitol View and Jackson elementary schools. The Cheetahs from Monroe have been writing to pen pals at Moore.
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