Staff photo / Bob Coupland The Newton Falls Elementary School BETA Club, which is in its second year, has students out in the community performing different community service projects. Members also have worked on projects and attended state conventions. BETA Club members Joslin Veon, Amarah Hamon, who is president, and Jeremy Elza, all fifth graders at the school, show a poster they made with photos showcasing the different activities the club members have been part of this school year.

NEWTON FALLS — Members of the new Newton Falls Elementary School BETA Club have been busy spending time giving back to the community in a variety of ways.

The club is in its second year of finding ways to help others and as one member says “Make People Smile.”

Fifth-grade teacher Lora Sembach, adviser to the club, said 32 fourth and fifth graders are involved with the BETA Club.

“We started last school year and are learning our way through it. The idea to have the club was brought before the school board last year and they approved it. I feel it is a great opportunity for our students to get involved,” Sembach said.

She said the BETA Club has four pillars, which is similar to the National Honor Society. The pillars are achievement, character, leadership and service.

“Last year when we were a new club, we started doing service in the community. The students selected for BETA Club have good character and leadership potential to get involved to do different things for others,” Sembach said.

The community service has included trash cleanup days at the school grounds and near state Route 534, and raising more than $200 through fundraisers for the Trumbull County Dog Pound.

Students also helped at the craft tables at the Winter Wonderland event for students from the Trumbull County Board of Developmental Disabilities. They also took part in raising funds to get shoes for local children and in other parts of the world.

Students also made flags for veterans.

Sembach said the students particularly like going to local nursing homes and visiting with the residents, who they play board games with and do crafts.

She said at the holidays, the BETA Club goes to the Country Club Rehabilitation Center, where they sing Christmas songs to the residents walking down the hallways and gathering in the dining room.

“What I see is that the students in BETA Club are gaining confidence. Some of them are shy and timid and I like seeing them take the lead and do things such as interacting and visiting people. This club gives them that opportunity. I have heard them talking to the nursing home residents and asking them if they have any grandchildren,” Sembach said.

She said students come up with ideas to help others or make them happy such as care packages and letters they wrote and sent to service people in other parts of the world.

Sembach said BETA clubs also are able to attend state conventions and make presentations.

She said the students this year have been involved with projects to help local animal charity organizations by getting blankets and other items for the animals.

Gina Woodley, a fourth-grade elementary teacher in Newton Falls, said the students enjoy being in the community.

“In the one year that it has been active, the students have accomplished a great deal in the community and they are going even stronger this year,” Woodley said.

To recruit members, the fifth graders send letters to students in fourth and fifth grade explaining what the club is about and asking them if they are interested in joining.

There are 32 members, with 16 in both fourth and fifth grade.

Amarah Hamon, fifth grade, said she likes helping people in the community.

“I like seeing people smile when we help them and visit them,” she said.

Joslin Veon, also fifth grade, said she likes visiting people in the nursing homes to help make them happy. She said she also likes being able to create projects such as scrapbooking for the state conventions and creating a large poster of all the different activities the club members did.

Jeremy Elza, fifth grader, said he likes being part of projects such as recycling art and scrapbooking.

“I like being able to give back,” he said.

The three went in 2025 to the national convention in Columbus, where they met students from other schools and showcased their own projects.

Newton Falls Superintendent Andreas Johansson said when he visits Sembach’s classroom, he is impressed by what he sees.

“Her classroom operates like a well-oiled machine, with students engaged, focused and clearly invested in their learning,” he said.

Johansson said Sembach provides leadership opportunities, service learning and community engagement for the students. He said the experiences foster confidence, responsibility and a sense of belonging that extends beyond the school day and into the community.

Sembach was among the many nominees this year for the Mahoning Valley Educator of the Year Award, which was founded last year by Hubbard High School art teacher Josh MacMillan and sponsored by the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber.