Fishing club launched at Belmar Elementary School

Fishing club launched at Belmar Elementary School
To take trips to Shark River Inlet, Silver Lake, Lake Como and beach
BY TOMMY WATTERS FEBRUARY 22, 2023 IN LAKE COMO

Source: https://starnewsgroup.com/2023/02/22/fishing-club-launched-at-belmar-elementary-school/

LAKE COMO — A fishing club has started for students in Belmar and Lake Como who attend Belmar Elementary School [grades 5 – 8].

This idea came about last summer at the Belmar Elementary School Enrichment Week by middle school teacher Leif Pettersen. Mr. Pettersen taught a fishing enrichment program during this week where he took a handful of students to Silver Lake to teach the students fishing safety and how to fish. Every student who attended ended up catching a fish.

After it was proposed and after the enrichment program, many students expressed great interest in the possibility of joining this club. Mr. Pettersen and Superintendent Jimmy Alvarez have been working very closely together to try and get this idea off the ground. Currently, the club has 30 members, according to Mr. Pettersen.

“To me, Belmar is as much a fishing town as it is a beach town. This is also a family town and fishing offers family members and friends the opportunity to spend precious hours together doing something special,” said Superintendent Alvarez.

He also highlighted fond memories he has of fishing as a child and going on party boats with his father and brother. Superintendent Alvarez said he wants to give students experiences like the ones he had when he was younger. Mr. Pettersen said he has been fishing all his life and loves the hobby. He said he wanted to give the students the opportunity to learn the skills he had been doing all his life, especially since Covid prevented many students from joining any after-school programs or clubs.