Elementary schools and other schools have all sorts of clubs for students, however, a flyer for a “School Satan Club” now making the rounds has a lot of people doing double-takes.

The flyer and social media announcement that sprung up recently is titled “The Satanic Temple After School Club,” and it includes the enticing invitation: “Hey Kids, let’s have fun at After School Satan Club!”

There will be “Science Projects! Puzzles & Games! Arts and Craft Projects! Nature Activities!”

According to the invitation to all elementary school students, Satan Club will take place in the Joyner Elementary School cafeteria at 3300 Normandy Road in Greensboro on Friday, April 29 and Friday, May 27 from 2:15 p.m. to 3:15 pm.   It’s open to students in first-grade through sixth-grade from any school.

The event is being sponsored by “The Satanic Temple After School Satan Club.”

Guilford County Commissioner James Upchurch said he didn’t know what to make of the supposed club when he found out about it.

“I didn’t know if it was a joke or not,” Upchurch said.

He said that he called Guilford County Manager Mike Halford and asked him to investigate.

An outraged Upchurch said he also phoned Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston to make him aware of the situation.

Upchurch said he and county officials are still looking into the matter, but he added that, at this point, it was his understanding that it’s no joke.

“It appears to be real,” he said.

Upchurch said that, rather than a joke, the club is instead a consequence of the fact that schools cannot discriminate against religious groups when it comes to using school facilities.

In January, the Moline-Coal Valley School District in Illinois had a very similar controversy, with parents there also posting on social media a lot of “What The ?????!” posts.

The same flyer was used in that incident, with only basic time and place information changes.  Both forms also include an attached permission slip for parents to sign.

In Illinois, school officials offered the following explanation: “The Moline-Coal Valley School District and Board of Education have policies and administrative procedures in place which allow for community use of its publicly funded facilities outside the school day.”  It added that the district doesn’t discriminate against any groups that wish to rent the public facilities, including religious groups.

There have been similar stories in other parts of the country.

Satan Club, the flyer states, doesn’t attempt to convert children to any religious ideology, but instead it supports the children’s’ ability to think for themselves. After School Satan Clubs emphasize a “scientific, rationalist” worldview.

According to the flyer, children will learn “benevolence and empathy, critical thinking, problem-solving, creative expression and personal sovereignty.”

It states that Satan Clubs are taught by volunteers “who have passed criminal background checks and have been vetted.”  Though one should probably keep in mind they were vetted by Satanists.