HAPPY VALLEY-GOOSE BAY, N.L. — Schools out and summer vacation period has started.
For families of young children aged six to 11, the summer recreation program is a great opportunity for them to spend time in a fun, social environment.
This year’s program began July 3 and will run for seven weeks, until Aug. 17 — Monday to Friday from 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Town Councillor and chairperson of the Community Services, Recreation and Special Events Committee, Jackie Compton-Hobbs told The Labradorian there’s lots of activities planned for the summer program.
“These include sports days, craft days, drama, facility tours, healthy living workshops including nutrition, biking, visits to the playground, Birch Island and the Kinsmen Park splash pad, North West River Beach Days, and a camping night held at the Labrador Christian Youth Camp Grounds,” said Compton-Hobbs.
Last year, the summer recreation program was based at the College of the North Atlantic but has returned to the EJ Broomfield Arena as its base for 2018.
“We are confident that the quality of the program will be enhanced by the investment (new turf flooring) at the EJ Broomfield Arena,” noted Compton-Hobbs. “The program was successful at the arena in the past and we are happy to see it move back there.”
With so many of the local high school graduates moving away to other provinces to undertake their studies, the summer recreation program provides these people an opportunity to secure employment while they are back in town visiting their family over the summer break. Not only does it give these students a chance to earn some money, it also provides them with a chance to upskill their resume and gain some valuable work experience.
“From my own experience, I worked with the summer rec program back in the ‘80s and early ‘90s,” Compton-Hobbs said. “I was the summer rec director twice and was also a counsellor, so the program has been running for a long time and we (the Town) definitely focus on our own people and our own residents making sure that the opportunity for employment is provided, it’s a policy of the Town.”
Over the past week, the summer recreation program counsellors have been undergoing an induction/orientation training program with the staff taking part in the ‘High Five Principles of Healthy Child Development Training’. This is Canada’s quality standard for children’s programs and is designed to help front line leaders and anyone employed to work with children aged six to 12. It is designed to improve the quality of the programs that are delivered and provides in depth training so that the leaders understand what they need to do to ensure each child’s social, emotional and cognitive needs are met.
Registration enrollment for the summer recreation program began Saturday, June 30.
The cost is $75 weekly for the first child and $37.50 for an additional child.
Anyone who missed out on having their child(ren) registered can contact the summer recreation program director, Sarah Pilgrim at 709-899-2847.
