From The World Of Parks & Recreation
By Doug Comer
Harrison County Parks and Recreation will begin the summer parks program in the next coming weeks with a full slate of activities for the children to maximize their break in between school years. The program is not only fun-driven, but also educational as upwards of 600 kids attend the 6-week program.
“We take great pride in developing a program that is not only an outlet for children to grow through recreation, but it also grows the creative minds of the kids through our enrichments,” related Director Mike Book. “Through our music and arts enrichment teams, the kids are given opportunities to explore those fields and see if an interest is drawn to them.”
The program, which begins June 22nd, is a free program and seven sites will host the program, three of which coordinate with the Energy Express while one works along the RESA 7 project ISAAC in Nutter Fort.
Energy Express is a 6-week summer reading and nutrition program for children living in West Virginia and approximately 3,000 kids participate. The primary goal is to help children maintain or gain reading skills during the summer months and not fall behind of reading levels, which is known as the “summer slide.” The site locations are Salem University, Wilsonburg Elementary and North View.
Project ISAAC is a free after school program available to students and it aims to educate the whole child by delivering a comprehensive program consisting of math and reading as well as hands-on enrichments like recreation or arts and crafts. Both programs are morning sessions only. For more information please reference the Energy Express or RESA7 websites.
We have had a lot of contact as to the procedure on the parks program with most involving registration policies. Let me give you the answers to help ease your concern. The program, which again, starts June 22nd, has seven sites. Those include: Shinnston City Park, Salem University, Wilsonburg Elementary, North View City Park, Nutter Fort Elementary (behind school), Summit Park Complex and West Milford Community Center.
First, decide where you want to take your child, as we do not have geographic restrictions. For example, a child from the North View area does not necessarily have to go to that particular site. He or she could go to Summit Park for example.
You have a few options on registering for the program as you can log onto our www.hcparks.org web page and download the initial registration forms to have ready when you take your child on the first day of the program or you can fill them out on site when you register your child.
The program hours start at 7:30 a.m. and last till 5:00 p.m. During the day the kids will have various organized activities including arts and crafts and recreational games as well as free play to allow the children to play on the playground or do other various activities. Lunch will be provided around the noon hour and it is included in the program.
“We understand that for many of the children this will be a great opportunity to enjoy their summer vacation,” said Book. “The program is designed to let kids interact with their friends and it teaches kids the importance of staying active with both the mind and the body. Overall, the success of the program is based on the amount of fun the kids will have.”
If you have any more questions about our program, please feel free to contact the HCPR at (304) 423-7800. Until next week, see you soon.