2014 Kid's Korner Talent Show a Success

The sounds of minions, wild things, and other creative performers boomed from the stage of Middletown's Woodrow Wilson Middle School as students from the Middlesex YMCA Kid's Korner program performed in their annual talent show on Wednesday evening. 

"We loved it, this is the first talent show we've been to, and we really liked the effort all the school put into it," said Barbara Humble, whose daughter Camille attends the Macdonough School Kid's Korner program. Macdonough performed a Beyonce-inspired medley called "Return of the MAC." 

 "I think Kid's Korner is a lifesaver and a work saver," said Humble on what the childcare program means to her family.

"What I love about this talent show is that it helps kids boost their self esteem," said Melanie Carfora, School Age Child Care Director at Middlesex YMCA, adding; "It backs up what we talk about all the time about positive youth development."

Other acts in the show included an informative skit on bullying by Snow School and a beauty and talent pageant by Woodside Intermediate School in Cromwell.

"It was great, the kids had a lot of heart," said Jason Hinners, a Cromwell parent whose daughter Olivia strutted her stuff in Woodsides' pageant.

"What makes this Kid's Korner program so special is the support of the families, because without their support we couldn't have events like tonight," said Carfora.

Hinners also praises the staff involved in the program noting the growth his daughter has seen by being in the program; "She loves it, she's grown, she's made great friends. We are very happy she is in the program."

"Tonight you could see how much the staff really do love the kids and want them to do well. That's what makes our program so unique, " said Carfora. 

The Y Participates in World Book Night

On Wednesday April 23rd, Kids' Korner at Macdonough School hosted the fourth Family Night Event of the 2013/2014 school year: Kn-'OWL'-edge is Power Family Fun Night: A World Book Night Event with Sandbox Arts and A Hope for Raptors.

 Kids' Korner site director Chaelyn Lombardo put in an application for World Book Night which was approved and her request for the book Hoot by Carl Hiaasen was accepted!  She quickly began planning for an owl-themed literacy event. The event was held on April 23rd, following our after school program for the day. A group of our fifth grade participants assisted in setting up the room for the event beforehand. The first 25 families to arrive received the WBN copy of Hoot. The first 30 children who arrived were given a card-stock owl crown which boasted, “Look Whooo's Great!” Each family was provided with a KIP Passport and an ink owl stamp to keep. Over a pizza and salad dinner, Chaelyn and staff explained to the families that they were going to travel around the cafeteria, completing a variety of owl-themed centers and challenges. Families were instructed to independently explore the centers and stamp the corresponding space on their passport as they completed each activity. We urged families to return their completed passports for a chance to win some owl-themed prizes that we had purchased (mugs, water bottles, stuffed animals, books, etc.). Each center featured a correlating FUN FACT about owls and a detailed explanation of the center's activities, with explicit directions. 

Our WBN Kn-OWL-edge is Power Centers were as follows:

• World Book Night Welcome Center: Create a customized owl book mark for your new copy of Carl Hiaasen’s Hoot using provided bookmarks and colored pencils.
• “Owl” Do Some Math Center “Create an Owl” Dice Game: Each roll of the dice earns a owl body part. Head, Wing, Talon, etc. A complete owl wins.
  
• “Owl” Do Some Math Center 2-“Color an Owl” Dice Game: Each roll of the dice earns another crayon color for a color-by-number owl picture provided. A complete owl wins.
• Super Science Center 1-Owl Puke: Owl Pellet Dissection Station, with bone charts and explanation sheets. Explore sterile owl pellets and decipher the bones within.
  
• Super Science Center 2-Owl Eyes: Owl Eyes-Spy Books and Eye-Spy Game to test visual acuity in comparison to an owl’s eyesight.
  
• Super Science Center 3-Owl Friends: Meet a REAL Owl (A Hope for Raptors, a raptor rescue organization with 2 live owls to share: One Barn Owl. One Great Horned Owl).
  

 
 

• NEST-le Up in the Owl Book Nook: Choose from a variety of Owl-themed fiction and non-fiction picture books and completed a FAMILY MINI-REVIEW Book Report.
  
• “Owl” Make Some Music Center: Sing some Owl Finger-Puppet Plays and Songs with plastic owl finger puppets and take-home song sheets provided.
  
• Sandbox Arts Movable Mural Art Center: Paint the Movable Mural with Sandbox Arts (a local art co-op that brings a large movable canvas to paint our owl theme upon). Follow the Owl/Knowledge is Power theme.
  

• Owl Arts and Crafts Center: Great Horned Owl Toilet Paper Roll Craft. Create an owl using recycled toilet paper tubes, designer paper cuts and craft eyes.
• Origami Owl Center: Owl Origami. Fold a square piece of paper into an origami owl using the take-home directions provided.
• Barn Owl’s Dinner-A Literal Scavenger Hunt: Barn owls eat 12 mice a night. Spot the 12 mystery mice hidden around the room before the WBN Family Night is over.
• Owl Art Gallery: Famous Owl Art Pictures from around the world/history, set up behind the food station. Enjoy some artistic owl pictures.
• Owl Celebrity Search: Spot the 10 “famous” owls around the room from movies, television, books, and more (Woodsy, Hedwig, Jareth, Soren, and more).
• “Owl-ing” Photo Booth: Pose for the camera based on the Internet sensation of “owling.” Though we aren’t sure if these are legit owl poses...
   
  
  
  
  

  Our World Book Night event hosted 94 people, with 28 of our program’s families in attendance. It was our biggest Family Night Event turnout of the school year (of many years, actually). At the end of the night, every copy of Hoot was distributed. Each owl crown was atop a child’s head. Families were enthusiastically involved in the centers; thumbing through their free copies of Hoot, basking in the natural wonder of our live owl exhibit, painting an artistic owl rendering on the 8 foot mural, breaking apart owl pellets and marveling over the interesting discoveries within.  A fun time was had by owl!

Parental Involvement Awards Earned by Two with "Y" Ties

Two people in our very own Y family have earned the honor of receiving the 2013 Parental Involvement Recognition Awards presented by the State Education Resource Center, CT Parent Information and Resource Center and the Connecticut Commission on Children.

Parents who receive the Parental Involvement Recognition Award are nominated for active involvement in the their children's school or community; support of their local school and contributions to high-quality education for all children; evidence of their ability to make a difference in their local school or community; and dedication and advocacy to ensure equity for all parents and their children.

This past November, Brian Kaskel and Marilyn Dunkley both made the trip to the State Capitol along with their families, nominating teachers and principals from the schools their children attend to receive this special award. Brian has children who attend our Kids' Korner after school programs and Marilyn is a cook for our preschool program at the YMCA. We applaud their efforts within their children's schools and our community. We look forward to seeing more of their great work in the future!

Brian Kaskel

Marilyn Dunkley

YMCA Macdonough Preschool Students Receive SURFS Awards

Each month, members of the Macdonough School learning community gather at the SURFS Up Assembly. These assemblies allow students, teachers and community partners to sit back and reflect on the wonderful things that are happening in the classrooms of the school.

SURFS behavior is expected by all students at Macdonough. SURFS stands for:

S=Self-Responsibility

U=Understanding

R=Respect

F=Fairness

S=Safety

One of the very special parts of the day is the awarding of the SURFS winners for the month. Children who receive the award are called up on stage and presented a certificate by their teacher for their great behavior. The school recognizes that good behavior starts at home, so the families of the children are also invited on stage. I was so happy to see our very own YMCA preschool students Taliah Jackson and Darelle McFadden receive their very first SURFS awards today! We are so proud of their hard work and thank them for being such great representatives of the YMCA at Macdonough School. Keep up the great work!

 

goPINK Project and the Y...A Winning Combination!

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is an unfortunate reality that almost all of us know someone who has been diagnosed with this disease. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2013, 232,340 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in women in the United States and approximately 39,620 women will die from this disease. To fight this disease and find a cure, organizations depend on the generosity of donors and grant funding to perform their research.

The Y will be a participating business in the 4th Annual goPINK Project. EG Salon co-owners Georgi Marino and Ellie Gagnon came up with the idea to offer their clients pink hair streaks for a $20 during the month of October in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. All the money was then donated to the Middlesex Hospital Comprehensive Breast Center. This center provides high quality breast cancer services to women in our community. This project is in its fourth year and they expect it to be the biggest year yet with a record number of participating business throughout the community.

We will be welcoming staff from EG Salon to apply pink hair extensions at the Y. For a $20 donation, you can get an awesome pink hair extension and support a great cause. 100% of all donations go to support programs of the Middlesex Hospital Comprehensive Breast Center. Salon staff will be at the Y to apply extensions on the following dates/times:

Monday, October 7th from 11:00 am-1:00 pm

Saturday, October 12th from 8:00 am-12:00 pm

Wednesday, October 16th from 5:45 pm-8:45 pm

Gather your friends and head down to the Y! All are welcome. If you would like to participate, please stop by the front desk and sign up for a time slot. Drop ins are also welcome.

For more information about the goPINK Project, please click here to visit their website.

For more information about the Middlesex Hospital Comprehensive Breast Center, please click here.

We hope to see you at the Y. Please consider donating in honor of someone currently living with the disease, in memory of someone who has lost their battle with the disease or in honor of a survivor!

Stuff the Bus School Supply Drive

Join us this weekend as we team up with Walmart and Durham School Services to provide children and families in need with a fresh start to the school year. We will be collecting donations of new school supplies for local school children.

Come see us Saturday, August 10th and Sunday, August 11th from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm at Walmart in Cromwell. For more information, please click here.

Can't make it down this weekend? Don't worry. We will be collecting supplies from Monday, August 12th to Friday, August 16th at the Y in Middletown. Simply drop your donated supplies off at the front desk.

Thanks for donating and we hope to see you there!

One of our members dropping donated supplies off at the Y!

Y staff member Kevin Devery braves the rain on Friday to collect supplies!

YMCA Staff Run the Teacher vs. Student 5K in Cromwell

On what could have been the hottest day of the year (so far), YMCA staff Kevin Cassesse and Mr. White ran the Student vs. Teacher 5K in Cromwell. Both men ran their hearts out in the heat with great racing results; Kevin came in third place in his age group and Mr. White beat Kevin's time. The Y is a proud sponsor of this event.

Did you know that Woodside Intermediate School has an active after school running club of about 220 children? Mr. White and twenty Kids' Korner children also participate weekly in this running club. Teachers Mr. McGough and Mr. Dean founded the club and encourage kids at WIS to lead active, healthy lives. Congratulations to everyone who participated!
 

Say Cheese Kevin and Mr. White!

 

Mr. White and Kids' Korner participant James manage a smile in the grueling heat!

Kids' Korner Talent Show 2013

Hundreds of family members and friends came out to the auditorium of Woodrow Wilson Middle School on Thursday night to support their favorite Kids' Korner site. They were treated to an awesome show from all our after school sites. There was so much dancing, singing and really cool skits that we didn't want the night to end! Here's just a little taste of some of the talent that was on display last night.

This kid can DANCE!!!

Spencer Kids' Korner's Geek Squad

The children and staff have been working  hard for months to create and practice these skits and routines. We are so proud of their hard work and believe we have the most talented kids in the world in our programs! Congratulations to everyone who participated last night and thank you to the families and friends who came out to support the children. A special thanks to Josh for being our emcee for the night!

Macdonough Style

Spencer Geek Squad

Wesley Surfin' Birds

Not Your Typical Day Camps...

School vacation is just five weeks away...what will your kids be doing this summer? 

Send them to the YMCA Summer Enrichment Program! The YMCA Summer Enrichment Camp offers eight weeks of discovery and hands on fun for children entering 1st through 6th grade. Each week a different theme engages children in a fun filled journey of experiential learning. Weekly themes include:

• June 24th-28th: Game On  

• July 1st-5th: Ocean Exploration

• July 8th-12th: Y Spy Detectives & Forensics

• July 15th-19th: Intergalactic Adventures

• July 22nd-26th: Fitness Frenzy

• July 29th-Aug 2nd: Actors, Authors & Illustrators

• Aug 5th-Aug 9th: Aspiring Artists

• Aug 12th-Aug 16th: Y World Explorers

This program is a great fit for children who like art, science and creative exploration. Mornings are spent diving into theme filled activities and afternoons are full of recreation and play. This year we have new field trips, more theme based presenters and enrichment programs and more outside play!  A daily recreational swim, optional swim lessons (at an additional cost) and a field trip complete each exciting week! 

NEW SPORTS PROGRAMS

Does your child enjoy sports? We are offering four weeks of new sports programs for children entering 3rd through 6th grades. These programs are perfect for kids who enjoy athletics and want to learn some new games and brush up on basic skills. Teamwork and sportsmanship will be reinforced. No equipment is required but participants must wear sneakers to participate in daily activities. Weekly themes include:

• July 22nd-26th: Children's Running Program

• July 29th-Aug 2nd: Basketball

• Aug 5th-Aug 9th: Stick Sports

• Aug 12th-Aug 16th: Sports Spectacular

Mix and match your child's summer experience between the two programs or go all one program or the other. Space is now available in both programs for all weeks.Before and after care and swim lesson options are available for an additional fee. Financial assistance is available  For more information you can click here to visit our website or call Melanie Carfora at 860-343-6208. We hope to see your child this summer!

Girls Outside and Kids' Korner

“Girls Outside” is a fun outdoor education program for girls that is funded by a grant from the Middlesex County Community Foundation. The primary objective of this program is to enable more girls and women to have positive outdoor experiences and develop the skills, knowledge and comfort level to enjoy some of the many benefits that nature can have in our lives. The program teaches environmental and science education (identifying basic trees and plants, vernal pool studies) and skill building activities (reading trail maps and using a compass) that encourage girls to explore the natural environment and have experiences that develop the confidence to over time be able to explore and connect with nature without an organized group. 

The girls at Snow School Kids' Korner recently hit the trails with Lucy Meigs, founder of Everyone Outside. Lucy took the girls on a hike where they had the opportunity to follow some marked trails and even found a letterbox site! 

For more information about the Everyone Outside program please click here to visit their website. Thank you to the Middlesex County Community Foundation for supporting this program.

A New Y Blog to Follow!

Want to see all the fun stuff that goes on at one of our after school sites? Check out the new blog started by our staff at Macdonough Kids' Korner. The staff have been hard at work planing and facilitating all sorts of fun activities and they want to show it off! Here's a sneak peek at some of the activities:

JoJo, Kashyss, Jenna and Kaley show off the bunnies they made for the Easter holiday!

The youngers were hard at work creating some colorful bunnies!

To visit the Kids' Korner at Macdonough School Blog, please click here. We hope you enjoy this new blog!

Middlesex YMCA Summer Enrichment & Sports Camps

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could all take a summer break like our kids? Summer brings back so many great memories for me. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to spend lots of time outside riding my bike, playing with my friends, going to the beach and spending a couple sessions out at YMCA Camp Ingersoll. All of those individual experiences added up to a well rounded summer where I got to play, socialize and learn about the world around me. Back when I was growing up the world was a little different; we were able to go outside for the day with friends and come back when it got dark. Our parents would have a neighbor watch us and we would check in once in a while with them. Although the world has changed greatly since I was a kid, children still want the same thing out of a summer vacation; to be active, play with friends and have fun adventures.

While I was fortunate to have the childhood summer experience I shared, many children do not have the same experience. Once school closes, some children and families struggle to gain access to quality enriching educational opportunities that a summer camp experience, family vacation or trips to local libraries or museums can offer. As a result, summer learning loss can occur.  Summer learning loss is the loss of academic knowledge and skills during the summer months as a result of being out of school. The National Summer Learning Institute explains that most of the learning loss affects the reading and mathematical skills over this two months time and parents consistently say that summer is the most difficult time for them to find productive things for their children to do. 

Everyone needs ongoing opportunities to learn and practice skills to become successful. This is even more important for children during the summer months. YMCAs are perfectly positioned to help children battle summer learning loss through day camp programming. One of the ways that our Y is helping children battle learning loss through the summer is through our Summer Enrichment Camp. The Summer Enrichment Camp offers eight weeks of discovery and hands on fun for children entering 1st though 6th grade. Each week a different theme engages children in a fun filled journey of experiential learning. This program is a great fit for children who like art, science and creative exploration. Mornings are spent diving into theme filled activities and afternoons are full of recreation and play. A daily recreational swim, optional swim lessons and a field trip complete each exciting week! Our goal is to offer children an opportunity to explore their interests, build their knowledge and skills and use their creative spirit during the summer months. Our intention is to enrich each child’s summer vacation with a variety of fun activities. 

NEW SPORTS PROGRAMS!

Does your child enjoy sports? We are now offering four weeks of new sports programs for children entering 3rd through 6th grades. These programs are perfect for kids who enjoy athletics and want to learn some new games and brush up on basic skills.

For more information about our Summer Enrichment & Sports Program please click here to visit our website or contact Melanie Carfora at 860.343.6208 or Kevin Cassesse at 860.343.6211.