2007 Report 02-20-2008 - Town of Scarborough

Report from Community Services July 1, 2006, through June 30, 2007
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and caramel apples were available for purchase. A hayride
was a delight with numerous decorations of the season.
The annual “Winterfest” celebration, which was canceled in
January due to a lack of ice, was held at the start of
February vacation. Frosty was on hand to say “Hi” to all the
kids. There were numerous skating competitions, and a new
event was held with children hunting for colored ice cubes
filled with prizes. Horse-drawn carriage rides were
available, and, if anyone got cold, they could warm up with
a cup of hot cocoa or stand by the bonfire. The day ended
with Magician BJ Hickman and held in the Wentworth
Gym. Winterfest is extra special each year because of the
help from local businesses who sponsor the events.
SUMMER RECREATION -
KINDERGARTEN THROUGH FIFTH GRADE
The kindergarten through 5th grade summer recreation
program ran for eight weeks and was once again almost at
full capacity for all weeks. Two hundred to 290 children
participated throughout the eight weeks. Daily activities,
three field trips a week, and a great staff have made for
continued success and popularity with the summer
recreation program.
Some of the favorite field trips included Water Country,
Funtown/Splashtown, Canobie Lake Amusement Park, and
Peaks Island.
Some on-site activities
consisted of the 4th of
July Celebration, Iron
Chef Competition, and
Carnival with Bath
Recreation Department,
Paper Bag Skits and the
Olympics. Every camper
was encouraged to
participate in all
Canobie Park
activities.
During the eight-week program there were several special
events planned for the campers. One enjoyable event was
our Concert-in-the-Park Day which included BJ Hickman, a
Magician, who performed for the entire camp after we
prepared a delicious barbecue for all the campers and staff.
Looking back on previous years and where the summer
recreation program is today, we can only envision this
program expanding. The number of participants continues
to grow each summer. A pre-kindergarten program is
anticipated for next summer as well. This shows that there
definitely is a growing need for the residents of
Scarborough and surrounding areas.
SUMMER RECREATION -
MIDDLE SCHOOL
The middle school summer recreation program again took
up to 75 campers in Grades 6-8 each week during our eightweek
program. As usual, we were fortunate enough to be
able to fill our weeks with some exciting field trips and
activities, such as Six Flags New England, paintball, the
Yarmouth Clam Festival, whitewater rafting, and the
Middle School Recreation Olympics. We were able to add
some new field trips and activities which are sure to be
added to the favorites list:
• Down East Duck Adventure Tours: Campers rode
around Portland in an amphibious “duck” that works as
both a bus and a boat. During the 45-minute tour, the
campers learned about the history of the Portland
peninsula and got a view of the city from Casco Bay.
• Peaks Island Picture Scavenger Hunt: Campers were
put on teams and given a list of items to find and
photograph (each item was assigned a point value). The
list of items ranged from a lobster boat, a deer (some
campers were able to photograph a live deer!), to
island-produced honey. Campers learned about the
island while they searched for the items on their lists.
• Middle School’s Next Top Designer Design Your
Own T-Shirt Fashion Show: Campers were again
divided into groups and were given supplies such as
plain T-shirts, ribbons, feathers, needle and thread, and
instructions on how to alter T-shirts. The groups were
given a certain amount of time to design and produce
their T-shirts, and each team was then responsible for
presenting a commercial for their product, with a model
walking the runway! The competition was so close that
two teams had to compete in a “pose-off.”
We were again able to take a group of campers entering 9th
grade on an overnight trip. A total of eight campers and
adults attended the two-day overnight adventure. The first
day was spent whitewater kayaking, followed by an
overnight stay on an island on Indian Pond. The next day
the overnight group joined the rest of the middle school
group for rafting on the Kennebec River.
As we look to the future of the program, we will be
considering the addition of more adventurous programs for
older campers in addition to our regular day camp.
YOUTH PROGRAMS
Scarborough Community Services youth sports programs
continue to increase in size each year.
FALL SOCCER
Our Fall Soccer Program begins with Pre-K children and
continues through to eighth grade participants. This year we
had almost 900 participants and
200 hard-working and dedicated
community and student
volunteers. During the winter
months we run our indoor soccer
program. We introduced this
popular program to the first and
second grade students this year
and it has been a great success.
Community Services also offers
spring soccer clinics in addition
to the many different soccer
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