THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 25, 1995 TAG: 9506230212
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY JANIE BRYANT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 183 lines
ABOUT 50 SUMMER recreation staff members took part this past week in a workshop conducted by the Portsmouth Parks and Recreation Department to get everyone geared up for another season in the sun.
Another 60 youth counselors will join them at playgrounds and recreation sites around the city this week.
So will hundreds of children.
The city's Fun-n-Sun seven-week program - June 26 through Aug. 10 - encompasses everything from performing arts programs to traditional playground activities.
The theme this year is ``Youth Achieving Excellence Against All Odds.'' Weekly themes range from nature and fitness to career exploration and drug prevention.
All programs are free and transportation is available. Minimal fees may be charged for some field trips.
``So many youths depend on this as a positive activity,'' said Thomas E. Norman, deputy director of leisure services for the city.
At workshops, staff members took part in role playing and made sure their attitudes were in top form.
``If it's not fun to the staff, it's not going to be fun to kids,'' said Norman.
Lydia Pettis Patton, director of leisure services, sees the staff's work as one of the best ways to keep young people from becoming involved in negative activities.
``If kids are involved in well-organized and well-planned programs during the summer, then they don't have time to get involved in deviant activity,'' she said.
``We involve children in very early ages . . . all the way to 17,'' she said. ``And ours are free programs. A large percentage of our families cannot pay. We provide opportunities for all.''
The department also has worked hard to encourage girls to participate in the program.
``We are going to improve,'' Norman said of the department's plans to bring programs of special interest to girls as well as making sure they feel a part of the athletic element of recreation opportunities.
A new program this year is the Youth Entertainment Theater, which provides a roving performing arts staff to spend time at each recreation site.
Based at the Port Norfolk Recreation Center, the staff will bring talent to the various recreation sites and also will teach drama, dance and music at various sites.
A few children from each site will be bused to either Port Norfolk or Kingman Heights centers to rehearse for an end-of-the-summer citywide show.
Buses are assigned to sites for different transportation needs, including time at the swimming pool, special citywide extravaganzas and field trips.
The trips range from theme parks and museums to Rowena's jam and jelly factory. The department comes up with as many free admissions as possible to serve children who do not have money for fees.
The buses also are used to pick up children from outdoor sites and take them to indoor facilities in inclement weather and to meal sites. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing breakfasts and lunches.
Norman said about 2,500 meals a day will be served at about 11 sites.
The following programs will be offered:
TRADITIONAL CENTER AND PLAYGROUND SITES
Most of the programs offer both indoor and outdoor activities, ranging from sports and games to dance, drama, music, and arts and crafts.
The recreation department also will introduce children at many of the centers to traditional games - those activities children played 20 or more years ago, said Norman.
Games like Hop Scotch, jacks, marbles and croquette offer a new generation a glimpse at how children of yesteryear had fun.
Sites include Churchland Middle School, 4051 Rivershore Road; Cradock Recreation Center/George Washington Park, Afton Square/George Washington Highway; and Ebony Heights playground, Tyre Neck Road and Fawkes Street.
Also, John F. Kennedy Center, 12 Grand St.; Lincoln Park Center, Lexington Drive; Park View Elementary School, 1401 Crawford Parkway; Port Norfolk Center/Broad Street playground; Swanson Homes, 628 South St.; and Washington Park, Effingham St.
ROVING RECREATION PROGRAM
This program allows recreation staff members to visit other neighborhood playgrounds and sites with planned activities for children and teens, ages 6 to 17.
The program includes games, arts and crafts, special entertainment, sports, trips and tours, swimming, drama, dance and music.
There will also be seminars on topics such as self-esteem and drug prevention.
Staff members will travel to each site a minimum of nine hours a week. The sites are as follows:
Biltmore Commons, Jefferson and Eighth streets playground, Brighton Elementary School playground, Martin Luther King Memorial Church and Churchland North Apartments.
Also, Highland and Lansing avenues playground, Third Baptist Church, Victory Gardens Apartments and Peachtree Apartments.
YOUTH AGAINST DRUGS ADVENTURE FUN CENTERS
The program offers arts and crafts, swimming, games, sports, trips and tours for children, ages 6 to 12.
In addition to recreation, the program will offer seminars on topics such as motivation and self-esteem.
Enrollment is limited and registration is required. Locations include:
Hilanders Community Center, 409 McLean St., 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 558-2801.
Neighborhood Facility, 900 Elm Ave., 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 393-8595.
Cavalier Manor Center, Greenwood Drive and Viking Street, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call 558-2805.
YOUTH AGAINST DRUGS (YAD) ADVENTURE AND ARTS CENTER
This is the second year for the center, which offers performing arts activities and other recreational opportunities for children and teenagers, ages 10 to 17.
Daily activities will be geared toward an Aug. 10 summer finale production.
The center is located at Norcom High School, 2900 Turnpike Road, and free breakfasts and lunches will be provided.
Transportation is provided upon request. Space in the program is limited. For information, call 393-8481.
PRETEEN RECREATION ENRICHMENT PROGRAM (PREP)
This program offers storytelling, arts and crafts, ring games and table games, sports, swimming, drama, dance and music.
There also are community education and awareness sessions.
It is designed for younger children, ages 4 to 10, who live in the Jeffry Wilson or Dale Homes public housing neighborhoods.
The purpose of the program is to provide positive activities for young children in their own communities.
The program meets from 7:30 to 3:30 p.m. weekdays at those neighborhood centers and free breakfasts and lunches are provided.
For more information, call Velma Copeland at 393-8839.
EVENING FUN CENTERS
This evening program was planned to accommodate working teenagers, ages 15 and up.
Competitive games, skill development, education experiences and special events will be offered at three recreation complexes from 4 to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays.
The centers offer a relaxed gathering place for young people, Norman said.
Some lift weights, others get involved in table tennis or checkers tournaments.
Last year, Norman said, some of the teenagers would come to the center to watch television together. One group planned weekly covered-dish suppers.
The locations are the Cavalier Manor Complex, 404 Viking St.; the Neighborhood Facility, 900 Elm Ave.; and Joseph E. Parker Center, 2430 Turnpike Road.
THERAPEUTIC SUMMER FUN
This recreational day program for young people with mental or physical disabilities is designed to improve recreation and socialization skills as well as intellectual and physical development.
The activities include softball, volleyball, T-ball, golf, dodge ball, croquet, table top games, arts and crafts, musical games, drama, movies, field trips, math, spelling and reading competitions, swimming and water activities and other special events.
Participants may sign up for any of four two-week sessions offered July 12 through Sept. 1. Groups for persons with specific disabilities - mental, visual, emotional, learning, physical or hearing - are encouraged to enroll.
Each of the four sessions will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays.
The session themes are:
Cross City Sports and Games, July 13-21.
Sea Adventures, July 26-Aug. 4.
Bugs and Things, Aug. 9-18.
Harbors, Stations, Airports, Aug. 23-Sept. 1.
To register, call Donnell Warren at 465-2937.
NEIGHBORHOOD FACILITY SWIMMING POOL
The pool is open to the public from 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 2 to 5 p.m. Sundays.
The fee is 75 cents for children, ages 12 and under, and $1 for others.
SPORTS ATHLETIC AND FITNESS PROGRAM
Indoor and outdoor programs, encompassing everything from track and field to basketball will be offered at four sites.
They are the Cavalier Manor complex, the Neighborhood Facility, the J.E. Parker Center and the Norcom High School athletic field. ILLUSTRATION: ON THE COVER
Staff photographer Mark Mitchell took the picture of little Kayla
Burdett on a swing in City Park.
Photo by GARY C. KNAPP
At a workshop for summer camp counselors, Felicia Halsey, left,
daughter Natasha Halsey, Denita Eason and Gordon Jones do a skit
about a bus stop. The counselors are in training to help at
playgrounds and recreation sites this summer.
by CNB