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MSCR Spotlight Newsletter • Summer 2009 • Vol 14, Number 3 | ||
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Message from the Director
We are busier than ever here at MSCR. With the downturn in the economy, MSCR summer program registration is actually up 12% over 2008! In addition, twenty more teams are playing in summer softball leagues, mostly in coed leagues, with younger players joining in. Team numbers are the highest in five years! We might conclude that more people are looking to their public recreation department for affordable and accessible recreation, enrichment and sports opportunities for people of all ages and abilities. MSCR is hosting six interns this summer who are working in various program areas, providing those “extra hands” needed during our busiest season. It is so exciting to see these young people learning and growing through hands-on experience with our department. MSCR professional staff provide mentoring and guidance as the students perform their assigned duties and complete a term project. The interns, along with many MSCR staff members, are planning an exciting special event to be held on Saturday, July 25th to celebrate Parks and Recreation Month. "Celebrate Summer," a family event, will be held at the Goodman Aquatic Center (Verona) between 9:30am and 3pm, with swimming, art activities, geocaching, a fun run/walk and much more! Check out our website(www.mscr.org) for details. Lucy Chaffin, Executive Director |
MSCR CALENDAR June 22 June 28 July 6 July 17 July 21- 22 July 20 July 25 July 26 July 28-29 August 7 August 9 August 10 August 17 August 24 August 31
Click here to register for MSCR Summer Programs now.
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FORE! 5th Annual Fore Friends Golf Outing Exciting Raffle Prize Creates Excitement!
The Friends of MSCR Board of Directors invites all golfers - whatever your skill level - for the 5th Annual Fore Friends Golf Outing, scheduled for Friday, July 17th at Yahara Hills Golf Course. Tee off time for this nine hole event is 2:00pm, followed by the raffle drawing, silent auction and a delicious dinner catered by Blue Plate Catering. The $60 outing fee has not been increased from the 2008 rate. There are a few sponsorships still available and we are also seeking donation of silent auction items, such as golf passes, gift certificates for services, restaurants, movies, bowling and more. For more information, contact MSCR Executive Director Lucy Chaffin at 204-3015 or check the web at Friends of MSCR Fore Friends Golf Outing. | ||
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Karin Swanson, Channel 3 Meterologist, Visits Allied Learning Center Through out the month of April, Allied Learning Center participants studied weather, performing science experiments and learning about different storms and climates. Each group came up with a fun experiment to show off what they learned at our end of the month Weather Science Fair. Kids also spent time learning about jobs in the weather field. Karin Swanson, Channel 3 News Meteorologist was a special guest one Friday afternoon. She talked with the children about what she does on a daily basis and how exciting her job is! Ms. Swanson fascinated the crowd by demonstrating interesting weather experiments. MSCR Highlights Midvale CLC Hosts Family Night Family Literacy Night was held at Midvale Elementary School on April 21, with 255 people in attendance. Families were given a folder with a schedule of events, directions to rooms and small prizes like pencils and bookmarks. The theme was “Story Time,” featuring three children’s book authors and illustrators: Mary Whitcomb, Alison Relyea, and Kathy Mazur. The authors, located in various classrooms, shared their stories and creative processes with attendees. Activity stations included student book writing and illustration, reading games for prizes, a literacy center and family book reading. The event concluded when the music teacher led students in songs, followed by the Midvale after school theater club performance of Peter Pan. During the performance, parents and children were served ice cream from the Chocolate Shoppe and names were drawn to win books (Spanish and English versions) to take home. MSCR Administrator Chosen As State's Community Learning Center Representative Jean Gascho, Elementary After School Programs Supervisor, was selected by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction to serve as the representative of Wisconsin’s Community Learning Center (CLC) programs. She spent three days in Washington D.C. with representatives from other states to give feedback to the U.S. Department of Education and Learning Point Associates about the CLC grant reporting system. Sylvia Lyles, Director of the CLC program, spoke to the group about the future of the CLC program and possibilities for increased funding. Frank Allis CLC Holds Family Science Night Students enrolled in MSCR Safe Haven at Frank Allis and Nuestro Mundo came together with their parents on April 28 to celebrate a night of family science fun. The program started in the cafeteria with a delicious pizza dinner served by Safe Haven staff. After dinner, families headed outside for rocket launchings. The older students had prepared rockets which were presented and launched with each rocket going higher than the last. As each rocket was launched, the kids got very excited. Next, students from UW-Madison’s Chemistry Department performed experiments. Students and parents watched in awe as liquids began to glow and balloons exploded in front of their eyes. The younger students showcased work they had done with bean sprouts, color chromatography and “tornados in a bottle.” Emily, a Safe Haven participant, summed it up best in a discussion she had afterwards with her mother, “Mom, that was even better than TV!” MSCR Healthy Self Olympics MSCR held the annual Healthy Self Olympics on May 11, at Marlborough Park. About 350 children in MSCR’s Safe Haven after school programs at Emerson, Glendale and Falk elementary schools and the Allied Learning Center participate in the Healthy Self program. The Olympics event is the year-end celebration. Children jumped rope, kicked soccer balls, played basketball and ran an obstacle course. The UW Marching Band surprised children at the park with several Badger songs. The UW Extension Nutrition program engaged children with an interactive display.
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Adult Softball A Big Hit MSCR is pleased to announce a 4% growth in this season’s adult softball program! League play began May 1, with 463 teams playing compared to 444 teams in 2008. Men’s slow pitch program experienced the largest increase, going from 227 teams in 2008 to 240 teams this year. Coed slow pitch is a close second, increasing from 144 to 155 teams. MSCR’s adult summer softball program is comprised of five divisions of play: sast pitch leagues for both men and women, slow pitch for men and women and coed slow pitch leagues. Games are played Monday through Friday evenings on 17 lighted diamonds in five City of Madison parks: Bowman (3), Elver (4), Goodman (2), Olbrich (4), and Warner (4). MSCR employs 110 umpires to work and supervise games. Softball fun doesn’t end with the summer months. MSCR offers fall softball which begins August 24. Last fall, 96 teams participated in the five week season. The increase in the number of softball teams may be a direct result of the downturn in the economy. MSCR offers a quality softball program at an affordable price, and has seen more young people joining in for the fun, relaxation and socialization involved. | ||
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Shabazz Fact The MSCR after school program at Malcolm Shabazz City High School has formed a chapter of the Fight Against Corporate Tobacco (FACT). The goal of the program is to create awareness of the effects of tobacco use and tobacco company marketing strategies. The club began because students felt that there was an unfair perception that smoking is heavily embedded in the Shabazz community. Twenty 9-12th graders participate in the club. FACT is a statewide tobacco youth prevention movement. Unlike other tobacco prevention and control programs, FACT is youth-driven and youth-inspired. The program aims to combat tobacco marketing strategies, especially those aimed at young people and people of color. Participants hope that by getting the word out on tobacco education, students who smoke may find inspiration and support to quit. This spring, youth launched a number of activism-oriented projects to raise awareness about tobacco industry tactics. They designed and spray-painted t-shirts, chalked messages outside the school building and placed plastic rats throughout Shabazz. The rats were used to create awareness that the industry uses rat poison as an additive in cigarettes. FACT is one of several MSCR recreational and enrichment programs at Shabazz. Other programs include art, current events, gaming, cultural diversity, film and performing arts. MSCR high school programs have grown over the last four years.
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MSCR Main Office • Hours: 8am-4:30pm, Mon-Fri
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Hello 
Friends of MSCR is excited to announce this years 
The Healthy Self program began in 2003 by Group Health Cooperative, in collaboration with UW Extension, the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) and MSCR. The program teaches elementary school children about good nutritional habits and physical exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle. Children learn and participate in fun fitness activities. They are rewarded as they understand these skills and apply them in their daily activities. With the expertise of area professionals, such as pediatricians, dieticians, school nurses, and recreational specialists, children learn that being healthy and active can also be fun.
Allied Learning Center Gets New Playground
