Youth Education
Every summer and throughout the year, we offer classes for school-age children through our Spoon River College Youth Programs. Mark your calendar for the below opportunities for 2012.
Canton’s program will be June 4-8th with classes being held at the Spoon River College Community Outreach Center located at 45 East Side Square, Suite 302 in Canton.
Macomb’s program will be June 11-14th (Grades 1-3 and Grades 4-6) with classes being held at the Spoon River College Community Outreach Center located at 2500 East Jackson Street in Macomb.
Havana’s program will be June 12th at the Spoon River College Havana Center located at 324 Randolph Street in Havana.
Rushville’s program will be June 14th at the Spoon River College Rushville Center located at 706 Maple Avenue in Rushville.
IN THE NEWS...
Canton - The Spoon River College Office of Community Outreach and the YWCA Women’s & Girls’ Empowerment Center are partnering this summer to offer TechGyrl Power-Changing the World through Service and Technology, a week-long interactive day camp for girls who have completed 5th or 6th grade. The program is scheduled for June 4th-8th from 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Andrea Barbknecht and Julie Seeley of Spoon River College and Glenna Mount of the YWCA will coordinate the daily events which will include tours of Cook Medical, Modern Health and Fitness Center, Dickson Mounds, Fulton County Humane Society, and a campus tour and lunch at Spoon River College.
Participants will take part in arts and crafts activities such as tie-dye t-shirts and watercolor creations. The girls will also participate in a community gardening project and have an interactive lunch with older adults.
Daily keynote speakers will speak to the girls about money management, nutrition and fitness, Spanish for beginners, understanding disabilities, self-esteem, and volunteerism will also be topics of interest.
Finally, the girls will also take part in genealogy and researching family history and hear presentations at local Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs to help girls realize the ways in which they can change the world through service and technology!
Local Spoon River College Retirees Leading Academy Graduates will serve as mentors and lead the young girls in an activity providing a special intergenerational connection!
Enrollment is limited for this program, so early registration is suggested. A registration form/parent permission form is required and available at the Spoon River College Community Outreach Center located at 45 East Side Square, Suite 302 in Canton.
For more information or to register, call SRC at 309-647-6260.
The Macomb Summer Youth Program in 2011 served 63 students!
SRC/YWCA Partner to offer Summer Youth Camp in Canton
A positive self-image and the message that “the sky is the limit!” was the focus of “Discover Our World”, a week-long summer day camp held in 2011 for 5th and 6th grade girls at the Spoon River College Community Outreach Center. The event was the result of a partnership between the Outreach Center and the Canton YWCA Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment Center.
Andrea Barbknecht, coordinator of community outreach for Spoon River College, and Patricia Clark of the YWCA led the camp. They were assisted by Julie Seeley, community outreach coordinator; SRC student worker Sam Shafer, Jessie Rankin, and Emily Schoenfelder, Canton Chamber of Commerce intern.
Daily keynote speakers encouraged the girls to set no limits on themselves when choosing a career and special emphasis was placed on STEM careers (science, technology, engineering and math). When asked to predict what their dream jobs would be and what they would be famous for in 2026, their answers proved they had gotten the message. Careers ranged from professional athlete to a fashion designer. One future veterinarian predicted she would be famous for saving the President of the United States’ dog, while another had won the Nobel Peace Prize.
The young ladies also learned how to tie-dye t-shirts, experienced Zumba and yoga, researched groundbreaking women of the past and present, engaged in career exploration and a Dove self-positive image workshop, and ate lunch YWCA’s Lunch with Friends, where the girls interviewed a senior citizen. Liudmyla Filbert told the girls what it was like growing up in the Ukraine and how she came to America. They all participated in “acting” workshops throughout the week. A highlight of the week was the filming, editing, and posting of a YouTube video set to “Firework” by Katy Perry. The video can be viewed on the Spoon River College YouTube Video channel at http://www.youtube.com/spoonrivercollege
Other activities included lunch at McDonalds and Monical’s, and tours of the following: Canton Big Creek Park and Pool, Cook Medical, Emiquon Conservation Area, Chiropractic Wellness Connection, Havana Printing, Spoon River Animal Clinic, Spoon River College, and the Sweet Shoppe.
Barbkenecht and Clark expressed their appreciation to those businesses and the following individuals who helped make the week a success: Scott Brown, TimbukTech; Cassie Whitsitt, human resource office at Graham Hospital; local engineer Kara Fitzjarrold; Jedediah Cantrell, vice-president at Graham Hospital; and Carol Davis, vice president of community outreach for Spoon River College.
A graduation ceremony was held at the week’s end in the Spoon River College Conference Center and included a group reading of Patricia Clark’s poem “Too,” which reinforced the message of a positive self-image, and the premier viewing of their “Firework” video.
For more information on this and other programs in the Canton Area, please contact Andrea Barbknecht or Julie Seeley at the Spoon River College Office of Community Outreach at 309-647-6260 or Patricia Clark at the YWCA Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment Center at 309-649-3333.
Looking for something for your school age child to do this summer? How about sending them to college? SRC will once again be offering summer youth programs. Flyers and more information will be available soon. Some of our most popular offerings have been Art Expedition, Chemistry in the Kitchen, Digital Photography, Conversational Spanish, and Techno Kids.
Generations Connect
The Generations Connect Project brings together retirees and at-risk youth from the Fulton-Schuyler Regional Office of Education. They work collaboratively on many projects and learn to appreciate their individual gifts, challenges, and experiences.