Silver Bay YMCA Ticonderoga Teen Center- October Newsletter

October 2023

SILVER BAY YMCA TICONDERGA TEEN CENTER

OUR MISSION

STANDARD HOURS .

To provide local youth with a safe space to connect with their community, to engage in opportunities to grow and have the freedom to be their best selves.

Mondays: 2:30pm-6pm Tuesdays: 2:30pm-9pm Wednesdays: 2:30pm-6pm

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Thursdays 2:30pm-9pm

The Silver Bay YMCA Ticonderoga Teen Center is a free drop-in program for 6th12th graders located on the main floor of the Armory at 123 Champlain Ave. Read on for our October highlights!

Fridays: 2:30pm-10pm Saturdays: 7pm-10pm

Reach us at youthandteenstaff@silverbay.org

@YMCATEENCENTERTI @SILVERBAY_YMCA_TITEENCENTER

SILVERBAY.ORG/YOUTH-TEEN/ 518-503-5318

October 2023

HOMEWORK HELP Staff are available to help with homework at the Teen Center every day we are open. We have space reserved for homework with staff designated to help from 3-4pm on weekdays as we expect most teens to take advantage of this when they first arrive after school. However, our team will prioritize supporting students’ academic needs any time we are open. Teen Center participants should not hesitate to ask for help just because they can’t complete their schoolwork during that window.

We strongly encourage parents to communicate with our staff if their child is missing assignments, needs academic support, or is regularly expected to complete homework before engaging in other Teen Center activities so that our team can follow up with each teen appropriately. We will always do our best to support our teens getting their work done whatever it may be but can provide much more effective academic intervention when parents give teachers approval to share student information and when units of study can be communicated in advance. Please encourage your teens to take advantage of this support and don’t hesitate to reach out to our team!

REGISTER TODAY! BECOME PART OF THE TEEN CENTER REGISTER TODAY AT: HTTPS://SILVERCAMP.CAMPB RAINREGISTRATION.COM OR BY SCANNING:

@YMCATEENCENTERTI @SILVERBAY_YMCA_TITEENCENTER

SILVERBAY.ORG/YOUTH-TEEN/ 518-503-5318

October 2023

SPORTS One of the greatest things about our location in the Ticonderoga Armory is the use of its beautiful basketball gym. It’s a great space for our local youth to be active and connect with one another, especially as the weather turns colder.

The space is extremely flexible and allows our teens to experience a wide variety of physical activities. While Teen Center participants shoot hoops or start pick-up games of basketball on a near daily basis, they also can ask staff for assistance setting up or getting out any of our other equipment. They have access to a volleyball net, bases for wiffle ball or kickball, many kinds of sports balls, jump ropes, and more. Staff monitor and facilitate gym activities to maintain safety and help kids share the space and decide on group activities equitably.

Kickball was hugely popular this October as our staff repeatedly found themselves refereeing back to back games and helping the teens rearrange teams to keep the fun going. It’s always great when a large group can agree on one sport to play together in the gym and even more fun when they do so spontaneously without the need for staff intervention and compromise. Our new crew of sixth graders this year really spearheaded the kickball craze and it was awesome to see the older kids deferring to our youngest participants and jumping in to play with them. In addition to kickball the Teen Center also saw many great dodgeball games and some volleyball this month. @YMCATEENCENTERTI @SILVERBAY_YMCA_TITEENCENTER

SILVERBAY.ORG/YOUTH-TEEN/ 518-503-5318

October 2023

GAMES Great fun was had this month with our Air Hockey and Ping Pong Tournaments.

The competition was pretty fierce with both teen participants and staff members joining in. October also saw several board and card games including favorites Sorry, Codenames, Uno, Tiny Towns.

PUMPKIN CARVING In true October tradition we had both scarecrow making and pumpkin carving here at the Teen Center. The teens stuffed old clothes with straw and gave their creation a plastic pumpkin head before setting on the Armory steps. Lots of kids participated in pumpkin carving this year. We loved to see their jack-o-lantern designs and even enjoyed roasting and eating all the pumpkin seeds they scooped out of their gourds.

@YMCATEENCENTERTI @SILVERBAY_YMCA_TITEENCENTER

SILVERBAY.ORG/YOUTH-TEEN/ 518-503-5318

October 2023

ARTS & CRAFTS There are always plenty of craft supplies available at the Teen Center for kids to use. In October we had a few groups pull out embroidery floss and weave friendship bracelets. Teens often request their preferred art materials when they want to use them, but we try to pull them out for facilitated arts activities at least a few times a month.

Painting is always a favorite activity with some teens creating truly impressive masterpieces to take home while others simply wish to mix around colors and have a chat.

Whatever the creative intention, we love engaging the teens in arts and crafts.

MASK MAKING Every once in a while, we try to introduce a more intensive art activity that teens can learn step by step from our staff. For October we were inspired by the Halloween spirit and did mask making. The first stage was to transfer their face measurements to a piece of paper and sketch their design. Then we cut the design out of mesh sculpting wire and formed it into the desired shape. Once satisfied with the shape and fit of the mask, teens covered both sides with paper mâché.

On another day once the mask forms had a chance to dry, teens could use paper clay to add any little details, paint their mask, and add elastic. It was an elaborate process, but the results were super cool!

@YMCATEENCENTERTI @SILVERBAY_YMCA_TITEENCENTER

SILVERBAY.ORG/YOUTH-TEEN/ 518-503-5318

October 2023

TEEN CENTER DINNER It was so wonderful to have Silver Bay’s own Chef Anthony Basile back with us at the Teen Center in October for our Enchilada night. The Teens love learning from Chef Tony and getting to eat the incredible meal they make together. The core of our cooking program is pairing the opportunity to enjoy a no cost hot meal with learning life skills. Many teens are immediately ready to hop in the kitchen for any of our “family style” dinners, but more and more chose to roll up their sleeves and get to work as the delicious smells from the kitchen started to waft through the Armory. It’s an extra bonus to introduce the teens to meals they’ve never tried before. Thanks again to Chef Tony, we can’t wait for next time!

CARAMEL & CANDY APPLES In addition to our “Family Style” Dinners we regularly schedule other often seasonally inspired culinary activities as part of our cooking program. This October the teens learned how to make both caramel and candy apples.

@YMCATEENCENTERTI @SILVERBAY_YMCA_TITEENCENTER

SILVERBAY.ORG/YOUTH-TEEN/ 518-503-5318

October 2023

APPLE CRISP & APPLE PIE We were thrilled to welcome Karen Skalla, Silver Bay’s new Chaplain, up from campus this month to do some baking with us. She brought us apples from her very own tree and taught the teens to make both apple crisp and apple pie.

What could be better? Karen was a huge hit with our teens and we are so appreciative of her involvement with our program. She also did cookie baking with the kids and will be joining us again soon!

ZOMBIE TRAIL & HAUNTED HOUSE October brought us several opportunities to bring teens down to Silver Bay for Halloween festivities. Our first was for the Zombie Trail in which the participants got to wear zombie masks and jump out from behind trees to scare patrons. They also got to walk the trail themselves using nerf water pellet guns to shoot at the Silver Bay staff actors playing zombies. They had a blast!

Teens had the opportunity to be actors themselves in Silver Bay’s Haunted House at Pain(e) hall. For three Fridays this month we drove the kids down to campus to enjoy dinner in the dining hall before setting up to spook visitors. It was such a fun time dressing up and seeing so many familiar faces from the teen center and wider community come through to get scared. @YMCATEENCENTERTI @SILVERBAY_YMCA_TITEENCENTER

SILVERBAY.ORG/YOUTH-TEEN/ 518-503-5318

October 2023

HALLOWEEN DANCE

@YMCATEENCENTERTI @SILVERBAY_YMCA_TITEENCENTER

SILVERBAY.ORG/YOUTH-TEEN/ 518-503-5318

October 2023

ABOUT LEADERS CLUB Leaders Club is a no-cost YMCA-based leadership development program for middle and high school teens. This program, which exists at many Ys across the US, is geared towards youth development through team building workshops, trainings, and activities that promote personal growth, social connection, and learning leadership skills through community service. Leaders Club members meet regularly and have the chance to help shape programming at the Teen Center, go on special field trips, and travel to rallies with other Y Leaders Clubs across the Northeast. We strongly encourage any interested teens to come check out one of the meetings listed on our monthly calendar and posted in both the Armory and public High School. They are also welcome to chat with a staff member at the Teen Center about it and grab an application!

UPCOMING CAPITOL AREA COLLEGE TOUR On Veterans Day, October 11th, the Silver Bay YMCA Ticonderoga will be leading our first college tour field trip.

This trip will be a no cost full day excursion to three Capitol area schools, starting with an open house at Hudson Valley Community College with lunch in the dining hall. The next stop will be at the College of Saint Rose for a tour and Q and A with an admissions officer, and we’ll finish at SUNY Cobleskill with a guided tour led by one of our very own Teen Center Alumna. Dinner will also be provided. All seats are filled at this time but keep an eye out for similar trips in the future! @YMCATEENCENTERTI @SILVERBAY_YMCA_TITEENCENTER

SILVERBAY.ORG/YOUTH-TEEN/ 518-503-5318