What an incredible 8 weeks bursting with enriching, engaging & energized youth & teen programs!
Fitness & Nutrition
Youth enjoying a screen free summer was a must again this year, as we seized all opportunities for our youth to be active and outdoors. The first 90 minutes of each day were designated as a morning focus time, with youth participating in a program track of their choosing, including sports and fitness. Activities in this track ranged from kickball, swimming, basketball, soccer and capture the flag.
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Additionally, we held a girls basketball clinic at the beginning of the summer. Coaches went over the importance of dynamic stretching, drills stations and listened to a panel of current and former athletes and coaches.
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And, as always Lisa and Blanca dished up some nutritious and wholesome scratch made meals and snacks for all our youth, providing breakfast, lunch and snack for our young members, and lunch, snack, and dinner for our teens.
STEM & Academic Enrichment
Our young people continue to investigate the world around them through our STEM programming. All summer long youth participated in building challenges, experimenting with different materials and designs as they constructed Lego mazes, K’nex bridges, and paper chains, and more.
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They explored the world of Chemistry through tie dyeing various materials including shirts, socks, paper cups and leaves. Youth engaged in their own science projects, using the scientific process to record and evaluate their process and discoveries.
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They also took an interest in ecology, caring for and exploring their environment through individual planting, community gardening, and nature scavenger hunts.
Our engineers in the making continue to develop teamwork and leadership skills, as they become creative problem solvers and think tank experts through hands on learning and collaboration.
Visual & Performing Arts
Youth had opportunities to explore all realms of visual and performing arts offered at West End House, from visual art, to music, dance and other performance arts.
Members experimented with different mediums and styles including abstract art, splatter painting, portraits, and more. Youth had a chance to marvel at the masterpieces completed by themselves and their peers as they visited the various art displays throughout the building, even posing for a photo next to their artwork.
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We also hosted the first West End House “Coachella” dubbed WestEndChella. The mini music festival celebrated the talents of both our visual and performance artists with youth decorating and prepping for the festival, in addition to performing musical and dance numbers.
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Additionally, youth enjoyed dance and movement classes, including yoga, meditation, and other wellness practices, along with creating fire beats, trying their hand at playing different instruments as well as how to operate the performance and recording equipment in our Music Clubhouse recording studio.
Health & Well-Being
Throughout the summer we’ve continued to place high priority on providing daily programs, experiences, and environments that support the whole health and well-being of our young people. Some of these social emotional learning supports included mood meters and zen dens. Mood meters help to gauge how each member is feeling that day and what supports they may need. Zen dens provide a space for members to vibe out and disconnect from the group if they are experiencing low energy or feeling overwhelmed.
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In addition, we continue to support youth voice and choice in all our programs, from having members pick their summer program track, to giving them the option to try new foods and different engagement levels during programs.
