Mar
31
By Elodie Adams
When it comes to programming, Darcy Topinka is always on the lookout for ways to invest in the betterment of James Bay's school and community centre.
That's why he hired Kate Longpre, the centre's recreation programmer, last April.
Since she's been there, Longpre has been busy creating and coordinating new programs and courses, something she admits that she just loves doing.
Fast forward to January 2011, and a study released by the McCreary Centre Society, a Vancouver-based NGO committed to improving the health of BC youth.
The report, based on data collected from the 2008 BC Adolescent Health Survey, takes into consideration emerging youth health issues and tracks trends involving sports, exercise, health and nutrition.
The study links the benefits of increased activity, such as coached sports or dance, as an important factor to youth for higher self-esteem, better nutritional behaviour and generally feeling good about themselves.
But Longpre already had that figured out.
Not long after she came to the centre, Longpre saw that organized sport after school was lacking for the grades 6-8 children who are bused to school every day. When they got back to James Bay after school, there was nothing for them to do unless they had individual activities organized by their own families.
And so last fall the Out of School Sport Program initiative was born. It started once a week as a free drop-in sports program where 16 kids came out regularly to play floor hockey, indoor soccer or basketball in the gym. Kids, according to Longpre, really needed something like this.
When a grant became available through the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence (PISE), the school was able to expand the program and to hire someone to run it. The benefit of the PISE partnership is in the pedagogical support they give to the teacher, with an emphasis on real skill acquisition and instruction on how to teach sports to youth.
Now the JBCS is able to offer four different programs: two during the week for grades 6-8 and 3-5; and two on Saturday mornings, one for the K-3 and one for grades 4-8.
"These out-of-school sports programs help to build a connection between the school and the community centre," says Longpre, "and that's something we're always working towards."
According to Topinka, it all depends on the funding.
"If the funding for this pilot project continues, we will be able to maintain these free after-school programs for three years," Topinka says, a feat that both he and Longpre hope will continue.
Besides the free after-school program, the community centre continues to propose a variety of sport, dance, and martial arts programs for children and youth.
This spring, kids can now choose between soccer and rugby - or do both - with two new Mini Rugby courses for grades 4-5 and grades 6-8. And new in the dance department, girls and boys from ages 6-9 will have an opportunity to learn Latin dance.