WEST AFTER SCHOOL CENTER
NEWS & OPINION

December 2007

Our mission is to provide opportunities that enrich the educational, social, and cultural experiences of students and families in our community.

620 Garfield Avenue, Lancaster, OH  43130   

 740-653-5678  --  740-653-2402 FAX

Dr. Paul G. Young, Executive Director

Mrs. Jane Hart, Student & Family Coordinator

Mrs. Julie Bibler, Tutoring Program Administrator

Mrs. Chris Kuttler, Office Manager

Email:  pyoung@westafterschoolcenter.org

Visit us at www.westafterschoolcenter.org

Look What’s Happening at the WASC This Month

Dec. 7—Friday Fun Day Swimming at the Family Y, 3:45-5:00 p.m.

Dec. 11 — Christmas Puppet Spectacular — Fun for the Family—7 p.m.

Dec. 12 — Habitat for Humanity Christmas Party, 6:30 p.m.

Dec. 20 — WASC Board of Directors’ Meeting, 9:30 a.m.

Dec. 21—WASC Closes for Holiday Vacation

Dec. 24-28 — WASC closed

Adult Learning Opportunities Available at the WASC

Want to improve your reading, writing, math, and problem-solving skills? Do you struggle with fractions and percents and want to improve your math abilities? Do you want to improve your skills so you can be promoted at work? Would you like to obtain training so that you can be successful in another career or attend college? Do you want to obtain your G.E.D.?  FREE classes for adults are now being offered at a variety of Lancaster locations, included the West After School Center, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:00 - 11:30 a.m.

Exercise Helps Overweight Youngsters Learn
                 Three months of daily, vigorous exercise can improve overweight kids' thinking, U.S. researchers report. Physical activity can also lower their diabetes risk, reduce their body fat, and strengthen their bones, says a team that looked at about 200 overweight, inactive children, ages 7 to 11.

                 All the children learned about healthy nutrition and the benefits of physical activity. In addition, a third of the children exercised 20 minutes a day, and another third exercised for 40 minutes. During the exercise sessions, the children played running games and used hula hoops and jump ropes to get their heart rates to 79 percent of maximum -- considered a vigorous workout.

"Aerobic exercise training showed dose-response benefits on executive function (decision-making) and possibly math achievement, in overweight children," the researchers wrote in an abstract presented at The Obesity Society's annual scientific meeting in New Orleans. "Regular exercise may be a simple, important method of enhancing children's cognitive and academic development. These results may persuade educators to implement vigorous physical activity curricula during a childhood obesity epidemic," the researchers concluded.

"Is exercise a magic wand that turns them into lean, healthy kids? No. They are still overweight but less so, with less fat, a healthier metabolism and an improved ability to handle life," said lead investigator Dr. Catherine Davis, a clinical health psychologist at the Medical College of Georgia, in Augusta.

"We hope these findings will help persuade policymakers, schools and communities that time spent being physically active enhances, rather than detracts from learning," Davis said.                          

  Source:  HealthDay News, 10.26.07

Truth and Consequences

It hasn’t always been this way. But the truth has been that for several generations of high school graduates that if you worked hard and got a good education, the expected consequence was a more comfortable and profitable lifestyle than that of your parents. That truth may no longer continue.

             Here are some truths and consequences our children must face:

· Increased incidence of excessive weight and physical inactivity will result in the advanced of adult illnesses that could shorter lifespan.

· A high school education no longer is adequate preparation for the workforce. Failure to obtain mastery in a content discipline and the highest level of skill training will result in minimal employment opportunities and less earning potential during a lifetime.

· Good accumulative grade averages are important, but those young graduates with the abilities to display high levels of creativity and diverse thinking, communicate effectively in written and oral forms, demonstrate respect for others, show confidence in social settings, and adhere to the highest standards of ethical behavior and decision making will likely surpass those that have developed nothing but a high IQ.

· Computers, DVDs, cellular phones, iPods, and many other technologies have become common features in schools and the workforce in the last decade – and would have been considered fantasy twenty-five years ago. By 2017, new graduating students will face a world with ever faster developing technologies. Those who prepare will capitalize on the opportunities these technologies will present – those who do not will be forever ill-equipped and lose jobs to foreign competitors.

· The middle class is shrinking. A consequence is a marked difference between the haves and the have nots. Where the greatest discrepancies occur, peace will be hard to maintain and war will be ever more present.

· The hours before and after school can be better utilized to prepare students for future challenges. There simply isn’t enough time in a typical school day for many children to learn what they must know and be able to do. After school programs are the consequence and the key to extending learning opportunities for all children.

Help us help our children prepare. Their failure to recognize the value of a good education, to become self-motivated, to view the world in broad terms, and to make good decisions and choices about their future will limit their opportunities for success. A truth is this – everyone can benefit from a mentor. The consequences of successful mentoring partnerships are increased levels of learning for both participants, less stress and anxiety facing new challenges, a sense of hope, and lifelong friendships that lead to unimaginable positive outcomes. Afterschool programs are essential to the educational process and here to stay – and the consequences are a positive extension and reinforcement of learning opportunities that prepare American children for a preeminent leadership role in their future – and ours.

Watch our Television Show on  the LSN

Channel 6 Time Warner Cable

New episodes air at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, right after Jack Greathouse's "STUFF"

Need Assistance during the Holidays?

The West After School Center staff can help with referrals and contacts with various agencies to assure that your holiday needs are met.

CHILDCARE PROGRAM OPENINGS AVAILABLE

Looking for a safe, quality program for your child’s care before or after school?  Check us out, stop by for a visit, or call and speak to one of our staff members. We open at 6:00 a.m. and close at 6:00 p.m. Those students enrolled in the childcare program receive many of the same benefits as those enrolled in the after school tutoring program. 

MEAL PROGRAMS

at the WASC

Busy parents can take advantage of the availability of supper at the WASC and Cedar Heights, Monday-Friday, throughout the year.  The snacks we serve are free, and the supper  program (5:30-6:00 pm) is open to any child in our programs or others that would sign up for supper, based on qualification requirements similar to the school lunch program. The WASC is a sponsor of after school meals for the centers serving children at East, West and Cedar Heights Schools.

We Thank Our Partners

Ohio University-Lancaster (Reading Academy)

The Ohio State University Extension   (Master Gardeners)

The Robert K Fox Family Y (Summer Lunch Program and Recreational Opportunities)

Eastside Center for Success (Summer Art Classes)

Lancaster-Fairfield County Community Action Head Start (ELI & Head Start Classes)

New Horizons Youth and Family Center

Fairfield County Family, Adult, and Children First Council (21st CCLC Program Support)

Fairfield County Jobs and Family Services (custodial workers)

Red Barn Productions

Sixth Avenue United Methodist Church

Eastland-Fairfield Career Center

Fairfield Foundation (Kitchen)

United Way of Fairfield County

The flagship program of the West After School Center is the After School Tutoring Program which targets those students needing additional help in reading and math.  But the scope of our services are expanding to other schools. If you’d like to know more about us, phone 740-653-5678 for answers to your questions.

Friday,

December 21