YOUTH PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES

and THE YELLOW HOUSE

Youth Services within the Human Services Department provides youth programming for teens that promotes positive development and safe, leisure time activities. In our complex society, there are many issues facing youth. Cheshire Youth Services works cooperatively with schools, police, parents and other community resources to encourage youth to strive for their own potential. The Yellow House is home to many of these programs and activities.

November 8, 2012:

The STEP program for tonight is cancelled; the program will resume next week.

The Girls' Night Out program has been cancelled and postponed to November 15, 2012.

POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

provide supervised, positive after school and weekend activities for high school and middle school aged Cheshire residents. Cheshire Youth Services collaborates with Cheshire Parks and Recreation, Cheshire Public Schools, and the Cheshire Police Department to determine community needs and to provide high quality programming; programs are detailed below.

The Cheshire Youth Advisory Council, made up of approximately 30-40 high school students, serves as an advisory board to Cheshire Youth Services.

Cheshire Youth Services also coordinates Community Service opportunities for young people who have either been assigned community service hours by the court or by their school as an alternative to suspension or who have chosen to volunteer to give back to their community.

Many of our programs are held at The Yellow House, the Youth Services facility across the street from Cheshire High School.

COMMUNITY-WIDE PREVENTION PROGRAMS AND INFORMATION DISSEMINATION

through Cheshire Youth Services include staff membership on the Cheshire Coalition to Stop Underage Drinking and the CT Coalition to Stop Underage Drinking, the Parent Connection, coordination of and financial support for school-wide assembly programs at the middle school and high school level, support and collaboration with school-based prevention programs including the Peer Health Educators Program and Project Graduation, the publication of the Youth Yellow Pages Information Directory, and the publication of the biannual Youth Services Newsletter which is mailed home to each student at Cheshire High School, and the Middle School Newsletter which is mailed to the Dodd Middle School students.

YOUTH EMPLOYMENT SERVICE

provides a listing of middle and high school aged young people who are available to do a variety of jobs ranging from baby-sitting, lawn work, animal care, house cleaning, odd jobs, to employment opportunities with local commercial businesses. Annual sign-ups are conducted at both the middle school and high school in the spring.

YOUTH IN GOVERNMENT DAY

provides “elected” members of the Cheshire High School junior class the opportunity to serve as a Town official for a day to learn about the general operation of our municipal services. This day is the culmination of a process in which U.S. History students learn about the Town Manager/Town Council form of government and the electoral process, and participate in a real election. Eligible students within the high school are also encouraged to take the opportunity to register to vote during this program.

ADVISORY COMMITTEES

have been established by the Cheshire Town Council to assist them in setting policy for the Town and advising the Director of Youth and Social Services. The Human Services Committee is a group of twelve citizens who focus on topical social service issues rather than targeted populations. The Youth Service Committee which is composed of five young people and seven adults discusses issues pertaining to middle and high school aged young people and their families.

All flyers and registration forms for our programs can be accessed on our Youth Programs Publications and Forms page.

THE YELLOW HOUSE

554 South Main Street ♦ Cheshire, CT 06410 ♦ 203 271-2769

The Yellow House is Cheshire Youth Services’ Program Facility located at 554 South Main Street (across the street from the high school in Bartlem Park). The house, previously a hair salon, was renovated in the spring of 2002 by a crew of high school volunteers and Cheshire Public Works, to create a safe, comfortable, fun environment for the youth of Cheshire to enjoy. Programs and activities held at The Yellow House are designed by Youth Services Staff in conjunction with Cheshire Youth and the Cheshire Youth Advisory Council. The Yellow House has programs that are both recreational and educational and include weekday programs including various club activities and leadership training workshops. Friday and Saturday nights include themed activities such as pool tournaments, movie nights, karoake, make your own ice cream sundae, scavenger hunts and much more. There are also a variety of volunteer opportunities available at The Yellow House through many of the programs we run. We are always looking for new and fun ideas to incorporate into our programming and activities, please let us know if you have an idea and we might just use it.

High School Friday Night Activities

All 9th – 12th grade Cheshire residents are welcome to attend the Friday events at the Yellow House from 6:00-11:00pm. All events are supervised by Cheshire Youth Service staff. All activities are free and held at the Yellow House unless otherwise stated on the Registration/Permission form. Please check our Friday night activity schedule to see what we have going on this month!

Middle School Saturday Night Activities

All 7th & 8th grade Cheshire residents are welcome to attend the Saturday events at the Yellow House from 6:00-9:30pm. All events are supervised by Cheshire Youth Service staff. All activities are free and held at the Yellow House unless otherwise stated on the Registration/Permission form. Pre-registration is required for all students who want to participate in an activity to ensure that they will be able to attend a particular night.

Youth Literacy Project (YLP)

The program is designed to promote reading among first graders through working one-on-one with a high school mentor, demonstrating the importance of reading and the part literacy will play in their lives as they get older. The two hour meetings consist of a one-on-one reading experience for each first grader paired with a high school volunteer followed by hands-on activities related to the reading of the day.

Meets on Sat. mornings (during the school year) from 10:00am-12:00pm at the Yellow House.
Offered during 4 sessions: Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer
1st grade participants; High School mentors

Student Math Mastery Club (SMMC)

This project is designed to promote confidence among third graders through working one-on-one with a high school mentor, demonstrating the importance of math and the part it will play in their lives even as they get older.

Meets on Sat. afternoons (during the school year) from 12:30-2:00pm at the Yellow House.
Offered during 4 sessions: Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer
3rd grade participants; High School mentors

Peace Jam

PeaceJam gives high school-aged youth a platform to explore complex issues facing youth today, including violence, oppression, social justice and what it takes to be a leader and peacemaker. As part of the curriculum, each year youth learn about the life and work of one of the PeaceJam Nobel Laureates, and the strategies they use to address pressing global issues. They develop their own service projects that address the Global Call to Action, becoming creative leaders who are committed to solving the most difficult problems facing their communities and our world. The program also includes the annual PeaceJam Northeast Youth Conference, where youth spend a weekend with the Nobel Laureate they have been studying, giving them an unprecedented opportunity to exchange ideas and work towards becoming leaders in their own community.

Meets 2 times per month on weekday evenings from 6:00-7:30pm at the Yellow House.
Offered year long
9th – 12th grade students

All flyers and registration forms for our programs can be accessed on

our Youth Programs Publications and Forms page.

♦♦♦

For more information and for listings of upcoming programs,

schedule of Friday & Saturday night activities, and house hours,

please call (203) 271-6691

email us at cheshireyouthservices@cheshirect.org

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