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September 8 , 2008

Summer Fun in SWR

Since the early 1980s, the Shoreham-Wading River School District has opened its doors during the summer months to conduct a summer recreation program for community students entering kindergarten through sixth grade, and the summer of 2008 was no different. The program, which was started by the original Director of Community Programs, Michael Baran, is called Roundout and runs for five weeks during July and August.

This year, in an effort to ease the buildup of traffic at one central location, the program was conducted at both the Wading River and Miller Avenue Elementary Schools. The district’s boys track coach, Bob Szymanski, supervised Roundout 2008. Furthermore, trained professionals as well as 102 high school and college-level staff members and more than 93 volunteers from seventh and eighth grade oversaw the program at each location.

Throughout Roundout, the more than 220 attendees participated in a wide range of programs, including general recreation activities on the playgrounds and fields, testing their skills at entertaining board games, and demonstrating their creativity in art classes. Additionally, the students took part in several different theme days – Pirate and Princess Day, Water Balloon Day, Olympic Week, and Scavenger Day were just a few of the favorites.

“I believe the strength of any program lies in the people who staff the program….and our staff is selected through an extensive evaluation process,” stated Coordinator of Community Programs Paul Koretzki. Speaking to the highlights of the program, Mr. Koretzki commented, “This program offers a low-cost summer recreational experience for our children.”