Bloomfield Rec. Dept.: 2012 was a Great Summer

Submitted by Megan Schaffer

If you didn’t spend your summer with the Bloomfield Recreation Department, we could say you missed out on a good one, or better yet, a GREAT one! From late June to mid-August, the Recreation Department offered over 28 sports clinics. Clinics ranged from Intro to Magic, cooking and art, to baseball, street hockey, and football, appealing to all ages and interests.

Some children in town chose a different route for the summer and enrolled in our full day Recreation Station Summer Camp at Demarest School. The Recreation Station camp was offered for children in grades kindergarten through seventh grade and took place over a six week span, broken down into three, two week sessions.

On a regular day, campers participated in a full schedule packed with sports, music, games, movies, water, and walks to Clarks Pond South. But this was no regular summer at camp.

To keep things exciting, each session held its own special events and trips. Campers in session one took a trip to the Prudential Center to see the New York Liberty take on the Washington Mystics. They enjoyed a pizza party, and had a chance to represent their favorite athletic team on spirit day. Session two's campers hosted a beach party, had a visit from The Animal Experience, and took a field trip to the IMAX Theater, at the Liberty Science Center.

The excitement continued with session three when campers took part in their own Summer Olympics, took a trip to Funplex, and turned the Demarest School playground into a summer of fun carnival, where campers had a chance to soak counselors in the dunk tank, take a trip down a double water slide, and win prizes.

Children not old enough to attend the Recreation Station at Demarest School were able to enroll in the Oakview Play Group. The Playgroup is a half-day program for Pre-K children, ages 4-5, and ran from July 2 until August 10.  Each two week session consisted of an educational theme during which the campers learned and participated in activities centered around the USA, the Olympics, and community helpers. Campers were treated to lessons about safety and good citizenship with visits from the Bloomfield Police and Fire Departments.

The Bloomfield Recreation Department doesn’t stop with just summer programs. Look for our fall program flier in early September to register for programs such as art, dance, flag football and much, much more.