DEL NORTE— High Valley Community Center is gearing up for another year and has a long list of fun and educational activities planned for students. The year will begin on Sept. 5, just after the Labor Day weekend; staff members are working hard to have the schedule of classes and field trips ready to go by the time students are welcomed back to the center. This season will be one to remember as the teen students branch out to learn trades in their communities from local tradesmen and women who will be coming to the center to teach the teens what it takes to be part of different types of trade jobs.
Beginning the trade program, the teens will be learning from local publisher/editor of Valley Publishing Jennifer Alonzo about what they need to know when creating and writing for a newspaper. The students will learn the ins and outs of what it takes to first write a well-rounded article and then how a paper is paginated and printed. After the course, students will be making their own paper for the center, that will be circulated to parents and fellow students on a weekly basis.
Other trade professionals that the students will be learning from will include a program by members of the BLM. Students will learn what the BLM does and how the department works to keep public lands public for future use. Students will also be learning about the history of Del Norte and what they can do to be a part of their community in a lasting way.
The center will be spending the next 10 weeks taking the students to swimming lessons at the Hooper Pool as part of their Friday Field Trip program and hope to have a high number of students willing to participate. “We are really looking forward to having a full schedule this year of fun things for the students to do,” said staff member Adriana Mora.
In addition to the after-school program and the Friday field trips, the center is also looking forward to the coming October Fest in Del Norte and is working to make the event more family-oriented. In the past, the event has focused on food and alcoholic beverages which is common for this type of festivals world-wide. According to Mora, the center plans to host a barbecue and activities that can be enjoyed by the entire family that will not only help promote the festival, but make it a more family-friendly atmosphere. “We want to get families out and about during the festivities, so we decided to step in and have something that entire families can enjoy,” finished Mora.
The High Valley Community Center is looking forward to yet another wonderful year with community students of all ages and are eager to welcome them back at the beginning of September.