Martha

Posted on: Sunday, May 30th, 2021

Summer Gymnastics

Summer Sizzles at the Y. Did you know we offer Gymnastics programs for children age 6 months up to 14 years? From cartwheels to confidence, the Hockomock Area YMCA Gymnastic Centers in Foxboro, Franklin and North Attleboro are proud to celebrate youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Our facilities host a variety of programs designed to help children and young adults thrive at their own pace while building strength, flexibility, self-confidence and coordination. Programs for Summer 2021 are described below.

GYMNASTICS CAMP M-F

Flexibility, strength training, dance, recreational swimming and crafts will be followed by full afternoons of gymnastics. Campers will end their week with a special Friday performance.

$305 member / $427 non-member
9:00 am – 4:00 pm (coed)
WHO: age 3-14 – with groupings made by age to ensure the development of gymnastics and social skills for each participant. Everyone in the community is welcome!
DETAILS:

NORTH ATTLEBORO » June 21–Aug 27 (no meeting week of July 26)
FRANKLN » June 28–Aug 20 (grade 1+, no meeting week of Aug 9). We offer 1/2 day programming (described below) for preschool aged children.
FOXBORO » July 12–Aug 13

CLICK HERE to Register for Camp

1/2 DAY PROGRAM

Let’s get moving, preschoolers! The Franklin Y offers a full morning of gymnastics and more. Children will move through skill stations and obstacle courses on all the gymnastics apparatus: bars, beam, floor and vault. Program includes creative movement exercises and lots of new activities including games and art & crafts.

Per day: $35 member / $70 non-member (Per week $168 member / $336 non-member)
9:00 am – 12:00 pm (coed)
WHO: age 3-6
Choose your week (and any number of days per week) starting July 5 and running through August 6
CLICK HERE to Register for Gymnastics Half Day

Please have campers bring lunch, snacks and water each day to break and re-charge. Half day participants will also need water and snacks. Pre and post camp is offered at all locations as early as 7:00am and ending at 6:00pm.

GYMNASTICS CLASSES

We are also running 45 minute classes throughout summer. Options starting the week of June 21st range from parent/child to classes for preschoolers and up to advanced gymnasts ready for team competition. If you’re interested in our gymnastics competition or pre team opportunities, please reach out to your local Y’s gymnastics director at the email addresses below. All in the community are welcome.

$94 member / $188 non-member FOR 10 WEEKS OF CLASS*
DETAILS:

FOXBORO

age 6 months-4 years (parent or guardian/child) Sat 8:30 am; Sun 9:00 am
age 3-6 Sat 9:30 am, 11:30 am, 12:30 pm
age 6-14 Sat 10:30 am

FRANKLIN

age 3-14 Tue 3:45 pm, 4:45 pm; Wed 3:45 pm, 4:45 pm, 5:45 pm; Thu 3:45 pm, 4:45 pm
age 6-14 (boys only) Tue 4:45 pm

NORTH ATTLEBORO

age 1-3 (parent or guardian/child) Mon 8:30 am; Sat 8:30 am
age 3-6 Thu 8:30 am; Sat 9:30 am
age 6-14 Thu 3:30 pm; Fri 3:30 pm, 4:30 pm; Sat 10:30 am

CLICK HERE to Register for Parent or Guardian and Child Gymnastics Classes
CLICK HERE to Register for Preschool Gymnastics Classes
CLICK HERE to Register for School-Aged Gymnastics Classes

* Classes are priced at what we’d normally charge for eight weeks to accommodate your summer travel plans. You can sign up for 10 weeks but feel ok about missing one or two classes at no financial loss.

We look forward to a great summer with your kids! Questions? Please contact Gymnastics Directors: Ashli Philips (Foxboro) ashlip@hockymca.org 508-543-2523 (member services) | Lacey Whitaker (Franklin) laceyw@hockymca.org 508-528-8708 (member services) | Erin Shea (North Attleboro) erins@hockymca.org 508-695-7001 (member services).

For information on additional youth programs at the Y, please visit HOCKYMCA.ORG/SUMMER-CLASSES and HOCKYMCA.ORG/CAMP.

Posted on: Monday, February 22nd, 2021

Virtual Fitness Class Schedule

In order to stay connected with your friends — both YMCA members and your fitness coaches here at the Y, we are pleased to share our virtual schedule with you, which you can do from home. Let’s roll out our mat, grab some weights, lace up our sneakers and stay fit together.

Live-Streaming On Facebook and Zoom

View our Virtual Fitness Calendar of live classes every day. We are live-streaming classes on Facebook and on Zoom, so you can get together with Y members and your favorite trainers and instructors to bring us closer as a YMCA family.

Like us on our Facebook pages: our Hockomock Area YMCA Facebook Page and our Hockomock Area YMCA’s Health and Wellness Facebook Page.

Virtual Fitness on YouTube

We’ve built a large collection of recorded Virtual Fitness videos on the Hockomock YMCA’s YouTube. You’ll find everything from Bootcamp to Yoga classes, nutrition, stuff for kids and active older adults.

For our live streaming ZOOM classes:
Zoom has recently increased security protocols which include password protected links.

To join a Zoom class, simply click the class link at the designated time and you will enter a waiting room. A staff person will admit you to the live class! When using Zoom, you can join with your camera on or off. If you join with your camera on, you and your surroundings are visible to other participants. If you join with your camera off, only your name is displayed.

*If you have any troubles joining the Zoom workout, please message us on our Health and Wellness Facebook Page. Right before and during the virtual class, Y Staff will be available for questions on our Health & Wellness Facebook Page as well as on Zoom to help you.

We look forward to staying connected with you. When you workout with your Y community, be sure to share and tag us so we know you are here.

Please take care of yourself and your loved ones. Thank you for being part of our Y family!

Enjoy your workout!

Posted on: Friday, January 1st, 2021

Looking Back at 2020

2020 was a challenging year for many of us both personally and professionally. Throughout the pandemic one thing never changed: community minded supporters of our YMCA coming together in inspiring ways to be there to support each other and rekindle hope.

Despite the many challenges of the past year, I am so proud that our YMCA continued to make impactful contributions in the areas of food insecurity, child care, health & wellness and other emerging needs in our local communities.

And my commitment to you is that in 2021 our cause-driven YMCA will remain focused on being there in innovative and progressive ways to continue to provide a safety net for our neighbors in their time of need.

I hope you enjoy this brief video highlighting the collective impact we experienced in 2020.

With deep appreciation,

Ed Hurley
CEO, Hockomock Area YMCA

Posted on: Tuesday, September 8th, 2020

New Theatre Programs

FALL 2020 PROGRAMS AND CLASSES:

We are pleased to run four great shows this fall, each will begin rehearsals the week of September 14th. Grab your spot today!

The Y provides a safe, enriching place for children to learn and grow and we welcome all new and returning students! Now in our 13th year, the Mansfield Y (known as the Mansfield Arts & Education Center) arranges students into two groups, described below.

1. The Broad-Y Academy
The Broad-Y Academy is our program for students ages 7-14. With several performance opportunities per year, ranging from musical theatre to plays, and workshops and to camps. Our mission is to create theatre magic for students of all ability levels, and to instill a deep love for the arts that will last for the rest of their lives.

Students will learn how to be part of a cast, and a community as they engage in the creation of productions, learning about dancing, singing, and acting along the way!

2. The Theatre Institute
The Theatre Institute is an intensive pre-professional training program for high school aged students, featuring a variety of classes, workshops, and full productions. Our mission is to provide high quality theatrical education, aimed particularly at students who want to develop and grow as young artists.

Each year, students are given the opportunity to participate in the showcase class, featuring concentrated training in acting, movement, and singing techniques, as well as several productions. Our goal is to ensure that students are prepared for collegiate theatre at the completion of their time with us.

If you have any questions, please contact juliap@hockymca.org.

Now Enrolling at the link below:

COMPLAINT DEPARTMENT & LEMONADE (age 7-10)
Thurs. 5pm & Sat. 12:30pm in person rehearsals (90 min. each)
Runs: 9/17-10/17 (with performances the weekend of 10/24)
Cost: $185 ($235 non-member)

People will complain about anything — not almost anything, but absolutely anything! In this rapid succession of hysterical grievances, the complaint department takes on everything from Oreo icing to kleptomania and from songs stuck in the head to the price of cheese and on and on and on. Could there be a glimmer of hope for anyone in charge of a complaint department?

LEFT TO OUR OWN DEVICES (age 7-14)
Mon. 6pm zoom rehearsals + opt Sat. 11am in person rehearsals (1 hr. each)
Runs: 9/17-10/17 (with performances the weekend of 10/24)
Cost: $185 ($235 non-member)

Written specifically to be both rehearsed and performed remotely, you’ll love how the characters in these scenes relate to each other in real time, but from separate locations. A college freshman calling home, ordering from a drive-thru lane, speed dating, a 911 dispatch center, Rapunzel and her prince- you’ll be amazed at the variety packed into these eleven scenes.

ORDER UP! (age 11-14)
Wed. 5pm & Sat. 2:30pm in person rehearsals (90 min. each)
Runs: 9/16-10/17 (with performances the weekend of 10/24)
Cost: $185 ($235 non-member)

When it comes to fast food, people are particular – very particular. In this quick succession of quirky customers, the Order Up! restaurant takes on everything from weird food allergies to fanatical health inspectors, from the fear of eating to someone wanting to hide in the restroom, and on and on and on. Could there be a moment of sanity for the three employees who work behind this fast-food counter?

TOGETHER APART (age 14-18) – this is a Showcase Class for the Theatre Institute
Tues. & Sat. 5pm (3 hr. each) in person rehearsals during Sept
October rehearsals will taking place: Tuesdays online and Saturdays in person
Runs: 9/12-12/1 (with performance on 12/5)
Cost: $220 ($280 non-member)

Students will learn techniques and build the skills necessary to become a triple threat performer! This collegiate style course will begin with an exploration of musical theatre audition technique, followed by a script analysis and scene study unit. The final section of the class will be dedicated to creating a musical theatre showcase featuring selections intended to be performed with characters in different locations.

Mansfield Arts YMCA (40 Balcom St, Mansfield)

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THEATRE PROGRAMS

» Printable Theatre Catalogue

connect with us on facebook (left to right below: Theatre at Hockomock Area YMCA | The Theatre Institute)

Posted on: Wednesday, April 1st, 2020

Swim Techniques You Can Practice at Home

Our YMCA Aquatics team has put together dry-land home activities—no pool required! These home activities help to develop good form and build stamina. When the skill has been mastered on land, it becomes easier to perform in the water.

Swim Lesson Technique: Back Float

Swim Lesson Technique: Back Glide

Swim Lesson Technique: Butterfly

Swim Lesson Technique: Dive

Swim Lesson Technique: Flip Turn

Swim Lesson Technique: Front Crawl

Swim Lesson Technique: Front Float

Swim Lesson Technique: Front Glide

Swim Lesson Technique: Sidestroke

Swim Lesson Technique: Submerge

Swim Lesson Technique: Swim on Front

For more than 160 years, the YMCA has nurtured potential and united communities across America to create lasting, meaningful change. Everything the Y does is in service of building a better us. One of the most effective ways to accomplish this is to teach youth, teens, and adults to swim, so they can stay safe around water and learn the skills they need to make swimming a lifelong pursuit for staying healthy.

Y swim instructors are nationally certified. Their training includes CPR, AED, First Aid and Oxygen Administration. Swim lessons provide important life skills that could save a life and will benefit students for a lifetime.

» CONNECT WITH US / WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU ON THE POOL DECK SOON

» Facebook – Hockomock Area YMCA

» Instagram – Hockomock Area YMCA

» Twitter – Hockomock Area YMCA

» Facebook – Foxboro YMCA Swimming

» Facebook – Franklin YMCA Swimming

Posted on: Monday, March 16th, 2020

Just Keep Swimming! Coloring Pages to Keep us Connected

As a way to stay uniquely connected and draw inspiration from our community, we’re inviting you to put your creative spin on aquatics themed coloring pages. We can’t wait to see your finished pictures!

Three coloring pages are available!

They are fun, they are reminders that your YMCA swim friends are thinking of you, and they are a great stress reliever. Download your coloring page from the selection below and share your artwork with us!

Download or print one of the 3 art works below.

Color the page in your own creative way.

Take a picture of your amazing colored drawing.

Follow and tag @hockomockymca on Instagram or email hockomockymca@gmail.com for a chance to be featured on our Instagram Stories!

Color this picture of a girl swimming

Color this picture of a boy swimming

Color this picture of a whale

» CONNECT WITH US / WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU ON THE POOL DECK SOON

» Facebook – Hockomock Area YMCA

» Instagram – Hockomock Area YMCA

» Twitter – Hockomock Area YMCA

» Facebook – Foxboro YMCA Swimming

» Facebook – Franklin YMCA Swimming

Posted on: Tuesday, March 10th, 2020

Looking Back at 2019

Our Hockomock Area YMCA is a place where people and relationships matter. We are motivated by the stories we get to tell around the impact our Y has on our members and in the communities we serve. Stories help us share the innovative ways we seek to offer programs to improve the wellness of our members, to provide support to kids & families, and to protect the youth who are entrusted to our care.

This brief video looks back on some of our Y’s 2019 highlights and I hope you share our pride in the impact we have every day in the 15 communities we serve.

This celebrates the work we get to do. We get to be a community convener and we get to put smiles on people’s faces. We get to share your stories of impact. Together we are accomplishing great things.

Here’s to 2020 and the continued difference we will make in the communities we get to serve.

hockymca.org/give>Enjoy this video and a sincere thank you for all you do in support of our YMCA.

Sincerely,

Ed Hurley
President, Hockomock Area YMCA

Posted on: Wednesday, February 26th, 2020

Teen Corps Empowers Young People to Reach Their Potential

GET INVOLVED/VOLUNTEER
HIGH SCHOOL TEENS

2 1/2 month free leadership and job readiness program: Teen Corps

Teen Corps provides teens the chance to gain experience in a professional setting while aiming toward their growth in the area of work habits — the kind that can serve them for life.

The Teen Corps Program focuses on keeping the Y’s up-and-coming leaders connected with each other and spreading values into our communities. TCs meet weekly for one hour to be trained in areas including: best practices when you’re applying for a job (including sending professional emails and making skillful phone contacts), dressing for success, working with children, training in cpr and first aid, and more. This leadership program will offer preparatory mock interviews and other classes including: Resume Bootcamp, Customer Service 101, and Landing the Job.

Participants will be expected to attend all events (including four hours of volunteering every week at the YMCA, which is a great way to learn cross skills from the numerous departments within the Y). The 10 week TC program starts Thursday, March 12, 2020 and meets every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. for 60 minutes (no meeting on 4/23).

TCs will earn: 40 hours of work experience and 10 hours of training. This volunteer position is ideal for teens who aspire to become YMCA staff in the near future and who are forming a resume for their post-high school plans and/or acceptance into honors societies (or other clubs). Parent meeting will be held: March 5th at the Franklin Y (45 Forge Hill Rd) from 6:30-7:00 p.m.

For more information on the program, email Ross Gemba rossg@hockymca.org or contact Member Services at 508-528-8708.

Posted on: Thursday, February 20th, 2020

Partner with us for our 6th annual Food Drive

Thank you for your support of local families in need. This year, our Healthy Food Access Initiative is excited to share a food drive that will support school-based food pantries. From March 9 through April 15, donation boxes will be available for you to bring along a healthy food item (or two!) during your next visit to the Y.

Did you know? One in nine people in eastern Massachusetts is at risk for food insecurity. Due to significant increases in food insecurity, many schools are now hosting food pantries, which greatly aids families where transportation or work schedules conflict with their accessing the town food pantry.

School-based food pantries rely heavily on community resources to provide kids the healthy food they need and deserve. Volunteers, staff, parents, teachers, clubs, churches, and other community groups are all crucial to implementing and sustaining these programs through food drives and fundraising efforts.

Please support local families by donating healthy, kid-friendly food items. Typically, children carry this food home and often prepare it themselves, so we are asking for food that is reasonably nutritious, lightweight, and easy to prepare. All food will be donated directly to the schools or the town food pantries. Suggested items include: oatmeal cups/packets, macaroni & cheese boxes/cups, granola bars (nut free whole grain preferred), applesauce or mandarin orange cups (no added sugar), whole grain crackers, tuna pouches in water (low sodium), Progresso chicken soup (low sodium), rice boxes/cups, Barilla Ready Pasta and pasta boxes. Grocery store gift card donations can also be made in person at YMCA Member Services.

Your volunteer support is also welcome in these ways: weighing and counting donations, transporting donated items, and helping spread the word about this initiative with friends and neighbors.

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Shannon Nisbett at shannonn@hockymca.org.

Sponsored by: Hockomock Area YMCA’s Healthy Food Access Initiative and Stop & Shop.

Posted on: Tuesday, January 21st, 2020

Healthy Weight & Your Child – Enrolling in North Attleboro & Bellingham

Empowering kids to reach a healthy weight and enjoy a healthier lifestyle—with the support of their families

Our upcoming session of Healthy Weight & Your Child (for ages 7-13) begins at the end of February—offered at either the North Attleboro Y or at Stall Brook Elementary School, Bellingham. Participants and their parent or guardian will meet twice weekly for the first 15 weeks and then once weekly for the final five weeks. This impactful program offers education and physical activity and is available at no cost to the first 10 families who enroll at the Bellingham site, thanks to the generous support of Stop and Shop’s Our Family Foundation. The charge in North Attleboro is $100 (member) or $150 (non-member), with financial assistance available to those who qualify.

Healthy Weight & Your Child (HWYC) emphasizes three elements: healthy eating, regular physical activity and behavior change. We will engage the whole family so that together you can learn about factors that influence choices, with the goal of achieving a healthier weight.

Made up of groups of eight to 15 children and their parents/caregivers, the program creates a safe, fun, and active environment for children and their families to explore and adopt proven methods to living a healthier lifestyle. The program is an evidence-based model, developed by leading child health and weight management specialists using the best available research, as well as clinical and government guidelines. The sessions are facilitated by trained content and activity leaders who are committed to engaging the whole family.

Interested families should contact Marykate Bergen at phl@hockymca.org or call 508-339-4053 to register to attend the sessions.

Information Sessions Will be Held as Follows:

February 10, 2020 at the North Attleboro Y (300 Elmwood Street, North Attleboro) at 5:30 p.m. (learn more about the Monday, Thursday 5:30 pm sessions that will run Feb. 24-June 11)
February 11, 2020 at the Stall Brook School (342 Hartford Ave, Bellingham) at 6:00 p.m. (learn more about the Tuesday, Thursday 6pm sessions that will run Feb. 25-June 11)
no meetings during the week of April 19

The Hockomock Area YMCA has been involved with youth obesity prevention since 2007, which marked the start of the Healthy Futures Initiative designed to create healthier communities. Healthy Weight and Your Child is a 25-session program, which includes 20 sessions delivered two times per week, followed by five weekly sessions. Sessions are two hours in length with the first hour delivered in a classroom setting and the second hour focusing on physical activity. A family Y membership is provided for the duration of the program.

To be eligible for the program, each child must be between the ages of 7 and 13, have a body mass index greater than or equal to the 95th percentile, be cleared for physical activity by a health care provider or school nurse, and be accompanied by a parent or caregiver at every session.

BERNON FAMILY BRANCH	45 Forge Hill Road Franklin, MA 02038	508.528.8708
INVENSYS FOXBORO BRANCH	67 Mechanic Street Foxboro, MA 02035	508.543.2523
HURLEY FAMILY BRANCH	300 Elmwood Street North Attleboro, MA 02760	508.695.7001
MANSFIELD ARTS & EDUCATION CENTER	40 Balcom Street Mansfield, MA 02048	508.339.3066