TEEN PROGRAMS 

Libraries Helping Libraries

April 2011 - Laurie Burhop, Arts Coordinator at SSRL, reports that the Teen Mural classes are going very well. A group of teens are painting three large “wall panels” that will be hung in the Ruskin Community Library. Michael Parker, a local artist and educator is coordinating the project. The SSRL Friends funded the project.

This is a great community project.  I am quite pleased and probably will have some type of party for the teens and their families when the project is finished at the Ruskin Library so they can view the finished mural after it is hung.

March 2011, Teen Talent Contest:

Below is a report from Sonia  Baruch,

Senior Librarian – Youth Services

SouthShore Regional Libraries hosted a Teen Talent Show on Saturday , March 19, 2011. In total we had eight middle school and five high schools entries that performed. The contestants were judged by members of the Friends of the SouthShore Regional Library, Diane Waronka, Mimi and Tom Rose and a professional entertainer, Barbara Van Eycken.

We’d like to thank The Friends of the SouthShore Regional Library for sponsoring this event. The Friends are our greatest supporter and one of the reasons why we have a great teen program. Thank You!

Performers were judged on four criteria:

­25% - Presentation

25% - Creativity

25% - Clarity

25% - Ability

We saw a variety of acts including singing, guitar, piano and acting. We want to thank all the teens for having the courage and confidence to participate. Everyone one of you is already a winner by just performing!

The prizes were for two divisions: Middle School and High School. Each division will have 3^rd Place ($25); 2^nd Place ($50) and 1^st Place ($100).

The winners are as follows:

Middle School:

First Place:          Alyssa Weimer

Second Place:    Madison Powell

Third Place:        Angelica Latorre

High School:

First Place:          Christa Gambrell

Second Place:    Stephanie Rodriguez

Third Place:        Patricia Roque and Magdiel Vasquez 

Above, are all of the teen winners, with (left to right) the judges Tom Rose, Mimi Rose, Barbara Van Eychin and Diane Waronka. Can you tell who are the adults and who are the teens?

 Above, First place winner, High School, with Friends Volunteer Coordinator, Mimi Rose.  

All of the winners.  

The Teen programs at the library are coodinated by Frank Collia and Sean Daniel-Ennis

Frank Colima reports on a recent event.

Subject: Teen Monster Bash

October 22, 2011

We had 138 teens attend our Monster Bash, after-hours teen program on Saturday night. The 4 hour event featured 2 local teen bands, Void of Fortune and Poseidon, both making their debut performances. Planning for the program actually began during our summer event, the July Cosplay Ball, where some of the teen band members attended. We actually tripled our teen attendence from the Cosplay Ball.

The event proved to be very beneficial for our teen program. It attracted a lot of first-time library program attendees, many of whom expressed gratitude for providing this type of program to the community. And yes, some of the teens actually said the staff was "cool."

TEEN IRON CHEF PROGRAM

In July 2010, we had a great turnout for both of our Teen Iron Chef programs (In-house and at RCMA, The Wimauma Civic Center). The teens really enjoyed themselves and proved to be extremely creative! We had 7 teams ( 21 teens attended) at the library. We gave prizes (bowling alley gift cards) to three teams for Creativity, Most Detailed/Technical and Most Well Constructed. We then presented the program to the RCMA Leadership Group ( 20 teens) at the Wimauma Civic Center where they equally had fun and messy time. We awarded FOL sponsored gift cards to the 1st and 2nd place teams and they were ecstatic to receive them. We spent $92.40 on supplies plus the $95 for the $5 gift cards. Forty-one teens attended the programs for a cost of $4.57 per customer... we do try to be frugel with our Friends money! Thanks to Sonia R. Baruch, SouthShore Senior Librarian and Youth Services coordinator who managed the two programs. 

Teen Poetry Contest

 The Teen Advisory Board of the SouthShore Regional Library held a poetry contest recently and the winners were announced at an awards event at the library on April 12, 2010.  There were 28 entries and prizes were awarded in both middle school and high school categories.  The event was sponsored by the Friends of the Library who donated cash awards as well as trophies.  Cash awards were $75 for first place, $50 for second place and $25 for third place. Honorable Mention winners received a certificate.  It was agreed the contest should become an annual event. 

High School Teen Poetry Contest winners (left to right) are Samantha Schneider-Behen, Frank Perez and Jeannine Tatlo

Middle school poetry contest winners (left to right) Dayana Vasquez, Alexis Leber and Joy Bordner

College Bowl Sunday

Above are students and their parents at the SouthShore Library on a Sunday in February participating in Super Bowel Sunday. They are learning how to apply for college assistance.

 Good grades aren’t the only way to get money for college. Some financial aid is based on need — and the first step to qualifying for that money is to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). College Goal Sunday is a national program created to offer students and their families free help completing the FAFSA. Completing the forms is especially difficult for first generation college attendees. Financial aid experts were available at this College Goal Sunday event. A contest awarded a $500 scholarship to the winning student. The program was coordinated by Bill Harris from the library staff.