About

The Highlands After-School Program serves Newton middle school children and their families, and provides a safe, supervised, enrichment program that meets the developmental and recreational needs of the middle schooler. Our program strives to provide support and foster independence in our students.

This exciting program brings the fun of Funtastic Friday to all the days of the month! We’re housed in three community centers in Newton Highlands, with a home base in the refurbished Brigham House and daily access to the Hyde Community Gym and Women’s Club.

The Program
Participants will share in the development of “funtastic” activities that will include sports, arts, cooking, science & exploration, homework, field trips, community service and team building. It’s a place to go and hang with friends, enjoy activities, and get a head start on homework. The Highlands After-School Program retains many of the terrific aspects of the elementary school-based programs, but also offers a convenient and central location in the Highlands and the opportunity to build on the interests of the “older” kids. This is“the place to be” after school!

Transportation
We work closely with the Newton School Transportation Department to transport students to our program, from Oak Hill and Brown Middle Schools on Newton school buses. With a number of bus routes and stops in the Highlands, a thoughtful plan ensures that children have a quick and safe trip each day. The program is also open to children enrolled in private schools and we will happily explore transportation solutions for them as well.

The Director
Rochelle Acker brings over 25 years of experience in school-aged child care and administration to our program. Rochelle served as Director of a Brookline after-school program for most of her career, with children from preschool through seventh grade. She brings the perfect qualifications to launch this new endeavor. Her rich background will become the foundation for a vibrant program in the Highlands. Rochelle studied art & art education, early childhood education and special education, with a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design and an MSAE from Massachusetts College of Art. She lives in Newton Highlands with her husband and two middle school aged children.

The Staff

Kerry Doyle : Before joining HASP this year, Kerry worked at the Mason-Rice Program for eight years. She also works with the Newton Parks and Recreation Department on Funtastic Friday. She received a BA in English from Framingham State College. Kerry has tons of fun and creative projects from art to dance to games. She loves working in after-school and is so excited about working with the returning group of middle school kids and looks forward to welcoming our new 6^th graders to HASP.

Nico Gargaro: Nico has been running the Family Night Gym at the Hyde this past two years while working as a teaching assistant at Newton North. This summer he’s working at S.P.A.C.E Camp. Nico graduated from Springfield College with a BS in Recreation Management. Nico grew up in Newton and traveled to Italy last summer. He also works at the Nonatum Boxing Gym. He is thrilled to be coming back to HASP and has some awesome games planned for the 2009-10 school year!

The Highlands Community
The Newton Highlands community provides strong support for the program and together we are committed to meet the needs of the middle school aged children in our neighborhood and surrounding villages. The Highlands After-School Program is a non-profit, middle school care provider overseen by The Hyde Community Center NHCDC, and The Brigham House Board of Directors. The talented teaching staff and Director provide programming and hands-on supervision under licensure of the State of Massachusetts.