COURTNEY McCLURE,
for The Standard
SCUGOG: Are you a student in Grade 6 to 12 without a place to hang out with your friends after school? Well, the Scugog Recreation Centre has a solution for you.
Recreation and culture coordinator, Shannon Kelly, is welcoming students once again to the Port Perry Lookout.
After being closed since around March 2020, the staff at the recreation centre are excited to welcome students back to the Lookout because of the pandemic.
The Lookout is a “drop-in youth centre” for local students and is supervised by recreation staff members. “It’s just a spot for youth in the community… to hang out with other members of youth,” explained Ms. Kelly.
There is free wifi and gaming consoles, including an Xbox, Nintendo Switch and a Playstation 4. There are arcade games too, including air hockey and a foosball table. The Lookout also has tabletop and board games available to play as well.
According to Ms. Kelly, Scugog town council and Township staff identified a need for a space where “younger youth” could get together and hang out. So, that is why the Lookout was created in 2018. “Younger youth” refers to students in Grade 6 to 9 age range.
On Tuesday, April 12th, the Lookout reopened this year and will continue to be open throughout the school year, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m.
The Lookout will be closing for the summer on June 24th and reopen in September.
Ms. Kelly said the Lookout might stay open on Saturdays starting in September if they receive requests from students asking them to open on Saturdays.
Since mask mandates are no longer in place in many areas throughout the province, teens and young adults going to the Lookout will not have to wear masks. However, Ms. Kelly said staff recommends wearing a mask while inside the recreation centre and the Lookout.
Previously, the age and Grade range of attendees was different. Since reopening, the staff at the Lookout have lowered the age limit to include students in Grade 6. “[Lowered the age limit] just to encourage those Grade 6 and 7 kids to come as well,” explained Ms. Kelly.
During each session, one staff member supervises the students at the Lookout.