In N. Merrick, summer "rec." means summer fun

Betty Milano, co-director of the North Merrick Summer Recreation Program, appeared a tad nervous as the drizzle started to fall on July 23. The balloon slide was already set up. The tables full of games of chance were out. And, most important, the children were already on the back field at Old Mill Road Elementary School, prepared for a morning of fun at the program’s annual Penny Carnival.

Milano kept insisting that the rain would hold. Thankfully, it did, and so the kids engaged in target practice with soccer balls and plastic slingshots, bounced around on the inflatable slide and got the chance to hurl baseballs at the dunk tank to sink their counselors.

A parent board oversees the annual Summer Recreation Program, which Milano, a special-education teacher, directs with Tom Sena, an art teacher. The program, though run in North Merrick schools, is not affiliated with the North Merrick School District. A staff of 75 counselors –– all from the local community and many graduates of the program –– keep watch over the children, who engage in any number of games and activities, from arts and crafts to kickball. This year, some 250 children are taking part in the program, which began July 6 and will run through Aug. 6.

The objective, Milano said, is to have fun. "We’re all about no one’s feelings getting hurt," she said. The children "come, they socialize."

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