Afterschool Program

There is no fee to attend the New Heights after school program.

Some off site trips may require a nominal fee to participate. Those fees will be listed on our New Heights bi-monthly calendar.

The after school Teen Center program requires parents or guardians to complete and sign a participant information form.

Transportation is provided from Portsmouth Middle School to New Heights after school via school bus and from the high school via van.

Parents are expected to provide transportation home.

New Heights provides limited van transportation home to the following neighborhoods ONLY:

• Beechstone
• Ledgewood/Winchester Place
• Portsmouth Middle School
• Atlantic Heights
• Osprey Landing
• Gosling Meadows

Due to limited resources there can be no changes to the stops listed above.

Participants must sign up for rides home after school daily.

Drop-off times at these stops may vary.

Please Call Deb Hampton (x106) with any questions.

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Calendars

Click here for the New Heights May 2008 calendar!

In order to view our calendars you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Click below to download.

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Programs

At New Heights, we believe the best antidote to the array of problems facing American adolescents today lies in providing them with safe, challenging, fun activities in a well-supervised environment by trained, caring, energetic adults.

Thanks to our supporters, New Heights programs are accessible to all adolescents, regardless of family economic status. Ongoing opportunities for participants include outdoor adventure, music, art, cooking, gardening, nature exploration, athletics, non-electronic games, and trips to local attractions and events. At the ever-popular Teen Center "hang-time" participants can relax after school with friends to enjoy a game of pool, air hockey, ping pong, or just sit and chat. Below is a listing of some of the programs we have available throughout the year.

All of the programs below are available to middle school students unless listed HS (High School). Programs involving youth and adult participants are listed as IG (Intergenerational)

Click here for program descriptions.

TEEN CENTER

3 on 3 Basketball
Art Attack
Cooking Club
Discovery Quest
Flag Football
Fyber Space
Hang Time
New Media
Off-site trips
Outing Club
Sages of RPG (Non-electronic gaming)
Sports Center
Stilting
New Heights Newspaper
Taking Care of Business
The Whole Thing

ADVENTURE

Boogie Boarding
Hiking
Mountain Biking
Rappelling
Rock Climbing
Skiing
Sledding
Surfing

IN-SCHOOL SERVICES

In Good Company (IGC)
Peer Leadership
Portsmouth PLUS! - Homework Club

EVENING PROGRAMS

Annie’s Forum (HS) (IG)

OVERNIGHT TRIPS

April vacation: Southwest Desert (HS)
Ski trips (MS & HS)
Backpacking
Canoe Expeditions

SPECIAL EVENTS

Games Day
Halloween Parade
Thanksgiving
Seasonal Events

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PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONS

Art Attack:

Join becca and other staff for fabulous art program offerings. We will explore self-expression through a variety of visual art mediums. Individual and community art, recycled materials and fine art techniques...join us to hone your creativity, discuss artful ideas, get a little messy and laugh your head off.

Basketball:

Want to learn how to take your game to the next level? Check out our offering throughout the school year which includes a 3 on 3 basketball league, clinics, and special guest appearances by former NBA player Dwight Davis. Not only will you learn how to become a better player, you’ll learn how to become an active member of your community as well. No basketball experience is required for this activity.

Cooking Club:

Want to beckon you inner chef ? Join New Heights staff chefs as they help you to create simple nutritious meals and snacks that you can make and enjoy at home with your family. Basic kitchen skills will also be focused on and occasionally meet some local famous guest chefs!

Discovery Quest:

Particpate in this exciting new sport of finding caches (treasures) hidden in your neighborhood! The sport of GEOcaching is one of the largest growing adventure activities in the world. You will use a computer and Global Positioning System to locate treasures. Inside the treasures you may find sports memorabilia, toys, books, or even a map to uncover a new treasure. Come with us on our quest to discover several of the 1,7oo points in our area alone! Call Deb, x. 106 or Brian x. 105 for more information.

Flag Football:

Are you ready for some football? This school year participants of all abilities will be able to compete with their peers for the New Heights Flag Football Championship! Be prepared to have some fun! See Joe for more details.

Fyber Space:

Create works of art out of anything fibrous! Projects may include weaving, sewing, applique, embroidery, fleece hats and scarves. We will also visit local farms to see the animals providing us with natural fibers to help create our projects. Call Deb, x. 106 or becca, x. 104.

Hang Time:

Some days participants may just want to “hang out” with friends, chat, sit and read, or play games in our loft. Hang time is an alternative to the scheduled activitites of Teen Center and still offers participants well staffed structured free time at New Heights. Hang time is offered daily to participants and is a privilege.

Mission Impossible:

Work with a team of participants to survive a western adventure, help the police uncover evidence, or simply find out the best way to make a sandwich blindfolded using only one hand! Participants will work together to solve theme based problems and complete a common goal. These problems range from brain busting riddles, full on team building activities, and off-site excursions. Join Wayne in this fun filled adventure!

New Heights Newspaper:

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! New Heights is starting a monthly newsletter, and it needs kids to conduct interviews, get stories, take photographs, print and deliver our newsletter. We will meet every week on Thursday to make the deadline. See Wayne and Brian for more details!

Outing Club:

ad - ven - ture (ad ven ch r): a wild and exciting undertaking. The New Heights Outing Club is offering adventure trips every Wednesday after school, certain days off from school, and select weekends throughout the semester. Each session will last for 4 weeks, and focus on a specific adventure theme throughout that time. We hope you can particpate every Wednesday during the session and learn somthign new abotu yourself and others. Each session will have a different theme, but you are guaranteed to have a wild and exciting time!

Puzzlecave:

Join Wayne and Meredith as we create a lightly haunted puzzle cave. Help with sound effects, lighting, puzzle making, and prop building. We will meet every Wednesday during Oct.

Sages of RPG :

Do you like games? Come play unique board games, card games and role playing games...everything from your common household Monopoly, to Settlers of Catan, Monkeys on the Moon and RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons! Sages of RPG also hosts a live action theater game, Agent X, where participants solve a mystery over a few hours with the help of strange new friends, a complex plot, and jaw dropping special effects. Also check out our Puzzle Cave program for puzzle makign fun! Last but not least, Portsmouth Games Day returns in June with a whole day of gaming fun for all ages! Call Wayne @ x. 108 for more information.

Sports Center:

Each week a different sport is highlighted and participants will have the opportunity to stay active, have fun and learn variations on some of their favorite activities. Games that will be played include floor hockey, capture the flag, softball, kick ball, indoor soccer and much, much more. Sports Center can be adapted for all skill levels and abilities.

Stiliting:

Learn to walk on stilts with the New Heights stilting troupe Walkin’ Tall! Once you can walk, we will learn tricks and dance moves, choreograph performances for such events as the Portsmouth Halloween Parade, Market Square Day, Prescott Park Children’s Festival and other special occasions.

Taking Care of Business:

Join our staff and some local unique business owners to learn about how they got started doing what they enjoy most. We’ll visit places like Squamscott Soda Co., Beach Pea Bakery, the SPCA, Sweet Scoops Ice Cream and more!

The Whole Thing:

A holistic health program for participants to focus on healthy choices and balanced living through investigations into self-esteem and body issues, fitness and relaxation. This theme will be woven through our Cooking Club and Get Green (horticulture and nutritional education combined with sustainable practices such as composting). The team building, self-empowering activities of our Outdoor Adventure program as well as civic service projects and experiential field trips will round out The Whole Thing every Thursday after school. The Whole Thing will tie into a gender specific group called Girl Talk! meeting once a week for lunch at Portsmouth Middle School. Call becca, x. 104 for more information.

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Other Program information

During the academic year after school Teen Center and Adventure programs are mostly free of charge, and open to middle school students in the Seacoast Area of New Hampshire and Maine. Program hours are 2:00 – 5:00 pm. Bus transportation is provided from Portsmouth Middle School each weekday. Parents are expected to provide transportation home everyday.

The Adventure Program is staffed by highly trained adults with first aid certification and we have a well-stocked equipment room to ensure that participants have all the gear they need for adventure experiences. We offer both introductory and advanced experiences, please contact Sally or Brian for details.

In-school services are provided to local public schools in conjunction with school administration and guidance staff. Programs vary; please call us for further details.

New Heights offers several evening programs.

Annie’s Forum is an evening social gathering where young women (high school age) and older generations of women get together weekly to share stories and meals, watch films, create art, and generally enjoy each others company. For more information contact Becca Pawling at 422-8235 ext 104.

New Heights offers several exciting weeklong trips for high school students over school vacation, and during the summer. For more information please contact Sally Gregory at 422-8235 ext 109.

In addition to our regular programming, New Heights teams up with local non-profit organizations several times during the year to participate in community parades and events like the Portsmouth Halloween Parade, and New Year’s Portsmouth. For more information please contact us at 422-8235.