BR CAREs offers music and fun to students after school

There is plenty of motion and numerous music tunes are played.

Those are the features when the Bridgewater-Raritan Community After/Before School Recreation & Enrichment program (BR CAREs) sponsors its first Music N’ Motion after-school activity.

The Music N’ Motion event began in November and will continue to be offered after school to students at five primary schools and two intermediate schools in the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District.

“This is the first year that we are holding this,” reported Kevin Stianchi, who is the BR CAREs Coordinator for the school district. “This is another program that CAREs offers. And there is no extra charge to the parents.”

According to the school district, the mission of BR CAREs is to provide a safe environment where children can develop both socially and emotionally during the before/after school hours on school grounds. Students will be given the opportunity to have recreational time outside, enjoy a snack, and complete homework with supervision from caring district employees.

Inside the gymnasium at the Hamilton Primary School during the week leading up to Christmas, an estimated 70 students danced and participated in a wide variety of musical games and competition, all provided by the DJ who also happens to be the owner and performer for Music N’ Motion, Michael Malone.

“It's a fun day of music and games,” said Malone. “And everyone gets a prize, but they do not know that at first.

Malone on this day, December 20, made his way to the gymnasium at Hamilton after he performed in an event in Atlantic City.

“I can teach and perform up to 300 different dances,” Malone reported.

He is a regular all over the state of New Jersey at such sites as schools and senior citizen centers.

The Music N’ Motion program will kick back in once school returns to session from the holiday break on January 3.

The remaining Music N’ Motion schedule in the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District is:

January 3, 3:45 to 5:15 p.m., Bradley Gardens Primary School.

January 5, 3:45 to 5:15 p.m., Adamsville Primary School.

January 10, 3:30 to 5 p.m., Milltown Primary School

January 19, 3;30 to 5 p.m., Crim Primary School

January 26, 3:3o to 5 p.m., Hamilton Primary School

Once the dancing is completed by the end of January, Stianchi is exploring other programs that BR CAREs can provide to the students.

“We are looking into programs in cooking, trivia and science/technology,” Stianchi revealed.