Swampscott High School sponsors Day of Babysitting

SWAMPSCOTT – The going babysitting rate is $8 to $10 an hour, with rates increasing for the number and age of the children, Class of 2014 student council officers agreed. But for four hours of games, dancing, movies, pizza and more at the Class of 2014 Day of Babysitting this Saturday, the price is $20 per kid.”I’m sort of excited almost,” said Student Council Officer Angela Baldacci. “I don’t even view it as a day of babysitting, it’s kind of fun.”Beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, kids ages 4 to 12 will take over the high school under the supervision of members of the sophomore class, parent volunteers and Advisers Joseph Tenney and Joseph Bennett. For four hours there will be activities and entertainment – as class officers said members of the sports teams will supervise the open gym, the dance studio will be open for cheerleaders and dancers to teach kids new routines, and Curious Creatures will be bringing their menagerie of creepy-crawlies. Arts and crafts, games and movies will also be available, as will lots of pizza and juice boxes, officers said.Class officers – and there is a large bunch dedicated to the Student Council – cited two goals for the event. One is to raise money for the Class of 2014 – this year’s sophomores – to pay for future class events such as proms and senior-year activities. But equally important, they want to help out parents.”We try to do things that are creative but also things that are helpful for the community,” said Deanna Mazina. “Everybody needs to go Christmas shopping.”And the high school students said they have plenty of experience babysitting. All of the girls interviewed said that they babysit frequently. Many of them said that they have babysat children since middle school and the relationships among them and the children they’ve cared for – and the parents of the children they’ve cared for – are quite strong.And, speaking with the high school students, you sense they are pretty excited for the event.Tuesday they discussed the relative merits of the movies “Up” or “Despicable Me,” for children and discussed the scariest creatures that come in the Curious Creatures presentation. Tenney dropped in quickly, but said the students were the ones really in charge of the event. The class officers recruited 40 volunteers within a week through the class’ Facebook Page, Class Officer Kelsey Lombard said and parents are beginning to make inquiries.Meanwhile the class advisers have papered all the elementary schools with flyers, and class officers are recruiting the families who regularly hire them for babysitting to come to the event.”It’s like a birthday party without the birthday,” Mazina said.Cyrus Moulton can be reached at [email protected] You Go?The Day of Babysitting will be sponsored by the Swampscott High School Class of 2014, and it will be held on Saturday, Dec. 10 from 10 a.m. To 2 p.m. At Swampscott High School. Children ages 4 through 12 are welcome and the cost is $20 for the day. Parents will need to sign a brief information form at drop-off, but nopre-registration is required. Contact Joe Bennett at [email protected] for more information.