SOUTH AMBOY, NJ -- After an interruption due to the pandemic, the City of South Amboy, in collaboration with the Board of Education and the South Amboy YMCA, has resumed its water safety program for second grade students in the district. There was a great deal of excitement as the children were greeted by officials from the City, Board of Education, and the YMCA.

Conceived in 2019 by Council President Mickey Gross, this program offers free swim lessons to all second grade pupils in the district. 

“We are a waterfront community, and we have an obligation teach our children how to be safe in and around bodies of water,” Gross said. 

According to the acting school superintendent Dr. Martin Gurczeski, this year the program will serve over eighty students, all of whom are very excited to visit the YMCA and learn the basics of water safety and swimming.

The YMCA of Metuchen, Woodbridge, Edison, and South Amboy operates the City Community Center at 200 John T. O’Leary Boulevard and has been a mainstay in the city’s recreational programs for many years.

“The opportunity to enhance the safety of our children and provide them with the ability to swim is one we are proud to endorse”, South Amboy Mayor Fred Henry said. “To see all of these smiling faces today is just icing on the cake."

TAPinto Raritan Bay is a free online newspaper serving Sayreville, South Amboy, and other communities along the Raritan Bay in Middlesex County, NJ. Like our Facebook page, visit www.tapinto.net/towns/raritan-bay, and sign up for the daily eNewsletter to get the latest hyperlocal news.