Sherbrooke Record

Bright Beginnings and Health Early Years in the Townships!

- By: Lisa Payne, Townshippe­rs’ Associatio­n

Recent research tells us that unfortunat­ely our Englishspe­aking youngsters are starting school less prepared than their Francophon­e peers. English-speaking five-year olds do poorly in at least 2 of the developmen­tal benchmarks in Kindergart­en compared with their French counterpar­ts. As one can imagine, this is likely due to a long list of reasons. The research also shows that English speaking parents tended to be lower on the socio-economic scale, under educated and under employed. For a clear picture and more informatio­n on these statistics; https://chssn.org/wpcontent/uploads/2014/11/0-to-5-profileque­bec.pdf.

To help curb this challenge, Townshippe­rs’ Associatio­n has been developing a Bright Beginnings program since the spring of 2019. The Bright Beginnings program is designed with the aim of mobilizing partners to enhance the well-being and educationa­l success of English-speaking children and youth in Quebec. Funding for this program is provided by the Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation and the project is managed by our long-time partners at the CHSSN.

The CHSSN (Community, Health and Social Services Network) also funds Townshippe­rs with a grant originatin­g from Public Health Agency Canada called HEY (Healthy Early Years) to run programs and projects for this demographi­c and their parents. Through this exciting new programs we have facilitate­d parenting courses; Parent Talk Workshop with Sandra Seasons, organized a Red Cross first aid for parents, partnered and supported other organizati­ons to create resources and to host and hold events all geared at addressing the issues that plague English Speaking children 0-5 years and their families.

Our latest project was to assemble school readiness kits. In December 2019, we started by talking to the experts- teachers! It was important to understand what teachers see from 5 years old in September, where the gaps are. Several of the teachers consulted, remarked that many children did not know how to play, were not able to interact with others successful­ly, or perform independen­t acts such as opening their own snack. Together we brainstorm­ed a list of resources that could be included in a readiness kit what would help children become familiar with school materials before they enter school. We also wanted to include a how to/what to expect for parents as their children transition from home or daycare to school.

These “I am Ready for School” bags were filled with to the brim goodies for children and parents alike to spend the summer investigat­ing and getting to know the kindergart­en materials. The reusable bags included crayons, scissors, chalk, playdough, glue, a white board and markers, primary pencils, erasers, line tracing workbooks, storybooks, informatio­n on sleep and nutrition, some healthy lunch tips, a list of activities and suggestion­s on how to play with your child and many resources from community partners. With the help of these partners; 25 bags were delivered to Waterloo Elementary through Cindy Elston, ETSB school transition agent, 15 bags were delivered to Butler Elementary through Holly Bailey, CLC coordinato­r, 15 bags were delivered to Farnham Elementary through Krista Steiche, ESTB school transition agent, 20 bags were delivered to the CPE in Knowlton and 12 bags to the Sutton CPE through

Alexandra Roy, the CPE Director.

Local vendors such as Toro graphics, Eureka and Brome Lake Books added their profession­al touches to the project. A local author, Ms. Heather even added some educationa­l pages to accompany her storybook on sleep. We hope that this helps these families get off to a smooth educationa­l experience. Thank you to all who participat­ed in making this project such a success!

This monthly column keeps you in touch with Townshippe­rs’ Associatio­n’s activities and community news. Other ways to keep in touch:

 ?? TOWNSHIPPE­RS’ ASSOCIATIO­N ?? Krista Steiche, ETSB School Transition Agent for Farnham and Pre- Kindergart­en teacher Kristy Chamberlin with their school readiness bags for children in the area.
TOWNSHIPPE­RS’ ASSOCIATIO­N Krista Steiche, ETSB School Transition Agent for Farnham and Pre- Kindergart­en teacher Kristy Chamberlin with their school readiness bags for children in the area.
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