Success stories from parents, volunteers, and community members.
Every parent worries when their young child starts school, anxious to have everything go well. There are even more fears if English is not the children’s first language. We are Polish and speak very little English at home. I was worried about the leaving them on their own for the first time.
Many of the students in our school have had the opportunity to be part of Get Ready for School. This fantastic program helps to reach students in a pro-active manner, setting them on a positive path to success in reading readiness, oral language, self-regulation and social skills before they begin Kindergarten.
As newcomer and concerned parents for our precious daughter who immigrated with us to a new country at age 2, we feel lucky to have had our daughter in the program. She was just accomplishing milestones in her language development in her mother tongue, only to find herself starting from scratch, learning a new language in a new country.
School was always a panic situation for me when I was a child. Right from the start, I didn’t like Kindergarten. I never felt like I belonged. My daughter took part in the Letters, Sounds and Words™ program and it really helped her. I saw her school needed more volunteers and I wanted to be involved, so here I am.
My story starts with Senior Kindergarten, where I could see Sean losing interest in school. At home, he avoided talking about his class and was very reluctant to read with me. It was like he didn’t understand the concept of reading. No amount of coaching or encouragement by me or his dad made a difference: he was convinced he couldn’t read.
Kelsey was a bubbly little girl. She became a bit more introverted as school went on as it was always a challenge for her. Early on, we noticed there were speech issues and processing issues. She wasn’t high needs by any means, but needed extra support to help in her learning. Kelsey was in the Letters, Sounds and Words™ program when she was 6 years old. She’s 18 now and in her first year at Conestoga College in the Early Childhood Education program.
Grant Cooper’s talents are many. A retired high school geography teacher who has traveled the world, he now builds furniture, pens and stained-glass windows for interest. However, it is his big heart and wood-working craftsmanship for which Strong Start is most appreciative. His skilled hands and giving nature produced every wooden make-a-word spinner in the Letters, Sounds and Words program.
Nicole Boland’s Story My son gave me a very hard time in the beginning of the program. He didn’t want to go. He didn’t want to participate in any of the activities that the instructors … Continued
Jennifer McDougall’s Story I have now had two children complete the Get Ready for SchoolTM program. My son last year and my daughter this year. I was nervous putting my son in the program last … Continued
Story shared by Volunteer Coaches, Delphine and Kate Nahlah was just learning to speak English as her second language and now in grade one she was expected to read it also. Volunteer Coach, Delphine, worked with … Continued
