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First Steps News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 28, 2006
[ link to pdf ]
Countdown to Kindergarten “Learning Celebration”
Tonight
Columbia, S.C. – An estimated 55,000 children will
be starting kindergarten in S.C. this fall – many will
not be ready to make the most out of their kindergarten experience.
This summer, nearly 1,200 of our state’s most at-risk
young learners have been preparing for school through First
Steps’ Countdown to Kindergarten program. To celebrate
their accomplishments, participating children and their families
are invited to EdVenture Children’s Museum tonight (July
28) from 5-8 p.m.
This year’s celebration will include performances by Miss
South Carolina, Shelley Bethall, Miss South Carolina Teen, Maggie
Hill, and “Double Dutch Forces.” Also present will
be a children’s music DJ, a storyteller, and a balloon
twister to make hats and animals for the children. For the teachers
who served as Countdown home visitors, Kaplan and S.C. Center
for Children’s Books and Literacy will raffle items for
teachers’ classrooms.
“Tonight marks the
third year of the Countdown to Kindergarten Learning Celebration,”
said First Steps Director Susan DeVenny. “It’s been
a privilege to see young faces excited about learning hurrying
to explore all the celebration and museum have to offer. Thanks
to Countdown, these children will arrive at kindergarten’s
doorstep more prepared than they might otherwise have been.
Home visitors have spoken to the great value of having instructional
time with the children and their families before school begins
– they find the children are more confident and parents
are more trusting.”
Earlier in the day, the Riverbanks Zoo also opened its doors
to the rising kindergartners, offering free admission to any
2006 Countdown to Kindergarten participants.
Designed to successfully lead S.C.’s most at-risk rising
kindergarteners into the K-12 school system, the nationally
recognized Countdown to Kindergarten enrolled children from
32 South Carolina counties this summer. The children received
summer home visits from a certified teacher who worked to familiarize
children with the S.C. kindergarten standards, improve the quality
of parent-child learning interactions, open the relationship
with the child’s school and teachers, increase the parent’s
involvement in the child’s education, and introduce parents
to educational resources in their communities.
Founding partners S.C. First Steps, EdVenture and Voices for
S.C.’s Children developed the program in 2004 to help
transition children into kindergarten and heighten public awareness
of the importance of school readiness. Other major partners
include the Hootie and the Blowfish Foundation, WLTX-Channel
19/UPS, and the Kaplan Early Learning Company. Their support
has created a backpack of supplies and learning materials for
each participating child, a 2006-2007 Countdown to Kindergarten
Calendar, Countdown to Kindergarten T-shirts, and a series of
television public service announcements full of helpful hints
to help prepare children for the first day of school.
Held after EdVenture’s hours of operation, The Learning
Celebration is for Countdown children and their families and
not intended to be a public event. Members of the media are
welcome to attend.
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