Through the Get Ready for School program, my son Nathan has learned to identify letters and sounds, and his vocabulary skills have improved tremendously! He is more independent when it comes to getting dressed and is even willing to ‘clean up’ after every activity at home.
After her son benefited from the Letters, Sounds and Words program, Erica Cross wanted to give back. She got involved as a volunteer in her son’s school to make a difference for other children. This is their story.
Rhys participated in the Get Ready for School program after his family moved from northern Ontario to Cambridge. Rhys struggled with severe anxiety, but over the course of the program, he gained some independence. He was ready for school! We followed up with his mother, Sherri Roy, to see how Rhys is doing now.
Bram’s daughter was struggling to learn how to read. He worked with her at home, along with his wife, but nothing they did seemed to make a difference. In Grade 1, she was enrolled in Strong Start’s Letters, Sounds and Words program, which helped open the lid to her learning. This is their story.
Grace participated in and benefited from the 2016 Get Ready for School program where she gained some of the fundamental skills she would need to be successful in school. This summer, we followed up with her mother Ashley Pederson to see how school is going for Grace so far.
As a top-quality builder, with properties in Brantford, Guelph, London and Waterloo Region, Sifton Properties invests where their staff and clients live, work and raise families. With a specific focus on education and helping the next generation prepare for a successful future, our Letters, Sounds and Words program was a perfect fit with their neighbourly philosophy. Honouring Brier Park Public School in Brantford, which serves their tenants in the Brier Park community, was a wonderful way to support their local residents.
Good corporate citizens, and environmental leaders, are great descriptors for Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada. With a Tim Horton’s onsite to serve employees, staff are encouraged to put the lids of their cups in a separate slot in the recycling container. In honour of their teams efforts to recycle, Toyota created the Lids4Kids program, where a donation is made to a children’s charity each quarter, in recognition of the lids collected.
Our Get Ready for School program helps children get comfortable in a learning environment. They practise routines. They make friends. They read stories. Randi St. Laurent shared her daughter’s experience in the program in this original testimonial. We followed up this summer to see how they are doing now.
Sean’s story was one of Strong Start’s first videos. He participated in our Letters, Sounds and Words program back in 2011. Over the 10-weeks, his skills, confidence and self-esteem grew. We followed up with his mother, Carolyn, recently who filled us in how school is going for Sean now. He stills dreams big and bright.
The Get Ready for School program was offered in 16 sites across Waterloo Region, and served a total of 318 children. A total of 90 children in the program did not speak English on a regular basis at home, with an additional children children who spoke English as well as a second language at home. The program was supported by 39 paid instructors, and 34 volunteers, who gave approximately 940 hours of volunteer time to the program.
