With a felt teddy bear in one corner, books in several languages in another, and group songs about rainbow colours, this was no ordinary graduation ceremony.
Nine students — all children new to Canada who are starting kindergarten this fall and whose first languages are not English — graduated from a school readiness program in Bradford West Gwillimbury on Thursday.
SCAMP, a free program run by Bradford Immigrant and Community Services (BICS) and Community Action Program for Children (CAPC), aims to help introduce newcomer children and their families to the Canadian school system, cultural norms and laws, and parenting practices.
“It helps them get ready (for school). It helps us, too. We’re pretty new at this,” said Teang Seng, originally of Cambodia, whose three-year-old son, Isaac, took part in the program.
“I wanted to know how he’d behave. Getting him ready for school is really hard,” he added, with a laugh.
Part of SCAMP’s goal is to help introduce kids and their parents to routine, said Denise Bertoldi, lead facilitator of the program.
This is where Cool Bear comes in.
He is a teddy bear made of felt, which the students take turns every day to change out of pyjamas into school clothes — including watch, lunch bag and backpack — as well as brush his teeth.
The children also sing a good morning song every day, which they performed for their families at the graduation ceremony.
The program is meant to help children three to five years old with their English language skills, social skills, self help and reasoning abilities.
Their parents are also welcome to take workshops held in the same building, at 11 Holland St. E. in Bradford, on topics such as seat belt laws, police in schools, and guidelines about leaving kids alone at home.
“The important part is you are not alone,” Bertoldi said.
As a newcomer from Columbia, she took part in the program several years ago with her daughter.
She had Brigette Saniga, CAPC site co-ordinator, come with her to her daughter’s school when she needed help speaking English to a teacher.
“You have the right to talk in your children’s school to the teacher,” she told the parents at Thursday’s graduation.
“We want to help your child be happy. If you’re not happy, you’re not going to learn,” added Saniga.
Between 10 and 15 children typically participate in the SCAMP program every summer, Saniga said.
The students each got a paper mortarboard, graduation certificate, a collection of the artwork they did during the program, as well as a picture of a frog with their names on it, which they used every day to identify their names.
“It means a lot. That’s one thing we (wonder) — will they stay or cry (at school)? It feels good that he’s almost ready for school,” said Ankit Patel, originally of India, whose four-year-old son, Ansh, took part in SCAMP this year.
“He likes playing here with other kids. He’s excited to play in the big school.”
For more information about SCAMP, call 905-775-1498 or 905-775-3343.
