We welcomed our speaker Colleen Dickie, Manager – Early Learning of the Vancouver School Board's StrongStart program to our luncheon at Seasons in the Park.
Colleen's subject was one of considerable contemporary significance, and of much longer a relevance to the education of our children and the welfare of any society - that of reading and, just as importantly, the youthful joy of reading. The School Board has programmes and facilities (by coincidence, our Club is at this very time in the midst of 1000x5, the acquisition of books for the less well favoured by our society with ready access to suitable books and learning) that are surprisingly varied in their scope and substance.
The first, and perhaps the most important of all such learning is for the young or gain an early appreciation of books and their central role in our current society.
In the beginning their is the transition to kindergarten, or many children quite a trying experience. The StrongStart Programme is designed for 4 year-olds, and along with physical literacy and healthy eating is an essential component of a successful youthful path to a happy experience once in school.
Vancouver has a good number of successful StrongStart programmes but with 29 School Districts and only 19 such facilities in operation, the number is still inadequate. There are a good number of ‘institutions’ that assist (Kiwassa, Coastal Health and the Vancouver Symphony are some examples), but there is an excess of demand over supply. The Immigrant and Refugee Early Learning Programmes are quite as important as the “Welcome to Kindergarten” for the 4-5 year-olds, but as Colleen concluded, the essential core need is to learn to love books and communicate with others.
