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Future kindergartners prepare for school
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Boardman Council PTA president Cheryl Dutko strapped on an adult-sized helmet during the safety village bike safety demonstration to show the future kindergartners the importance of wearing the right size helmet.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Future students of Robinwood, Stadium Drive, and Market Street Schools smiled on June 21 as they looked forward to their first year in elementary school.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .The future of Boardman schools settled in for a mid-day snack on June 21. Students headed to Market Street in the fall are outfitted in orange, and West future kindergartners in yellow.
By SARAH FOOR
Although totally asserting their independence is still a few months away, a group of future Boardman kindergartners said goodbye to mom and dad for three days in June to learn about school safety at Robinwood Elementary.
The 20th annual Boardman Council PTA’s Safety Village, held this year June 20-22, aims to prepare incoming kindergartners for everything they’ll experience on the first day of school. Future classmates were easy to identify, as Robinwood students wore green T-shirts, West students wore yellow, Stadium Drive in blue, and Market Street outfitted in orange.
Boardman Council PTA president Cheryl Dutko was on hand June 22 at the bike and skateboarding safety station.
“Although most of our new kindergartners have already attended preschool, coming to elementary school offers a lot of new experiences. Most will be riding alone on a bus for the first time, responsible for knowing important personal information and meeting hundreds of new people. This is our way of knowing they’re prepared,” Dutko said.
The future kindergartners were taught about car, bike and traffic safety, eating healthy, and learned about harmful materials and how to avoid them. The group received visits from the Green Team, fire and police department, and the Boardman library. The students colored photos of phones and houses and were asked to learn their home address and phone number by the time they attend school in the fall.
Although the focus on safety was key, Dutko finds that the event is also a great time to be social.
“It’s a nice way to make friends and the kids will know each other on that first day of school. It’s really nice when they say hello to me in the halls,” Dutko shared.
Emily Yurko, who is headed to Robinwood in the fall, was already making friends at Safety Village and was looking forward to September.
“Everyone else I meet is nervous, but that’s silly. I’m really excited for school,” she shared.