The Hilltown Family Center and RH Conwell Elementary School will sponsor a free Kindergarten Countdown Event Saturday April 6th at 9:45 for children eligible for kindergarten in the fall of 2024 at RH Conwell Elementary School (children who turn 5 on or before September 1, 2024 and are planning on attending RH Conwell or home schooling in the Worthington district.) Registration is required by contacting Lisa Ouellet, Administrative Assistant at RH Conwell at 413 238 5856. Students in the Worthington district who are not eligible for kindergarten will be registered if space is available.
This event will help children transition to kindergarten at the school and will feature the Ecotarium’s “hands-on” Build Your World Program and is the first event for RH Conwell’s Kindergarten Countdown transition events. Children will use the engineering design process to explore forces and motion in small groups by planning, testing, building, and improving a way to cross a model river with only simple materials. Families will have the opportunity to meet staff at RH Conwell. Children will take home backpacks from the Hilltown Family Center with a book, the Berkshire Museum’s In Kindergarten activity book that helps children understand kindergarten routines, and other transition materials. This program is made possible through the Hilltown Community Health Center’s Hilltown Family Center through the Coordinated Family and Community Engagement Grant through the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care and the Massachusetts Cultural Council through the town of Worthington.
Starting kindergarten can foster many feelings for children and their caregivers. For some children it may mean a new school, new teachers, new routines, and new friends. The goal of this program is to help make the transition to kindergarten a little easier for students and their families by helping families understand what to expect in kindergarten and to practice skills as they prepare for the transition.
The Hilltown Family Center, located at 9 Russell Rd in Huntington, houses many of the Hilltown Community Health Center’s community programs and services, and offers an extensive list of resources for parents, caregivers, and families. The Family Center programs are built around the belief in nurturing strong families, by helping them to strengthen their flexibility and resilience. Programs help families establish strong social connections and give concrete support in times of need, recognizing family’s strengths and understanding that being a parent is part natural and part learned. The Family Center also helps children connect and relate to their world.
The Hilltown Family Center’s many free programs include weekly play to learn groups, the ASQ developmental screening program, Hilltown Holiday Help, Parent Powered learning messages, ParentChild+ home visit literacy program, Rise and Read Book bag program, StoryWalk program, parent education, as well as services and referrals through Hilltown Community Health Center. This program is made possible through the Hilltown Family Center and the Hilltown Community Health Center through a Coordinated Family and Community Engagement Grant through the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care and a Mass Cultural Council grant through the town of Worthington.
For more about this program or the Hilltown Family Center please visit our Facebook page at Hilltown Family Center or Parent & Family Supports – Hilltown Community Health Center (hchcweb.org) or contact Susan LeBarron, Hilltown Family Center Coordinator at slebarron@hchcweb.org or 413 667 2203.