BROCKWAY, PA (EYT) – Why make friends on the first day of school when you can have a pool party beforehand?
That’s the idea behind the Brockway School and Community Education Foundation will host its First Annual Kindergarten Friendraiser.
The event is at the pool at Taylor Memorial Park on August 18 from 10 a.m. to noon. If it rains, the event will be on August 25.
While the Foundation intends to help parents understand what it does, the big hope is to help kindergartners and their parents make new friends before school starts.
“The incoming kindergartners can meet their new classmates before the first day of school,” explained Foundation Executive Director Lisa Rutherford. “Their parents can also meet other parents and get to know each other.”
Rutherford said snacks will be provided. She added that the Brockway Borough Council and the Brockway Recreation Board were instrumental in getting the event going.
“Elementary Principal Candace Patricelli helped me get the names of all the incoming kindergartners so we can set this up,” Rutherford said. “While the parents are there, I will have an opportunity to introduce the Foundation. I can explain how it will help their child progress through the school system.”
The Foundation provided funds for the Wild Reader Garden and the Sensory Garden at Brockway Area Elementary School. It also provides money for advanced placement classes and dual enrollment college classes.
“If parents learn what a Foundation can do for their children while the child is young, they are more likely to become involved and help give new ideas,” Rutherford said. “And it’s a free pool party.”
While the children coming to the party are still small, they are the Class of 2031. Rutherford hopes that connection to the Foundation early will help the children utilize all the benefits and programs the Foundation has to offer.
“It’s a free pool party!” she said. “All they have to bring is their bathing suits and a towel.”
The Foundation provides extra educational opportunities to students in the Brockway Area School District. The Foundation is how Brockway has been able to offer college English and Psychology courses, Advanced Placement courses in calculus, chemistry, biology, and social studies, and other STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) enhancements to the curriculum.
“It’s an independent public charity focused on enriching education for BASD students,” Rutherford explained. “Our mission is, really, to prepare students in an everchanging society.”
The Foundation is funded by businesses and alumni. It is not funded by tax dollars, although donations are tax-deductible.
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