28 BG - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday June 14, 2006 — ~ Aboriginal youngsters getting a headstart | By SARAH A. ; ZIMMERMAN ‘THE: ‘SOUND. of children: playing ‘and, laughing is* ‘ pervasive at early childhood “education programs, both on and off Teserves in \ the Terrace area. ‘The communities of - ‘Terrace, Kitselas and Kit- ‘sumkalum are home to sev- eral different incarnations of what’s called the Aboriginal ‘Head Start Program, a feder- “~ally. funded program for ab-. ~‘original children throughout. _ Canada. The © ‘programs have six objectives in.common: edu- .” cation and school readiness, “aboriginal culture. and lan- guage, parental involvement, * -health promotion,. nutrition . ‘and social support.. But part of the program - “is a desire to promote local ‘control over developing the program to meet the needs -of » the communities they serve. os «The three - programs in’ a Terrace, Kitselas: and.” Kit- -sumkalum’ all vary slightly. -_ “Th. Terrace, the Kermode - - Friendship Centre’s program: _is so popular there is a 35- child waiting list. It offers . pre-school programming for. _ three- and four-year-olds. _ . “There needs to be more - ._ preschool space made avail- - ‘able for this program,” coordinator Diane Collins. This year, in an effort to meet the demand for the pro- gram, a large intake of four-, . year-olds was.made to-open::- up space. this fall-for more ‘ children. While the objective is to give every child two years of pre-Kindergarten devel- opment, due to the demand many children are only able to take part for one year, says Collins. The, program’s success both on and off reserve lies largely in its mandate to pro- ‘mote’ lifelong learning and Collins’ means a family involvement — worker. works closely with - says - ‘integrate a number of objec- tives that promote a holistic approach «to “learning , and “recognizing the importance of the years before the age of six as being critical to a’. child's development. “One of its core. objec- ; ‘tives is lifelong learning,” explains. the parents and we do work- _ shops with parents like read- .ing and dental workshops and we have feasts for. fam- _ily-cultural involvement and we have a big Christmas din-. - ner. we work with Kermode Friendship Centre on.” -. ‘»: The -Aboriginal Head Start programs aré not just -a daycare — the program encourages working with parents, extended families ; and community elders to promote cross generational interaction and to teach chil-: dren about the various First Nations cultures in the re- ‘gion. . ° ‘The Kermode Friendship Centre has expanded. its of- | - ferings to youngsters in the» area by having a drop-in pro- gram called The Community Action Program for Children’ at its new satellite office on ‘the corner of Kalum St. and Park Ave. - The program encourages parents to come in with their children to play, visit and learn together,’ says Lisa ‘Lawley. “There are days parents need to have a talk,” says Lawley, adding the centre:.; has child minders available sO parents can talk to work- ers’ knowing their children are safe. “The kids think it’s their place,” she says, adding many of the same parents and children come in every day. “To us we kind of run it, but the kids own it.” » Anne Wright is the early childhood educator for the © head. start program on the From Page B5 Local friendship centre “That Kitselas: reserve’s Gitaus subdivision. Whilé « the program's "goals and objectives are the same as other Head Start programs, the program at Kitselas-is for children two and a half years old. to five years old. That: program has space available for 15 children in the morning and 15 children - in the afternoon. At the mo- ment, seven, children attend the morning program and 10 attend in the afternoon. | — Born and ‘raised on the: Kitselas reserve herself, Wright says it’s rewarding to’ now be teaching the young- sters in her own community _and preparing them for, jek ementary school. “I enjoy seeing the chil- dren after they go on to Grade 1 — as years go on I see. them prospering and turning into their own per- son,” she says. that is as similar as possible to Kindergarten so they will be feeling comfortable when they get there.” -‘And on the west side of | Kitsumkalum’s | Terrace, Head Start program is just . slightly different than ‘the others. Rather than _ offering half day programming for: | schooling, the Gila Kyew Nluulk (Robin’s Nest) Head Start and Daycare offers full day child minding for par-' ents, says its. manager Lil-_ lian Samson. With 17 spaces and no waiting list, the program is- open to children of people who live on the Kitsum- kalum reserve or band mem- . bers living off reserve. Just like the other pro- grams, Kitsumkalum’s Head _ Start. centre focusses on lifelong learning, elder and community involvement and ‘cultural and language build- ‘serves many people “We have an open door policy,” she said, adding the centre tries to meet the needs of the multicultural community. “As much as we include aboriginal culture, anyone can receive the services.’ ’ The busy slate keeps: the centre’ s staff and the building on Kalum St, busy, which . hasn't always been the case, says Weston, an “employee there for three years. Tt yous were to have walked by {the : “buzzing. Weston. friendship centre] three years ago, there wasn’t much activity — now the place is just “We're meeting the needs that are out there and that makes us proud,” Anniversary ‘celebrations will coincide with Riverboat Days. ‘Kermode Friendship Centre is located at 3313 Kalum Street. t IN Malte Iergense, Senior Account Manager, Business Banking Pat Johnson, Senior Account Manager, Business Bunking ~ Cheryl Newlove, Account Monoger Personal Financial Services “~ Ne NNG Royal Bank Serving the Aboriginal people of the Northwest for over 26 _~years. Building relationships with dedicated professionals. NG who understand your financial s service needs. sts $012 | (250)635-8013 § (250)635-8008 } said . - Diane Collins — ing. ing even though they’ have “preschool aged children at ao home. ““T think it’s really: impor- tant that adults now have a choice about wanting to go back to school or going back © to work — they can leave their children’ at their daycare, comfortable in the knowl- - edge that their children will “I am very rewarded be- © _cause I try to help the. chil- dren have an environment be well taken care of,” says Samson, adding the daycare is free for parents. .. “If you have a low-end _ job then basically all of your - money would be going to child care and it just makes things a little bit easier for them and to make better . choices for their living.” - But the whole-day pro- "gramming also gives parents. "| the ability to pursue acareer, ~ skills training: or school-_ Journée sN National nationale des wN Aboriginal - Autochtones Day os Pembina Pipeline Corporation would like to express our support for National Aboriginal Day. Pembina ~ values and recognizes the ongoing contributions of : Aboriginal cultures’ and peoples to Canada. We are ‘ committed to strengthening our relationships with Aboriginal governments and communities. PEMBINNY — | MERIERIclom Ret ———e ; Pembina Pipeline Corporation a ; |. Province of British Columbia Robin Austin * “MLA Elect Skeena “ap WO Toot wed a aUeby ~ gee & "le r SA Pent ral Congratulations to all First Nations on National Aboriginal Day! — I am pleased to celebrate with others, the many contributions aboriginal people have made to British Columbia. -extends congratulations to all First Nations on. National Aboriginal Day. WAL*MART WE SELL FOR LESS even dy!" “NWCC CELEBRATES NATIONAL ABORIGINAL DAY — AND ALL. FIRST NATIONS LEARNERS MEE COM MUNITY COLLEGE Take a closer look. provide a supportive, positive, educational environment. First Nations Access _ Business, Career, Health, Science, Technical, Tourism, Trades and University Credit. . y NWCC’s Freda Diesing School of Art and d Design presents - | _renowned First Nations artists Stan Bevan, Ken McNeil and _Dempsy Bob at Terrace Campus starting in September. We value the cultural diversity our First Nations learners bring to our College communities. Working together with local First Nations bands and communities, we Coordinators are available to assist you with educational planning, and support services. We are here to help you succeed. " Choose from a full range of certificate, diploma, and degree programs in Arts, New this Fall! First Nations Artist in Residence First Nations students learn traditional wood carving with Enrolment is limited. Visit the NWCC Web site for program details. ea