2008 Woodie Awards
Literacy group jumpstarts spring celebration
Kiran Josen, Staff Writer
Issue date: 4/2/08Section: News
Close to 100 kindergarten students were invited to the Queens campus on March 28 to help welcome in spring.
St. John's University's Jumpstart program works with kids in local elementary schools and last Friday it hosted its first ever "Celebrate Spring" event.
The event took place from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and the kids participated in various different events and activities.
The children attend Bright Beginnings, a school in Jamaica, Queens for pre-kindergarteners and kindergarteners.
Jumpstart is a national early literacy organization that works towards helping children succeed. St. John's University participates in this program and plans several annual events that work with students in seven different local schools.
The planning committee for St. John's consists of Volunteer Coordinator Yolanda Sullard, Associate Site Coordinator Amanda Lenar, Senior Coordinator Theresa Pumilia, and Campus Champion Charisse Willis.
This committee is responsible for coordinating the late March event.
The day began when several buses filled with a total of 100 students arrived on campus.
According to Lenar, aside from a problem with transportation preventing more students from coming, the events still "went smoothly."
Upon arrival, the children were split into six groups and rotated through six activity stations, each lasting around 15 to 20 minutes.
One activity, the Easter Egg Hunt, had students searching for hidden eggs around the St. John's softball field.
"We hid eggs all over the field, and in order to make it more difficult we brought our own props," Lenar said. "Inside the eggs were Hershey's kisses and a ticket.
"The ticket allowed the students to receive a free book courtesy of a program called 'First Book,' which is associated with Jumpstart," she said.
Lenar added that the students were most excited for an event called "Jumpstart Song," where the Jumpstart workers led the children in a "variety of different songs intended to help the kids with their rhyming skills and with their pronunciation."
St. John's University's Jumpstart program works with kids in local elementary schools and last Friday it hosted its first ever "Celebrate Spring" event.
The event took place from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and the kids participated in various different events and activities.
The children attend Bright Beginnings, a school in Jamaica, Queens for pre-kindergarteners and kindergarteners.
Jumpstart is a national early literacy organization that works towards helping children succeed. St. John's University participates in this program and plans several annual events that work with students in seven different local schools.
The planning committee for St. John's consists of Volunteer Coordinator Yolanda Sullard, Associate Site Coordinator Amanda Lenar, Senior Coordinator Theresa Pumilia, and Campus Champion Charisse Willis.
This committee is responsible for coordinating the late March event.
The day began when several buses filled with a total of 100 students arrived on campus.
According to Lenar, aside from a problem with transportation preventing more students from coming, the events still "went smoothly."
Upon arrival, the children were split into six groups and rotated through six activity stations, each lasting around 15 to 20 minutes.
One activity, the Easter Egg Hunt, had students searching for hidden eggs around the St. John's softball field.
"We hid eggs all over the field, and in order to make it more difficult we brought our own props," Lenar said. "Inside the eggs were Hershey's kisses and a ticket.
"The ticket allowed the students to receive a free book courtesy of a program called 'First Book,' which is associated with Jumpstart," she said.
Lenar added that the students were most excited for an event called "Jumpstart Song," where the Jumpstart workers led the children in a "variety of different songs intended to help the kids with their rhyming skills and with their pronunciation."
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