Certificate/Graduation Days – WCAC’s Head Start program celebrate the end of the school year with Certificate Days on June 6th & 7th. Students received either a certificate of accomplishment or a diploma if they are moving on to Kindergarten. Congratulations one and all! Check out pictures from the celebration here.
Multicultural Festival – WCAC’s Head Start program celebrated its annual Multicultural Night on April 27th with arts & crafts and food samples based on 14 different countries! A highlight of the festivities included a performance by the WYND Lion Dancers from the Southeast Asian Coalition, sponsored by the Southbridge Cultural Council. See pictures from the event here.
Read Across America Day – WCAC was pleased to welcome a variety of our community partners to our Head Start program to celebrate the 20th annual Read Across America Day on Thursday, March 2nd. We appreciate the strong support for our program and those willing to lend their voices to stress the importance of early education literacy. Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! View images from the day here.
A Visit with Congressman Richard Neal – In honor of WCAC’s Head Start program celebrating its 25th anniversary, U.S. Congressman Richard Neal visited our site at Cole Ave. He spent time reading with children, meeting with parents and staff, and reiterating his strong support for the Head Start program. See pictures from his visit here.
Coat Drive 2016 – Thanks to the incredible generosity of National Grid, Commerce Bank, and Avalon Marlborough, coupled with corporate support from Bay State Savings Bank, DCU for Kids, UniBank, and the TJX Companies, WCAC was able to provide new winter coats to all of the children enrolled in our Head Start, Early Head Start, and Healthy Families programs, as well as to the children of teen parents enrolled in the agency’s Job & Education Center. Join us in shouting a great big THANK YOU for helping to keep our little ones warm this winter! Click here for a gallery of pictures.
Read for the Record 2016 – WCAC’s Head Start program was proud to take part in Jumpstart 11th annual Read for the Record on Thursday, October 27th We welcome 13 guest readers who read The Bear Ate Your Sandwich by Julia Sarcone-Roach in each of our classrooms. Guest readers were paired with Head Start teachers and staff who also read the book in Spanish. With the support of Southbridge Credit Union each child received a copy of the book to take home with them. Read for the Record is a national campaign working to address educational inequities which leave too many children unprepared for kindergarten. We are most grateful for all of our community partners who helped make the day such a success! View photos from the event HERE
Day of Caring 2016 – Special thanks to the volunteers from Southbridge Savings Bank who participated in the United Way of Southbridge, Sturbridge & Charlton’s Day of Caring today! This hard working crew helped spruce up our Head Start entry way with some great landscaping and helped clean out our children’s overgrown vegetable garden from the summer. View pictures here.
MAPFRE Insurance Supports Head Start Graduates – MAPFRE Insurance recently donated school supplies – pencils, pencil boxes, hand held pencil sharpeners, erasers, scissors, glue sticks, tape, crayons, markers, colored pencils, watercolor paints and more! – which were distributed to preschool ‘graduates’ to get them ready for Kindergarten. View pictures here.
Happy Birthday Southbridge! – WCAC’s Head Start program was thrilled to participate in the Town of Southbridge’s Bicentennial Parade and Festival on May 14, 2016. Special thanks to the many families and staff members who participated. View pictures here.
Multicultural Night Celebration – Head Start recently hosted a Multicultural Open House which included celebrations of more than 20 countries with artwork, crafts, activities and tasty food samplings from around the world! A highlight of the evening at Southbrige Head Start included a performance by African drummers from Crocodile River Music. View photos from the event here. Auburn classrooms created self portraits to encircle a globe and were treated to a performance by Mr. Kim of Apple Tree Arts. View photos from the event here.
Greater Worcester Foundation Grant supports classroom music classes – The Greater Worcester Community Foundation has awarded the Worcester Community Action Council, Inc. a $15,000 grant to support a collaboration with Apple Tree Arts of Grafton, MA, to provide weekly music sessions in each of the agency’s fourteen Head Start preschool classrooms. Read full story here.
Read for the Record – WCAC’s Head Start classrooms recently participated in the 10th Anniversary of Read for the Record – a global campaign which generates public support for high-quality early learning by mobilizing millions of children and adults to take part in the world’s largest shared reading experience. Special thanks to all of our guest readers! View pictures from the day here.
Lessons in Literacy – As part of Head Start Awareness month in October, WCAC welcomed Senator Ryan Fattman, Representative Peter Durant and Representative Joe McKenna to our Head Start program in Southbridge. View pictures from the visit HERE.
Day of Caring – Special thanks to the United Way of Southbridge, Sturbridge & Charlton who spent a Day of Caring today volunteering at WCAC’s Head Start program. View pictures HERE.
Coming Up Roses – Worcester Community Action Council commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the Head Start program with a special ceremony presenting red roses to all of its teachers. View pictures HERE.
Head Start Heroes – WCAC held a Head Start Heroes Celebration to thank several key individuals and organizations who offered critical assistance when we were forced to relocate 81 children from one of our Head Start sites. View pictures HERE.
