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By DONALD MOTTERN | Staff Writer

PELHAM – Incoming kindergarten students will have the opportunity to get acclimated with their future schools this summer as both Pelham Oaks and Pelham Ridge Elementary School will host their annual Kindergarten Camps this July.

The camps, which are scheduled to take place at both schools from July 9-11, are provided free of charge and will begin each day at 8 a.m. and run until 11:30 a.m. and seek to introduce Pelham’s newest students to their new home away from home.

“Students will have an opportunity to participate in fun activities with kindergarten teachers, practice walking the halls and participate in special (events),” read an announcement from Pelham Ridge Elementary School. “It is going to be an exciting time.”

During the three-day camp, children will engage in a variety of activities designed to prepare them for the upcoming school year. While there, they will learn and freshen up on foundational skills such as shapes, colors and letter recognition.

Over the course of the camps, future students will also be introduced to counting skills and basic sight words—words that a reader can read instantly without sounding them out and which appear incredibly often.

Should parents allow, students will also be introduced to the rules and procedures of school buses and bus safety, however transportation to and from the camps will not be provided and parents will need to both drop-off and pick-up their students each day.

Incoming kindergartners will also be taught positive behaviors and how to cooperate and collaborate with their peers in a school environment.

School officials and camp organizers have emphasized that students must be registered in school to attend the camps and will be expected to attend the camp hosted by the school they are registered to attend at the start of the school year.

Students at Pelham Ridge Elementary School will have the added ability to meet their new principal, Khadidr Jones, and assistant principal, Marla Thomas. Both school administrators will be starting the new school year in those new positions following their recent advancements within Pelham City Schools. Both Jones and Thomas have previously served as teachers at Pelham Ridge during their careers.

For more information about the Kindergarten Camps or to register, parents are encouraged to contact Pelham Ridge Elementary School or Pelham Oaks Elementary school directly. Links to camp registrations are as follows:

Pelham Ridge Elementary School Kindergarten Camp

Pelham Oaks Elementary School Kindergarten Camp