BPS Holds 18th Annual Countdown to Kindergarten

By Phil Orlandella

Boston Public Schools (BPS) hosted the 18th Annual Countdown to Kindergarten Celebration at the Boston Children’s Museum.

 This free event welcomed first-time kindergarteners and their families from across the city. About 2,800 youngsters marked this important milestone by wearing familiar yellow T-shirts that say, “I’m going to kindergarten!” and took part in play and other activities in preparation for their first day of school on Monday, September 11. (The first day of school for students in grades 1-12 is Thursday, September 7.) Students can also receive free vision and dental screenings, and a lesson on school-bus safety was presented.

Attendees included:

• Mayor Martin J. Walsh
• BPS Superintendent Tommy Chang
• Boston School Committee members Jeri Robinson and Regina Robinson
• Hundreds of kindergarteners and their families
• School principals
• Community partners, including Cradle to Crayons, Playworks, New England School of Optometry, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston Public Library, Krueger Charitable Foundation, and Boston University’s Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine.