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First Day of School

The buzz of excitement on the first day of school at Centro Escolar Ramón Belloso in San Salvador went well beyond the usual enthusiasm engendered by greeting friends and teachers after vacation, getting new books and supplies, and starting new classes-and with good reason. A number of special visitors were scheduled to gather under the massive tent set up in the courtyard for the celebration of El Salvador's 2005 school year inauguration.

Children lined the main corridor and waved the national flag as President Elías Antonio Saca and Minister of Education Darlyn Xiomara Meza strode past them, accompanied by the sounds of the Salvadoran Air Force band, to usher in a new academic year. The President, the Minister, the school principal, a mother, and a fourth-grade student all shared inspiring words on the importance of children's studies and the efforts of the entire community in supporting them.

Tía Bubu, a Salvadoran TV personality, followed with songs and dancing in her bright green and gold garb. To help her express to the giddy younger children the importance of reading, mathematics, and languages, Tía Bubu introduced Elmo and Cookie Monster, two popular Sesame Street characters on an EDIFAM-sponsored visit to El Salvador. The two answered Tía Bubu's math questions with their furry fingers and joined her in dancing and greeting the children.

After taking a few photos with the characters and children, the President and the Minister were whisked to a first-grade classroom, where EDIFAM facilitator Marleny Luna led an interactive reading activity using a book, La Piscucha (The Kite), developed by EDIFAM. The book combines the three areas of emphasis for EDIFAM's public awareness campaign: science, as it explores what makes kites fly; play, as a family learns how to fly a kite together safely; and reading, as enjoying the book with an adult encourages emergent literacy among children. The students received individual copies of the book to read with their families.

A very cool morning and a strong breeze could not dampen the enthusiasm for the day's events at the school in the Monserrat neighborhood. If the message of the visiting dignitaries and of EDIFAM is heeded, similar zeal for reading, learning, playing, and healthy child development in general will continue throughout the school year.

The huge smiles said it all, and not just the ones on the oversized heads of Elmo and Cookie Monster. The two Sesame Street characters were greeted with a myriad of grins by patients in the Benjamin Bloom National Children's Hospital in San Salvador. The characters, in El Salvador on an EDIFAM-sponsored visit, greeted guests at "Reading is an Adventure," an event promoting reading among hospitalized children and their families, and then proceeded to visit about 150 boys, girls, parents and staff members on five floors of the hospital.

Elmo and Cookie Monster handed out copies of La Piscucha (The Kite), an EDIFAM-created book that features Sesame Street characters and promotes play, learning, and science. The children also received hugs and kisses from their furry friends as well as instant photographs to preserve the memory.

Afterward, EDIFAM staff provided parents, hospital volunteers and teachers at the hospital's in-house school with a training workshop on using interactive reading techniques with children and their families, and EDIFAM presented the hospital with over 300 books to enhance its library for patients. The activities were all part of EDIFAM's ongoing efforts to promote positive early childhood care and education among all children, including disadvantaged ones, in El Salvador.