Community Options Annual Report 2013 | Page 13

13 | ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING REPORT Parent functions in 2013 The Daycare parents and staff enjoyed a special “Chinese New Year Celebration” on Jan.20th. In addition to that, we also had a “Muffin Party” for parents; celebrations for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day; a Family Picnic; and our annual Festive Meal. Other events that parents attended throughout the year included a garage sale, a clothing exchange, and a playground meeting. Staff professional development Staff attended a variety of workshops over the past year. These workshops help us to keep current with best practices in childcare and early childhood development. Kathy (Program Director) has been attending the monthly CAFRA meetings and Barbara (Assistant Director) has been attending the monthly Sector Meetings throughout the year. Re-accreditation We had our Re-Accreditation Visit on March1st, 2013 and received lots of positive feedback from the Validator regarding our program. Preschool program Sixteen of the lower-room children are currently attending the Preschool Program at Inglewood School for half a day (1:00-3:15 p.m.) on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday each week. Music program Our Daycare children, of all age groups, participated in a monthly music program provided by Dawn Bissett from “Look for the Rainbow Music”. During this music and movement program children engaged in singing and dancing, and had the opportunity to explore a variety of small musical instruments. Building maintenance On August 31st we found that drainage problems had caused significant water damage in the Lower Room of our Daycare Building. We were required to relocate the Daycare children twice in order to accommodate the necessary renovations. Renovations included redoing the entire basement, installation of new walls, flooring and replacement of several fixtures. Although most of the renovations have now been fully completed inside the Daycare, there is still some work to be done on the playground outside. We are still waiting for additional funding to come through regarding the design and completion of a new playground. I would like to thank everyone on our Daycare team for making the past year a pleasant one, with so many wonderful memories. Without our strong team, we could have not made it through all of the challenges that we experienced experienced this year. Thank you also to the parents who provided their ongoing support and help. And finally thank you to all of our Daycare children who bring colour to our rooms and brighten our lives every single day. Kathy Rickett, Program Director