Welcome Back… We hope that you are enjoying our new format and finding the content to be valuable!
Remember: If you have any information or ideas to contribute to future issues, please send them along (info@pcpcontario.org)
We are very pleased to announce that PCPC has added to their website (www.pcpcontario.org Members’ Only section) a very valuable tool for fundraising at your Centre!
We have compiled a list of many, many potential funding organizations that you may wish to contact now and throughout the coming months in an effort to help meet your fundraising goals – check it out!
To increase the ways that we hear from our Member Centres, we have decided to create an Advisory Panel where our Members can offer their opinions and ideas! This information will help to shape PCPC’s direction and influence our efforts to improve our organization.
Our goal is have at least one Advisory Panel Member from each of our Member Centre’s to answer a few questions monthly (by email, and nothing to onerous – promise!), and then to take the results back to the families and staff of your Centre.
Please discuss amongst those in your Centre who would be available to take on this role, and email your information to PCPC (info@pcpcontario.org), so that we may get started working with this exciting new committee, and passing on the results to you!
Our first question: What are your thoughts and comments on the new look for the Member Centre map on the PCPC website ?
Please forward all comments, suggestions and ideas to info@pcpcontario.org
(Please Note: All information provided will be kept strictly confidential as outlined in our Privacy Policy.)
Well Beings is the definitive guide to child care in Canada. First published in 1992, the new third edition has been updated with the latest information, evidence and best practices in child care. It’s packed with useful forms, checklists, tools and resources, as well as visual clues to alert readers to key points!
http://www.caringforkids.cps.ca/wellbeings/About.htm
Well Beings Third Edition contains chapters on:
GETTING READY FOR KINDERGARTEN (February is Kindergarten Registration Month!)
Kindergarten is an exciting and critical time in a child’s development and growth. As parents, you can play an important role in this wonderful journey…
Kindergarten teachers want to partner with parents to help children become expressive, confident, curious, co-operative, competent, independent and engaged learners.
Kindergarten is an exciting adventure. It is a time when a child should have the opportunity to develop a lifelong love of learning and to recognize themselves as a unique and valuable person!
It is important to make an appointment to visit the school and the classroom, and to meet the teacher, prior to your child starting kindergarten. Find out about the program and the expectations of the children – this will ease your child’s, as well as your own anxieties about the upcoming school year!
Become involved in the school – volunteer in the classroom, or serve on Parent Committees!
Individual kindergarten classrooms will vary, and curriculum will vary according to the interests and backgrounds of the children, but all developmentally appropriate kindergarten classrooms will have one thing in common: the focus will be on the development of the child as a whole.
For more information regarding Kindergarten and your child, please visit http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/kindergarten.html to review the following documents produced by the Ministry of Education:
As in nearly all small businesses, financial ups and downs are a seemingly inevitable part of the organizational life cycle. Leading one’s Centre through tight times is an unwritten yet central aspect of all Centre Director’s job descriptions.
If your Centre is now facing a financial crisis, it will require an array of aggressive actions as well as a large measure of tenacity. Some of the strategies recommended by small business experts to help childcare Centres survive tight times are now available online with PCPC’s newest tipsheet, “Surviving Tight Times”!
To review these helpful strategies, and to learn how to avoid the same difficulties in the future, please visit the PCPC website, Member’s Only section, followed by the Governance Series, to the link for the tipsheet, ‘Surviving Tight Times’… you’ll be glad you did, no matter what position your Centre currently is in!
February 16th is Family Day – Mark your calendars as a day to spend some quality time with your family!
Now is a great time to think about recognizing an educator that has made a difference in your child’s life. The 2009 guidelines and nomination form of the Prime Minister’s Awards (PMAs) for Excellence in Early Childhood Education is now available online http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/pmaece-ppmepe.nsf/eng/home … the deadline for your nomination is March 31, 2009!
Best Buy (http://www.bestbuy.ca ‘Community Relations’ section) is dedicated to being a positive and responsible member of every community where they do business.
Best Buy has many different programs (see the ‘Community Relations’ section) designed to have a meaningful impact on the quality of life for children, families and their employees.
Fundraising Ideas – Remember that all of these fundraising ideas, and many more can be found in the Governance Series Workshops (Member’s Only Section) of the PCPC website.
Auctions are usually crowd pleasers – the secret is to have plenty of good quality items to auction off.
Silent Auctions: Items are displayed on a table with a large piece of paper and a pen next to each. The paper should contain the name of the item at the top of the page and the time the last bid will be taken. The highest bid recorded at the finish time, will be declared the winner.
Time and Talent Auctions: Everyone has a ‘talent’ of some sort. Some people are good at cooking and baking, others have a flair for flower arranging, sewing or knitting, and some may have a knack for building and repairing things like shelving or fixing typewriters. The list, of course, is endless. Ask each member to donate their ‘talent’ to be auctioned off during this unique event.
Dewdney Family Charitable Foundation
Address: c/o McClurkin Ahier & Company, 57 Queen Street South, Mississauga, Ontario, L5M 1K5
Contact: Ken Boyce, Treasurer
Telephone/Fax: (905) 858-4147 (telephone); (905) 858-1162 (fax)
Funding Interest: Physically Disabled Children
Granting Region: Ontario
Don and Hazel Williams Foundation
Address: 167 Woodworth Avenue, St. Thomas, Ontario, N5P 3K6
Contact: Donald B. Williams, Chair
Telephone: (519) 631-6917
Funding Interest: Children
Granting Region: Ontario
Graham Munro Charitable Foundation
Address: 1 Maritime-Ontario Boulevard, Brampton, Ontario, L6S 6G4
Contact: Doug Munro
Telephone/Fax: (905) 792-6100 (telephone); (905) 792-6148 (fax)
Funding Interest: Children
Granting Region: Ontario
As of 2007, Ontario has a total of 216 Childcare Co-operatives!
Lowering the thermostat is one sure way to reduce heating costs. On average, you can expect to save about 2% of the energy you use to heat (or cool) your home and office for every degree you lower (or raise) the temperature setting. Use a programmable thermostat and set it to lower the temperature 10°F when you’re sleeping or away from home or the office – or if there’s no danger of pipes freezing, you can turn it off completely (and no, it will not take more energy to reheat the house than you saved by keeping the thermostat turned down).
Wrap your water heater in an insulating blanket and se the temperature as low as possible. Typically, a 1°F adjustment in your water heater’s temperature will result in a 1% change in energy use. You can use a timer to turn an electric water heater off when you don’t need it, but you will gain more in efficiency by using conservation strategies such as low-flow showerheads and insulating water heater tank wraps. If you’ll be away from home or the office for more than a few days, simply turn off the water heater entirely,
Timer controls and occupancy sensors work well on lights that tend to get left on, and multiple lighting circuits help put light only where you need it. Switched wall outlets or power strips allow you to turn thinks off (such as the entire entertainment centre or office peripherals) with ease.
Huron Playschool is currently seeking a qualified ECE staff member who is enthusiastic, creative and a dedicated individual. Huron Playschool is a not-for-profit co-operative nursery school located at Bloor and Spadina in Toronto. Now in its 41st year, Huron maintains an excellent reputation thanks to the co-operative format which combines the skills of a parent run board of directors, hands-on assistance from parents, and a pro-active teacher/director. Huron proudly provides a warm, safe and loving environment for a preschool child’s first experience in a school setting.
Teacher/ Director -E.C.E. (diploma and a member of the College of Early Childhood Educators)
Employees must provide clear health and police reference checks as a condition of employment.
Competitive salary.
Interested applicants are invited to submit a resume and cover letter to: huron.playschool@sympatico.ca
Thank you, Wendy Burton-Booth
PCPC: Parent Co-operative Preschool Corporation
1571
Sandhurst Circle, PO Box 63512, Toronto, ON • MIV 1V0
Tel 416-410-2667 (Toronto)
E-mail info@pcpcontario.org
Website www.pcpcontario.org or
www.pcpctoronto.org
Terms and conditions
PCPC is a registered charity. You can make a donation
by credit card via PayPal here.
List of centres »
Interactive map »
PCPC centre featured in Star article · February 8
Full Day Early Learning in Ontario -- Information Sites · January 28
e-newsletter 23: New Year, new projects, new information · January 15
e-newsletter 22: Risk Management · December 17
Art prints for sale · December 4
All 'Going Green' articles on one page »
Going Green 23 · January 15
Going Green 22 · December 17
Going Green 21 · December 4
Going Green 20 · November 20
Going Green 19: A Brief Overview of “Green IT for Dummies” · October 27
Our new website »
What is a Co-op? »
The PCPC Board: Who we Are »
The Benefits of Membership »