This is the time of year that contracts for employees have been created, and now must be presented to the Board of Directors for approval. Once approval has been granted from the Board of Directors, the employment contract is then presented to the employee for signing, generally in early April … is your Centre ready?
If your Centre is having difficulty creating the contract, remember that the following needs to be included (where applicable):
Note: Further assistance with employee contracts can be gained by contacting the PCPC office (info@pcpcontario.org).
When the time comes for your Centre to seek donations from your community, do they know where to contact?
Potential donors may include:
The PCPC website (www.pcpcontario.org) has a more detailed list of possible locations to visit when your Centre is seeking donations… visit the Member’s Only Section, and the list can be found under the heading, ‘Fundraising: Who Can Help Your Centre?’.
With evaluation time upon us, do you know if you are being open and communicative? Use the following checklist, to see how your communication skills are, and if there are areas where you can improve…
Do you have…?
Do you…?
Transparency and Communication…
Good Communicators Use Active Listening Skills…
To view this checklist in its entirety, please visit the Member’s Only section of the PCPC website (www.pcpcontario.org) and select the Governance Series and scroll until you find this tipsheet under the heading, ‘Tipsheets in This Section’.
Work-Sharing is designed to help employers and employees avert temporary layoffs, especially during hard economic times. The measure provides income support to workers eligible for Employment Insurance benefits and who are willing to work a temporary reduced work-week when there is a reduction in the normal level of business activity that is beyond the control of the Centre.
To learn more about this unique program offered by the Canadian Government, please visit:
Some infant-toddler childcare programs use a process called ‘reflective supervision’ to help core teachers manage their own feelings and be more responsive to infants and families. Reflective supervision is the practice of meeting regularly with staff members to discuss their experiences, thoughts, and feelings related to work. This supervision is characterized by three key components:
Using this approach, the role of the supervisor is to help the supervisee answer their own questions by:
Reflective supervision can also help staff develop coping mechanisms to manage the often complex and intense feelings that arise when working with very young children. Providing staff an outlet to acknowledge challenges, concerns and ambivalence they encounter on the job is a crucial first step in preventing frustration and burnout. Furthermore, supportive interactions help staff develop the skills they need to respond effectively to the challenges of their work.
Note: The Zero to Three website (http://www.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer) offers many great ideas and articles, as well as the opportunity to subscribe to the monthly electronic newsletter ‘From Baby to Big Kid’ which matches the child’s age to the related material – this is a wonderful resource for both staff and families!
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 www.pcpcontario.org
Baskets: Baskets have become very popular as gift items and they can be filled with anything that your Centre would like to put in them, from food to baby items!
McGeachy Charitable Foundation
Address: R.R. 3, Chatham, Ontario, N7M 5J3
Contact: J. Scott McGeachy, President
Telephone: (519) 352-4252 (telephone)
Funding Interest: Disabled Children
Granting Region: Ontario
Minto Foundation Inc.
Address: 300-427 Laurier Avenue West, Ottawa, Ontario, K1R 7Y2
Contact: Daniel Greenberg, President
Telephone/Fax: (613) 230-7051 (telephone); (613) 782-2240 (fax)
Email: cdisney@minto.com
Funding Interest: Children
Granting Region: Ontario
Ottawa Senators Foundation
Address: 1000 Palladium Drive, Kanata, Ontario, K2V 1A5
Contact: Colleen Clark, Assistant to the President
Telephone/Fax: (613) 599-0153 (telephone); (613) 599-1471 (fax)
Email/Website: clarkc@sensfoundation.com and http://www.ottawasenatorsfoundation.com
Funding Interest: Children; Disabled Children
Granting Region: Eastern Ontario
Grant Information: Application is available online from April 1 through May 31 each year
The average child recognizes over 200 company logos by the time they enter the first grade!
A survey conducted by the Conference Board of Canada finds that Canadian organizations continue to lower their projected 2009 salary increases for non-unionized employees in response to the economic recession. Projected average increases already fell from 3.9% among respondents to the summer 2008 Compensation Planning Outlook survey, to 2.9% in the update conducted in December and January. Total inflation is forecast to be 0.7% in 2009, so workers can still expect to receive increases that will outpace inflation.
If you have an announcement to make, check this out…
Celebrate the arrival of your precious newborn with Canadian Parents Smilebox Birth Announcements.
Simply visit their website (http://smilebox.canadianparents.com/?page=birth-announcements&om_rid=BrRaLn&utm_source=_BJtnTtB7gKO4KC&utm_content=cpnl39&utm_medium=email) and then choose one of their many announcements, add a photo or a video, the birth particulars, select music if desired, and then share via email or blog… the best part (next to the newborn, of course) is that it’s free!
Replacing older, single-pane windows with new double- or triple-glazed units can save energy if they are installed to include air-leakage control around the frame. However, you can get almost as many savings by adding storm windows as you can with new double-glazed windows, at a fraction of the cost. Again, pay close attention to air-sealing when improving older windows. When it comes time to buy new windows, pay more for more efficient units. Over the long-term, the up-front cost will pay for itself in efficiency gains, and reduced energy use!
Should I be concerned about mercury exposure from compact fluorescent lights (CFLs)?
Fluorescent lamps (those long glass tubes) and compact fluorescent bulbs (the ones that can look like a soft-serve ice scream cone) both require the use of mercury for proper functioning, and should the glass tube of either break, the mercury could be released into the environment, possibly leading to mercury exposure – but that’s the bad news!
The good news, on the other hand, is that CFLs on average contain only 4 milligrams of mercury (compared to about 500 milligrams in older thermometers and anywhere from 3,000 to 20,000 milligrams in most non-electric thermostats), which is enclosed within the durable glass bulb. Manufacturers are aware of this concern and they continue to find ways to decrease this number through advances in CFL technology. However, some mercury is still more than no mercury, so the EPA also put together a detailed guide about the proper disposal and clean-up procedures should a fluorescent light break (to view the EPA disposal and clean-up guide, visit: www.epa.gov/bulbrecycling or www.earth911.com to find local recycling options).
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.
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Going Green 19: A Brief Overview of “Green IT for Dummies” · October 27
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