Le Jardin des Découvertes Annual Report for 2010-2011



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Le Jardin des Découvertes

Annual Report for 2010-2011

Presented at the annual meeting held on the 18th of April, 2012.



2010-2011 Conseil d’administration


President

Stephanie McMullen






president@jardindesdecouvertes.com


Vice President

Erica McConachie






vicepresident@jardindesdecouvertes.com


Secretary

Jennette Matheson






info@jardindesdecouvertes.com


Treasurer

Lisa DesRoches






tresorier@jardindesdecouvertes.com


Voting Parent Member

Kathy Blight






kathy.blight@rogers.com


Resource Member ‐ Directrice Chantal Godin




directrice@jardindesdecouvertes.com


Resource Member ‐ Office Admin Jennifer Mizgala




jmizgala@jardindesdecouvertes.com


Resource Member ‐ School Rep Marc Andre Proulx




proumarc@csdecso.on.ca


Resource Member – School Rep

Jeri-Li Trainer






traijeri@csdecso.on.ca



Introduction by Stephanie McMullen, President of the Board of Directors for Le Jardin des Decouvertes daycare.
This past year has been an active and exceptional year for the Board as it works to support staff and operations. Once again we are fortunate to benefit from the experience and knowledge of an excellent director and dedicated staff, to offer loving, educational and stimulating care over the past year.
One of the most important projects for the Board over the past year was the application for official non-profit status. This was achieved last spring, when the daycare’s application was filed with the Ontario Ministry of Government Services. At this time it was necessary to formally alter the daycare’s operating name to la garderie Le Jardin des Découvertes from Le Jardin des Découvertes: Centre culturel et éducatif in order to differentiate the daycare legally from the local French cultural centre. With this important change in status, the daycare is now in a position to qualify for additional subsidies and funding opportunities, which open up once a year has elapsed from the date of non-profit status.
The daycare found itself in a difficult position last winter during a family dispute. This ultimately required the daycare to seek legal advice to protect the Centre’s operations and seek advice on how to handle such situations in the future. Staff had followed legal and best practices guidelines throughout the ordeal; the consultation for legal advice confirmed this and ensured that the disputing parties took their conflict away from the daycare in the future. Although a difficult time for all involved, it served as a learning opportunity for staff and Board members on how to handle family conflicts in the future.
Work continues on functioning with an operation budget. A draft was devised for 2011; as experience builds, it becomes easier to work with a budget as a financial guidepost.
One of the greatest successes over the 2010-2011 was the development and refinement of the Accèss Succès program (also known as “the After School program” or “the Homework Club”), in partnership with Saint Dominique Savio. The program was developed to avoid duplication of service with the homework and after school needs of families in our school community, and to assist students in improving their grades and test scores. The results have been wonderful! Parents are able to feel confident that their children are being assisted in getting their homework done and getting academic support in those areas when they need it, while still have an opportunity to have fun with their friends. Participant numbers have been significantly greater than when the school and daycare ran their programs separately, and the program itself is a “succès.”
New opportunities continue for the foreseeable future. Responsibility for daycare licensing and operations in Ontario has been transferred recently from the Ministry of Family and Youth Services to the Ministry of Education, in recognition of the key role that Early Childhood Educators play in teaching and helping children to explore their world. The timing is outstanding, as enrolment in the toddler and pre-school programs has reached maximum levels as approved when the Centre opened in 2005. In order to grow, the daycare needs room to physically expand. It is hoped that as Saint Dominique Savio adds onto its facilities, the daycare will be incorporated in the plans. This will allow the daycare to expand its services to local families, not simply in offering more spots in existing programs, but by adding a baby program. As many parents can attest, finding appropriate care for their babies in Owen Sound, when they return to work at the end of the year of parental leave, is a significant challenge. This represents a wonderful opportunity for the daycare to respond to an urgent community need while offering more opportunities for families to appreciate French language and culture. We look forward to continuing consultation with school board officials on this topic.
Much work has been accomplished over the past year, and there are always plans to improve and grow in the future. I wish to thank my fellow Board members, most of whom have served for several years now on the daycare Board. Their unwavering support, dedication and hard work, often in the face of other demands and opportunities have been a source of inspiration and friendship. We do hope that other parents will feel motivated to join the Board and become involved in this aspect of their children’s learning and development. It has been a pleasure and responsibility to serve over the past year.
Respectfully submitted by Stephanie McMullen, President on behalf of the Conseil d’Administration du Jardin des Découvertes, April 16, 2012

Report by Chantal Godin, Directrice of la garderie Le Jardin des Decouvertes.
It gives me great pleasure to report another successful year for la garderie Le Jardin des Découvertes. Let me begin by extending my thanks to our board members, staff and parents, for making this a wonderful place for our children to learn and grow. This report will provide you with a snapshot of the 2010-2011 fiscal year, although nothing can take the place of seeing the program in person.
Accomplishments

Some of Le Jardin des Découvertes most notable accomplishments over the past year include:



  • Community Awareness - Le Jardin des Découvertes has promoted our services throughout the entire community using a variety of promotional mediums such as local newspaper, participation in community events (e.g. Grey Roots maple syrup festival), flyers, posters, Facebook and our website.

  • Professional development of staff.

  • Fundraisers – Lamontagne Fundraiser, Mabel’s Labels and 12hr Scrapbook Fundraiser.

  • After-school Program - In the past year, participation in the after-school program has grown steadily. Our program provides child care, safety, cultural reinforcement and is also a great venue for helping students with their homework.

  • Age Group Focus - When the daycare was originally built it was licensed as one room for toddlers and preschoolers. With consent of our provincial administrator we have placed a temporary wall dividing this space. This has enhanced our organization of our equipment (e.g. books, learning centres, toys) for the two different age groups.


Licencing

Visit Date

Purpose of Visit

Compliance Level on Date of Inspection

Resolved Before

Licence Issued

Mar 18, 2011

Licensing Inspection

98%

Yes

Licensing inspection summary:
Summer Camp

Summer camp summary:








All of this speaks to the dedication and professionalism of our staff and we should all take great pride in this. Our centre has a wonderful mix of new staff members and experienced veterans. I want to extend my deepest thanks to our staff for their outstanding contributions to the centre and for providing a fun, safe, nurturing environment for our children.


Future Program Changes and Initiatives

Although the 2010-2011 Fiscal Year was a success, our work is far from finished. The Board of Directors and I have set several organizational goals for the upcoming year including:




  • There are significant barriers to transitioning to caring for infants, more toddlers and preschoolers. As a not-for-profit organization we simply do not have the capital funds to undergo expansion and renovations. It is our hope that when Ecole Saint-Dominique Savio decides to expand the size of the school they will take into consideration the possibility of increasing the size of the daycare to allow us to meet the licensing requirements to increase our current toddler and preschooler enrolment as well as offer infant care that is in great demand in this area.

  • Now that we are incorporated as not-for-profit, we will be applying for grants now available to us.

We all have the health and happiness of the children of our centre as our primary focus. I am confident that we will continue to work together this year to provide them with the best possible environment to help them reach their full potential.


On behalf of the staff and parents, we would once again like to thank the board of directors for their dedication and commitment to the centre. We appreciate all that you have done.
Everything is achieved through teamwork and as a parent with a child in la garderie Le Jardin des Decouvertes or our after-school program you are also part of this team and we encourage you to get involved as everyone’s help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you


Respectfully submitted by Chantal Godin RECE, Directrice du Jardin des Découvertes, April 17, 2012

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