History
Check out the Gallery Page
Necessity
being the mother of invention, a group of purposeful women launched
Bowen Island Preschool thirty-five years ago, in Gail Taylor’s
basement. Pat Weaver was the teacher, and the children’s parents
took turns helping her. She was the first in a long line of
dedicated, skilled and creative teachers, each of whom has given of
herself to the program, leaving a memorable and valued imprint.
It wasn’t long before Bowen Island Preschool outgrew Gail’s house. So the parents moved it to Collins Hall where it settled for many years, under the guidance of teachers such as Gail Gallander and Lyn van Lidth de Jeude. Over time, it has become such an integral part of this community that it is often referred to simply as ‘The Preschool’.
This island has seen many changes in the past three decades, and Bowen Island Preschool has grown, thrived, and kept pace. The program’s curriculum has always reflected the best of current knowledge about early childhood education.
In the mid-nineties a group of Preschool parents and the Preschool’s teacher, Ann Silberman, seeing the island’s dramatic population growth, envisioned a centre that would offer both top quality early childhood education and childcare. The Preschool was outgrowing Collins Hall and clearly needed its own space, and Bowen Island’s young families needed quality, licensed childcare.
Envisioning a children’s centre was the easy part: making it happen demanded an extraordinary combination of initiative, good timing, determination, community generosity, and some very hard work.
In 1996, with the help of a start-up grant from the Government of British Columbia, which was then actively supporting the creation and expansion of non-profit daycares, and on land donated by Wolfgang Duntz, the ambitious project was launched. Many members of the community rallied, donating dollars, materials, expertise, services and muscle.
Further into the planning phase, the Preschool committee that was driving the project realized that although the Preschool and Daycare would require only a single level, the site offered the opportunity to build a two-storey building. In the spirit of community, the committee members asked the Teen Centre – a small group that was uncomfortably sharing Collins Hall with the Preschool and other users – if it would like to participate, with a view to creating a space on the lower level where some of the island’s youth might hang out, plan activities and be supported. The Teen Centre’s board accepted the invitation, and pitched in to help with the building.
This was a large undertaking for a little Society. At one point the project faltered badly and its completion was in jeopardy. Once again, Wolfgang Duntz stepped in: with his backing, and under the direction of the remarkable Morganne Keplar, a group of dedicated volunteers worked tirelessly to get the job done.
When the dust settled around its new building in the fall of 1998, Bowen Island Preschool had become part of Bowen Children’s Centre, a busy non-profit society that includes two other core programs for the island’s children: the Community Daycare and The After School Club. Staffed by knowledgeable, skilled early childhood educators, the Centre is a resource hub for the community’s young families, and also offers seminars and workshops on a wide range of relevant topics relating to parenting issues and early childhood development.
The Bowen Island Youth Centre operates programs for teens in the lower level of the building, supported by Bowen Island Municipality. The Municipality offers various classes for the greater community there as well, including ballet, yoga, tai chi, and more.
Bowen Children’s Centre, the big red building with the green roof and colourful, multi-level playground, is now a fixture on Carter Road and a hive of activity. All the planning, exhaustion, anxiety, and hard work have faded to mostly fond memory. It has been more than ten years since those Preschool parents envisioned a centre for Bowen Island’s children, and then refused to give up until it became a reality. The little Preschool that began in Gail Taylor’s basement has come a very long way.