Events
Bowen Children's Centre Annual General Meeting 2011
President's Report
This year has been a fantastic year at BCC. With Ann Silberman's dynamic leadership we have implemented changes that benefit the families, the children, the staff and the community.
Our three programs are running very smoothly. Enrollment is up significantly such that two of the preschool classes are full with only one space left in the third class. Melina, Siobhan and Burle are enjoying implementing emergent curriculum in these classes. The Daycare has seen an influx of 2-year-olds and we are working with Licensing to increase our 2-year-old spaces. We are creating a specific program for 2-year-olds and allowing them to attend for a 4-hour minimum rather than a 6-hour minimum. Sarah, Johanne, Maureen, Sherri, and our latest recruit Erin are full of ideas to help the children have a great day. In the After School Club, enrollment has more than doubled keeping Sharon and Bonita happy and hopping! Of course we can attribute all of this success to our creative, hard working and experienced staff who do so much to care for our children.
In the spring of 2011, the board and staff were absolutely floored by the amount of fun we had creating our new strategic plan. Who knew strategic planning could be fun? Kristin Jarvis knew and with her leadership we engaged with the members, the staff and the community to make goals under key areas of our business. We have measurements set up to determine our progress with these goals. We've also implemented an annual customer survey so you can help us with these measurements.
A highlight of the year for us has been our new partnership with Bowen Island Family Place, a program that connects families and supports family life on Bowen Island. We are thrilled that they now have a new permanent home in our building. This partnership was a culmination of years of work by Family Place, BCC, the Youth Centre and the Bowen Island Recreation Commission. If you haven't had a chance to see the newly renovated space they share with the Youth Centre, you should drop in. It has been beautifully renovated with a special grant by the Bowen Island Community Foundation and with many hours of volunteer design and labor.
As you can tell, none of these accomplishments would have been possible without the army of volunteers from this membership who really stepped up this year. Almost every preschool family completed their volunteer hours which had a huge impact on the overall running of the Centre. From the parents preparing snacks on special helper days, to Daron Jennings and his crew who built the clothing shed , to the parents (and grandparents) who helped with renos and outdoor projects, to the parents folding/lugging/organizing clothing for the clothing sale, to the families who marched behind the pink octopus in the Bowfest parade (not to mention the Dad in the flowery bikini!) we had a banner year.
And so I encourage you to get in on the fun this year and keep making BCC a great place to grow.