Annual Report 2008-09
COORDINATOR’S REPORT
Our staffing for October 2008-2009 included Karen Lester resigning from her preschool teaching position in January 2009. We wish her all the best in her future endeavours. Jamie was hired to replace Karen and is now a permanent preschool teacher. Mary retired from her toddler room position in April. Her cheerful and positive disposition is missed greatly! Donna is now a permanent toddler teacher. Holly, a toddler teacher, is returning from her maternity leave/general leave on November 5th. Jessica has been replacing her. Once Holly returns, we are hoping to keep Jessica on as a supply teacher until another contract position comes up that she can apply for. Sandra was hired in February 2009 for the part-time position in the preschool program. It is a most challenging teaching position and she excels at it! Samantha is now a permanent employee at our centre; she is currently working in Barb Henderson's teaching spot. Congratulations to Kathy on achieving the amazing milestone of 30 years at our centre!
Submitted by: Rita Renaud, RECE, Coordinator
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
As I complete my year as President of the Board of Directors, I wish to extend my thanks to the Colonel By Child Care Centre community of staff and parents for making this a great place for all our children. Our successful operation results from the hard work of many people, as we consistently try to do as much as we can with a limited budget. One way we can all help make the centre successful is to offer a few hours of volunteer work when possible with cleaning, repairs or other tasks that are required throughout the year. Please don't hesitate to ask what needs to be done or to suggest jobs that you can help with. We should take great satisfaction in the achievements of the past year, and on how we have maintained and improved our child care environment. At the same time, we must look to the future and the continuing challenges and opportunities it brings. This year has seen some movement of staff from room to room and we welcomed several new staff members. I was very pleased to see the quality of candidates our centre attracts for permanent or term positions. The staff did an outstanding job of maintaining continuity within each room during these changes. I would like to thank the staff for their outstanding contributions and dediction to the centre and providing a warm and safe environment for our children. We have had several remarkable service milestones in the last year. This year Kathy Parlee reached 30 years of service, and we thank her for her commitment to the centre and her continuing contributions to programs and the care of our children. This past April we said good-bye to Mary Vance as she retired from the centre and we also thank her for her commitment to the centre and her continuing contributions to the programs. This has been a year that has required captial funding. Thanks to careful management we have managed to make great use of these funds in improving the centre and programs and providing a much overdue increase in salaries. Our board operation is composed of a few active committees. There is always room for interested parties to participate, so please ask if you are interested in joining a committee. It is important to remember that Colonel By Child Care Centre is a community - children, staff, and parents with a common goal of providing the best possible child care. To everyone who makes up the Colonel By community, thank you for your participation and I look forward to seeing you at the centre in the coming year.
Submitted by: Alvaro Geldrez, President
TREASURER'S REPORT
As chair of the Finance Committee, I am pleased to report that Colonel By Child Care Centre closed off yet another year with balanced books. As a co-operative non-profit day care facility, we rely heavily on not only government support but also the support of our community and parents. It is this philosophy and the on-going efforts of parents and staff that makes this daycare facility one of the most highly regarded and respected organizations in this city. Our centre is a truly vibrant and community-oriented organization with a long-standing reputation for uncompromising standards of quality care and education. We were fortunate this year to have Rita's Major Capital Grant Proposal approved by the City of Ottawa. This provided us with money to replace 3 furnaces, install an operational window in the preschool washroom and, over the Christmas break, we will have a new ventilation system installed in our kitchen. Our staff received a much-deserved salary increase as part of our 2009 Budget. We were also able to increase the hourly wages of our dedicated and very important supply teachers. In closing, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to both Rita and Melanie who are responsible for all the daily financial operations of the centre. It is the hard work and passion of Rita, Melanie, and the staff that allow Colonel By Child Care Centre to deliver top-notch programming and care for the children.
Submitted by: Sabrina MacKenzie, Treasurer